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Zachary Lee (李惠翔)
Investor | Entrepreneur | Operator | CFA
Zachary Lee (李惠翔) is a prominent figure in the venture capital and investment landscape, currently serving as a Senior Investment Principal at The Radical Fund.12 Here's a comprehensive overview of his background and experience:
Professional Experience
Current Role: Zachary, also known as "Zac," is responsible for the investment and sourcing functions at The Radical Fund.3 This climate-focused early-stage VC fund is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia who are developing solutions for a more sustainable future.1
Previous Positions:
- Investment Director at K3 Ventures (May 2022 - May 2023)
- Senior Principal and Principal at EDBI Pte Ltd (January 2020 - May 2022)
- Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer at Freshman Group of Companies (September 2011 - June 2020)
- Director of Strategic Partnerships and Senior Manager at Procter & Gamble (November 2008 - August 2016)1
Education and Qualifications
Zachary has an impressive educational background:
- MBA with Distinction from INSEAD
- Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering with First Class Honors from National University of Singapore
- Bachelor of Engineering in Aerospace Engineering from Monash University1
He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder.1
Expertise and Focus
Zachary specializes in:
- Early and growth-stage investments in technology companies
- Climate adaptation and mitigation ventures
- Consumer and enterprise tech
- Cloud-based software enterprises12
Achievements
- Recipient of the ASEAN Scholarship
- Named to the Dean's List at both NUS and INSEAD1
Zachary Lee brings a wealth of experience in investment management, strategic partnerships, and business development to his role at The Radical Fund. His diverse background spanning engineering, business, and finance positions him well to identify and support promising ventures in the climate tech sector across Southeast Asia.
Highlights
Join me and my fellow panellists Shaun Lim and Nicolas du Cray, moderated by Bing Yuan, as we discuss the future of electric mobility at SuperReturn Asia 2023 next week! #SRAsia SuperReturn
Transitioning from being a software to climate tech investor in Southeast Asia, I have developed a view that we probably won't continue investing in asset-light software-led companies to create a much needed environmental and commercial impact.
Don't get me wrong. Software is great, but it won't be able to make sustainable food to feed billions of us, it cannot suck carbon emission out of the air and it certainly cannot produce the much needed clean energy to fuel our growing economy. However, this article from Bessemer Venture Partners (thanks to Black Mangroves for forwarding this weekend reading) has shed some lights that there will be a new wave of climate tech software startups ready to hit to accelerate and enable the green economy. While I am super stoked about these opportunities, the Southeast Asia software market has traditionally been a laggard, mainly because of market heterogeneity, lack of access to top software developers and engineers, and the inability to monetize due to the geography's low willingness-to-pay for subscription model. Will it be different this time round? I, myself, am still not so optimistic about the region's ability to start and scale climate software but would love to be proven wrong!
Have a restful weekend. #climatetech #saas #software #sustainability
