Expert Panel

Alexandra is a Portfolio Manager at Artesian and leads Artesian's ClimateTech VC investment activities across Asia Pacific. Alexandra is also the Portfolio Manager for Artesian's $100M Female Leader's Fund which invests in companies with gender diversity across their founding team and executives. Alexandra has led investments from seed-stage through to Series B and currently serves as a Board Observer for companies such as modular solar company 5B. Alexandra is also the host of Artesian's ArteHouse podcast where she interviews founders and technical experts on new trends in innovation.

Sophia is a managing partner at bp ventures, leading the sourcing of venturing deals in the Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern markets. She explores new opportunities that support bp’s scaling of advanced mobility, clean energy, and other tech-led business models that accelerate the transition to net zero. Sophia joined bp ventures from bp’s advanced mobility team, having designed the company’s global e-mobility strategy, helping the business to become a leading provider of integrated mobility solutions in the UK, Europe, China, the US and beyond. Sophia holds a MBA from Warwick Business School, a BSc in Physiology from McGill University, and a LLB(Hons) from University College London. Before joining bp, she worked as an innovator and business builder in the global consumer goods and services industry, ran her own award-winning business and qualified as a lawyer and arbitrator. Sophia was recognised as a Global Corporate Venturing Emerging Leader in 2022. She holds non-executive director roles at two Indian startups, BluSmart and Magenta Mobility, and one UK startup, Dynamon.

Phil Anderson is a Business Innovation Advisor at the New Zealand Governments innovation agency, Callaghan Innovation. He focuses on supporting the commercialisation of Cleantech and High-value manufacturing businesses. He leads the Cleantech Mission partnership, which was launched to help kiwi businesses develop world-leading Cleantech. Prior to this, he was a shareholder and general manager at Cleanflow Systems, a tech startup which designed and manufactured multi-sensor inspection systems for the wastewater industry. Cleanflow Systems was acquired by US business Redzone Robotics in 2011.

Since January 2016, Richard Youngman has been CEO of San-Francisco based Cleantech Group. This followed 7 years of driving the growth of Cleantech Group's activities outside North America, especially in Europe and Israel, and Asia, based in Cleantech Group's office in London. Richard has more than ten years’ experience researching cleantech innovation, venture capital markets, and start-ups across Europe and globally. He is a regular keynote speaker at major cleantech events and is the driving force behind the annual Global Cleantech 100, a list of the world’s most promising private cleantech companies.

Brendon is the Head of Ventures & Research at CLP. His team is responsible for strategic investments in the venture space, engaging in global startup ecosystems, and helping to build capabilities and knowledge on emerging trends and technologies of strategic importance to CLP’s business through research and pilot projects.

Dr Will Rayward-Smith is a leading climate policy advisor to government and climate strategist to corporates. His robust techo-commercial analysis of different clean technologies supports his clients to embark on optimal decarbonisation pathways and unlock new value pools. Will works closely with multiple ASX100 clients, advising on their climate strategies and supporting portfolio implementation of decarbonisation initiatives, investments and clean growth opportunities. With government, Will has helped design practical and impactful climate policies, and supported successful business cases for over $2.7bn of funding allocation towards renewable energy infrastructure, decarbonisation and low carbon industries. At the national level, Will has been appointed as an advisor on hydrogen and bioenergy, delivering Australia’s inaugural National Bioenergy Roadmap and feasibility study for hydrogen export to various overseas jurisdictions.

Based in our Singapore office, Julien Dillon is an Investment Director at Emerald Technology Ventures and acts as a Corporate Finance and M&A specialist, focusing on the investment process from due diligence to valuation to transaction structuring to exit. Before joining Emerald, Julien worked as an Associate at the Zurich-based investment and M&A advisory firm Wineus AG and – prior to that – as a Corporate Finance Analyst at Bank J. Safra Sarasin. For more than five years, he has been involved in M&A, corporate finance and business development projects and participated in the origination and execution of equity and debt transactions, valuation analyses, preparation of financial models, as well as in the due diligences of target companies. Julien also interned at the investment banking departments of Credit Suisse and Lazard, the active ownership hedge fund Cevian Capital, as well as the management consulting division of Accenture. Julien holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in accounting and finance from the University of St. Gallen. He is also a CFA charterholder and is fluent in French, English and German.

