SINGAPORE 21 February 2022 ecoSPIRITS announced today the appointments of Sui Ling Cheah to the role of Executive Board Chair and Anand Subramanian to the role of Chief Operating Officer. The appointments bolster ecoSPIRITS’ leadership team and governance as it navigates both a period of extraordinary global growth and the next phase of development of its closed loop technology. Together, Ms. Cheah and Mr. Subramanian bring more than 40 years of experience in strategy, investment banking, private equity, venture capital and governance to the ecoSPIRITS mission. Both of the new roles will be based in ecoSPIRITS’ Singapore headquarters.
In the newly-created role of Executive Board Chair, Ms. Cheah will lead the ecoSPIRITS board, oversee the company’s governance, and assist the CEO in setting the company’s overall strategy and direction. Ms. Cheah brings more than 25 years of experience to the role, primarily in investment banking, technology company advisory and board governance. In addition to her role at ecoSPIRITS, Ms. Cheah is an Operating Partner at Wavemaker Partners, a leading early stage venture fund. She previously spent more than 20 years in investment banking, including time at Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan and BNP Paribas. Ms. Cheah also holds independent board positions in several publicly listed companies in industries spanning hospitality, healthcare and telecommunications.
“ecoSPIRITS has developed into one of the most exciting companies in the Wavemaker Partners portfolio, having the potential to change the way the spirits industry operates. The world has to get serious about climate change. I believe we can play a part by backing companies with transformative environmental impact and innovative and capital efficient business models. I look forward to working closely with our board members and management team as ecoSPIRITS moves forward on its mission to transition the spirits industry to circular packaging technology.”
In addition to the new Executive Board Chair, ecoSPIRITS has appointed Anand Subramanian to the newly-created role of Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Mr. Subramanian will oversee the company’s board and investor relations as well as the finance, talent and strategy functions. He brings experience in strategy, investment banking, private equity and venture capital to ecoSPIRITS. Mr. Subramanian joins from Comcast NBC Universal, where he was Head of Strategy & Business Development in Asia Pacific. He previously spent thirteen years in investment banking and private equity and growth company investing, most recently with Fullerton Financial Holdings and J.P. Morgan.
“I joined ecoSPIRITS because I believe that sustainability should become an integral part of our day-to-day lives. I am excited to join the mission of ending single glass use and at the same time creating a scalable, sustainable and profitable business. As a circular economy technology company, we are truly at the centre of revolutionising the spirits industry by combining economic and social benefits for the entire ecosystem from brands, distributors, retail outlets and eventually the end consumer.”
Both of the new leadership roles will be based in ecoSPIRITS’ headquarters in Singapore, allowing ecoSPIRITS CEO Paul Gabie to spend time across the company’s Miami, London and Singapore offices to better support a growing global network of ecoSPIRITS Licensed Operators and Climate Partners.
“2021 was a remarkable year for spirits and the circular economy. ecoSPIRITS is now licensed in 18 countries worldwide, including many of the largest consumer markets. The future of circular spirits is bright; yet, delivering closed loop service at global scale presents complex challenges. Having worked closely with Sui Ling as a board member, I am delighted to welcome her to a formal role on the leadership team. Anand brings the strategy and financial acumen ecoSPIRITS requires to continue to develop cutting-edge solutions for circular at global scale. I could not be more excited about the impact these two appointments will have on ecoSPIRITS’ development in 2022 and beyond.”
About Sui Ling Cheah
Sui Ling Cheah is Operating Partner at Wavemaker, a B2B and deep tech focused early stage venture capital fund where she is responsible for helping the mature companies in Wavemaker’s portfolio with business development, follow-on financing and eventual exits. Prior to joining the venture capital industry, she spent 20 years in investment banking raising capital for high growth companies and executing cross-border M&A. Her last investment banking role was as the Co-Head of Corporate Finance of SEA at BNP Paribas. Prior to that, 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. Sui Ling is currently also a board director of several publicly-listed companies such as CDL Hospitality REIT, Parkway Life REIT and Telechoice International. Born in Malaysia, she graduated from Wellesley College in the United States with a Bachelor of Arts in French and Economics.
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About Anand Subramanian
Anand Subramanian has over 16 years of experience in private equity, venture capital, and investment banking. Prior to joining ecoSPIRITS, Anand was the Head of Corporate Strategy and Business Development APAC at Comcast NBCUniversal where he oversaw the go-to-market strategy for NBCUniversal in Asia Pacific across both linear and digital assets. Previously, Anand was Vice President of Investments at Fullerton Financial Holdings, Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, overlooking fintech and financial services investments across South & South East Asia. Anand spent close to 10 years at J.P. Morgan, Singapore, where was an Executive Director, Investment Banking overseeing all facets of IB including capital markets and M&A. He was also the Head of Junior Resources. Born in India, Anand graduated from Symbiosis Center for Management and Human Resource Development with an MBA in Finance & Marketing and from Delhi University with a Bachelor in Commerce.
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