MEET THE TEAM
Believing in each founder means that we are committed to support them all the way as they drive success for their business. Our team not only brings venture capital investment and operational expertise, but is also dedicated to upholding our values of partnership, integrity, positivity and progress as we invest in a journey with our founders.
We build strong partnerships with our stakeholders, founded on trust, respect and long-term growth.
We are accountable to all our stakeholders, with a relentless commitment to excellence while honouring a code of transparency and integrity.
We always strive to confront challenges with optimism and determination, rooted in the belief that we are building something incredible with our founders.
Disruption precedes new realities that are vital for progress, and progress is a continuous journey. We openly welcome ideas that take on a fresh perspective to develop better solutions for our future.
We build strong partnerships with our stakeholders, founded on trust, respect and long-term growth.
We are accountable to all our stakeholders, with a relentless commitment to excellence while honouring a code of transparency and integrity.
We always strive to confront challenges with optimism and determination, rooted in the belief that we are building something incredible with our founders.
Disruption precedes new realities that are vital for progress, and progress is a continuous journey. We openly welcome ideas that take on a fresh perspective to develop better solutions for our future.
Shirley is the Founder and Group CEO of Golden Equator and also the Founding Partner of Golden Equator Ventures. Her strong entrepreneurial track record in corporate strategy and business incubation has led to her opinions being sought out by professionals across industries. Shirley started her career at American Express International, before spending 8 years with Citibank where she was Director, managing client investment portfolios across Asia and Europe, as well as supervising experienced relationship managers. She is passionately committed to grooming the next generation of leaders, and is in the Financial Women's Association Singapore’s pioneering batch of female champions.
With his extensive regional business and management experience, Daren oversees the investment deal flow and maintains strategic partnerships across the technology and innovation communities. He is an effective collaborator and has successfully transformed companies to drive growth. He held senior management roles at Nikon, eBay, element14 and Daymen Group, where he led top-line and market expansion strategies aggregating over US$200 million in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. He sits on the Board of Directors of numerous tech companies, such as Vault Dragon, Eunoia and Ohmyhome.
Pooja joined Golden Equator Ventures with more than two decades of experience managing different types of investments across London, New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore. At Golden Equator Ventures, she mentors portfolio companies and maintains strategic partnerships across the innovation and investment communities. She has mentored and invested in successful startups including online wealth management platform, Canopy, and Amazin’ Graze, a healthy snacks company. She also helped establish two Asian multi-family offices: Crossbridge Capital as an advisory board member, and Fusang where she was Managing Director.
Cindy joined Golden Equator Ventures with investment, operational and management experience across the banking, clean energy and aviation industries. Applying business intelligence and IT business analysis to fund management, she has reviewed over a thousand companies, and led deals in the FinTech, HR tech, PropTech and New Media sectors. Cindy has also helped startups secure partnerships with tech giants (i.e. Google, Facebook), enter new markets, hire key management and expand strategic networks. She has completed the CFA Level 1 examination and holds a Bachelor’s degree (major in Economics), from the National University of Singapore.
Emma’s professional experience includes investing and supporting businesses across the Southeast Asia region, with an interest in new media and entertainment, consumer brands and foodtech. She works closely with portfolio companies to provide support in their expansion strategy, corporate partnerships, acquisition and fundraising plans. She was previously with Nest, an early-stage VC, and also a General Manager for a Fintech startup. Emma is admitted to the Bar of Quebec, Canada, holding a Bachelor of Laws and MSc in Finance.
Shane conducts investment research, supports deal evaluation and manages investor relations at Golden Equator Ventures. He has also coordinated consulting projects and created proposals for Golden Equator Group’s cross-border partnerships. Shane acquired invaluable strategic planning skills during his time at YOLO, an F&B startup where he secured partnerships with banks and technology partners including Standard Chartered, Airbnb and Fuji Xerox. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, Shane co-founded Sykconcept at 24, offering niche design and commissioned art services where he worked to drive strategy and partnership accretion for the company.
