Our people are the core of our business. Cypress River is comprised of senior industry experts and functional specialists with a wide range of strategy and operational experience.
We are telecoms and media experts, internet and information security technologists, green tech and medical specialists. We are passionate about the industries we enable change in and the clients we partner with.
We have the proven execution skill, valuable market insights, established industry relationships that our clients need in order to navigate complex challenges and risks while building effective in-country partnerships, cross border investments.
FOUNDERS
Jason Wang
Mr. Wang is a leading cross border practitioner at the intersection of telecommunications, technology and media industries. He specializes in enabling his clients to create value from their convergent investments. Mr. Wang’s clients include Asia Pacific’s largest mobile telecoms operators, satellite operators, global content providers and financial services corporations. Today, his portfolio also includes philanthropic work fostering air quality analytical platforms, academic research and education.
Prior to the founding of Cypress River, he was the Investment Advisor for a privately-held entertainment venture fund. Mr. Wang also served as the Taipei practice leader of the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Technology, InfoCom & Entertainment Practice Advisory Services supporting Greater China, the Middle East, ASEAN and Korean markets.
Regionally, Mr. Wang served as the co-chair of the Telecoms & Media Committee where he served for ten years at the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei. He served as the Taiwan liaison to the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia. He has hosted monthly discussions between industry leaders and government officials on business and regulatory issues challenging the telecommunications and media sector in Taiwan and the Asia Pacific region.
Prior to his arrival in Asia, Mr. Wang was based in Europe and the United States, designing and implementing convergent infrastructure projects for network operators.
Mr. Wang holds a Masters in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a systems engineering certificate from TU Delft, Netherlands. His undergraduate degrees in political science and economics are from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Heng-Pin “Ping” Kiang
Ping, co-founder of Cypress River Advisors, has specialized in international commercial transactions since 1996. He was a partner at the Davis Wright Tremaine and Perkins Coie law firms before serving in management positions for a number of telecommunication enterprises.
Ping is now retired from Cypress River Advisors but remains active the community. He is on the Board of Directors of the Landesa, an NGO which envisions a world free of poverty by enabling those who depend on land for their well-being to have access to secure land rights.
TEAM
Wayne Chou
Mr. Chou is an experienced television media executive in Asia. He specializes in corporate strategy, planning, investment and media business development. Mr. Chou was most recently the Managing Director of Popular Holdings Limited. He has served as Senior Vice President of TOM Group, the media arm of Hutchinson Whampoa Limited, as well as the Taiwan General Manager of STAR Group now renamed Fox International Channels; both under News Corp. Mr. Chou sits on the board of the Media Development Authority of Singapore
Mr. Chou is a fully qualified member of the Australian Society of CPAs. He received his Bachelors of Commerce from Murdoch University, Australia. He served in the Singapore Armed Forces as a full lieutenant.
Lubna Kabir
Lubna has designed & led business analytics and financial & operational audits for private and public sector entities to help them make better informed decisions. Prior to joining Cypress River Advisors, Lubna was Director in PwC Middle East Advisory practice. She was based in Abu Dhabi, UAE for 7 years and led projects in Media, Tourism, Entertainment & Telecom, Public and private sector Strategy & Economics. Notable clients include: Dubai Parks & Resorts, twofour54 (ie the Abu Dhabi Media Zone Authority), Dubai Film Festival, GE, Serco, and several government ministries of UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Lubna has a BA in Economics magna cum laude from Smith College and a MBA from Harvard Business School.
Ian Sanders
Ian is Cypress River Advisors European consulting leader. He is an industry veteran in the telecommunications, satellite and media sectors. He acts as the Chief Financial Officer of ManSat (mansat.com), an Isle of Man based company, which manages satellite regulatory filing processes for international satellite operators and is Company Secretary of the Space Data Association (space-data.org).
Prior to joining Cypress River, Ian was a TMT Strategy Partner at PwC Consulting in Hong Kong. He was with PwC and its predecessor firms from 1988 to 2014, during which time he was based in Hong Kong (twice), Beijing, Abu Dhabi, London and the Isle of Man and worked on consulting projects in over 20 countries worldwide. His experience covers corporate & business unit strategy, market entry strategy, sector policy and regulation, economics consulting, business development, business planning, financial modelling, valuation, financial analysis, commercial due diligence, post-merger integration and corporate restructuring. From 2003 to 2006 he was Strategy & Business Development Director at Manx Telecom (www.manx-telecom.com), which was then part of Telefónica’s O2 operating division.
Ian has degrees in economics from Cambridge University and Essex University in the UK and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Wendy Tsai
Prior to joining Cypress River Advisors as Head of Research, Ms. Tsai was an analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets (Taiwan), covering companies in the semiconductor and IC packaging/testing industry. Ms. Tsai’s previous work experience also includes strategy and upstream technology research at Yuanta Securities and J.P. Morgan.
Ms. Tsai holds a Master’s degree in Public Communication from the University of Westminster, UK and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from National Taiwan University.
Ryan Willett, Ph.D.
Ryan is an experienced analyst, researcher, and writer with a background in pharmacology, neuroscience, medical communications, and data science. He was most recently a postdoctoral research fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a Data Science Fellow at NYC Data Science Academy.
Ryan holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Molecular Signaling from Columbia University and Bachelors of Science degrees in Biochemistry and Biology from Brandeis University.
Dr. Wayne (Weihua) Zhang
Dr. Zhang is based in Beijing and for over twenty years he has served in a variety of executive roles in the telecommunications industry, including serving as General Manager Asia-Pacific with Motorola’s Mobile Software Solutions Group and as Director for Asia Operations with Nextel Communications Inc.
