OUR TEAM
Our team includes senior investment banking and private equity professionals from global investment banks and accounting firms.
Our principals have a track record of some US$40 billion in aggregate transaction value and over 150 years of professional experience in Asia.
ADVISORY SERVICES
Christopher Tan
Managing Director
Chris is the managing partner and founder of Ivory Capital, an independent investment banking and private equity firm based in Asia. Prior to Ivory’s inception in 2002, Chris was Head of Lehman Brothers Investment Banking Group in Singapore, with responsibility for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia; managing the Firm’s business activities and relationships with major clients including Temasek, Singapore Telecom, Singapore Power, Singapore Technologies Group, Keppel Group, UOB Group, Government of Malaysia, CIMB Group, MayBank, Petronas, Tenaga, Salim Group, Rodamas and others. Prior to Lehman Singapore, Chris worked at Lehman Brothers Hong Kong and New York offices. In addition to Lehman Brothers, he worked at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell (Singapore) and Baring Brothers (Hong Kong).
Chris has over 30 years experience in advising Asian clients on M&A and international capital markets transactions. He has completed strategic advisory assignments, mergers & acquisitions, initial public offerings and equity placements, and global bond issuances comprising over US$12 billion in aggregate value. He has completed numerous transactions across many markets in Asia including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand; under a wide range of economic and market conditions:
The US$3.3 billion merger between Starhub and Singapore CableVision
The US$1.4 billion IPO for Singapore Telecom, the largest IPO in Asia at that time
The US$630m IPO for China Huaneng Power Group, the first NYSE Iisting for a Chinese company
Over US$2 billion of global bond issues for Petronas, the national Oil & Gas company of Malaysia
The US$150m 100-year bond issue by Tenaga Nasional, the first and landmark Century bond issue by an Asian company.
His private equity transactions include:
The US$1.56 billion buyout of LCY Chemicals in Taiwan, completed by KKR and Karlton Group.
Blackstone’s US$250m acquisition of Tysan Residential Real Estate in Hong Kong
Carlyle’s US$80m management buyout of GDC Tech in Hong Kong
Uni President’s US$120m purchase of 30% equity in ScinoPharm (Taiwan/China) from Watson Pharmaceutical (USA)
CDH’s US$100m investment into New Focus Auto
Citigroup’s US$120m management buyout of Lotus Northern China BMW Dealership
JP Morgan & ASC Capital’s US$40m investment in Rodamas Consumer Products and Industrials (Indonesia).
Chris graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree from the National University of Singapore, and qualified as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore.
Lucienne Jallabert
Managing Director
Lucienne Jallabert has over 17 years of financial advisory, research and investment experience in Asia and Europe.
Prior to Ivory, she was based for five years in Beijing as Senior Vice President with CEBM Group, a leading Chinese independent investment advisory firm providing institutional investors with China macro research and sector strategies. Lucienne was responsible for initiatives related to investment research and sales, and client-driven business efforts such as QDII, QFII and other cross-border ventures. She helped formulate investment strategies on China topics, originated and drove initiatives to leverage CEBM’s business relationships with investment institutions in and outside China (e.g. assistance in QDII/QFII partner searches, capital raising, strategic and business assessments). Clients included several of China’s largest fund management companies, such as China AMC, Bosera, China Southern, Guangfa and E-Fund.
She was an Associate Director with UBS Investment Bank in London and Singapore, specializing in Telecoms, Media & Technology (2000-2003). Lucienne advised Vodafone Group on its strategic partnership with Swisscom (Euro 2.95 billion acquisition of a 25% stake in Swisscom Mobile, combined with an MVNO agreement in Germany), the sale of its fixed/mobile operator in Austria (telering), and the strategic management of its investments in mobile operators SFR (France) and Vodafone Egypt. In Singapore, she worked on the MobileOne(“M1”) IPO. Lucienne began her career at Ernst & Young Paris (1996-2000), where she managed statutory audit assignments, performed buyer and seller due diligence, and provided transaction support services for public and private companies in the Telecoms, Internet and Media sectors.
Lucienne is a graduate of HEC Business School and Sciences Po Paris in France, and holds a M.Sc. in Economics from Paris Dauphine University. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and is a regular member of both the CFA Institute and CFA Singapore.
Phillip Kim
Managing Director
Phillip Y. Kim has 28 years of investment banking and financial advisory experience in Asia. Prior to joining Ivory Capital in 2011, he was with Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and boutique advisor IRG Limited.
Phillip has completed several billion dollars in transactions across numerous Asian countries (e.g. Korea, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines) and sectors (e.g. financial institutions, internet, telecom, oil & gas, consumer). His clients have included many of the leading corporate and funds across the region.
Phillip speaks English and Korean. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Economics.
Sook Tan
Managing Director
Sook has 11 years of investment banking experience in USA and Asia and 5 years of e-commerce startup experience. Prior to Ivory, Sook was Senior Vice President at Nomura and Lehman Brothers Investment Banking in Singapore and New York.
