Gobi Partners | Managing Director

Meet Hisham — Managing Director at Gobi Partners, where he leads early-stage and growth investments across Southeast Asia. Before joining Gobi, he co-founded Amsara, a blockchain startup pioneering the tokenisation of real-world assets. His career spans global finance and private equity, including his role at Baring Private Equity Asia (now part of EQT Partners), where he helped execute major deals such as the landmark US$1.6 billion sale of Interplex to Blackstone.

Hisham also served as Senior Portfolio Manager at Bank Negara Malaysia, overseeing multi-asset portfolios across Asia, the US, and Europe, and has held investment and advisory roles at ADV Partners, Navis Capital Partners, PwC, and the Strategic Investment Group. An MIT Sloan MBA and Georgetown graduate, he is also a CFA charterholder and a CPA, bringing both depth and breadth of expertise to the table.

Qualgro | General Partner

Weisheng Neo is a General Partner at Qualgro, where he leads the investment team with a focus on SaaS, FinTech, and EdTech. Since joining in 2018, he has spearheaded investments in several regional market leaders including EngageRocket, ErudiFi, Convosight, and Accredify.

Before Qualgro, Weisheng built broad international experience across leadership, strategy, and investment. He was Head of Southeast Asia at upGrad, a Global Leadership Associate at Alibaba Group in China, and worked in strategy consulting with The Parthenon Group in India and Singapore. He also gained exposure to global finance as an Investment Banking Summer Associate at Goldman Sachs.

RHL/TalentCorp | Founding Partner/Director

Raja Hamzah is the Founding Partner of RHL Ventures, a Southeast Asian investment firm specializing in private investments. Raja Hamzah is also on the boards of TalentCorp Malaysia and Move Digital, contributing to Malaysia’s talent and digital sector.

1% Advisory & Coaching | Founder

Yeoh Chen Chow (CC) is the Co-Founder of One PerCent Advisory & Coaching (1% Advisory & Coaching), where he provides advisory, consulting, executive and business coaching, keynote speaking, fireside chats, and workshops. Clients engage CC for both strategic insights and informal “coffee hour” mentoring.

CC brings extensive startup experience, having co-founded Fave and KFit, which were acquired by Pine Labs for USD 45 million. Along the way, he raised funds from nearly 20 investors, led 9 acquisitions, and has invested in 30+ startups across the region. With a career spanning consulting, MNCs, and startups, CC offers unique perspectives from both sides of the entrepreneurial journey. An Eisenhower Fellow and Cornell alumnus, he is also deeply committed to mentoring and youth empowerment.

Monk’s Hill Ventures | Founding Partner

Kuo-Yi Lim is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Monk’s Hill Ventures, a leading early-stage venture capital firm in Southeast Asia. Based in Singapore, he has backed standout startups including Ninja Van, Padlet, KKday, Rainforest, UrbanMetry, GoGet, and Hypefast. Previously, he was CEO of Infocomm Investments, a US$200M global venture fund, where he led investments in global successes such as Twilio (NYSE:TWLO), Quid, and Gengo. Earlier in his career, Kuo-Yi co-founded SportsHook and held key roles at startups like Encentuate (acquired by IBM) and Reputation Technologies.

Beyond venture investing, Kuo-Yi actively shapes Singapore’s innovation ecosystem as a board member of Great Eastern Holdings, SG Growth Capital, and SVCA, and serves on statutory boards including IMDA, HPB, and IPOS. Holding a bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD in Electrical Engineering from MIT, Kuo-Yi combines deep technical expertise with strategic leadership, making him a driving force in technology and entrepreneurship across Asia.

500 Global | General Partner

Shahril Ibrahim is a seasoned venture capitalist with over US$400M in technology investments and a strong track record of building bridges between Asia and Silicon Valley. As the Founding Head of Khazanah Americas, he established the fund’s presence in the US, evaluating over 400 private companies and 100 funds annually, and backing high-growth opportunities in enterprise, cloud, SaaS, and consumer tech.

