OUR TEAM

ADB Ventures is backed by a team of veteran venture capital professionals and experienced hires with its own streamlined independent investment process and investment committee.
FUND INVESTMENT COMMITTEE
Arumugam Aramvalarthanathan

Partner, GestAlt Network

Paul Santos
Managing Partner,
Wavemaker Partners
Przemek Prutis 
Principal Risk Management
Specialist, ADB

Hyunjoo Je

Managing Partner,
Envisioning Partners

TEAM
Blendy Rom 
Senior Operations Assistant
Charles Navarro
Investment Specialist
Connor McGuinness 

Project & Knowledge
Management Specialist 

Daniel Hersson

Senior Fund Manager
Co-founder of ADB Ventures

Dominic Mellor 

Principal Investment Specialist,  
Co-founder of ADB Ventures

Howard Brooke 

Senior Legal Advisor

Jieying Shi

Investment Associate

Joseph Bergin

Unit Head – ADB Ventures

Jugnu Pati 
Investment Specialist
 Minsoo Kim
Investment Specialist
Nattasuda Anusonadisai
Communications Specialist 
Qiyong Cao

Senior Investment Specialist

Regine Cokieng
Portfolio Management Associate
Saumya Kailasapathy
Fund Administration & Investor Relations Manager, Co-founder of ADB Ventures
Yichu Zhang
Operations Associate
Kyla Matias 
Environment Safeguards Consultant
Melissa Navarra 
Social Safeguards Consultant
ADVISORS
Jonathan Starbecker
Advisor
Klaus Felsinger
Advisor
Kunal Upadhyay 
Advisor, Senior Fund Manager
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Aru
Arumugam Aramvalarthanathan

Partner, GestAlt Network

Aru is Co-founder and Partner at GestAlt Network, a Bangalore-based private investment partnership. He is also mentor, board and IC member at CIIE.CO and the Bharat Fund platform as well as IC member at Ascent Capital. He has 25+ years of investing experience, including as Asia Head of Rothschild’s PE business. Aru studied at BITS, Pilani and IIM, Ahmedabad.

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Paul Santos
Managing Partner, Wavemaker Partners
B. Paul Santos is Managing Partner at Wavemaker Partners, Southeast Asia’s go-to early-stage VC for enterprise and deep tech. He led the establishment of the Singapore-headquartered Southeast Asia (SEA) office in 2012. 120+ out of the 140+ (85%) portfolio companies the firm has invested in since 2012 are in enterprise & deep tech. Wavermaker’s portfolio includes startups in software, AI and security as well as precision agriculture, cleantech, additive manufacturing and laser communications. Recent exits include TradeGecko’s acquisition by Intuit, Moka’s and Coins.ph’s acquisitions by Gojek, Red Dot Payment by PayU/Naspers and Wavecell by 8×8. Prior to starting Wavemaker, Paul was an entrepreneur who co-founded 6 companies and sold 3. He started his career as a product manager at P&G.
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Przemek Prutis
Principal Risk Management Specialist, ADB

Przemek is a Principal Risk Management Specialist at ADB, focusing on private equity investments. He has almost 20 years of experience related to risk management in private equity and the VC space. Prior to joining ADB, Przemek worked at Morgan Stanley and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London focusing on deals in Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia.

Hyunjoo
Hyunjoo Je
Managing Partner at Envisioning Partners

Hyunjoo Je is Managing Partner at Envisioning Partners, an impact investing VC based in Seoul, Korea. Envisioning Partners was established in 2021 by key investment professionals of Yellowdog, one of the pioneer impact VCs in Korea. Hyunjoo, prior to Envisioning Partners, led Yellowdog as CEO and used to work at Carlyle Asia Buyout Fund, Credit Suisse and McKinsey & Company. Envisioning Partners invests in innovative startups, ranging from Pre-Series A to Series B, in four key impact domains – (1) climate change, (2) wellness, (3) education, and (4) future of work. Envisioning Partners has invested in more than 30 companies in Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and the US.

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Blendy Rom
Senior Operations Assistant
Blendy supports ADB Ventures’ logistics, administration, and coordination for the team. Blendy has over 3 years of experience in project management and processing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
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Charles Navarro
Investment Specialist
Coy is a shareholder in two electric vehicle companies in the Philippines, and an angel investor in a FinTech and online education startup. Under ADB’s Energy for All Initiative, he has been providing business acceleration and investment facilitation support to clean energy companies in Asia since 2011. Recently, Coy began hosting a niche podcast called “Entrepreneurs on the Edge” where he picks the brains of leading entrepreneurs in the clean energy sector.
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Connor McGuinness
Project & Knowledge Management Specialist
Connor supports the fundraising, investor relations, and impact reporting functions of ADB Ventures. Connor brings over a decade’s experience with the Australian Government, United Nations, Multilateral Development Banks, and management consulting implementing high-risk, high-value projects across the Indo/Asia-Pacific. Connor’s recent roles have focused on economic development, business climate reform, infrastructure and trade, capital markets, and venture capital investment at a national and regional level in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific. Connor has a BA (International Relations) and a Master of Strategic Studies from the Australian National University.
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Daniel Hersson

