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Group of Directors and Consultants

We’re proud to partner with people and organizations deeply aligned with our mission.

Batara Eto

Director

Batara is co-founder and managing partner of East Ventures, one of Asia’s most active early-stage investors. Previously, Batara co-founded and served as CTO of Mixi, a Japanese social network and game developer that he helped to make public. East Ventures made its first investment in 2010, and it recently raised its 8th fund, a seed-stage fund focused on digital companies emerging in the post-lockdown aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Batara has a degree in computer science, and he speaks English, Japanese and Indonesian.

Alex Turnbull

Director

Alex was CIO at Keshik Capital, a multi-strategy fund based in Singapore and now runs a family office. Previously, Alex worked at leading global investment banks and hedge funds. He has close to two decades of experience managing multi-asset portfolios and investing in public and private corporate securities and derivatives. Alex also conducts research on energy and security with the Australian National University and has published in top journals. Alex has a degree in economics, and he speaks English and Mandarin.

Roland Yau

Director

Roland is the Managing Partner of CoCoon Ignite Ventures, a venture capital fund focusing on investments in early-stage technologies. In this role, Roland has led investments in companies including Cafe X, Soundbrenner, and GoBee Bike. Roland is also an active advisor to portfolio companies, large corporations, founders, and other venture capital funds. Prior to establishing CoCoon Ignite Ventures, Roland worked on corporate financing, deal structuring, and M&A at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, an international law firm. Roland has degrees in biology and law, and he speaks English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.

Vesna McCreery

Director

Vesna is a risk professional with 25 years of experience. She began her career in banking and has overseen global teams and projects in regulatory compliance, reputational risk, and due diligence. Vesna is a Managing Director in London at a growth-stage US technology company that provides compliance solutions to banks.

Michael Smith Jr.

Adviser & Investor

Michael works at AWS in a global role and used to be a CTO, CPO, and VC firm partner. Over the past 20 years, he has held senior roles at Yahoo and BEA Systems (bought by Oracle). An engineer and product manager by background, he has invested in multiple category-leading startups.

Alex Sifnoitis

Adviser - Operations

Alex is a seasoned investor in and adviser to early- and growth-stage companies in Asia, Europe and North America. In his role as an adviser, he leverages 20 years of experience in operations and supply chain management to help teams grow, improve efficiency and increase profit. Previously, he founded one of Greece’s leading consulting firms, and he was COO for EMEA at TMF Group, a global corporate services firm. Alex has degrees in economics, logistics and supply chain management and is a Six Sigma black belt. He is fluent in English, Greek and French.

TiangLimFoo

Tiang Lim Foo

Adviser - Growth

Tiang Lim is the Co-Founder and Partner of seed fund Forge Ventures. Previously he was the Head of Asia for Evernote and Partner at Seedplus, a Singapore-based seed fund. Over the past decade, Tiang Lim has invested in multiple category-leading startups and used his expertise in growth to help with their development. He currently sits on the board of Qoala, a Sequoia-backed fintech firm.

Riyaz Moorani

Adviser & Investor

Riyaz is an entrepreneur and technology consultant with an emphasis on optimizing operations. Prior to Lanturn, Riyaz co-founded several companies and sold them in Hong Kong and Singapore. His experience ranges from telecom, travel, and music in several countries including Canada, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Most recently, in 2010 he co-founded a luxury villa management and marketing business covering properties in SE Asia and turned it into the leading villa management company in the region before exiting in a sale in 2018.