Today, as General Partner at 500 Global, Shahril continues to invest in fast-growing technology companies while shaping the future of innovation across the region.With a background that spans NASA Ames, Boss Films, and multiple startups including Wokitalk, Shahril combines deep technical expertise with entrepreneurial experience. He has served on boards and advisory roles with firms such as General Fusion, The Hive Southeast Asia, and Rhythm & Hues, and remains passionate about deep technologies like AI, robotics, blockchain, and autonomous systems. Armed with a double degree in Engineering & Economics from Harvey Mudd College and a Master’s in Computer Science from USC, Shahril brings rare insights into how disruptive technologies will transform industries and the future of work.

Cradle | CEO

Norman is the Group CEO of Cradle Fund Sdn. Bhd., a role he assumed on 1 June 2022. He first joined Cradle in September 2020 as Head of Corporate Services.

He began his career as an auditor with KPMG and, over the past 12 years, has held various senior roles in finance, accounting, and management across multinational oil & gas companies, local businesses, and a government agency. Norman holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Queensland, Australia, and a degree in Software Engineering from Multimedia University, Malaysia.

TalentCorp | COO

Siva Kumeren A Narayanan is the Group Chief Operating Officer (GCOO) at TalentCorp, a role he has held since July 2021. With 28 years of leadership experience spanning both the private and public sectors, Siva specializes in digital technology, product development, talent building, organizational improvement, and human resources.

As GCOO, he plays a key role in translating corporate vision into actionable projects, collaborating with business leaders and policymakers to drive impactful initiatives. He also leads flagship programmes such as the LIFE AT WORK Awards (LAWA), showcasing his commitment to advancing workplace transformation and talent development in Malaysia.

NCIA | CEO

Mohd Haris Kader Sultan is the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), where he leads efforts to drive sustainable economic growth, regional development, and investment across the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER). With extensive experience in strategy, investment, and public–private collaboration, he is committed to transforming the NCER into a dynamic hub for innovation, talent, and inclusive prosperity.

Jelawang | Head of Transformation

Radin Faizal Arif is Senior Vice President of Investments at Khazanah Nasional, where he leads initiatives under Dana Impak to strengthen Malaysia’s venture capital ecosystem. He also serves as Secretariat Head of the Malaysia Venture Capital Roadmap (MVCR 2024–2030) on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, coordinating national efforts to develop a robust policy, funding and regulatory framework for venture capital.

He is also Head of Transformation at Jelawang Capital, Malaysia’s National Fund-of-Funds, where he oversees key programmes such as the Emerging Managers Programme (EMP) and Regional Managers Initiative (RMI). These initiatives support the growth of Malaysian fund managers, attract global partners and mobilise catalytic capital into promising ventures.

Radin was previously seconded to the Ministry of Finance and co-led Malaysia’s pioneering US$1.3 billion Sustainability Sukuk issuance and advised on the restructuring of strategic national infrastructure assets. Radin holds a double degree in Commerce and Economics from the Australian National University.

Skyechip | CTO/Cofounder

Chee Hak Teh (郑誌学) brings over 20 years of expertise in the semiconductor industry. He began his career with Intel, spending 12 years in Malaysia and the US in various technical roles, contributing to a wide range of IPs, microprocessors, chipsets, and SoC products. He later joined Altera (now Intel), where he served as Principal Engineer and Chief Architect for FPGA products. His areas of specialization include system memory hierarchy, 2.5D/3D interconnects and chiplets, computing and heterogeneous acceleration, as well as multiple generations of high-speed interconnect protocols such as DDR, PCIe, USB, SATA, and FSB.

Chee Hak earned his BSEE with First Class Honours from the University of Science, Malaysia (USM). He is the holder of more than 40 US patents and has published over a dozen papers globally.