She has executed US$14 billion dollars worth of transactions in USA and Asia in the financial institutions, telecom and media, real estate and financial sponsors sectors.
She has advised on IPO’s, REIT/business trusts, M&A, take-private, bond offerings, rights offering and joint venture transactions.
She speaks English and Mandarin. She graduated with honours from The University of Michigan in Business Administration, majoring in Finance and Accounting.
Vera Yanti Kretschmar
Managing Director
Vera Yanti Kretschmar has over 12 years extensive experience in Real Estate Investments, Retail and Consumer Products in China, the US, SEA and Europe. She has been actively involved in a variety of Investments mainly in the consumer products industry for the past 5 years. She joined Ivory Capital in 2019 based in Singapore.
Prior to Ivory Capital Vera worked at CBRE in Shanghai, China and in Hong Kong for five years where she helped Retail Brands, F&b operators and Cosmetic Brands with their Expansion Strategy and Real Estate Portfolio for Asia.
She was heading up the team which leased out the domestic airport in Shanghai Hongqiao and managed the leasing for the Shanghai Expo 2010. She managed major accounts for CBRE mainly in the luxury industry during her time.
She also ran her own Consultancy Business Prestige PR out of China for three years which assisted brands on entering and Investing into the China and SEA market. Vera was the Brand Director for leading Italian Jewelry Brand Stroili Oro in 2012 and has held various positions in the Property Investment and Consultancy Industry in Asia.
Originally from Germany, Vera grew up between Europe and Asia. After finishing her studies in Germany and the US, Vera has lived in the US, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manila and Switzerland and worked in Investments through the various regions.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in International Business from California State University Northridge.
Lauren Song
Vice President
Lauren Song has 6 years of investment banking and asset management experience in Asia. Prior to joining Ivory Capital, she was with Citigroup, Rothschild & Co and Fidelity in Hong Kong.
She has advised on M&A, HK and US IPO’s, restructuring transactions, with clients in consumer and retail, telecom and media, and industrial sectors. Prior to investment banking, Lauren worked in fixed income investment team at Fidelity.
Lauren speaks English and Mandarin. She graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a degree in Economics and Finance.
Valeria Camelio
Analyst
Valeria Camelio is responsible forfinancial and investment analysis, due diligence and liaising with companies and lawyers on deal documentation. She is a member of the investment team in evaluating and conducting due diligence for global private equity, venture capital and direct investments for a Single FamilyOffice.
Graduated with a Master of Science in Applied Finance from Singapore Management University in 2023, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Management from LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome in 2022.
Valeria pursued professional showjumping in Italy from 2016 to 2019. She is fluent in English, Italian, and Spanish.
PRINCIPALS
Kevin T. M. Lam
Managing Director
Kevin T. M. Lam has been actively involved in various areas of corporate finance, capital raising and private equity in North America and Asia Pacific for 25 years.
Prior to Ivory Capital, Mr. Lam was a partner of IncuVest Asia Ptd Ltd. IncuVest focuses on incubator and early stage investments in software, eCommerce and mobile technologies and applications. IncuVest is an investment partner of the Singapore government. Mr. Lam also serves as Director and Senior Portfolio Manager of Castlewood Holdings, a private capital investment company and as advisor to corporations and investment groups. Mr. Lam was also a founder and director of Pacific Financial Advisors, LLC which is a boutique advisory company in the US West Coast that provides strategic corporate advisory and financial services to early stage and small cap companies seeking creative solutions to their objectives.
Prior to founding PFA in 2003, Mr. Lam was Vice President and Director of Business Development of Ecquaria Technologies Ltd, an international web services software company (eGovernment services platform) and CFO for UDU World Pty Ltd, a telecommunications software company. Prior to 2001, Mr. Lam was Vice President of JAFCO Investments Ltd, Japan’s largest private equity and venture capital firm, for 4 years where he was responsible for supervising over 20 private equity funded industrial, software and eCommerce companies primarily located in the Asia Pacific Region. From 1987 to 1997, Mr. Lam was Vice President at Citicorp, where he was involved in mergers and acquisitions, leverage buyouts, restructuring and leverage recapitalization transactions.
Mr. Lam holds a M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business (1988) and a B.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from the University of California (1985).
John Robson
Managing Director
John Robson has over 20 years of investment banking experience in Europe and Asia. Prior to joining Ivory, John worked in both debt and equity capital markets with Bankers Trust, Merrill Lynch, Nomura, and JP Morgan.
His area of expertise is structured investment products, and until recently John was Asia-Pacific Head of Structured Product Sales and Marketing at JP Morgan. Prior to JP Morgan, John spent 2 years at Nomura in Hong Kong as Co-head of the Equity Derivative Business, and 12 years at Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong and London developing the structured products business for the firm.
John is originally from Melbourne, Australia, and has lived in Hong Kong for 20 years. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Econ) Hons degree from The University of Melbourne.
