Openspace Ventures

Melvin leads Openspace's fintech and digital assets strategy, Ocular. He previously handled Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships at StraitsX, co-founded the venture-backed startup Vantient, and invested in financial services, software and deep tech at Temasek and Serendipity Capital. He holds an honours finance degree from Singapore Management University.

Omesh Fabiani co-heads Openspace's private credit strategy, Onyx, and sits on both the Onyx Investment Committee and the firm's Executive Committee. He previously led the Financial & Strategic Investors Group across Southeast Asia and Australia at Standard Chartered Bank and worked in corporate finance and M&A at UBS Investment Bank.

Shane Chesson co-founded Openspace in 2014 and sits on the investment committees of the Openspace Ventures, Openspace Growth, Orbit and Ocular Web3 funds as well as the firm's executive committee. He previously held senior investment banking roles, including Managing Director and Co-Head of Technology Investment Banking at Citigroup Asia-Pacific, and earlier worked at Merrill Lynch, Bain & Company and GEM Consulting. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and law and commerce degrees from the University of Western Australia.

Udhay is Chief Investment Officer of Openspace's public market strategy, Orbit, and advises the team and portfolio companies on fundraising and IPO paths. He has over 25 years of investment banking and capital markets experience in Asia Pacific, most recently as Head of Asia Equity Capital Markets at Citigroup, with prior leadership roles at Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Salomon Brothers.

Hian Goh is a Founding Partner at Openspace Capital, a multi-strategy fund manager with $875 million under management focused on Southeast Asia. He previously founded and sold Asian Food Channel to Scripps Networks and has backed technology and AI companies including Gojek, Love Bonito, Chope, and Kumu over more than a decade. Goh is a Kauffman Fellow and holds a law degree from Oxford.

A private credit specialist who previously served as Head of Credit Solutions at HSBC, where he built the bank's early-stage lending offering for innovation economy companies and grew AUM tenfold to over US$1.4bn. He has 16+ years of corporate finance experience and previously led HSBC's Structured Finance team in Mexico.

Kelvin Leung is a member of the Openspace Growth investment team and sits on the firm's Technology Risk Committee. He previously worked at PayPal, Spenmo and J.P. Morgan Investment Bank, and holds a Master's from London Business School and undergraduate degrees from Boston University.

Nichapat Ark leads Openspace's Thailand investment team from Bangkok and sits on the firm's ESG Committee, focusing on early-stage investing. She previously worked at ABN Amro, Bangkok Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, and holds an MBA from Sasin School of Management with an exchange at Kellogg.

Raunaq Nanwani sources and evaluates early-stage investment opportunities and helps manage portfolio companies at Openspace. He previously worked at EY and holds a BSc in Finance from Durham University.

Yiliang Zhao is Director and Head of Data Science at Openspace Capital, where he leads a team supporting the firm's portfolio companies across sectors including fintech, e-commerce, and healthtech. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the National University of Singapore and an Executive MBA from Quantic, and has previously worked at Google and Shopee. He has authored more than 15 papers and serves as adjunct faculty at Singapore Management University and the National University of Singapore, teaching courses on applied machine learning, deep learning, and data engineering.

Matt Windsor is based in Bangkok and was previously a full-time member of Openspace Ventures' Thailand and Malaysia investment teams. Before joining the firm, he worked at Bain & Company. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Alessia Soh leads investor relations at Openspace, managing LP relationships around fundraising and reporting. She previously worked at UBS and EY, and holds Bachelor's degrees in Business Management and Accountancy from Singapore Management University.

Alexa Tan is part of Openspace's ESG & Impact team, supporting ESG matters across the firm, its portfolio companies, and investors. She previously worked in KPMG's ESG Consulting team and holds a BSc in International Business from the University of Birmingham.

Amy Zhao leads Openspace's Web3 strategy, Ocular, and sits on both the Ocular Web3 Investment Committee and the firm's Executive Committee. She has invested in crypto assets since 2017 (venture and hedge funds, DeFi/gaming/L1-L2 tokens, early projects and NFTs), previously led Investor Relations at Openspace, and held roles at Dymon Asia Capital and Cambridge Associates.

Anek Kusuwan is an investor at Openspace Capital, where he focuses on investments and portfolio company engagement in Thailand. He previously worked in private equity at Lakeshore Capital, a Thailand-focused growth stage fund, where he handled deal execution and value creation across retail, healthcare, consumer, and industrial sectors. He holds a BBA in Finance with a minor in Marketing from Thammasat University.

Dennis Le leads Openspace's Vietnam investment team and sits on the Ocular Web3 Investment Committee, specializing in early-stage and Web3 investing. He previously worked at Roland Berger and Analysys Mason and represents the firm at the Vietnam Private Capital Agency.

