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board of directors

Chandran Nair
Chairman, Co-founder and Non-executive Director

Chandran co-founded Avantage Ventures in 2008, his role at Avantage Ventures is chairman of the board. Chandran is also the founder and CEO of Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT) which he founded in 2005. Prior to started GIFT, Chandran was the chairman of Environmental Resources Management in Asia-Pacific from 1991 to 2004 where he grew the firm to 500 employees in over 15 countries. 

For more than a decade Chandran has strongly advocated a more sustainable approach to development in Asia, and has helped governments of Taiwan and Hong Kong instill these principles into their key decision-making processes. He provides strategic management advice and coaching to business leaders with a focus on achieving growth targets and bringing about organisational change. Corporations seek his advice on how to meet the challenges of doing business in Asia as well as on globalisation, on investment geo-politics, on leadership development, ethics, sustainability, and on corporate social responsibility. In 2010, his book Consumptionomics argued that Asia must set their own development path by decoupling from the Western policy of consumption for economic growth. His book has received rave reviews around the world and he is continuing to address many of these issues at forums around the world, as keynote speakers and at other speaking engagements.

Chandran is a also visiting scholar at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s School of Business, running a course "Leading in Asia for the Future" as part of the university MBA program. He brings a wealth of experience and commitment to his role as Chairman at Avantage Ventures. 

Chandran believes that "at a time when so much of what has been taken for granted about investment strategies and the world we live in is being de-constructed, Avantage Ventures provides a platform for smart investors to diversify and support social entrepreneurs who will create some of the most interesting and valuable businesses of the future."

Hideh Takahashi
Independent and Non-executive Director

Hideh Takahashi has been teaching Business Design, Business Management and Global Leadership at Keio University Graduate School since 2006.  Concurrently, he serves several boards as a non executive director including NEC Corporation and Fukuoka Financial Group, Inc. in Japan as well as a U.S. based privately held company.  He also acts as an advisor to several Japanese companies.  For the non-profit organizations, Takahashi serves in multiple capacities to the National Science Museum of Japan, the Nikkei Global Social Responsibility Project, the Value Creation Forum of the 21st Century and the CIO Network Japan.  His current passion is centered on supporting and advising young people starting IT ventures and social businesses.

Up till 2005, Takahashi was the Deputy President and Representative Director of Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Xerox and Fuji Film with more than USD10 billion in revenue and 34,000 employees.  He also served as the Chairman of Fuji Xerox Palo Alto Research Laboratory. Prior to joining Fuji Xerox in 1999, Takahashi was a Senior Vice President of NCR Corporation charged with the Worldwide Field Operations. With more than 30 years of experience at Fuji Xerox, NCR and AT&T, including 15 years in the United States, Takahashi has held a wide range of management positions in Corporate Operations, Regional Sales and Services, Business Process Reengineering, Chief Information Officer, New Business Development, R&D and Manufacturing.

Takahashi is a graduate of Keio University in Japan and the State University of New York at Buffalo.  He holds M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Keio and Computer Science from SUNY/AB. In 1990 he completed the Executive Program for Business Administration at Columbia University.

 

José María Figueres Olsen
Independent and Non-executive Director

José María Figueres is a prominent businessman, politician and international expert on sustainable development and technology. 

José María served as President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. He was the youngest President of a Central American country in modern times. During his presidency, he created a comprehensive national Sustainable Development strategy combining sound macroeconomic indicators, together with strategic investment in human development, and a strong alliance with nature through the implementation of innovative environmental policies. Prior to serving as President he was Minister of Foreign Trade (1987-1988) and Minister of Agriculture (1988-1990).

In the international arena, he has pioneered the linkage between Sustainable Development and technology, in the realms of business, public service, and non-profit organizations. He helped create and lead the United Nations ICT Task Force and is the founder of the Fudacion Costa Rica para el Desarrollo Sostenible in Costa Rica. In 2000, President Figueres joined the World Economic Forum and became its first CEO in 2003, where he strengthened global corporate ties to social and governmental sectors by identifying common long-term interests.