Ninja Van MY | Country Head

Lin Zheng is the Chief Executive Officer of Ninja Van Malaysia, where his leadership reflects the company’s commitment to operational excellence and talent development. He first joined Ninja Van as Vice President of Regional Operations, overseeing warehouse functions across six key markets: Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand. In 2018, he transitioned to Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Malaysia, where he directed day-to-day operations before being appointed CEO.
Prior to Ninja Van, Lin Zheng built his career in management consulting and telecommunications. He is a Cum Laude graduate of Singapore Management University, holding a Bachelor of Business Management and Accountancy.

Xendit MY

Zian is the Chief Product Officer of Xendit Malaysia, where he leads the charge in architecting high-scale, secure payment systems that power thousands of businesses across Southeast Asia. With nearly a decade of experience spanning software development, data analytics, and capital markets, he brings a rare blend of technical depth and business acumen to the fintech space.

As the co-founder and founding CTO of Payex, he spearheaded product innovations such as recurring payments and seamless delivery integrations—transformative features that helped scale the company from just 2 merchants to over 4,000 in under four years. His track record of building reliable, scalable systems is underpinned by hands-on leadership and a commitment to purposeful innovation.

Collektr

Adlin is currently the Founder of Collektr, a livestreaming community marketplace that provides their global userbase of over 50,000 with a safe place to indulge in their passion for collectible items to buy, sell and trade. Adlin boasts a multitude of achievements and experiences from his previous roles as the Managing Director of Endeavor Malaysia, CEO of Payfo and COO of Max Money. Adlin Yusman holds Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at University of Melbourne. With a robust skill set that includes e-commerce, business development, advertising, management, social-media and more…Adlin aspires to scale his business to unicorn status and join the ranks of global tech stars.

Endeavor Malaysia | Managing Director

Shan Li Tay is the Managing Director of Endeavor Malaysia, where she drives the mission of supporting and accelerating the growth of high-impact entrepreneurs. With over 25 years of experience spanning corporate leadership and startups, she brings deep expertise in business and growth strategy, particularly in the technology sector.

A Chartered Accountant by training, Shan Li spent over 15 years in banking and finance before venturing into entrepreneurship. She co-founded Babydash, one of Malaysia’s pioneering e-commerce platforms for the mum and baby industry, and founded Swipeless, a singles platform that connects people in real life. She is also a Partner at ScaleUp Malaysia, helping nurture and invest in promising startups.

BFM Radio | Producer & Broadcaster

Roshan Kanesan is a Producer and Broadcaster at BFM 89.9, Malaysia’s leading business and current affairs station. In his second stint with BFM, he focuses on the startup, SME, and entrepreneur ecosystem through the Enterprise team, hosting shows like Open for Business—spotlighting entrepreneurs and business leaders—and Enterprise Explores, a daily program that helps listeners make sense of the ever-changing world of business.

Previously, Roshan was a Licensed Financial Planner and HRDC-Certified Trainer with Jirnexu Advisory. Earlier in his career, he hosted flagship shows including The Breakfast Grille, The Morning Brief, and Ringgit & Sense. Beyond BFM, he also creates digital content and moderates events, panels, and discussions.

Digital News Asia

Karamjit Singh first joined The Edge, Malaysia’s premier business publication, in 1995 and covered a number of areas before specialising in the telecommunications sector.

In 2000, with the increasing convergence of computer and telecommunications technologies and the Multimedia Super Corridor’s continued expansion, he was transferred to the weekly’s nascent netv pullout. Within seven months, he was appointed editor of the highly-regarded pullout, a position he held until March, 2012. For five years, he was also editor of a bi-monthly pullout, SMEs Going Global, in The Edge.

Over the course of his career, Karamjit’s name has become synonymous with netv. He has come to be regarded by industry and peers as one of the nation’s most respected journalists and pundits, and is frequently invited to speak or moderate at conferences and roundtables.

Karamjit founded Digital News Asia with a vision that media should play its role as the Fourth Estate, and on the belief that timely, insightful and analytical coverage can help the tech ecosystem in South-East Asia, especially Malaysia, grow and develop.