A journey of inclusion and equity, through a portfolio life in and out of the public and private sectors
Curtis S. Chin, Milken Institute Asia Fellow and former U.S. Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, pursues the portfolio life by making an impact across the public, profit and not-for-profit sectors
As a member of the ADB board, he pushed for strengthened governance, risk management and development efforts focused on people, planet and partnership, particularly in Asia’s least-developed nations. Via RiverPeak Group LLC, Curtis now advises startup firms and impact investors in Asia. This includes serving on the advisory boards of Equator Pure Nature, a leading ASEAN-based, natural consumer products company and cleantech pioneer, and the Dolma Impact Fund, the first international equity fund focused on Nepal; and as executive advisor to TAEL Partners, a private equity partner to ASEAN family businesses, that invests across sectors with a focus on sustainable urbanization. Curtis was previously a senior executive in the United States, Asia and Switzerland with Burson-Marsteller, having overseen Beijing and Hong Kong operations and provided counsel to governments and businesses in stakeholder engagement, public affairs, corporate responsibility, crisis management and market entry.
In this episode, he shared what it means to pursue the portfolio life by contributing across sectors. With his extensive travels, Curtis always got asked how a country can be the new “BRIC” where emerging economies once seen as drivers of global growth. He would say worry less about the BRIC and focus on finding the right balance when it comes to the battle of the “little BRIC” – bureaucracy, regulation, interventionism, corruption.