José María is currently managing partner of IJ Partners SA, a boutique private wealth management firm in Geneva. Prior to this, he was the CEO of CONCORDIA 21, an organisation based in Spain which promote development and democratic values around the world. 

José María holds an Industrial Engineering Degree from US Military Academy at West Point, and a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Louis Bowen
Independent and Non-executive Director

Louis Bowen is chairman and managing director of Asia Capital Management Limited.  He has been in the private equity and venture capital business in Asia since 1981.  Prior to that, he spent nine years with Citicorp in New York including four years responsible for their Corporate Finance activities in the Asia-Pacific region from 1977 to 1981.

In his 30 years of private equity and investment banking in Asia, Louis has been responsible for over 50 investments in a range of industries and countries. He has also advised a number of companies on cross-border corporate finance transactions.  He currently serves on the boards of several companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

He was a co-founder of the Hong Kong Venture Capital Association and is a member of the World Presidents’ Organization.  He is currently on the Board of Governors of the Wharton Alumni Association of Hong Kong and is on the Board of Advisors of the Arkansas World Trade Center.  He is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative and founded the Asia Center for Katrina Redevelopment. As an amateur mountaineer, he has climbed many of the world’s mountains, including the “Seven Summits.”

Louis received an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School and has a BA in Economics from the University of Arkansas.  

Sim Lim
Independent and Non-executive Director

In his 27 years of global banking experience spanning the US, Saudi Arabia and Asia, Sim Lim has spent the bulk of his career in the Asia region. 

Sim joined as DBS Singapore Country Head in 2010, he is also the chairman of DBS Asset Management Singapore and serves on the board of DBS Vickers. 

 Prior to joining DBS, Sim was the President and CEO of Citigroup Global Markets Japan Inc, a position he held from 2008 to 2009. During this time, Sim was also a board member of Citigroup Japan Holdings Corp. From April 2007 to June 2008, he was Citigroup Country Officer, Hong Kong and also Chairman of Citibank Hong Kong. During his tenure, he managed the Citigroup Hong Kong country franchise, including developing the strategy for Hong Kong’s markets and banking franchise, and providing support to the consumer and wealth management businesses. Between October 2003 and March 2007, Sim was regional head of emerging markets sales and trading for the Asia-Pacific, based in Singapore. During this period, he was also the non-executive Chairman of Citibank Berhad Malaysia.

Sim was a Japanese government Monbusho scholar and graduated from Yokohama National University in Japan in 1983.

Sim believes that "social enterprise investment is a new class of assets. The goal here is to help raise funds for projects that serves the under-served, the ability to give small projects an opportunity to get up and run. As we believe in the purpose of these projects, it must also be economically viable and self sustaining in its own right. We also aim to give our investors a fair return".


Sook-Yee Tai
Non-executive Director

Sook-Yee Tai has extensive experience in family businesses, property development, governance, investments and accounting. 

Sook-Yee is the head of group strategies and investments at IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group. A 4th generation family business owned by the Tsao Family, Sook Yee joined in 2007 and heads the Chairman’s Office and has overall responsible for strategies and investments. She is now part of a larger team working to transform the family business to an organization that will support the family’s vision of building a long term sustainable business.   

Prior to joining IMC, she had more than ten years experience with another family business involved in property development, construction and building materials, in the area of governance and investments as the Country Director in Malaysia, for a global leader in heavy building materials supply. 

Sook Yee is a qualified accountant and spent more than 8 years with a leading accounting firm in Malaysia and New York.  She also spent a few years in an investment bank.  




Yvonne Li
CEO, Co-founder, non-independent Executive Director

Yvonne Li is a co-founder and CEO of Avantage Ventures. She founded Avantage Ventures to bridge the information and funding gaps between social entrepreneurs and investors in Asia.