Derek Goh is an early stage investor at Openspace Capital. He holds degrees from Columbia and Tufts, and maintains a newsletter on venture capital and public policy at ocular.substack.com.

Don is a member of Openspace's Philippines investment team focused on early-stage investing, based in Manila. He previously worked at Fortman Cline Capital Markets and holds a BS in Management Engineering from Ateneo de Manila University.

Emma Payne leads Openspace's People & Culture practice, developing people strategies for the firm and its portfolio companies, and serves on its ESG Committee. She previously worked at Oracle and Experian and holds a Costume Design degree from the University of Arts London.

Fadhilah Syara is a Corporate Services Executive at Openspace Capital with a background in law and experience in venture capital and startup ecosystems across Southeast Asia. She manages stakeholder relationships, program execution, partnerships, and community engagement across regional markets. Her work emphasizes operational execution and cross-functional coordination within founder and investor networks.

Freddie Luchterhand serves as Specialist Advisor for Brand Impact at Openspace Capital, a multi-stage asset manager, where he works with over 55 portfolio companies on strategic narrative alignment. He advises consumer packaged goods companies and is involved with brandabout.co and sniffsniffie.com. Luchterhand focuses on tech and consumer brands in Southeast Asia across seed, Series A/B, and growth stage investments.

Freddie leads Openspace's Brand Impact practice, helping portfolio companies build value through brand and supporting investment due diligence on brand and marketing. He previously worked at Landor, Flamingo and Omnicom, and holds a Master's in Modern History and Management from the University of St. Andrews.

Jaclyn Seow advises the Openspace Ventures team on ESG & Impact, having previously led and built the firm's ESG & Impact practice while also serving as Head of the Portfolio Success team. She has served as Co-Chair of the ESG & Impact Committee at the Singapore Venture & Private Capital Association since June 2024. Earlier in her career she spent over a decade in the Singapore public sector across the Ministries of Law, Health, and Foreign Affairs, and worked in corporate development at Raffles Medical Group. She holds a BA in Economics and Psychology from Cornell University.

JJ works on Openspace's Finance team, based in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. He previously worked in Financial Services Assurance at PwC Singapore and EY Malaysia, holds a BSc in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University, and is a Fellow of the ACCA.

Kelvin Goh serves as General Counsel and leads the Legal and Compliance team, advising on investments, divestments and portfolio management, and sits on the firm's Executive, ESG and Technology Risk Committees. He previously worked at international law firm Simmons & Simmons across its London, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Dubai offices and holds Bachelor's and Master's law degrees from the London School of Economics.

Kenneth manages fund operations at Openspace, supporting Orbit fund operations and financial reporting across the firm's investment vehicles. He previously worked as an Operations Manager at VinaCapital and holds a BS in Business Administration with a major in Finance.

Li Shenn is a Senior Analyst on Openspace's Legal & Compliance team, handling legal and regulatory matters across fund operations and portfolio activities. She previously worked as a Corporate M&A lawyer at Christopher & Lee Ong, a Rajah & Tann Asia member firm.

Michelle leads Openspace's Talent Acquisition practice, helping build teams for the firm and its portfolio companies. She previously worked at The Barton Partnership and is a graduate of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Pui Yee Leong is a Fund Accountant at Openspace supporting fund operations and financial reporting. She previously worked as a Group Accountant at StarHub and an Audit Senior Associate at PwC Malaysia, and holds a Bachelor of Accounting from Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

Steven works on sourcing and evaluating early-stage investment opportunities. He previously worked at PwC and Creador, and holds a Master of Science in Finance from Babson College.

Tania Lestari sources and evaluates early-stage investment opportunities and supports portfolio companies. She previously worked at a multi-family office and RHB Indonesia, and holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Vanessa Teo is part of Openspace's Legal and Compliance team and leads its ESG & Impact practice, overseeing ESG matters across the firm, portfolio companies, and investors. She previously worked at the international law firm Ashurst and holds an LLB from the National University of Singapore.

Senior Fund Accountant at Openspace with prior experience as a Statutory Accountant Manager at IBM Malaysia and an Account Manager in fund services at Apex Fund Services Singapore. Holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from INTI International University & Colleges.

Senior Analyst on the Investor Relations team, focusing on fundraising and reporting primarily for the Orbit strategy. Previously part of UBS's Graduate Talent Program and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accountancy with Honours from the National University of Singapore.

Ian Sikora is Head of Startup Investor Management for Asia Pacific and Japan at Amazon Web Services, where he works with founders to build and scale companies in the cloud sector.

Pareen Chaudhari is an investor at Openspace Capital with over eight years of experience in financial services consulting and equity investing. Previously at Accenture, Chaudhari has developed deal execution expertise across Southeast Asia and maintains a cross-border network spanning Southeast Asia, India, and the United Kingdom.