Senior Fund Manager
Co-founder of ADB Ventures

Daniel co-manages ADB Ventures and oversees its investment activities. He has 20 years’ experience with investments and innovation in the climate and energy sector. Prior to ADB Ventures, Daniel managed a multi-year program to support climate tech startups, accelerators, and VC investors across Asia. Previously, he was Director of Strategy at BP Ventures, a leading global climate tech and energy-focused corporate VC. Daniel also helped set-up Infuse Ventures, India’s first early-stage climate tech VC fund, and two climate tech startups. Daniel holds a MSc in Economics from London School of Economics.
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Dominic Mellor
Principal Investment Specialist
Co-founder of ADB Ventures
Dominic was part of the founding team that set-up and currently co-manages ADB Ventures. Prior to ADB Ventures, Dominic launched the Mekong Business Initiative (MBI), which promoted entrepreneurship in emerging ASEAN economies. MBI designed and operated corporate innovation and accelerator programs that connected agritech, cleantech, and fintech startups with corporates to pilot technology solutions. Dominic has varied financial sector experience in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific. He has a MSc in Economics from Oxford University and a BSc in Mathematics from Warwick University.
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Howard Brooke
Senior Legal Advisor
Howard has for the last twenty years worked as a counsel in ADB’s legal department. For six of those years, he has headed ADB’s growing Private Sector Legal Team, acting as Assistant General Counsel. Prior to joining ADB, Howard worked as General Counsel in two significant Asian project companies, first Bangkok Skytrain, and secondly Manila North Tollways. Howard joined Bangkok Skytrain after more than 10 years with the US company, Bechtel Inc., during which time he held a variety of roles both in the company’s San Francisco and Asia offices.
Jieying
Jieying Shi
Investment Associate
Jieying supports ADB Ventures’ investments, fundraising, and investor relations. Previously, she worked at Zhonghe Capital in Beijing, covering cross-border M&As and product strategies with a focus on exchangeable bonds and private placements. Jieying is passionate about disruptive technology and aspires to be among the catalysts that will bring economic, social, and environmental benefits to society. A Schwarzman Scholar, she holds a Master of Management from Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, and a BA in Geography and Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
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Joseph Bergin
Unit Head – ADB Ventures

Joseph Bergin is ADB Ventures’ Unit Head, Equity Investment Unit Head at ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD), and Advisor at PSOD handling the Bank’s direct equity investments. He joined ADB in June 2020. 

Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Bergin was Head of M&A at McBride plc and was Chief Investment Officer of an African Private Equity Fund. Earlier in his career Joseph worked for AstraZeneca plc and 3i Group plc in the UK and Germany. He is an experienced Private Equity investor and has worked with a number of businesses to assist them grow their shareholder value.

Joseph attended the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom and graduated with distinction from the Sloan Masters programme in Leadership and Strategy at London
Business School.

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Jugnu Pati
Investment Specialist
Jugnu brings more than 13 years of impact investing, and investment banking experience, having worked on both debt and equity deals with a focus on fintech and cleantech sectors. Prior to joining ADB Ventures, Jugnu was an Investment Director with BCP, leading the development of the impact-tech space in Asia. Previously, she worked as an Investment Officer at IFC, World Bank Group. Jugnu has a proven track record of investing in emerging and frontier markets in South and Southeast Asia, and extensive experience working with early-stage businesses. In addition to holding a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, she has an MBA from Xavier Institute of Management, India
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Minsoo Kim
Investment Specialist
Minsoo joins the ADB Ventures team as a Young Professional. He brings experience across different areas of the entrepreneurial ecosystem to the team, having been a founder, an operator, and an investor. Prior to joining ADB Ventures, Minsoo worked in the corporate development team at Top Tier Capital Partners, a leading venture capital-focused fund of funds in the U.S. Before that, he was part of the investment team at Capitoria, an early-stage venture capital firm, and an early business development team member at Lidya, a Nigerian fintech startup backed by investors such as Omidyar Network, Bamboo Capital, and Accion. Minsoo’s first foray into the tech scene was as a cofounder of Verlocal, a venture-backed SaaS company for activity providers based in San Francisco, and he has since been focused on helping early-stage companies grow. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Economy from the University of California at Berkeley and is proud to be a Golden Bear.
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Nattasuda Anusonadisai
Communications Specialist
Nattasuda brings over a decade of experience across multiple communications fields – journalism, documentary production, broadcasting, and campaigning in Asia-Pacific. Prior to ADB Ventures, Natt was part of the Associated Press (AP)’s team of investigative journalists whose articles led to the freeing of over 2,000 enslaved fishers and won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Services. Natt took part in an Emmy Award-nominated documentary production while co-directing gender equality short films that received several awards at international film festivals. She also set up a social enterprise focusing on waste management and recently led communications in emergencies and media engagement at an international NGO.
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Qiyong Cao
Senior Investment Specialist
Qiyong supports ADB Ventures’ investment activities in China. She has 15+ years of engineering, consulting, and venture capital experiences in the US and China across various environmental and cleantech fields. Previously she worked with Unicorn Capital, Tsing Capital, and China Greentech Initiative. Qiyong has deep knowledge and extensive experience in identifying, incubating, and promoting cleantech solutions, especially in the China market. She holds an MBA from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Iowa State University, and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University.
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Regine Cokieng
Portfolio Management Associate
Regine supports ADB Ventures’ portfolio, fund, and impact management activities, and also takes responsibility for investor reporting. She has over 10 years of experience in project financing, financial consulting, impact investing, and alternative investments, with a focus on distressed assets, real estate, and other equity investments. Prior to ADB, Regine worked for Ferrier Hodgson and was part of the pioneering team that set up the Philippines-based boutique investment firm Elite Union. A New Zealand ASEAN Scholar, she has a Master of Entrepreneurship from the University of Otago. She also holds a B.S. in Management Engineering from Ateneo de Manila University.
Saumya
Saumya Kailasapathy

