People

Simon is the Chairman and founder of GEMS. Having lived in Asia for over 40 years, Simon has extensive experience investing and operating in natural resources, infrastructure and power sectors. He has served in key directorships and advisory roles in companies around the world.

At present, Simon is the Chairman of Glencore plc, the world’s largest natural resources trading company. He is also a director of Essar Energy, IRC Limited and both Greenheart Group and Sino-Forest. Essar is involved in oil and gas exploration and production, steel production, and power generation across the world; IRC Limited is an iron ore company with Russian assets listed on the HK Stock Exchange; and both Greenheart Group and Sino-Forest are leading forestry operators with strong links to China. Simon is also on the advisory boards of Lightbridge Corporation and Huawei.

Previously, Simon was a member of the Advisory Board of CNOOC and General Electric. He was also a director of Vodafone Group Plc, Usinor Sacilor (now ArcelorMittal), the largest steel producer in Europe and MacMillan-Jardine a forestry operator in Indonesia.  He has worked extensively across the coal and power markets to name but a few.

Prior to founding GEMS, Simon was the Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa responsible for the development of the Group’s energy business through the acquisitions of Hong Kong Electric and Husky Oil.  He also helped transform the Group into the world’s leading port operator. He remains a director of Cheung Kong Holdings which controls transport, infrastructure and power businesses across China.

David has been with GEMS since it was founded in 1998. He is responsible for general management, deal sourcing, investment execution and fund raising. He serves on the Investment Committee and sits on investee company boards. David has over 17 years of experience in direct investment throughout Asia and is especially active in forestry and services related opportunities.

Prior to joining GEMS, David was on the principal investment side of Lazard, where he managed the Hong Kong office and participated in private equity investments throughout Asia. He also worked at Smith Barney (now Citibank) on direct investments, initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions. In addition, David has a background in shipping and logistics, having worked as Operations Manager for an international cargo transportation firm.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Pomona College and a Master of Arts degree in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University, where he was an Olmsted Fellow.

Nick joined GEMS in 1998 and is primarily responsible for fundraising and deal sourcing. He serves on the Investment Committee and sits on a number investee company boards. Within GEMS, Nick manages relationships with the capital markets, having extensive prior experience in investment banking, much of it in Asia. He began his career with Jardine Matheson and subsequently spent time with the corporate finance division of Nomura International, involved primarily in their underwriting and IPO business. He then moved to Robert Fleming as an Asian Specialist in Institutional Sales and Corporate Broking.

Nick is focused on supporting GEMS established relationships as well as continuing to broaden our networks across Asia and throughout the world.

Fergus joined GEMS in 2003 and is focused on deal sourcing and execution, as well as investment management and operations.  He serves on the Investment Committee and sits on a number of investee boards. He has a strong understanding of the oil and gas industry, having spent his early career with Shell and Husky Oil in various roles and has kept close links with the industry since.

He has occupied a variety of senior management positions in the Asian region, most recently as the CEO of Sunday, a cellular telephone operator in Hong Kong. He has run a number of mobile telephone companies across the world, largely for the same shareholder base, demonstrating his strength in managing operating businesses.

Fergus is involved in all of GEMS oil and gas transactions but has also worked on mining deals across the region.

Tim has been with GEMS since 2008 and plays a key role in deal sourcing, execution, and management. He serves on the Investment Committee and is also active in fund raising. Tim’s strength lies in the oil and gas sector but he has worked extensively on mining opportunities, particularly related to the energy sector.

Prior to joining GEMS, Tim held various management, corporate, and operational roles for BP. He has experience in all areas of oil and gas having been involved in upstream, LNG, shipping, trading, and downstream businesses.  In addition, he has extensive Asian experience having worked in all countries around the region.

Tim holds a Bachelor of Business from Monash University and an MBA from INSEAD.

Patricia has been with GEMS since 2008 having moved from Goldman Sachs where she gained experience across the resources sector. At GEMS, she is largely focused on sourcing, executing, and managing mining investments across the region.

At Goldman Sachs, she was part of the Global Commodities Principal Investment Group in London, involved in private equity investments  including mining (bulk, base and precious metals), energy (upstream and downstream),  and carbon-related investments. Prior to this, Patricia worked in the Global Investment Research division at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, covering Asian resource companies with a particular emphasis on China and Thailand.

Patricia holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), both from the University of New South Wales.

Sojin has been with GEMS since 2008 and has worked on numerous transactions across the resources sector, including oil and gas, mining, and services. She is responsible for all stages of the investment cycle and in particular deal sourcing and analysis, execution and investment committee preparation. She is also actively involved in portfolio management.

Sojin has previously worked for the International Finance Corporation in Washington DC where she focused on petrochemicals investments globally. Prior to that, she worked for JPMorgan in investment banking based in New York, where she participated in M&A and capital market transactions, with a specialization in natural resources.

She holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Wellesley College, USA.

Kimi joined GEMS in 2009 and has many years of experience in international development finance. He is active in deal sourcing, investment committee preparation and market analysis across all resource sectors.

Prior to joining GEMS, he was Deputy Director of Growth & Cross Border Investment Group at Development Bank of Japan Inc. (DBJ). At DBJ he was involved in private equity investments and fund businesses. He was also stationed in Jakarta as a representative of Japan Bank for International Cooperation. At the time of the Asian economic crisis, he was seconded to the Asian Development Bank HQ in Manila after his study in Beijing and Taipei.

He completed an advanced studies program in Mandarin at the Guanghua School of Management, Peking University and BA in Economics from Keio University. He is also fluent in Mandarin and Bahasa Indonesia.

Jannal joined GEMS in 2007 and is primarily responsible for analysis and investment committee preparation. He has also worked across all resource sectors. He has direct investment experience across most of the Asia Pacific region.

Jannal previously worked as a broker in a Hong Kong-based securities firm. He was responsible for sales and trading with institutional investors and involved in equity research.

He holds a Bachelor of Economics and Finance degree from The University of Hong Kong and is a CFA Charterholder.

Patrick Lam has been with GEMS since 2001. He is responsible for general administration; company secretarial function; legal compliance; internal control and risk management.

Prior to joining GEMS, Patrick was a Senior Manager with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu with responsibilities for company secretarial services.

He is a chartered secretary with more than 20 years of experience in corporate service, legal compliance and administration. He is also an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists. He holds an MBA from the University of Strathclyde and a Master degree in Laws from the University of London.

Nelson Choi joined GEMS in 2000 and manages the overall fund’s accounting activities, group financial reporting, treasury activities, overall finance control, and investment performance evaluation.He is also responsible for the annual budget and audit as well as participates in fund investment valuations.

Prior to joining GEMS, Nelson had a number of accounting and finance roles with a Hong Kong listed company.  He was actively involved in project finance, internal control, and financial reporting compliance. He was also responsible in managing an internal fund portfolio consisting of equity and properties.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Simon Fraser University in Canada and a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting from Chinese University of Hong Kong. He also holds a Master’s degree in Theological Studies.