University of Cambridge

Strategy. Innovation. New Ventures.

CASIA VENTURES is a boutique strategy and corporate finance firm based in Los Angeles and Singapore. 

Key clients include Venture Capital, Sovereign Wealth, Family Office and UHNWI, covering:

o Investment Strategies 
o Impact Investing / ESG 
o Bespoke Portfolios
o Commercial Due Diligence
o Venture Building

CASIA Ventures

Partner - Strategy | Impact | Venture Building

Skills: Investment Banking · Strategic Planning · Investments · Relationship Development · Valuation · Fundraising

Water Innovation Advisors

Strategic Advisor

Boutique strategy and deal advisory firm working mostly below the radar on a range of confidential assignments. Strong focus on impact. 

Established clients, since 2009, include:
o Sovereign Wealth Fund (Middle East)
o Sovereign Wealth Fund (Asia)
o Tier 1 Investment Bank (USA) 

Recent transactions supported: 
o Series B, $50m (Synthetic Biology) 
o Series A, $10m (Mental Health)
o Series Seed, $2m (Foodtech)

Since 2021, WhiteSpace has also completed commercial due diligence engagements for blue chip VC/PE clients in Solar, Music, Financial Services and Biotech (Africa, EU, SE Asia, USA).

+++++

We believe that most breakthrough innovations in established industries will come from blending the assets and capabilities of MNCs with the speed, experimentation and pioneering technologies of startups.

WSA works at the interface between large corporates and the venture community, matching the trajectories of incumbents and startups across a range of sectors.

Focus on those transformative technologies and themes most likely to influence the landscape of the future:

o Internet of Things (IoT, IIoT)
o AI / Machine Learning / Robotics
o Cybersecurity
o AR / VR
o Medtech / Healthtech
o Agtech

WhiteSpace/Asia

Chief Strategy Officer

*Successfully exited Nov 2023 along with co-founders following sale of core IP to bigtech acquirer*

IGNITEGREEN AI is now a part of Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub.

Driving tCO2e reductions across largely unserved / underserved heavy industry sectors.

IGNITEGREEN AI

Co-Founder

Strategy Advisor to Business Innovation Centers across Asia Pacific.

Two fold mission:

o To develop new products and services close to customers and markets ("precision innovation") 
o To create a revitalised corporate culture and develop human talent

I worked extensively with the leadership team on both streams, delivering real world business results and new business to market. 

Key outcomes/deliverables:

*Innovation and External Engagement*

o 5 year Strategy and Implementation Plan 2025 for Service Robotics business across AsPac
o Digital Healthcare Strategy Roadmap 2025 for AsPac
o Progressively streamlined innovation methodologies to improve speed through the stage gates
o Developed the vision around 5 Pillar Precision Innovation strategy, delivering true innovation at the edge, as close as possible to where the key customers operate

*Internal Transformation*

o Organised and delivered full day Innovation Summit December 2018 to engage across sales and service team and management
o Designed training programme for all BIC staff. 6 half to full day training sessions including Strategy Toolkit, Structured Innovation, Creative Techniques, Problem Solving, Finance for Innovation, Stakeholder Engagement.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions Asia

Strategy | Business Innovation Centers

GFS is a privately held strategy consulting and investment group, with deep expertise in disruptive technology based transformations in Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare, Education and Government.

C-suite advisory to technology majors and earlier stage ventures on Innovation, Market Entry and Government Relations across Asia Pacific. 

Technology partners include Planet Labs, the world’s largest constellation of Earth-imaging satellites.

GFS works closely on joint projects with McKinsey and SKHA Consulting.

Successful projects have included:

o Building in-house portfolio of profitable tech ventures

o LBO, SE Asia IT Solutions Provider

o Series A, Indonesian Healthtech startup 

*GFS Healthcare Vertical*
The healthcare industry in Indonesia has changed dramatically after the introduction of the Universal Health Care system (JKN) in 2014. With an ambitious target to cover all Indonesians by 2019, a wide range of new opportunities are emerging, in a massively addressable market. GFS Healthcare focuses on unlocking revenue growth and efficiency for its healthcare clients through the application of emerging technologies, working closely with the Indonesian government (proof of concept implementations in several public hospitals) and our world-leading solution provider partners.

Global Focus Services

Group Director, Strategy & Corporate Finance

The first FinTech platform to receive a Full Capital Markets Services Licence (CMS-100568-1) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, allowing dealing in all classes of securities, serving retail investors, accredited, institutional, funds and family offices. 

