KC

Kenneth Chew

Deep Tech Early Stage Venture Investor, Wharton MBA

San Francisco Bay Area

Education

Work Experience

  • Director

    2023

  • Associate Director

    2019 - 2023

  • Venture Principal

    2018 - 2019

  • Member

    2022

    Village Forecasting Club is a community of diverse people who are interested in learning about and solving some of the most impactful problems together. Members range from brain surgeons to tech executives and Mount Everest climbers.

  • Strategy Advisor and Managing Director (SEA), Strategy & Investments

    2016 - 2018

    Advising the Chairman and deal-making in the areas of Agriculture (Smart/Hi-Tech Farming) and Chemicals in Asia-Pacific. Worked with Noroo's owners to build their strategic investments business, with a focus on venture investments in Southeast Asia.

2015 - 2016

  • Co Founder

    2015 - 2016

    Moved from Singapore to Silicon Valley and co-founded a consumer tech startup working on two platforms, raising $500,000 in angel and seed-stage venture capital: PIF is Tinder for Networking - for people in the tech startup space (https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/12/pif-is-tinder-for-networking-entrepreneurs/) Qanopy is a Quora with video-based responses to Questions https://www.techinasia.com/talk/online-panel-singaporean-founders-silicon-valley

  • General Manager, Singapore

    2013 - 2015

    Spearheaded the 70-year old Noroo Group's penetration into Southeast Asia. Established 2 JVs with Singapore-based partners for technology development and testing of new agricultural systems and for trading of agricultural produce.

  • Area Director, South Korea

    2010 - 2013

    • Established the EDB's presence in Seoul in 2010, achieving foreign direct investment pipelines exceeding US$100 mil. • Worked closely with Korean companies and business-owners to shape their business plans and growth strategies for their companies in Singapore and Southeast Asia. • Built an effective network of in-market partners, including top executives at Private Equity & Venture Capital firms, Securities firms & Investment Banks, Private Wealth Management firms, and top-tier Consulting firms.

  • Assistant Director

    2009 - 2010

    • Formulated strategies and policies for the attraction and engagement of successful business-owners, entrepreneurs and HNIs from North Asia to invest in Singapore and leverage Singapore’s strengths to facilitate their business expansion into Southeast Asia, leading to value-added foreign direct investments. • Served as Lead Secretariat on government-wide Strategy Steering Committees and was the representative on the EDB's UK Country Desk.

  • Senior Officer, Marine & Offshore Group (Transport Engineering Cluster)

    2006 - 2009

    Lead Analyst and Industry Liaison for the Marine & Offshore sector. • Anchored both green and brownfield investment projects (exceeding US$150 mil) from leading companies in the marine equipment sector, such as Rolls-Royce Marine, Wartsila, MAN, Berg Propulsion, etc. • Led the team in establishing the Marine & Offshore Strategy Playbook (based on the GE 5 Framework), for Singapore, actively monitoring technology and vessel building trends, and identifying high-potential sub-sectors within the sectoral value chain that Singapore should focus on in order to ensure the continued growth of capital-intensive and innovation-intensive activities in Singapore. • Managed key accounts of leading companies in the Marine & Offshore sector, working closely with Country Managers, Managing Directors and Business Development teams to formulate ideas to grow their Singapore operations. Promoted Singapore’s strengths as a Marine & Offshore Hub for the region, and leveraged the EDB’s range of incentive and grant schemes to support their business plans. • Anchored both green and brownfield investment projects from leading companies in the marine equipment sector, such as the Rolls-Royce Marine Global HQ, Wartsila Ship Design Centre of Competence, MAN Regional Distribution HQ, Berg Propulsion Manufacturing Plant and Regional HQ, Becker Marine Rudder Design and R&D Centre, ABB Centre of Competence (Drilling Drives). • Spearheaded inter-governmental agency collaborations to develop Singapore’s infrastructure and research capabilities to drive the growth of innovation within the Singapore’s Marine & Offshore sector. Keppel Offshore & Marine’s R&D Centre was established as a result, with multi-disciplinary research tie-ups with the Nanyang Technological University and the National University of Singapore.