Caroline is Belgium’s 40 under 40, and Managing Director of ENGIE Factory Asia-Pacific, which she co-founded in 2018 to develop new solutions for the energy transition. Caroline has spent her career working with entrepreneurs to address social and environmental issues. She started her career with Ashoka, the world’s leading network of social entrepreneurs, where she oversaw a global accelerator and the design of innovation programmes with multinationals, including projects in the fields of energy and climate change. Based out of London and then Singapore, she also launched an initiative for young entrepreneurs across Asia: ChangemakerXChange. More recently, she worked as Managing Director of Reseau Entreprendre, a support network for entrepreneurs, and launched Forward, a new accelerator for impact startups in Brussels. Caroline is passionate about driving impact through new startup ideas and creating synergies across multiple stakeholders. She is also an active angel investor and startup advisor.

Soohyun is a director at Envisioning partners, an impact investing venture capital focusing on climate tech. She has invested in energy transition, circular economy, carbon tech and sustainable food sector across Asia and the US. Previously she worked at McKinsey & Company as an engagement manager. She holds a bachelor's degree from Seoul National University and a MBA from Harvard Business School.

Julien is an Operating Partner in Asia for Eurazeo, a global investor in technology with offices in Paris, London, Berlin, NY, Singapore Shanghai, Seoul. Eurazeo is currently the largest venture capital firm in continental EU and manages approximately €8 bn in venture and growth capital, and €34bn overall with additional activities in private debt and private equity. Julien deploys Smart City Fund II in Asia which is focused the digital convergence of smart city sectors. These are new technologies and digital services for more sustainable cities: advanced mobility, new energy, digitalization of property, industry 4.0. Smart City II launched in January 2021 and is supported by 25 corporate and institutional investors in Europe and Asia. Julien is an investor in fast-growing technology companies in Asia including WeRide.ai (Autonomous mobility, CN,SG); DST Car (EV logistics, CN, SG), Immotor (e-scooter battery exchanges, CN, TH ), Grab (Superapp, SG) , as well as companies in Europe and the US : Trust-In-Soft (cybersecurity, FR), Neurala (Edge AI, US). He also supports the cross-border development and localization of Eurazeo VC portfolio to Asia. Prior to joining Eurazeo in 2011, Julien was based in China where he developed and acquired power projects for EDF Group. Julien holds degrees from La Sorbonne University, Beijing University, ESCP Europe Business School and the French School of Oriental Studies. He is a fluent Mandarin, English, French and Spanish speaker and has beginning his journey in Japanese. www.eurazeo.com

Takuro Kimura is a founder and CEO of G-Cubed Partners, based in Tokyo and New York, and is involved in impact investing in Asia and Africa. He promotes natural capital, biodiversity, and inclusive society. Before setting up G-Cubed, he spent over 30 years investing with impact in emerging markets from International Finance Corporation (IFC) and financial institutions in the private sector, involved in multi-billion investments in private equity, mezzanine, and project finance. He holds an LL.B. from Kyoto University and MBA from Ecole des Haute Etudes Commerciales de Paris (HEC).

Mr. Nattawat Nirdnoy serves as Cleantech and Digital Investment Manager at GC Ventures. He joined GC in 2020. He drives corporate venture capital investments from thesis development and origination, through deal evaluation and execution. Prior to GC, he served large corporate clients in consulting projects across Southeast Asia in areas of Innovation Management, Enterprise risk management, and Digital Transform with global consulting firms. He holds an M.S. in International Business from the University of Edinburgh and a B.Eng. (International Program) from SIIT, Thammasat University.

Adam is Partner at Giant Leap, Australia’s first venture capital fund 100% dedicated to investing in impact start ups, backing founders who are re-imagining industries and using business as a force for good. Adam is a serial Investor with expertise across consumer marketing, ecommerce and innovation. Outside of Giant Leap, Adam is a Director at Tripple, Future Super and Australian Communities Foundation.

