As Venture Partner, Steve will help part-time to source for new investments, evaluate potential deals, and advise portfolio companies. As Operating Partner, Sui Ling will help the more mature companies in the portfolio with business development, follow-on financing, and exits.
Steve is the co-founder and was the long-time CEO of PropertyGuru, Southeast Asia’s leading property portal. He is one of the rare entrepreneurs in the region who has built a company into leadership in five markets, growing fast and profitable today – a claim that not many Southeast Asian tech companies can make. He has since transformed his role, passed on the chief executive role to a professional and moved up to Vice Chairman. Prior to this, he worked in an investment advisory firm in London as well as telecommunications company Mercury Communications (now Cable & Wireless).
Sui Ling spent 20 years in investment banking raising capital for high growth companies, taking them public and executing cross-border M&A. In her most recent role, she served as the Head of Corporate Finance SEA at BNP Paribas. Prior, she was Executive Director of Investment Banking at JP Morgan Singapore. Sui Ling started her career with Merrill Lynch New York followed by stints in Singapore and London.
Steve has been angel investing since 2004. He is an advocate of B2B startups which is why he decided to join Wavemaker Partners, “When it came to thinking what I should do next in the startup scene, I decided it was most prudent to invest in and support a fund–more importantly, to support its portfolio companies. [Enterprise startups] are underserved even if in many cases, it has the fastest path to profitability and to going global. I believe in Wavemaker’s founder-friendly values and approach.”
For Sui Ling, “Crossing the divide from investment banking to the world of tech startups has been an incredible journey so far. I find it rewarding being able to leverage my banking experience to help young entrepreneurs raise capital and take their businesses to the next stage. Furthermore, Wavemaker invests a fair bit in deep tech startups so I get constant exposure to cutting edge technologies and innovative business models which is truly exciting and intellectually stimulating”
Paul Santos, Managing Partner of Wavemaker says, “We’re truly excited to have both Steve and Sui Ling join our team. They both initially joined the Wavemaker family as LPs (investors in our fund), and we are thrilled that they will now invest more of their time with our team and our portfolio companies. They both bring deep experience, solid networks, and unique perspectives.”
Wavemaker Partners is Southeast Asia’s leading early-stage venture capital firm focusing on enterprise and deep technology companies. It has invested in more than 80 companies in the region since 2012 with 80% in enterprise and over 20% in deep tech.
