◥ Biographies
Team
Gautam Godhwani is an entrepreneur and investor with 25+ years of experience in the technology industry. He is currently a partner at Green Era Capital which invests in early stage technology companies. Previously, he was Co-Founder & CEO of Simply Hired, a job search engine with 30 million monthly unique visitors serving 300+ companies in the Fortune 1000. Simply Hired was acquired by Recruit Holdings. Before Simply Hired, he was Co-Founder & CEO of AtWeb, a Web tools company with one million small business customers, which was acquired by Netscape/AOL. Gautam also co-founded India Community Center, an NGO which has raised US$40 million in funding and operates several facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area, serving the community with 500+ programs and events annually. Gautam has previously held positions at Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Microsoft.
Jayesh was a cofounder of Sony Entertainment Television, a major television network of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which he successfully exited in 2013. He was a Managing Partner for Jungle Ventures Fund I and II, a Pan-Asian Venture Capital technology fund based in Singapore. Jayesh is on the Boards of Sanctum Wealth Management, One Animation, and Milaap. He is on the Advisory Board of Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital in Bihar. He is on the Investment Committees of Aavishkaar India II Fund, Aavishkaar Africa Fund and Aavishkaar Frontier Fund, which are social impact venture funds. He spent over 12 years at IBM in Houston and Singapore and was part of the team that brought IBM back to India. Jayesh is a published author of What Shall We Do With All This Money? Inspiring Perspectives on Wealth.
Neha Poddar has 12+ years of experience in financial markets spanning private equity, fixed income, credit, and public equities. Previously, she was a director of investments at JI Capital Partners, a Southeast Asia focused impact investment Private Equity fund based in Singapore. Before JI Capital Partners, Neha was an equity derivatives trader at Bank of America Merrill Lynch covering Southeast Asia and India. Neha started her career at Lehman Brothers and rose to become Vice President, fixed income structuring, at Nomura after it acquired Lehman’s Asia operations. Neha holds an MBA (High Honors) from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay. Neha is a recipient of the prestigious Siebel Scholarship.
Vaishali Cooper, is a seasoned finance professional with over 25 years of experience in working with technology-based startups in Asia and Silicon Valley. She currently runs her advisory firm Venture Leap, which works with early-stage technology start-ups and Venture Capital Firms in Singapore. Her professional journey has focused on building teams, fund-raising & M&A, running finance operations, driving initiatives and process improvements across the organizations that she has been a part of. Previously, she was CFO at Jungle Ventures, one of Asia's leading Venture Capital firms where she was responsible for running operating functions covering finance, accounting, compliance, fund administration, taxation, legal and HR operations. Prior to Jungle, she has been CFO at various early-stage technology start-ups including PubMatic (recently listed on the NSDQ: PUBM), Komli Media, eBay India and Baazee. She is a Chartered Accountant from KPMG India.
Mark is a hands-on finance professional with a wealth of experience encompassing finance, fund accounting, compliance, and fund operations. His professional journey has been dedicated to optimizing operations and harnessing technology to revolutionize finance functions, driving efficiency that continuously enhances a company's value proposition.
Previously, Mark served as the Finance and Operations Manager at Circulate Capital, a globally renowned impact venture capital firm. In this role, he assumed responsibility for all financial and operational matters within the organization, spanning diverse locations such as India, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and the US. Mark excelled in aligning financial reporting, showcasing his remarkable ability to navigate complex international financial landscapes.
Before his tenure at Circulate Capital, Mark held key positions at prominent financial institutions, including BNY Mellon, IQEQ, CITCO and UOB. His multifaceted experience in these roles has solidified his reputation as a seasoned financial leader and strategist.
Ben Teh was previously employed at Damson Capital, a Singapore headquartered impact VC fund focusing on Circular Economy. He has also worked on Private Equity Investments and Fixed Income Securitization at Azalea Investment Management, a fully owned subsidiary of Temasek and at GIC in their Fixed Income Data team. Ben was previously a Naval Officer in the Singapore Armed Forces where he attained a scholarship to complete his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Singapore.
Kirthikaa has 5+ years of diverse experience in auditing and financial services. In her previous role as an Audit Specialist at DBS, she focused on credit process audits, AML/CFT & Sanctions-related process reviews, and cross-border assessments for International Branches. Prior to that, she rose to serve as a Senior Audit Associate at V.P. Kumaran & Co, leading SGX-listed group audits, managing engagements from planning to completion, and preparing Audit Committee materials.