MoolahSense is Singapore’s #1 Digital Lending platform, and one of the earliest pioneers of alternative finance in SE Asia. 

o Chief Strategy Officer and Chief of Staff
o #2 to CEO
o With Founder & CEO, led Series B capital raise
o Investor negotiations, investment bank and NEDs
o Built best practice financial model
o Extensive stress testing of financial projections
o Developed detailed investor presentation materials 

o Member of Credit Committee

o Continued work to redesign the customer journey
o Data driven operating model "destroy & rebuild"
o Digital transformation roadmaps
o Refined go-to-market strategy for new products
o Developed strategy for engaging with force multiplier sales channels
o Partner engagement
o Future state technology "in a box" services for major Banks; and plug & play next gen lending solutions

MoolahSense

Executive Vice President, Strategy & Innovation

MillionaireAsia Group is a multi-channel platform for Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (over $50 million dollars in assets each). Valuable and fast-growing database of >100,000 active HNWI members in Asia Pacific and EMEA.

MillionaireAsia leverages its extensive Ultra HNWI and corporate network to access capital for growth businesses, source deals and provide restricted introductions to accredited investors and family offices for unique “off market” placements, under SFA (CAP. 289) exemption. 

Advised Founder & Owner, Brian Yim, on business model innovation and corporate financial strategy. 

Brian successfully exited the business in 2021, and the group continues to innovate and go from strength to strength.

Millionaireasia

Director of Strategy and Corporate Finance (interim)

o Financial modelling in support of Series A-B capital raise
o Development of Investment Memorandum and Pitch presentations
o Mapping and redesigning the retail investor and business borrower customer journeys
o Destroy and rebuild on each step of the sales process
o Destroy and rebuild on each step of the credit function
o Selection of CRM vendor and implementation planning
o Negotiations with a range of "brand name" investors
o Defining integration of customer facing sales, credit and back office as one "Production" function

Strategic Business Advisor

o Pre Series A investor readiness
o Business model and product strategy
o Growth strategy
o Internationalization
o Corporate financial strategy
o M&A, JVs and partnerships
o Stakeholder engagement

Extensive lobbying of a broad base of stakeholders, including industry associations, government agencies and industry leaders to build the case for, and vocal support for, digital lending to be permitted by regulators in Singapore, in the interests of improving the strength and resilience of the SME community, consistent with national economic interests.

Involvement in "closed door" working sessions with Monetary Authority of Singapore, leading banks and policy makers to debate the pathway to acceptance of P2P / marketplace lending to SMEs that were (and are still not) served by the local banks.

Advisor To The Board

A*STAR is the pre-eminent science, technology and research body in SE Asia, funded by the Singapore government.

Primary focus areas, working with postgraduate and doctoral students:
- Sustainable manufacturing
- Sustainable supply chains
- Cross-border carbon footprinting

A-STAR

Postgraduate Instructor

RESET Carbon is the Asia market leader in providing a wide range of progressive low carbon and energy transition solutions. 

On the client side, I manage ground-breaking projects on global supply chain sustainability strategy for two of the world’s leading consumer products companies and have led on several key elements of a global programme for one of the world’s leading professional services firms.

Sustainable supply chain and sustainable fashion clients have included VF Corporation, Ann Inc., and ESPRIT.

Beyond the client facing work, I advise the CEO on future strategic growth, negotiate key value added partnerships and support winning new client business in a number of sectors.

Having worked with the team at RESET for some time now, I am convinced there are a number of factors that make RESET unique in the market. These include:

One foot in the board room and one foot in the factory – no other firm in this region has key corporate relationships at board room level as well as intimate knowledge of the real state of play in supplier factories. This makes RESET uniquely placed to help major brand owners engage with their key supply chain partners.

A partial NGO heritage means we have very different client relationships and we are not afraid to tell it as it is – much needed in a sector focused on compliance and box ticking. 

The team at RESET is amazingly multi-disciplinary, resulting in an unmatched capability mix for our core clients.

RESET Carbon Ltd. 锐思碳管理

Director | Strategy

One of Europe's oldest and most established strategic innovation consultancies working with corporate leaders since 1999. 

Major clients include Co-op, HSBC, O2, M&S, VW, Visa, as well as Financial Ombudsman, Jaguar, News UK and Save the Children.

Credited as the "thinkers" behind M&S Plan A, the most ambitious sustainability programme in the global retail sector, as well as Co-op Financial Services' and H&M's sustainability strategy.