With over 20 years of experience in venture capital investment, investment banking and equity research, Dr. Wang is currently the Managing Partner of GRC SinoGreen, a venture capital fund manager focused on green technology investments. His investment approach is to identify technology/value chain discontinuities and then cultivate startup teams with innovative solutions and sustainable business models to bridge the gap. Dr. Wang provides hands-on assistance to his portfolio companies in all aspects of operations including business strategy, partnership and joint venture, corporate governance, executive search, fundraising, and IPO or M&A. On behalf of the Fund, he is currently a board director of Aiator, Carbon Lighthouse, and RayPower, and a board observer of Gradiant, and Incus. Dr. Wang also served as a director on the board of CNano Technology (688116.SS), Rancher Lab (now SUSE), and LedEngin (now Osram), and a board observer of Cepton (NASDAQ: CPTN). He played a key role in the investments of Voltronic Power (6409.TT), S2C (now SMIT), PHABuilder, Centrillion, Sentieon, and Googol Technology. Previously, Dr. Wang was a Managing Director at WK Technology Fund. His investments during this time include Aruba Networks (now HP), Ruckus (now Arris Group), Brion Technologies (now ASML) and Beken Corp (603608.SS). Prior to becoming a venture capitalist, Dr. Wang was the Global Head of Semiconductor Research at ABN AMRO Bank. Earlier, he worked as a Yield Management Engineer at KLA-Tencor in San Jose, CA, USA. Dr. Wang holds a Ph.D. in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University, a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and a B.S. in Electrictrical Engineering from National Tsing Hua University.

Hoi Ying So is the Global Portfolio Manager of IFC’s Disruptive Technologies and Venture Capital team. In addition to co-leading the delivery of IFC’s investment program of early equity investments in the VC space, Hoi Ying is responsible for providing portfolio management leadership to IFC's global venture capital portfolio of direct investments and co-investments, with a strong focus on post-investment value creation and delivering IFC value-add, as well as driving successful exits. Previous to this role, Hoi Ying was with IFC’s Global Energy team from 2016-2019 as the sector lead for distributed power generation. She was responsible for developing sector knowledge and setting investment strategy that expands across mainstream investments, VC investing and upstream activities in this emerging sub-sector. Hoi Ying joined IFC’s venture capital team as an Investment Officer in 2011 where she focused on cleantech venture investments. Prior to that, Hoi Ying was with RNK Capital where she was part of the investment team focused on emissions trading and the carbon markets. She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University.

Fariz is the CEO & Managing Partner at Twin Towers Ventures (TTV), the investment arm for PETRONAS Ventures for the APAC and Middle East region. Prior to TTV, Fariz was the Head of Investments at PETRONAS Ventures, where he led the origination and investments for APAC in the areas of energy transition, mobility, circular economy and sustainability amongst others. Prior to joining PETRONAS, Fariz was Senior Vice President of Investments at Khazanah in Kuala Lumpur and London, covering investments in the private equity and venture capital space. Fariz graduated from The London School of Economics (LSE) with a BSc (Hons) Accounting & Finance and he is a Fellow Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

Varis is a Senior Investment Manager at ExpresSo – the Corporate Venture Capital arm of PTT. He manages portfolios and leads direct investments into high-profile startups in the new energy, mobility, and sustainability sectors. Prior to this, Varis spearheaded numerous initiatives at PTT, including the development of the New Energy business master plan that resulted in the formation of several new subsidiaries, as well as the PTT Smart Energy platform that utilizes AI/ML for optimal energy management solutions. Varis holds a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology and an MBA from London Business School.