She also had experience as an Audit Associate at Lau Chin Huat & Co, where she worked on various audit engagements and financial statement preparations. Additionally, she gained valuable insights into tax-related matters during her internships at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. Kirthikaa's experience encompasses risk-based audit methodologies, internal control testing, financial reporting standards compliance, and client service in both the public and private sectors.
Hithalli Chawla, a dynamic professional with a background in international transfer pricing and advisory, honed her expertise during her tenure at Ernst & Young (EY). She clinched the prestigious EY Singapore Young Tax Professional of the Year Award in 2022.
Driven by a passion for sustainable finance, Hithalli furthered her knowledge by obtaining a Certificate in ESG Investing from the CFA Institute in 2023. Complementing her professional achievements, Hithalli holds a double major in Economics and Public Policy & Global Affairs from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.
Advisers
Josh Balk is the vice president of farm animal protection for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) farm animal division. In addition, he is a cofounder of Eat Just, a food technology company. Balk is known for leading successful legislative campaigns for farm animals, along with his work with food companies in enacting animal welfare policies that include eliminating gestation crates for breeding pigs and battery cages for chickens. He is also known for his work with the food industry to shift its focus onto plant-based foods. His work has been covered by the New York Times, CNN, NPR, The Guardian, and numerous books.
Lewis Bollard leads Open Philanthropy’s strategy for Farm Animal Welfare. Prior to joining Open Philanthropy, he worked as Policy Advisor & International Liaison to the CEO at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Prior to that, he was a litigation fellow at HSUS, a law student, and an associate consultant at Bain & Company. He has a B.A. from Harvard University in Social Studies and a JD from Yale Law School.
Bruce oversees GFI’s global strategy, working with the U.S. leadership team and international managing directors to ensure that GFI is maximally effective at implementing programs that deliver mission-focused results. Bruce is a TED Fellow, Y Combinator alum, and popular speaker on food innovation. He has penned op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Wired, and many other publications. He has represented GFI on the TED Radio Hour, New Yorker Radio Hour, Ezra Klein Show, ReCode Decode, and other programs and podcasts. Bruce’s 2019 TED talk has been viewed two million times and translated into dozens of languages. He graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown Law and also holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University and the London School of Economics.
Ashmeet is the Founder and Chief Engineer of Engineering Capital. His experience includes managing venture capital funds, serving on Boards of Directors, and helping build the industry leading products VMware ESX Server and Silicon Graphics WebFORCE. Before becoming a venture capitalist, Ashmeet was an operating executive with hands-on operating experience as a CEO and entrepreneur. Ashmeet came to venture from VMware, where he ran product management for their flagship product—ESX Server. Before VMware, Ashmeet was the Founder and CEO of Sidana Systems, Inc. He started his career at Hewlett Packard and Silicon Graphics as an engineer.
Ashmeet received an MBA from Wharton, MS in Computer Science from Stanford University and a BS in Computer Science summa cum laude from USC. In his spare-time he can be found planning his second trip to Mt. Everest.
Hon Mun has over thirty years of investment, operations, and board level experience with PE funds, family offices and start-ups. For more than a decade and a half, he was based in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul and China performing Post M&A integration and turning-around businesses for Temasek Holdings and family-owned Asia businesses. He held senior positions in Microsoft, Nokia, Philips, Temasek Holdings associates and family-owned business. He is currently the Chief Strategy Officer advising the Chairman of a Korean chemical company on its long-term ESG investment strategy, the COO of a Philanthropy and Impact Venture Fund and a keen investor in the alternative protein space.
Gary has more than 20 years of experience leading high-performance digital marketing companies internationally representing some of the globe's most innovative brands. He founded an award-winning mobile advertising tech company and led it through nine years of record profits, four acquisitions, and a successful exit — all with no outside capital. Gary has lived and worked in San Francisco, New York, Penang, Hong Kong, and São Paulo. He is now committed and focused on supporting bold entrepreneurs that are dedicated to removing animals from the global food system. Purple Orange Ventures invests in early-stage teams anywhere in the world working on this mission. EVIG Founders builds companies in Europe with exceptional scientists to create solutions that displace animal-based food products.