Executive Officers

Kwok On Yeung, 60
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Dr. Yeung has served on our board of directors since the Company’s incorporation on April 12, 2021.  Dr. Yeung has been the Executive President of Cathay Capital Group since 2020. In such role, he presides over the global management and evolution of the firm, spanning four continents and eight offices, by further exploring innovative business opportunities and models that push the boundaries of traditional investment practices and bring greater value to entrepreneurs, investors, management teams, partners and all in the Cathay ecosystem.  Since 2008, Dr. Yeung has sat on Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s executive committee as Senior Management Advisor. He has played a key role in enhancing Tencent’s organizational innovation, business transformation and leadership development in its last decade of rapid growth. He has built and led the “Tencent Consult” team that organizes insight sharing forums among CEOs and offers consulting services for Tencent’s key strategic partners. He also served as the Dean of TencentX since 2017, an executive learning platform offering integrated learning programs for 400⁺ CEOs from Tencent’s ecosystem. Dr. Yeung also served on the boards of directors of several public companies, including Country Garden Holdings Company Limited, a company listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange from 2014 to 2019, SITC International Holdings Company Limited, a company listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2021, Trina Solar Limited, a company listed in New York Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2017 and Saurer Intelligent Technology Company Limited, a company listed in Shanghai Stock Exchange from 2018 to now. As a full-time corporate executive, Dr. Yeung served as Chief HR Officer for the Acer Group from 1998 to 2002, working closely with the top management to radically transform Acer. Dr. Yeung taught at the University of Michigan Business School from 1996-1999 and China Europe International Business School from 2004-2013. He is the author of numerous articles and a dozen of books on organizational transformation, including “Reinventing the Organization”, published by Harvard Business Review Press and available in multiple languages, “Building Organizational Capability”, and “DNA of Transformation”, which are among the best-selling management books in China. Dr. Yeung has sat in the boards of six listed companies over the years.

Andre Puong, 43
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Puong is a partner of Cathay Capital Group, based in New York. Andre rejoined Cathay Capital in February 2015, having previously worked at Cathay Capital in Paris between October 2008 and October 2011. Prior to rejoining Cathay Capital, Andre was a New York-based investment director from 2011 to 2014 with Fosun International, one of the largest private-sector investment groups in China. Before joining Fosun International and Cathay Capital, Andre was a manager of the Accor Hospitality’s strategy group, and of a consultant for the global consulting firm Mars & Co. from 2002 to 2005. In his consulting role at Mars & Co., Andre advised European and Fortune 500 companies on both strategic and operational issues. Previously, Andre was an enterprise software engineer at Oracle Corporation in 2001-2002.  Andre sits on the boards of directors of Innovative Motion Technology LLC since December 2016 and Innovative Ergonomic Solutions LLC since April 2018. Andre graduated from Ecole Centrale Paris with a master’s degree in engineering in 2001 and from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in transportation science in 2001. He also holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 2007.

Board of Directors

Ming-Po Cai, 52
Chairman and Director

Mr. Cai, is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cathay Capital Group which he founded in 2006, a leading investment firm created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs providing a platform bridging 4 continents – Europe, Asia, North America and Africa – to help them to succeed beyond their original borders, accelerating cross-border growth and value creation strategies. Cathay Capital’s team of more than 100 staff including 29 partners is based in Shanghai, Beijing, Paris, Munich, New York, San Francisco, Singapore as well as in Tel Aviv, and leverages on Cathay Capital’s unique business model and platform to connect local ecosystems on four continents. Mr. Cai has more than 25 years of cross-border investment experience and deep expertise in developing China-entry strategies for multinational companies, and in globalization strategies for Chinese companies expanding internationally. Ming-Po Cai founded of his first company Stonest SAS in 1998, a headstone trading company that exported Chinese stones to France.  Ming-Po Cai currently sits on the boards of several Cathay Capital’s portfolio companies and has also been a board member of Natixis Group International Advisory since 2019. Since 2020, Mr. Cai has sat on the board of Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Ltd, a joint investment company managing an early Pan-African Venture Fund to connect the whole continent and the world’s leading innovation ecosystems. Under Mr. Cai’s leadership, Cathay Capital has grown to more than EUR 3.5 billion in assets under management and has invested in more than 170 companies across continents, including dozens of star companies such as Suofeiya, Zbom, Meinian Onehealth, Moncler, Poten, Datawords, Aihuishou, Jingrui, Echosens and startups like PDD, Chime Bank, Momenta, Drivy-Getaround, Ledger, Shopal, Trifacta, Glovo, Owkin, and KaiOS. Cathay Capital has a range of sixteen funds in three series: smallcaps, midcaps and innovation. Cathay Capital focuses on industries including consumer goods, healthcare, advanced technologies, TMT and mobility, etc. Ming-Po Cai has been a member of the World Economic Forum since 2018. Prior to that, from April 2011 to July 2017, Mr. Cai served on the board of GL Events SA, a company listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. He also served on the board of several Chinese companies including Lovable International Holdings Limited from November 2012 to November 2015, and the board of Zbom Home Collection Co Ltd. from November 2014 to November 2015, Shanghai Bandweaver Technology Company Limited from September 2012 to August 2016, and Fiture Inc. from July 2020 to April 2021. Apart from that, Ming-Po Cai is also a director of a number of Chinese companies, including Shanghai Zhengming Modern Logistics Ltd. since May 2011, Kunshan Gao Yi Consulting Management Ltd. since July 2013, Ningbo Gao Li Investment Management Ltd. since October 2012, Guangxi Luhaixintongdao Equity Investment Management Ltd. since June 2018, Beijing Mingronghuijie Business Consulting Ltd. since December 2018, Shenzhen Xiaosi Technology Ltd. since December 2020, eBao Tech Corporation since December 2012. He graduated from China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, and Emlyon Business School in France.

