Executive Officers

Johann Tse, 54
Chief Executive Officer: Director; and Member of our Nomination Committee

Johann Tse has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of corporate operation and management, venture capital, and multinational mergers and acquisitions and has served as an independent board member of several Chinese companies listed in the United States in sectors including tourism, media and restaurant supplies manufacturing and sales. As a pioneer, investor and cross-cultural entrepreneur, he brings deep insights and rich experience for the formulation and implementation of corporate development strategies for businesses in Asia, Europe and North America on a global scale. Mr. Tse founded Aquarian Capital, LLC in August 2005, which specializes in advising international mergers and acquisitions and investments. Aquarian Capital has founded and manages companies in several sectors, covering North America, Greater China, Israel, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Aquarian Capital’s current initiatives include the development and financing of renewable energy projects, including overall planning of EPC and beyond. Projects include photovoltaic, wind energy and pumped-storage hydroelectricity in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe. Aquarian Capital also develops and operates large-scale organic farms in Mexico that serves the US market. Aquarian Capital was an early-stage investor in Boston Heart Diagnostics, which was later sold to Eurofins Scientific. Prior to founding Aquarian Capital, Mr. Tse was the director of international acquisitions and mergers of Yum! Brands from 2004 to 2005 where he acquired and sold a number of businesses in Asia, Western Europe, Russia and the Americas, including the successful acquisition of Russia’s largest fast-food chain. Prior to this, he was responsible for strategic planning, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and founded and managed the corporate venture capital department for Rohm and Haas (now part of Dow Chemical), a major U.S. specialty chemicals company, from 2000 to 2004, focusing on venture capital investment in material science companies in semiconductors, optoelectronics, nanotechnology, etc. during which he conducted in-depth investigation of more than 140 companies. Mr. Tse was an active advocate for corporate VC investments and collaboration to accelerate innovation and step-out growth. Mr. Tse previously served as the chief representative of the British/Hong Kong conglomerate Swire Group in Shanghai and Beijing from July 1990 to December 1998 where he was responsible for government relations, corporate development, and the formulation and implementation of its China strategy. During this time, Mr. Tse set up 13 joint ventures and wholly-owned enterprises across different industries in China for Swire. He also led a joint venture food company between Swire Group and Coca-Cola in Guangzhou, China, successfully established and operated a limousine business for Swire Group in Hong Kong, expanded Coca-Cola beverage sales channels, and developed markets for telecommunications and software products. Mr. Tse was the founder and vice chairman of the Shanghai Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce, a board member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, and an executive director of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in China. He has been a mentor to MBA students at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, co-founder of the Dallas Business Club and 2009 president, and currently as board member of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations. He co-founded and served as director of the Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce. He has been board member of the Circle Ten Council, Boy Scouts of America. He is a frequent speaker at various international conferences on venture capital, M&A, and renewable energy. Mr. Tse graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in electronics engineering from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and an MBA from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France. His early academic research included waveguides, integrated optics and digital video transmission, and published several papers in IEEE journals and at international conferences.

Rongrong “Rita” Jiang, 42
Chief Financial Officer and Director

Rongrong (Rita) Jiang, CFA brings more than a decade’s worth of experience in entrepreneurship, senior executive management, corporate finance, management consulting and venture capital investment. Ms. Jiang is a founding partner of Ginger Capital LLC since April 2011 that provides comprehensive investment and strategic advisory services to companies on market expansion, cross-border merger and acquisition, private and public financial reporting, IPO preparation and strategic partnership planning, etc. Ginger Capital’s core team consists of well-known industry veterans, seasoned mergers and acquisitions specialists, investors and finance experts. Ms. Jiang is also a founding partner of Whitestone Investment Management LLC since April 2015 that focuses on early-stage venture investment in technology companies around the world. Within Whitestone, Ms. Jiang is responsible for discovering new investments, growing the company’s network of shareholders and facilitating cross-border collaborations between companies and investors in the US and Asia. She mentors innovative, high-potential startups looking to scale up through strategic relationships with stakeholders in Whitestone’s network. Whitestone Investment Management, under her leadership, has invested in several tech companies involved in 3D, revenue management and collection of offline purchase data to gain insights on shopper behavior. Prior to founding Ginger Capital LLC and Whitestone Investment Management, Ms. Jiang was a director of Woodlake Group from March 2011 to June 2013. Woodlake is a private investment firm specializing in technology transfer, cross-border M&A and raising private equity. Prior to that, she served as Executive Vice President of Finance of V Media Corp. (formerly China New Media Corp.) from February 2010 to December 2014, where she was in charge of the company’s overall public market activities including quarterly and annual financial filing, audit preparation, investor relations and corporate secretarial practices. She was Vice President of Hayden Communications International from May 2008 to July 2009. Ms. Jiang has been a board member for a number of companies, such as Bionik (China) Medical Technology Co., Ltd, a joint venture in medical devices, and Jade International Financing and Leasing Co., Ltd., an alternative financing and equipment leasing firm focused on serving the business needs of middle-market enterprises and providing custom financing programs for equipment suppliers ranging from medical devices to energy-related equipment and telecommunications gears, etc. Ms. Jiang is a CFA charter holder. She received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Science and Technology, China, and a Master of Science degree in Chemistry from Northwestern University, Chicago.