Most recently, Dr. Zhang founded ACCESS Media Solution Inc. Serving as its CEO he led the development and monetization of a convergent content distribution platform in China, whose investors include Motorola, Sony BMG, Warner Music, ACCESS and Melodeo as its major shareholders.
Dr. Zhang received his Ph.D. in Environmental System Engineering from the University of Washington and his B.S degree from Beijing Forestry University.
ALUMNI
Steven Au
Mr. Au has spent the past 12 years leveraging his extensive design and development history to craft innovative and inspiring user interfaces and applications for the consumer web. He is passionate about blending bleeding edge technologies with beautiful design to bring usable products to market.
Mr. Au currently advises companies on integrating third party and social media applications. He also founded and leads development for DistrictFinds.com. Previously, Mr. Au co-founded Kwiry.com where he led the user experience and front-end development.
Mr. Au holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
Jason Lin
Mr. Lin has ten years of experience in the entertainment industry spanning from Hollywood to China. His film credits include THE MUMMY 3 (Universal), FEARLESS (Universal), THE WARLORDS (a Peter Chan film), and WAR (Lionsgate). Mr. Lin spent five years at Jet Li’s production company leading both production and business development. Working with global brands like Adidas, IWC, as well as regional brands like Sohu, Mr. Lin specializes in creating value at the intersection of entertainment, creative talent, and consumer brands.
Mr. Lin is a founding board member of the Jet Li One Foundation, building the foundation since 2005. Currently, Mr. Lin focuses his efforts on building international partnerships and expansion. Previously, Mr. Lin held strategic planning and finance roles at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA, supporting initiatives from the Office of the President of TV Animation. Mr. Lin began his career as a business consultant with Andersen LLP.
Mr. Lin graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree from the Haas School of Business. He is bilingual in English and Chinese.
Susan Chao
Ms. Chao is a seasoned brand, licensing & marketing professional with over 15 years experience in the Asia-Pacific Region, United States and France. Her most recent projects have focused on licensing management, visual campaign production, luxury brand management, and market integration programs.
Prior to joining Cypress River Advisors, Ms. Chao served as the Asia Pacific Marketing Director for Hachette Filipacchi Medias’ parent, Lagardere Active, where she developed brand marketing & multi-channel sales strategies for the Greater China, Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, and India markets. Previously, Ms. Chao served as the Greater China Country Manager driving Hachette Filipacchi’s Elle brand business in licensing, retail development, and strategic marketing initiatives across multiple product categories including Fashion Apparel & Accessories, Footwear, Sportswear, Watch & Jewellery, Home Goods, and Kids & Infant Products.
Ms. Chao received her MBA from the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai and participated in the EMBA exchange program with Wharton Business School. Ms. Chao holds a Bachelors of Art in Broadcast Journalism & American Ethnic Studies from the University of Washington, Seattle.
Philbert Chin
Mr. Chin is a seasoned marketing and corporate planning practitioner with extensive experience in the transportation (ports and aviation), oil & gas and IT industry sectors. With deep execution experience in eight countries, he has worked with both private corporations and governments to reshape their commercial and marketing practices.
Prior to joining Cypress River Advisors, Mr Chin reorganised the marketing and commercial development operations of Hutchison Port Holdings, the world’s largest port developer and operator. Previously, Mr. Chin was responsible for strategic development for Lochard Ltd targeting new markets in Asia including those in manufacturing and power.
Mr Chin received his MBA at Mt Eliza/Melbourne Business School, Australia completing his final semester in France at the EM Lyon Business School. Mr Chin holds an engineering degree in digital communications and control systems from The University of Melbourne, Australia. Mr Chin is a native English speaker and proficient in Cantonese and Mandarin.
Robert McDonald
Mr. McDonald is a strategic advisor with nearly 20 years of expertise in telecommunication regulation, technology law and public policy. He advises corporate clients and government agencies to address challenging issues of law and policy and to develop and structure positive new relationships with industry partners. Working with the regulators and the telecom players in the market, Mr. McDonald has deep telecoms policy experience in the Middle East.
Prior to joining Cypress River Advisors, Mr. McDonald advised telecommunications clients in the Middle East and Asia. He was also a strategic advisor to the government of Jordan while that country liberalized its telecommunications industry. Previously, he was responsible for international legal and regulatory issues for Sprint Communications during its international network expansion in the early 2000s and handled international public policy matters for America On-line (AOL) in the late 1990s.
Mr. McDonald received his J.D. from the University of California’s Hastings College of Law and received a B.A. in International Relations from the University of California at Davis. He is a member of the Washington D.C. and California State Bar Associations and is based in Seattle, Washington.
Frank Yu
Mr. Yu is a seasoned expert and professional in Online Games, Mobile and New Media industries in Asia with over 20 years of experience in the region. He has worked and founded several start-ups in China and advises companies on social media, investments and product development.
Prior to joining Cypress River Advisors, Mr Yu co-founded start-up companies – Kwestr and Dragon Moss. He has served as COO and CPO for several game start-ups in China in the mobile and social game industry and shipped the first iPad game from China. Previously he worked at Microsoft Research Asia and has shipped Xbox, IE7, Media Center and Mobile projects. He set up the first game team in China for Microsoft. Before Microsoft, Mr Yu worked at CDC, Asia’s 1st Internet company to IPO in the USA, where he established their wireless and UX strategy division.
Prior to technology, Mr Yu has worked for Coutts Natwest in Emerging Markets as a Latin American Fixed Income Trader and Asia Technology Equity Analyst. He has also worked as an Asia Asset Equity Analyst at Columbus Circle PIMCO when his fund became the #1 International Equity Fund in 1999.
Mr Yu holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University and A Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy and Psychology with Highest Honors from Rutgers University. Mr Yu also served as a Captain in the Military Intelligence Branch in the US Army.