My role was to add value as subject matter expert on key client projects with a sustainable business flavour, and to secure new clients (including The Carbon Trust).

Key projects included developing a new venture in the Low Carbon Buildings space for Carbon Trust Enterprises - now a GBP 750m public-private joint venture between the British Government, Stanhope PLC and Threadneedle Asset Management.

The Foundation Growth Consulting LLP

Associate Partner

GV works with corporates, government and early stage ventures, developing entirely new (and profitable) low-carbon products, services, brands and businesses.

Typically taking great ideas from the white board to launch and first revenues in 6-9 months.
 
In each case, our work is grounded in exploiting white space opportunities, responsive to clear market failures and unmet customer needs.

Since 2006, have advised on a range of projects to create a stream of profitable new ventures for the UK's Carbon Trust, including around:

*Behavioural change 
*(The Low Carbon Culture Company) 

*Low carbon buildings 
*(Low Carbon Workplace http://www.lowcarbonworkplace.com/)

*Consumer products 
*(The Carbon Label Company http://www.carbon-label.com/)

*Green IT (in particular low carbon data centres)

Provided advice across the venture life cycle from idea generation and detailed proposition development, to investment case, launch, ongoing business development and beyond.

Other clients included FTSE 100  Financial Services, Retail and Energy businesses.

*GreenVentures

Chief Innovation Officer

Advised Government Ministries and Donor Agencies on a range of development themes across the Mékong sub-region, including projects funded by the World Bank, IFC, United Nations, ADB, JICA and USAID.

Focus on poverty reduction, rural regeneration, private sector development and counter-trafficking of women and children.

Team member on World Bank and IFC  projects to develop and implement new rural electrification strategies including renewable generation options (mid scale hydro, solar), and to develop new private sector utility supply business models, including clean water and sanitation.

Co-developed UN RWSS (Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Strategy) 2025 with French consultants, Burgeap.

Developed effective donor presentation materials for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Designed and wrote the Annual Progress Reports for Handicap International for 2002 and 2003.

World Bank Group

Senior Advisor | Private Sector Development

Mobile telecoms M&A - right after the dot com bubble bursting we got hit by the double whammy of the Tech Wreck, massively impacting (negatively) Telco spending on strategy consultants...

Took sabbatical to work with the United Nations in SE and ultimately stayed with the UN and The World Bank for 3 wonderful years! (see next entry above 👆)

Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Associate Director

€500m e-commerce/multi-channel retail venture fund at the height of the dot com boom (and bust). Grew to over €950m under management prior to dissolution in April 2001. Investments included Libertysurf and Zebank - Europe's first Digital Bank. 

22 investments, 9 successful exits, balance of portfolio merged into divisions of parent company, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Europ@web KK

Director | International

Member of the team that developed two new European consulting service lines from investment case and prototype methodology to partner sign off and launch to market:

o Strategic Advisory Services

o Merger & Acquisition Strategy Services

Co-developed M&A thought leadership and research in partnership with the School of Industrial and Business Studies (Warwick Business School), focused on the lessons learned from the world's most successful serial acquirers and the importance of transition planning ahead of Deal Day. 

In addition to internal service line development, board level client projects included:

o Commercial due diligence on private placement rounds for investors in multi billion dollar hybrid geosynchronous satellite / terrestrial telecoms play

o Strategy liaison to Global Head of Energy Practice, providing M&A advisory to downstream oil sector

o High level strategy advisory on M&A and defence offsets for a Middle East sovereign state

o 3 days Accelerated Solutions Environment for the boards of 2 newly merged Investment Banks

London | Paris

Ernst & Young Management Consultants (acquired by Capgemini)

Strategy Consultant (Manager)

Founded in 1987, OC&C Strategy Consultants is a recognised global strategy consulting leader that brings clear thinking to the most complex issues facing ambitious management.

o European downstream (retail) strategy for oil major 
o New media strategy for global top 2 publishing house 

Consulted on successful business turnarounds / re-positioning, including:  

o Luxury goods company
o Specialised consumer products company 
(with sole responsibility for Scandinavia turnaround).

London | New York | Chicago | Stockholm

OC&C Strategy Consultants

Associate

Worked on Europe's very first Internet IPO (Unipalm Pipex) and (at the time) Europe's largest ever VC backed Telecoms startup (Ionica Plc.) 

Focus on:

o Telecoms/Technology
o Internet
o Biotech
o Semiconductor chip design (ARM Holdings) 
o Manufacturing/Engineering

London | Cambridge | Milan

Dean S.