Karen has over 20 years of investment management and private equity experience both in public and private sectors in Asia.

Karen most recently was Vice President of Strategic Development and Head of Strategic Investments overseeing corporate finance and M&A activities at Singapore Power Ltd (SP), a leading energy utility company in the Asia Pacific, which owns and operates electricity and gas transmission and distribution businesses. As one of Singapore’s largest corporations, SP achieved revenue of SGD7.8 billion and managed SGD31.1 billion of assets in FY 10/11.

Prior to that, Karen was Head of Equity and Advisory Asia for HSH Nordbank AG, where she launched the $1.3 billion HSH Global Aviation Fund I and grew the M&A team with a focus on transportation and logistics in select Asian economies.

Karen has been Director of Investments overseeing the transportation & logistics (translog) sector at Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd, the Singapore Government’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. In this role, she invested in Tiger Airway and launched a multi-million dollar fund with a US private equity firm to invest in the translog sector. Karen also invested & managed a portfolio of listed translog companies including Air China, Embraer and Toll. She oversaw shareholder matters for Temasek Linked Companies such as Singapore Airlines (SIA), PSA (formerly Port of Singapore Authority) and Neptune Orient Lines (a world leader in global transportation and logistics services).

Karen worked at Lazard Asia Limited (LAL) and Credit Lyonnais (Singapore) Merchant Bankers in M&A, where she originated and executed M&A opportunities in Asia across varied industries including shipping, technology, water treatment, IT and healthcare.

Karen worked in venture capital for Vertex Management, executing investments in early to pre-IPO stage companies in internet-related and biotech sectors. Starting in 1991, Karen spent seven years with Singapore Technologies Aerospace in engineering and business Development functions. She worked with the Airbus Industrie to set up a JV in China to build a 100-seater commercial aircraft as well as with China Eastern Airlines to set up a JV in Shanghai for aircraft MRO. Her engineering experience includes performing avionics upgrade on Northrop’s F-5 fighter aircraft as well as a 2-year posting in Italy to design and develop a state-of-the-art aerial radar system for the F-5.

Karen has a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Master’s of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.