Michael is currently Director of Industry & Technology Collaboration Department in PUB. As part of PUB’s Senior Management team, he leads PUB’s effort to grow water technologies by working and collaborating with the global water industry and stakeholders; and bring discoveries made in the lab to industrial application as quickly as possible, so that PUB and the rest of world can benefit from these cutting-edge research. Michael and his teams are also responsible for the smooth running and operations at PUB’s Singapore Water Exchange – the global marketplace for innovative water companies and technologies; as well as the successful organisation of the Singapore International Water Week - the global platform to share and co-create innovative water solutions. Prior to this appointment, Michael was the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of PUB. This new and expanded position in PUB reflects the increasingly critical role that IT and cybersecurity play to support PUB’s organisational and operational needs. Besides ensuring a reliable & secure ICT infrastructure throughout PUB so that efficient and effective services are provided, Michael was responsible for the development of SMART technologies across PUB; and the implementation of robust cybersecurity strategies and measures to safeguard PUB’s operations. Before that, he also served as the Director of Water Supply Network Department, which is responsible for the planning, development, operations and maintenance of the water supply network; as well as the management of water demand in Singapore. Michael also served in Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) as the Director of the 3P Network1 Division. In this role, he led the public communication engagements as well as managed initiatives for quality service excellence. Michael was the first Managing Director of the Singapore International Water Week, which was established in 2008. He led the conceptualisation, planning and organisation of the event, which has since grown to become a global platform to co-create innovative water solutions. Michael is the Managing Director and a Board member of PUB Consultants Pte Ltd2, as well as a Board member of Singapore International Water Week Pte Ltd. Michael is a Director on the Board of the Singapore Environment Council. He received his Bachelor of Engineer (Honours) and MSc in Civil Engineering from the National University of Singapore and his MBA from Nanyang Technological University. Michael also attended the Advanced Strategic Management Programme at IMD Lausanne.

Shrikant Deo has 29 years of experience in Innovation Management, Strategy & Planning, Business Transformation, Research & Technology Management, Corporate Quality, Technical Services and New Product Development. Shrikant started his career in 1993 with Reliance Industries and worked at polyester manufacturing facility at Nagpur for 15 years. At Nagpur he worked in the area of Quality control, technical services and new product development. In 2008, Shrikant took internal change and shifted to Mumbai as part of Reliance Technology Group (RTG). At RTG Shrikant worked as a part of Strategy & Planning function and was responsible for design and implementation of Research & Technology Management processes for smooth operation of R&D function, including designing of a state-of-the-art R&D Centre in Navi Mumbai. In 2012, Shrikant shifted to Pune and is currently part of Reliance Innovation Leadership Centre (RILC), led by a global thought leader Dr. R.A. Mashelkar. The Reliance Innovation Leadership Centre (RILC) focuses on the entire ecosystem surrounding business innovation – people, processes, technologies, structures, and systems. This team leads innovation efforts across Hydrocarbon, Retail & Jio businesses of Reliance, with a focus on creating monetary value & building a culture of innovation. This team has also been mandated with developing strategies to embrace disruptive pathways to achieve net carbon zero goal for the organization by 2035. Through active investments and partnerships, the team is working towards supporting creation of one of the world's leading New Energy and New Materials businesses that can bridge the green energy divide in India and globally. Shrikant is a postgraduate in Chemistry, with specialization in Polymer Science, from Institute of Science, Nagpur. He is a certified Six Sigma Black belt from Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore and has also done executive development program in Innovation Management from Harvard Business School.

Karthik leads Sangam, a seed and early stage venture fund focused on investing in STEM-driven climate tech start-ups in India and neighbouring countries. Sangam's vision is to transform us into a more inclusive society living in harmony with nature. Karthik holds a MBA from the University of Chicago's Booth school of Business, a MPP from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.Tech from IIT Bombay.

Yuko oversees Scrum Studio’s open innovation program focused on carbon neutrality, energy, and sustainability, as well as manages research projects and business development. Yuko began her career at Citigroup in the debt capital markets (DCM) and investment banking divisions. She then worked at Deloitte as a consultant, advising government agencies on renewables, power and energy. Following Deloitte, she worked as a credit analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, covering Japanese electric utilities, automobile companies, and trading companies. She joined Scrum Ventures in November 2021. Yuko received her B.S. in International Politics from Georgetown University and her M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) in Energy Management and Policy.

Kaixin is General Manager at SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore. SEEDS Capital seeks to catalyse smart monies into Singapore-based, early-stage technology startups, through co-investments with institutional investors. As General Manager, Kaixin leads the team on investments and building partnerships with investors across nascent and strategic industries such as Advanced Manufacturing, Health & Biomedical Sciences and Sustainability. SEEDS currently has a portfolio of over 100 deep tech startups, and a strong network of over 50 co-investment partners.

