Board Of Directors and Advisers
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.