Patricia Barbizet, 66
Independent Director Nominee 

Since February 2018, Mrs. Barbizet has been co-founder and chairwoman of Temaris et Associés, an investment company based in Paris. Mrs. Barbizet began her career in 1976 in the treasury department of Renault Véhicules Industriels, before becoming chief financial officer of Renault Crédit International. In 1989, she joined the group of François Pinault as chief financial officer and was chief executive officer of Artémis SA, the investment company of the Pinault family from 1992 to 2018. She was CEO and chairwoman of Christie’s International PLC from 2014 to 2016 and was vice-chairwoman of the board of directors of Kering SA from 2005 to 2018. She is currently a lead independent director of the board of directors of Pernod Ricard SA (since 2019), an independent director of AXA SA (since 2018), and a non-independent director of Total SE (director since 2008). She previously served as a qualified independent member on the boards of directors of PSA Peugeot-Citroen (from 2013 to 2016), Air France-KLM (from 2003 to 2013), and Groupe Bouygues (from 2000 to 2013). In addition, she chaired the investment committee of the French national Strategic Investment Fund from 2008 to 2013. In April 2018, she was appointed as chairwoman of the supervisory board of Investissements d’Avenir. She is also chairwoman of la Cité de la musique – Philharmonie de Paris. She is a graduate of École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP-Europe) in 1976

Dr. David S. Chen, 65
Independent Director Nominee 

Dr. Chen started his career in 1984 with General Motors Research Laboratory in  Michigan, developing AI computer software for manufacturing automation. From 1994 to 2004, he worked for GM in China, where he played a key role in joint venture negotiations, merger and acquisition projects, product portfolio planning and development, and joint venture management. From 2004 to April 2011, Dr. Chen, as Vice President of GM China and General Manager of GM Beijing Operations, was responsible for business development, public policy, government affairs, and corporate social responsibility.  In May 2011, Dr. Chen joined Microsoft Corporation and served as Vice President of Microsoft, General Manager of Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs for the Great China Region (GCR), including China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.  His responsibilities included developing new business opportunities, promoting cooperation between Microsoft and Chinese government, implementing corporate social responsibility and philanthropy projects, and ensuring compliance of business conduct with local law and regulations. During his seven years with Microsoft, Dr. Chen was instrumental in developing new business initiatives in China, including public cloud services (Office 365 and Azure), personal entertainment systems (Xbox), merger and acquisition deals, and internet related business initiatives such as Skype and Bing search. Dr. Chen played a key role in supporting Microsoft to deploy modern IT solutions in smart city projects to enable the digital transformation of the Chinese economy. He also helped create a platform where candid discussions could take place among government officials, industry associations, companies, and academicians from the US and China regarding cybersecurity and internet governance. With a three-year tireless effort, Dr. Chen helped to place Windows 10 back on the Chinese government procurement list after rigorous cybersecurity reviews.  Dr. Chen founded the Summit Bridge Group, a consulting firm, in March 2018. Leveraging his rich experience in automotive and IT industries, Dr. Chen continues to help multi-national corporations to expand and grow business in China and helps Chinese companies to expand business overseas. Some of Dr. Chen’s current consulting activities include: 1) advising high tech start-ups in the areas of AI, connected vehicles and autonomous driving; 2) advising venture capital and private equity firms to invest in new energy vehicles, connect cars, autonomous driving; 3) assisting automotive component companies to expand their market potentials; and 4) helping existing joint ventures in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, operation efficiency improvement, and government approvals. Dr. Chen has a doctorate degree in computer science from the University of Michigan, master’s degrees in mathematics and electrical engineering from Purdue University, and a Sloan master’s degree of management from Stanford University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics at East China Normal University.

Huang Ming-Tuan, 65
Independent Director Nominee

Mr. Huang has more than 39 years of experience in Taiwan and Mainland China markets. He joined Sun Art Retail Group Limited, a company listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, initially as a director in April 2011, and was subsequently appointed as its CEO from March 2019 to May 2021, and currently serves as chairman of its board of directors. At Sun Art, he was responsible for the formulation of the company’s development direction and strategy and the implementation of the company’s strategic goals. Previously, Mr. Huang founded and acted as general manager of RT-Mart International Ltd. in Taiwan from 1996 to 2001. He also founded Concord Investment (China) Co., Ltd. in China and acted as its chairman from 2001 to May 2021. From 1982 to 1996, he worked at Ruentex Industries Co., Ltd., a company listed in Taiwan Stock Exchange, last serving as general manager of the company. Mr. Huang graduated from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Taiwan with a bachelor’s degree in industrial management, and from National Taiwan University in Taiwan with a master’s degree in business administration.