Board of Directors

Nicholas Shao, 49
Independent Director; Chair of our Nomination Committee; and Member of our Audit Committee

Nicholas Shao is the Founder of Ningfeng Capital, Ltd. in November 2015 and an angel investor with a portfolio of more than 10 companies. Ningfeng Capital invests in private companies of various stages in China and brings decades of deal sourcing and investment experience. Prior to founding Ningfeng Capital, from 2002-2014, Mr. Shao served as Deputy Head of Investment for China and Managing Director at Carlyle Asian Growth Partners in Shanghai with more than $2 billion assets under management, where he was a key member of The Carlyle Group’s China growth capital/venture capital fund. He performed deal sourcing, execution and post-investment management and monitoring of a large number of portfolio companies in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Before Carlyle, from 2000-2002, Mr. Shao was an Equity Research Analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, based in Hong Kong and Taipei, where he was member of #1 ranked technology equity research team in Asia. In this role, he provided detailed coverage of Taiwanese semiconductor memory/TFT-LCD sectors with ten companies under coverage. Mr. Shao began his professional career at Digital Equipment Corporation where he was a senior software engineer and project manager and managed the consulting office at Microsoft. Mr. Shao coordinated more than thirty digital employees onsite, negotiated with Microsoft managers on cost sharing and technical issues and managed the team that translated Microsoft Internet software to run on Digital’s proprietary hardware. The resulting product contributed significantly to increased workstation sales. Mr. Shao received an MBA at Columbia Business School and has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Washington.

Wayne Trimmer, 61
Independent Director; Chair of our Compensation Committee; and Member of our Audit Committee

Wayne Trimmer is Founder and President of IBS-Aquarian LLC, an international business development advisory firm. He brings extensive business development, sales and operations experience with focus on aerospace and defense industries. He has participated in public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, market entry, joint ventures and strategic partnerships. Mr. Trimmer’s functional focus includes business process outsourcing (BPO), aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and system sustainment, business aviation, and telecommunication. His geographic coverage includes the Americas, Europe, Asia, Russia, and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Mr. Trimmer provides client-centric project management for domestic and international clients. He has deep understanding of industry dynamics, extensive professional network with key executives and government officials, and strong cultural sensitivity. Mr. Trimmer’s previous aerospace industry roles include Senior Project Director at Lockheed Martin from 1993 to 1997, where he was responsible for providing global aerospace and defense logistics, training and supply chain services. He was previously Director of Contract and Commercial Management with Airbus Group (including EADS and Aérospatiale) from 1989 to 1993, where his responsibility included both domestic US and international business development and FAA certifications and compliance agreements for commercial, military, and paramilitary aircraft for law enforcement applications including spare parts supply chain and subcontractor certification as FAA repair stations. Prior to Airbus Group, he served as Director of Contracts at DynCorp International. Mr. Trimmer served in the United States Marine Corps as aircrew flying the Douglas A-4M/OA-4M series “Skyhawk” light attack aircraft and led twenty-five Marines in a communication, navigation, fire control and electronics system division. He has been an active member of Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, a member of World Affairs Council, a member of Business Executive for National Security (BENS). He also served as the President of the North Texas National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), and the Chairman of the AirPower Council. Mr. Trimmer holds a Master’s of Science in Management from Boston University and a Bachelor’s degree in Aviation from Southern Illinois University.

Teck-Yong Heng, 47
Independent Director; Chair of our Audit  Committee; and Member of our Compensation Committee

