After many years of writing this blog, I thought it might be fun to arrange an informal dinner and meet up with more like-minded investors in the region. I used to know many readers of the blog, but the audience has grown over time. To be clear, the value proposition is not to meet with […]

Merlin Sheldrake’s “Entangled Life” is one of the best books I have read in recent years. He recently appeared on the ZOE podcast (together with Professor Tim Spector) to discuss fungi and why their unique composition means they offer significant benefits to our health, with certain species being used to treat conditions ranging from depression […]

Hisayuki Idekoba, the CEO of Recruit Holdings, was on a recent panel along with Vladimir Lukic of BCG to discuss the future of work in Japan and the US. He talked about workforce trends in both countries, how Recruit is utilizing AI in its business to improve the productivity of its staff and some of […]

Very interesting conversation with Steven Marks and Hilton Brett, the co-CEOs of Guzman y Gomez (GYG). GYG was founded in 2006 and is one of Australia’s fastest growing QSR businesses today, specializing in Mexican-inspired food. The company recently went public. In the interview, they discuss GYG’s founding story, the growth of the business to date, […]

A short but interesting conversation with Uli Sigg, hosted by the Asia Society. He worked for the Schindler Group from 1977 to 1990, during which he helped set up the company’s joint venture in China. He later served as Switzerland’s ambassador to China, North Korea and Mongolia. During his time in China, he built a […]

Very interesting interview with Khalid Muhmood on The Business of Family podcast. He has been active in the business of education since 1994 when he and his wife, Arabella Peters, co-founded Apollo English and then the British University Vietnam. He talks about his entrepreneurship journey, the evolution to a holding company model and involving the […]

Tribeca’s Guy Keller revisits the uranium thesis and provides a good summary of recent market dynamics. Some of my notes are below (any mistakes in transcription are my own). They got to the nuclear theme by looking at decarbonisation. Started looking at that as a thematic that hit the world as well as the resource […]

A short but inspiring interview with Ashish Dhawan, one of the founders of Ashoka University and the founder of Central Square Foundation (CSF), which is working to transform the school education system in India. Previously, Ashish was a co-founder of ChrysCapital, one of India’s leading private equity funds. He discusses his career in education and […]

Inspiring talk by Professor Irving Grousbeck, delivered as part of the 2023 last lecture series for graduating students at the Stanford GSB. I have included my paraphrased notes below (these are for personal reference only and any mistakes in transcription are my own). Regret for what you have done can be tempered by time, but […]

Slightly dated, but interesting conversation with Timothy Foley, co-founder of Edwall Management. He discusses the opportunity in Japanese stocks, evidence that things are finally changing in Japan and why value can be unlocked, the growing trend of hostile takeovers and the role shareholders activists are playing in the market. I have included some of my […]