Jeremy Lovey is Director of Asia Pacific Division at the Solar Impulse Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by explorer and clean technology ambassador Bertrand Piccard. It identifies and promotes technological solutions that can protect the environment in a profitable way. The Foundation’s labeling process is the only evaluation available today that assesses the economic profitability of products and processes that protect the environment in the fields of water, energy, mobility, infrastructure, industry, and agriculture. It is awarded following a rigorous evaluation process carried out by a pool of independent Experts and based on verified standards covering the three main themes of feasibility, environmental impact, and profitability. Jeremy joined Solar Impulse during the first round-the-world with a solar airplane in 2015. Previously he held different positions in marketing. Jeremy has an MBA from the School of Management Fribourg and a Bachelor from EHL Hospitality Business School.

Teng Lip is Head of ST Engineering Ventures (“STEV”) – the corporate venture capital abd venture building unit of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63) – a global technology, defence and engineering group with businesses across the aerospace, smart city, defence and public security segments. Teng Lip established STEV in 2017 and set up regional offices in San Francisco and Tel Aviv. STEV manages an AUM of US$ 150M comprising a portfolio of global start-ups in domains such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, cloud, autonomous technology, cyber security, communications, IoT, robotics and other emerging technologies.

Melvyn is the Founder of Singapore-based, TRIREC, which is the leading investment firm that was incorporated in 2015 with the aim of making a meaningful impact on addressing climate change through a disciplined investment approach by supporting companies and projects that share our belief in a sustainable future. TRIREC’s investment mandate is focused on the decarbonization theme and invests in early stage start-ups globally. He was the Deputy Head of Wealth Management for Asia at Schroders where he was responsible for the management and strategic development of the business for the region since 2019 till his retirement in early 2021. Melvyn chaired the Asia Investment Committee where he led the efforts in the formulation of investment philosophies and risk frameworks for the wealth management business. He was also the Co-Chair of the Private Assets Investment Committee for Schroders Wealth Management globally, with responsibilities of evaluating private investment opportunities. Melvyn sat on the boards of Schroder & Co (Asia) Limited and Schroder & Co (Hong Kong) Limited. Melvyn was the Co-Founder and Chair of Investment Committee at Thirdrock Group, which was the leading Asian independent asset manager, between 2011 and 2019, before the firm was acquired by Schroders. He started his career with Goldman Sachs where he spent 3 years in Singapore managing multi-asset global discretionary portfolios, followed by 8 years in Hong Kong as a leading member of the equity derivatives team with experience across structuring, trading and marketing of derivatives and structured products. Melvyn currently sit on the board of Sunseap Group and also serves in the Audit and Risk Committee and the Remuneration Committee of the firm. He previously sat on the boards of a few renewables and environmental companies, and Fintech startups in the South East Asia region as he has also been active as an early-stage investor for more than a decade. He volunteered as a District Councillor since 2014 for 6 years under the Environment Functional Committee with the South West Community Development Council in Singapore. The committee initiates and executes on community projects that brings awareness and engagement of environmental issues to the grassroots. Between 2018 to 2020, Melvyn served as a Technical Advisor to the National Research Foundation of the Prime Minister’s Office in Singapore. In 2018, Melvyn was selected and has been a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corp, which was founded by Vice President Al Gore, to spread awareness, shape public opinion, influence policy, and inspire our communities to act on climate change. Melvyn has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Ross School of Business, Michigan and is a member of the International Alumni Advisory Committee for the University of Michigan since 2019. He is married with two boys.

After joining JSR Corporation, he worked in the Corporate Planning Department, where he was involved in the creation of strategies, including medium-term management plans, as well as the startup of corporate venture capital (CVC) activities and the execution of investments. He served as General Manager of the Management Division at JSR Micro NV (a European subsidiary handling electronics materials), and also served as General Manager of the Strategy Division at Medical & Biological Laboratories Co., Ltd., where he was involved in PMI management and business development activities. He joined UMI in April 2017. He graduated from the Keio University Faculty of Economics, and completed a Graduate degree in International Management from the Aoyama Business School (ABS) at Aoyama Gakuin University.