SPECIAL INVESTMENTS
Albert L Cobetto
Managing Director
Albert Cobetto is a Senior Advisor at Ivory Capital. He has lived in Asia over 30 years, principally in Hong Kong including 2 years in Japan. Albert was Managing Director and Head of Public Sectors (Asia) at ABN AMRO/RBS. Other previous positions include CEO of BondsInAsia, CIO/Managing Director of Prudential (Jennison) Asia Public Fixed Income Fund, Head of Capital Markets for Salomon Brothers Asia and Head of Financing Group for Lehman Brothers Asia.
His experience includes senior roles in corporate finance and the global capital both as investment banker and investor. He has a broad range of investment activities including fixed income, origination, syndication, liability management, structured finance and public equity products. In corporate finance, he has managed financial advisory assignments, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and direct investments.
Albert was a key advisor in establishing the CITIC Capital China Mezzanine Fund and was a member of Independent Committee for the Fund and shareholders. In addition, he has worked closely with the Government of Japan and multinational institutions. He has advised the Tokyo Assembly, Metropolitan Government and key Japanese government ministries to expand their relationships and business in South East Asia.
He has successfully completed major capital markets transactions with other governments and institutions such as the Ministry of Finance of China for their first bond issue in the international capital markets, Korea Development Bank (KDB), Petronas and Tenaga (the national oil & gas, and power companies of Malaysia) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Albert has been a frequent speaker on the media on Asian markets, appearing on Asian Business News, Reuters, Asian Debt Monitor and Bloomberg. He was awarded the “Emerging Markets Superstar” by Global Finance for his contributions to the development of the Asian capital markets. He holds a BSc from Bradley University and a MIM from Thunderbird (American Graduate School of International Management).
He has always been active in charities including Summerbridge, a program for highly motivated, underprivileged high school students from low income families. In addition, a component of his work in Myanmar is for charity.
Jessica Henry
Managing Director, Marketing Strategies
Jessica Henry is a global marketing, partnerships and product strategist, with almost 25 years experience in high-impact roles within organizations such as American Express and Merrill Lynch in New York, LesConcierges in San Francisco and Aspire Lifestyles / International SOS in Singapore.
Jessica provides strategic solutions for premium consumer segments, working both internally and with industry-leading clients, including Visa, MasterCard, Citi, Sotheby's, Neiman Marcus, and HSBC, as well as a number of regional and global startups in critical scale phases. More specifically, she has:
Built and led high performing teams across 20+ countries on 6 continents
Provided industry-leading partnership development, resulting in high-value asset portfolios sustained by local, regional and global networks
Structured cross-functional organizational alignment to efficiently drive global/regional/local sales and operational agendas
Strong discipline around product development, with a customer-centric, market informed approach and stand-out value propositions
Expertise in global branding and marketing strategy with execution in B-C, B-B, B-B-C and B-E capacities
Deep rewards program design, launch and management experience across food & wine, travel, sporting, experiences, arts & entertainment, retail, real estate and education
Premium event production and multi-million dollar sponsorship management
Jessica is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, holding a Bachelor of Science in Advertising with a minor in psychology.
Jonathan Morgan
Managing Director
Jonathan G. Morgan assumed the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Applied Science, Inc. in 2009, after years of building and managing businesses in a variety of industries. He was a founder and served as President and CEO at PingDa Travel, a company organized to undertake a major roll-up in the corporate travel industry in China. He also was President and CEO of First Virtual Communications, a developer of highly scalable and secure, enterprise class, rich media communications solutions, for clients including the U.S. Department of Defense. Mr. Morgan began his career as an investment banker, and held major positions in a number of firms, including Worldwide Head of the Technology Group at Prudential Securities; Founding Partner and Managing Director of the mergers and acquisitions business at Montgomery Securities, and a member of Morgan Stanley’s mergers and acquisitions department.
Mr. Morgan is a founder and Chairman of Plus 3Networks, a pioneer in the use of social media to develop corporate wellness solutions; a member of the strategic advisory board at Bishop Wisecarver, a leader in the engineering and development of motion technology solutions, and the independent director of Zuli Inc., a company focused on developing Bluetooth low energy devices and related mesh networks that are both intelligent and highly scalable. He received his HBA from the School of Business Administration at the University of Western Ontario, where he was a member of the Dean’s Honour’s List.
Terence Wu
Managing Director
Terence has over 30 years of management and business development experience. Prior to joining Ivory, Terence was a strategic and business consultant to Shougang Hong Kong and senior executive of several major Insurance companies.
He was the Founder, Chief Executive and Managing Director of CEF Insurance Group, one of the leading insurers in Hong Kong with Cheung Kong, CIBC and Temasek as shareholders. In 2000, Terence led and negotiated the sale of a 55% equity interest in CEF Insurance Group to MLC Australia (now known as AXA Hong Kong) for HK$1.24 billion.
Terence is a Harvard Business School Alumni, Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the United Kingdom, Fellow of the Life Management Institute USA and Member of the Actuarial Association of Hong Kong.