Thursday, September 22, 2022
Antonio DiCristo
E-Circle Event: Charles Kim, "Raising Giants During China's Tech Wave" Discussion Highlights
- The China Tech Wave: Managing Director and Head of US for China Renaissance (China's top tech investment bank) during China's massive tech growth wave; led capital raising and acquisition deals for Bytedance (TikTok), Kuaishou, Didi, and other major Chinese tech companies at various stages from Series A to IPO
- Deal Experience: Music.ly/Bytedance acquisition (TikTok), Didi/Uber China acquisition, Kuaishou, Meituan, and many more
- Discussion Points: Lessons learned from experiences with Jack Ma and many founders of China’s top tech companies
- Lessons Learned (Both China and Non-China): How to build billion dollar companies, how to succeed in China, what we can takeaway
- China Dynamics and Opportunities: Where the future leads for China
Date: September 22, 2022
Time: 12pm PT
Location: Virtual event via Zoom (link to be sent shortly before the start)
Note: This event is open to all attendees, but RSVP is required
Charles Kim, Founder of CRAVE Global
Charles Kim is the Founder and CEO of CRAVE Global, an entertainment services and technology platform enables global celebrities to efficiently establish, grow and monetize their fan bases to China's 1.5 billion consumers.
Charles Kim is also currently the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Extol Capital. Extol Capital is a US based growth equity firm that invests in consumer-focused technology companies in the United States. We are unique in our unparalleled ability to accelerate our portfolio companies into the Greater China Region in order to drive superior returns. We focus on investing in companies in the West and help them enter the China market.
As an investor, Charles was a seed investor of Hereda Hashgraph and also various Blockchain funds.
Charles is a seasoned finance professional with 20+ year experience and deep domain expertise in asset finance, project finance, private equity, M&A, capital markets and sales and trading. Noted for ability to provide creative solutions for partners and clients under special situation and his in-depth understanding of Asian capital markets and extensive network with banks and investors and successfully syndicated over 100 deals for the last 20 years in Korea, Japan and China. Charles has extensive experience in negotiating, establishing and growing international joint ventures in emerging markets.
For over 7 years, Charles was the Head of US for China Renaissance Group. China Renaissance (“CR”) is one of China's leading financial institutions that combines private placement advisory, M&A advisory, direct investment, equity underwriting, sales, trading and brokerage, research, structured products, asset management, wealth management and other financial services. With offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York, and over 600 employees CR has advised on over 1,000 transactions worth over US$150 billion since inception and has AUM of over US$4.9 billion in new economy investments which have resulted in over 30 initial public offerings. CR's advisory clients have included Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com, Kuaishou, Meituan, Didi Chuxing, and many more of China's leading tech companies.
Previous to China Renaissance, Charles was Managing Director of Mirae Asset Securities, the largest asset management company in Korea. Previous to Mirae Asset Securities, Charles was Director and Head of Equities for Lehman Brothers Korea. In New York, Charles was a Director with Deutsche Bank and a Director of Asian Equities with JP Morgan and Jardine Flemings in New York. Charles was born in Korea, raised in Boston and received his BA from Brandeis University in Boston.
Wharton E-Circle
E-Circle is an invitation-only group within Wharton So Cal who are either managing, planning on starting, or just plain interested in entrepreneur start-ups to the Circle. These meetings will be focused on helping Wharton start-up founders succeed. This Entrepreneurial Circle has been modeled after the very successful C-Circle with the goal being to help all Wharton Alumni succeed in their own Entrepreneurial endeavors.
The Entrepreneurial Circle will involve the following ideas and experiences:
- Group discussion on solutions to issues arising with current or planned start-ups
- Group discussion on recommended best practices in start-ups
- Peer review of strategic planning and execution of strategy
- Speakers either related to start-up culture or who offer solutions to start-ups
Please check the criteria below.
Entrepreneurial Circle Criteria:
- Wharton Alumni
- Paid member of Wharton So Cal
- Living in the Southern California region
- LinkedIn profile/general bio
- Fee of $10 per meeting (for in person meetings only) (This will be used for club related activities.)
Interested members should contact Tony DiCristo [email]
