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Daniel Tu

Founder and Managing Director at Active Creation Capital

Daniel Tu is a prominent figure in the financial services and technology sectors. He is the Founder and Managing Director of Active Creation Capital, a position he has held since September 2000.1 Tu's career spans four decades, during which he has led and advised companies in financial services, technology, sports, and media.2

Key aspects of Daniel Tu's professional background include:

  1. Current roles:

    • Venture Partner at Pitango Venture Capital (since January 2020)1
    • Advisory Council Member at Eos Venture Partners (since January 2018)1
  2. Previous significant position:

    • Group Chief Innovation Officer at Ping An Group of China (May 2013 to May 2017)12
  3. Notable achievements:

    • At Ping An, Tu was instrumental in formulating the group's digital transformation strategy and driving growth through innovation and technology2
    • He oversaw strategic partnerships, collaborations with academic institutions, and the creation of Ping An Ventures2
    • Co-led Ping An's AI and blockchain initiatives2
  4. Earlier career highlights:

    • Group CIO of CTBC, a leading commercial bank in Taiwan2
    • Led a major cards and payments entity in the region2
    • Served as an advisor to Visa2
    • Part of the founding advisory team of Sina.com, the first internet company from China to list in the U.S. and on Nasdaq2
  5. Current advisory roles:

    • Serves on boards and in advisory positions with leading global funds, Fortune 500 companies, and tech startups across Asia, U.S., Europe, and Israel2

Daniel Tu's expertise spans various areas, including business strategy, start-ups, business development, management consulting, product management, strategic planning, and mergers & acquisitions.1

Highlights

Aug 24 · linkedin

They died too young -

The media and China observers have spent the past two years focusing on the country's economic malaise, and, in tow, youth unemployment etc.

They were also perplexed about Xi's preoccupation with national security above the need for economic reform.

This week a young unemployed accountant died of starvation in her rented apartment in Xi’an. She was discovered days later by her landlord, who shared the news on WeChat. The outpouring of sympathy was palpable.

This young lady came from a poor village in northwestern Ningxia, one of the poorest regions in China. She was the pride of her community when she scored in the top tier of Gaokao and matriculated at one of the universities in Beijing. Upon graduation, she could not find a decent paying job in the capital city and, therefore, relocated to Xi'an to pursue work.

Separately, beginning in 2023, a handful of China's most brilliant and talented scientists and researchers met their premature demise and under mysterious circumstances. They were all leading cutting-edge projects in emerging technologies at the most important national institutions. All passed away at relatively young ages including 汤晓鸥 (a top AI and facial recognition expert), 冯旸赫 (the 38-yr old 'genius' scientist of the PLA who specialized in AI and defense tech; and, died in a "traffic mishap" after attending a highly-classified meeting), 周光远 (a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the country's foremost expert on macromolecules and polymer materials), and 刘东昊 (founder of one of China's leading data security research centers - “贵州大数据安全工程研究中心”).

Including the lady from Ningxia, all of the deceased were the best and brightest of China and the future hope for the country though the news of their passing were deleted by the authorities.

To the above list, I would add 张首晟, the Stanford U professor who committed suicide "after fighting a battle with depression" on Dec 1, 2018 at the age of 55. 张, a Fudan U graduate, pursued his post-graduate studies in Germany and the U.S. and was mentored by Nobel Prize winner Chen-Ning Yang and Steven Kivelson. He developed into a world-class physicist and was in the Nobel Prize discussions for many years before his death.

张, unbeknownst to many, was also the figurehead for the Thousand Talents Program. Eschewing the sensitive details, we last saw each other six months before his passing when he pitched me on his Danhua Capital fund.

Regrettably, 英年早逝 aptly describes their premature passing.

To some extent, perhaps the above explains the effect of a weak economy and its impact on the job market. Furthermore, the infiltration of the PLA Rocket Force notwithstanding, it also explains the urgent need and the elevated status of national security in these uncertain times.

Finally, for those interested in the history of the CCP, the following is a rare article detailing the deaths of 38 young leaders nearly a century ago.

A good read.

#china #history

Aug 16 · linkedin

"打高空 耍嘴皮 懂皮毛" -

Every so often I am reminded of the above quote by one of my retired octogenarian Beijing-native taxi driver friends. In his acerbic tone, that's how he described people who claim or pretend to be experts about China and CCP politics.

He began driving the Zhongnanhai beat in the early '80s in his '面的.' Before there was rigid security clearance, he would shuttle officials to and from meetings and occasionally deliver state documents between ministries. Over the decades he has seen regimes and leaders come and go. Intuitively, he could detect '风吹草动' within the Zhongnanhai compound even before the state media, and, is more than qualified to explain why "北京的水深不可测."

This week saw a plethora of reports and posts about Xi's absence from the public eye since the Third Plenum. Without getting into the specifics, I will just say most of the comments and guesses are unsubstantiated conjecture while exuding ignorance, with many bordering on parlor talk to outright 胡言乱语. Perhaps these folks should watch the videos on the topic narrated by retired party cadres who reside overseas - far more 靠谱.

4 weeks ago in a post "How about some facts?" I wrote -

"Speaking of the just-concluded third plenum, there was not a single post by so-called "China experts" about a highly-irregular and unusual incident which took place in the first two days of this CCP conference.

On July 15, coinciding with the opening of the third plenum, Xinhua News Agency published a near 10,000 word editorial "改革家习近平" touting the achievements of Xi, the reformist. By all accounts, the article was first approved by Zhongnanhai, specifically, Xi's office. However, it was immediately taken down the following day and has since disappeared from the internet. The editorial was deleted by none other than the Office of the Central Cyber Affairs Commission, which is led by Xi himself.

Furthermore, only days before the start of the third plenum, special forces were dispatched to lock down 香山南路78号院 in Beijing. If you are a "China expert," then you might surmise the significance of this action given the background and pedigree of the prominent figures who reside at this compound. Some history - 香山 was where Mao maintained his residence when he lived in the capital city."

This morning CCP-media 求是 published an article "把邓小平同志开创的中国特色社会主义伟大事业不断推向前进" which generated widespread attention. Timing aside, the article, in no uncertain terms, emphasized 邓小平's stature within the party, his contributions to the state, and his ideology which underpinned the transformation of modern day China.

If you are genuinely interested in China and possess above-superficial knowledge about CCP, I suggest you read the article and connect the dots to my post "How about some facts?" and better gauge of what could be transpiring behind-the-scenes and at the highest level of the party.

A good read.

#china #politics

https://lnkd.in/gjkkQGkh

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