Teck-Yong Heng brings more than 20 years of private equity and M&A experience most recently as an independent Board Member, Audit Committee Chairman, and Compensation Committee Chairman for NASDAQ listed LiXiang Education Holding Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: LXEH) since 1 October, 2020, an independent Board Member, Audit Committee Chairman, for NASDAQ listed WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc. (NASDAQ: WIMI) since 27 May, 2021 and the managing partner of C² Partners (“C-Squared Partners”), a China focused consumer sector private equity fund since May 2018. Before founding C-Squared Partners, he was managing director in QianHai Fund of Funds (“Qianhai FoF”), a Shenzhen headquartered fund which was founded in 2016 with assets under management of approximately $4.5 billion, where Mr. Heng led and recommended public and private equity direct investments in addition to LP commitments into private equity/venture capital funds. Prior to Qianhai FoF, Mr. Heng worked at Pavilion Capital (an affiliated entity of Temasek Holdings) from 2012 to 2016, Temasek Holdings from 2004 to 2012, Cambridge Associates from 2003 to 2004, Singapore Power International from 2001 to 2003, and Arthur Andersen from 1998 to 2001. During his career, he was involved in direct investments in venture capital, private equity and public equity investing, in addition to investment in private equity funds with the various institutions he worked in. Industries which he had specialized investment experience ranged from consumer and consumer internet, media and advertising, healthcare and life sciences, aviation and transportation, utilities, clean technology etc. Prior to his direct investments experience, Mr. Heng was an auditor with an international public accounting firm and also in investment research and consulting. During his career, Mr. Heng was based in Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai. One of the largest transactions in his career included the concurrent sale of three natural gas power generation companies in Singapore with a total transaction value of $8 billion. This set of M&A transactions spanned 5 years of planning and execution and completed successfully in the midst of the 2007/2008 global financial crisis. The three transactions are (1) $3.1 billion divestment of Tuas Power to China Huaneng Group (March 2008); (2) $2.5 billion divestment of Senoko Power to LionPower (Consortium comprising Marubeni, GDF Suez, Kansai, Kyushu, JBIC); (September 2008); (3) $2.4 billion divestment of PowerSeraya to Sabre Energy Industries / Malaysia YTL Power (March 2009). The set of transactions were awarded a series of M&A and private equity awards from the industry media in 2009. As a Singaporean, Teck-Yong served in the Singapore military from 1992-1995 as an instructor in the School of Military Medicine and later as a Platoon Sergeant in a Combat Support Hospital in the reservist unit. Mr. Heng graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy (with Honors) and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s General Management Program. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Accountant (CA), Chartered International M&A Expert (IM&A) and a member of Singapore Institute of Directors.

Keith Adams, 43
Independent Director; Member of our Nomination Committee; and Member of our Compensation Committee

Keith Adams brings executive leadership and direction in the management and operation of all information systems and technology investment projects and is responsible for all aspects of strategic IT planning. Since January 2016, Mr. Adams has served as the Director of Operations and approves and leads China Century Capital’s private equity funds, IPOs, and strategic partnerships towards information technology and electronics products. The financial investments that Mr. Adams approves follow innovation initiatives and corporate organizations in collaboration with business and technology leaders across the company. The partnership explores emerging technologies and assesses their impact on the company’s business, prototypes, and evaluates new concepts. Mr. Adams also recommends product improvements and safety features prior to seeking investors for products. Mr. Adams is also responsible for industry standards and technical writing. Before joining China Century Capital, Mr. Adams served as a senior network engineer for design and distribution with Pennsylvania Power and Light (PPL) in the automation department from January 2015 to January 2016. While employed with PPL, he worked with the R&D team plus he engineered and designed network systems for cellular modems that utilized AT&T Mobility 3G and LTE networks to control the transmission and distribution of electricity from nuclear power plants, coal power plants and energy substations. While with PPL, Mr. Adams was awarded engineer of the year for 2015. Before his employment with PPL, Mr. Adams channeled his career with AT&T Mobility from 1999 to 2016 serving as a contract senior network engineer and eventually becoming an engineering project manager. During his career with AT&T Mobility, he conducted resource planning and analysis, engineered, personally lead turn-key projects, commissioned, programmed, and performed quality control audits towards the evolution of cellular telecommunications for TDMA, GSM, 3G, 4G, and LTE networks. At the height of his career with AT&T Mobility, Mr. Adams managed more than 80 engineers in several markets throughout the United States, which included the turf areas of Philadelphia, New York City, New England, Washington D.C., Baltimore, the Carolinas, Atlanta, Houston, and Los Angeles. During his employment with AT&T Mobility, Mr. Adams was awarded employee of the year for all of the United States for 2011. He was also the recipient of several employees of the month awards during his employment with AT&T Mobility. Mr. Adams began his professional career with the United States Navy in 1996 where he proudly served as a cryptologist and maintained a top-secret security clearance while encrypting and deciphering unknown communication codes using state-of-the-art equipment. While serving onboard the ship, USS Mt. Hood AE-29, Mr. Adams was a recipient of the sailor of the month award. Mr. Adams received his MBA degree in Innovation and Change Management at York St. John University, his Business Diploma in Business Administration with a focus in Management in Operations at International Business Management Institute, a Technical Degree in Network Systems and Telecommunications at Point to Point Technical Institute, and another Technical Degree in Cryptology and Military Intelligence at Naval Technical Training Center.