Fund Administration
and Investor Relations Manager
Co-founder of ADB Ventures

Saumya was part of the founding team that set-up and currently manages ADB Ventures. She has 18+ years of experience in the financial industry including debt and equity transaction origination, execution and advisory; with the past 7 years focused on emerging markets and development financing within the Middle East, East Africa and Asia Pacific regions. Saumya also serves on the Board of two non-government organizations based in Uganda and London, supporting fundraising and operational strategy. 
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Yichu Zhang
Operations Associate

Yichu supports ADB Ventures’ investments, startups programs, and partnership management. Yichu has been working with ADB for the past five years to scale climate technology and innovation in Asia and the Pacific. Her work includes venture investment, innovation programs, and partnership building. Yichu brings experience working with Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, and startups on business development, market strategy, and product development. She holds a BA in Education and International Studies, and most recently, she graduated from the impact investing fellowship of the Asia Ventures Philanthropy Network.

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Kyla Matias
Environment Safeguards Consultant 
Kyla is an Environment Safeguards Consultant for ADB Ventures. Prior to joining ADB Ventures, she supported the operations of the ADB’s South Asia Department as an Environment Specialist. With more than 10 years of experience and expertise in environmental planning and management, she reviews the environmental and climate risks and impacts of ADB Venture’s prospective portfolio companies and provides guidance on environmental management. Previously, Kyla also worked for the University of the Philippines and the University of Tokyo, wherein she collaborated with academic institutions, government and non-government organisations, communities and private entities in Southeast Asia and Japan to strengthen local development planning, climate action, and disaster risk reduction and management. She holds a Master’s in Urban Planning and Policy Design from Politecnico di Milano, Italy and a Ph.D. in Urban Engineering from the University of Tokyo
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Melissa Navarra
Social Safeguards Consultant
Melis has over two decades of experience in involuntary eviction, resettlement, and housing prior to joining the ADB Ventures. During her years in the government, she designed, pioneered, and led government’s Participatory Resettlement Monitoring with “Community Building” in resettlement sites and led the participatory remedial interventions in 18 resettlement sites with 30,000 families. She has likewise worked with the World Bank and ADB as a Social Safeguards Specialist and with international foundations as a researcher for local and international projects leading to development-induced resettlement. Currently, Melis continues to work with the resettled families and the informal settler families through CSO and People’s Organization partners. Melis earned her Master’s in International Studies from Kobe University, Japan and her PhD from Wageningen University, The Netherlands. She has likewise published research on areas of social capital, food security, housing, and involuntary resettlement in the Philippine and Indonesia setting.
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Jonathan Starbecker
Advisor
Jonathan is a senior advisor to ADB Ventures and the Business Development Unit of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department. He has 15+ years of experience in investment banking, private equity and venture capital investing in the US, Asia, and Europe. He is a member of the core team that established ADB Ventures Fund 1, and is now focused on setting up Fund 2 (Venture Debt). Prior to his current advisory role with the ADB, Jonathan worked for Mitsubishi International, Bear Stearns, Morgan Stanley, and boutique investment firms in Hong Kong and emerging-market Asia. He holds both an MBA and a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University.
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Klaus Felsinger
Advisor

Klaus is an advisor to ADB Ventures and the Business Development Unit of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department. Previously, he provided advisory support for startups in Dubai and Singapore, and he worked as the Chief Financial Officer of MBC, the leading TV/Media group in the Middle East from 2007 to 2017. He also worked for the ADB from 2004 to 2007. Klaus has 10 years of investment banking experience in M&A and corporate finance with Merrill Lynch in Europe and Asia.

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Kunal Upadhyay 
Advisor, Senior Fund Manager
Kunal brings 15+ years of early-stage investing experience – having set-up investment platforms like CIIE.CO, Infuse Ventures and Bharat Fund in India with over $100mn AUM. In addition to his experience of investing across sectors like deep-tech and inclusion-tech, Kunal is a climate-tech specialist and has invested across various themes in climate-tech space ranging from mobility, renewables, energy-efficiency, waste-management, green-materials, among others in India. Kunal is an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras – and was recently awarded as Economic Times 40 under Forty. Kunal also serves on Government of India’s prestigious National Startup Advisory Council.