Judges

Jean Eric Salata is the Chairperson EQT Asia. Jean started the regional Asian private equity investment program for UK-based Baring Private Equity Partners Ltd in 1997 and later led the management buyout of this program in 2000 to establish BPEA as an independent Firm. He has since been responsible for the investment activity of BPEA until 2022, when the company joined forces with EQT and was renamed BPEA EQT.

Prior to BPEA, Jean was a Director of Hong Kong-based AIG Global Investment Corporation (Asia) Ltd., the Asian private equity investment arm of AIG. Prior to that, Jean was the Executive Vice President of Finance of Shiu Wing Steel, a Hong Kong-based industrial concern, and prior to that a management consultant with Bain & Company based in Hong Kong, Sydney, and Boston.

Jean holds a B.S. (Hons) in Finance and Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated magna cum laude.

Anjum is the Investment Lead at EQT Foundation where she focuses on investments into climate and health startups at the convergence of deep tech and impact. Prior to EQT Foundation, she led early-stage climate tech and deep tech investments at first minute capital in London. Anjum started her career in Financial Sponsors investment banking in New York, where she covered private equity deals and spearheaded the launch of the direct lending business. Subsequently she joined a seed stage digital health startup, focusing on product and strategy while helping to drive the Series A fundraising. She is a mentor and advisor to a handful of startups in the early stage ecosystem.

Anjum holds an MBA from INSEAD and a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University where she studied Economics and Biomedical Engineering.

Eugene Tang, the South China Morning Post’s Managing Editor for Business & Projects, has spent three decades in financial journalism and in the business of real-time news.

His career began in 1994 as a corporate news writer for The Edge weekly newspaper in his native Malaysia, followed by 14 years as a reporter, editor, bureau chief and team leader at Bloomberg News in Malaysia, Japan and China.

Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Mr. Tang has spent more than a decade living in mainland China, covering everything from economic policies to financial markets and earthquakes in Beijing, Shanghai and China’s far-flung provinces.

Prior to joining the SCMP, Mr. Tang was Asia-Pacific Product Director at The Wall Street Journal’s publisher Dow Jones & Co., where he was responsible for the company’s Dow Jones Newswires real-time news and content licensing for the Factiva news database business.

As SCMP’s Managing Editor, Mr. Tang oversees coverage of financial markets, banking and finance, property, technology, healthcare and the business of climate change.

Cindy has been the Executive Director and CEO of the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF) since 2015. AEF’s mission is to help entrepreneurs and young people realize their dreams and visions for their businesses and communities. To fulfil this mission, AEF invests into startups and organizes various activities to bolster innovation and entrepreneurship.

Cindy is keen to contribute to the community by serving as member including the InnoHK Steering Committee, the Occupational Safety & Health Council, the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education; as board members of CUHK Innovation Limited, HKAI Lab, SEED Foundation and advisor to Our Hong Kong Foundation. Through different initiatives launched by AEF and in her own capacity, Cindy aspires to help young people to unleash their potential and pursue a better future.

Erica is focused on investing in the pioneers of our future and building a global home for entrepreneurs. She spent her early working career in Silicon Valley before returning to Hong Kong to build and operate CoCoon. Her work at CoCoon evolved to cover community, education and investments within an ecosystem for founders, students, investors, engineers, designers and corporate innovators. She is always looking for ideas and people who can turn them into reality. The CoCoon Foundation partners with the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, Lee Kum Kee Family Foundation and D.H. Chen Foundation bringing entrepreneurship education to over 30,000 local secondary school students. Erica also serves on the Advisory Council of the Stanford Bing Overseas Program, Advisor to Our Hong Kong Foundation, Member of the Museum Advisory Committee, and the Board of Directors at Cyberport.