Our People

A recognized expert on the global technology sector, Duncan is a global trustee of the Asia Society, founding trustee of Asia Society France and founding member of Asia Society Japan. He is the founder and chairman of advisory firm BDA (www.bda.com) with over 120 professionals serving private equity and hedge funds on their investments in high growth sectors in Asia and beyond. Prior to founding BDA in 1994, Duncan was an investment banker with Morgan Stanley in London and Hong Kong. An early advisor to China Internet entrepreneurs, Duncan is author of ‘Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built’. Published in over thirty-five languages, ‘Alibaba’ was named Book of the Year by The Economist and shortlisted as Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year. An early stage investor in global technology ventures including AppAnnie (invested by Sequoia),  Radish Fiction (acquired in 2021 by Kakao), fintech venture Quantitative Insight and fund manager Cambridge Machines Asset Management. A Visiting Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics, his alma mater, and previously a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, Duncan in 2013 was awarded an OBE for services to UK-China trade. Raised in the UK, US and France, Duncan is fluent in French, Chinese (HSK5 level) and conversant in Spanish and Japanese.

Chairman, Asia Society France, Vice Chairman, ImpactWayv Inc.

Serge Dumont, co-founder and Chairman of Asia Society France and Vice Chairman of ImpactWayv Inc. has lived in Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei for over 40 years. A specialist in international issues and strategic communications, Serge Dumont draws on decades of experience in Asia, the United States and Europe. He has regularly advised multinational companies, business leaders and boards of leading institutions.

In the early 1980s, he founded China's first independent public relations and public affairs consulting group. A young entrepreneur at the time, he is now credited with leading China's growing communications industry, having served companies such as Edelman (as EVP and Board Member), and Omnicom Group (NYSE, OMC), a global communications and marketing holding company of which he was Vice Chairman and Chairman Asia Pacific.

With a strong knowledge of the Asian, European and American markets, Serge strives to bring an international perspective to his activities. As a global citizen, his role is not limited to business. As a philanthropist, he is particularly involved in the fields of health and education. He is also convinced that a company's objective should not stop at making a profit, as social responsibility is an integral part of business success.

Serge Dumont has received several awards and distinctions from governments and international organizations for his commitments in the areas of business, philanthropy, health, culture and education. He has also served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations.

He serves on the boards of several corporations, educational institutions and non-profit organizations. He is fluent in English, Mandarin and French.

Betsy Z. Cohen is the chairman of FinTech Masala, a sponsor of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and venture rounds. She was previously founder and CEO of The Bancorp, an internet provider of financial services to non-bank fintech companies. From 1974 to 1999 she was founder, chairman and CEO of Jefferson Bank in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Cohen has served on a variety of philanthropic and corporate boards, including Aetna, Inc., Asia Society, The Brookings Institution, and The Metropolitan Opera. She served on the Bryn Mawr College Board of Trustees for 29 years and remains one of the Emeriti trustees. She is an Honorary Trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Fritz Demopoulos has been involved in the Asian region for over 20 years as a technology entrepreneur and investor.  Fritz co-founded Qunar.com, China’s largest travel platform, which was listed on the NASDAQ in 2013. He also co-founded Shawei.com, China’s largest digital sports media company, which was acquired by Hutchison Whampoa affiliateTom.com. Previously, he held senior executive positions at The News Corporation and Netease. Fritz coordinates his entrepreneurial business activities through Hong Kong-based Queen’s Road Capital.  Fritz was educated at UCLA, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He is a member of the Global Board of Trustees of the Asia Society in New York, a Trustee of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, a Trustee of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and serves on the Board of Advisors of UCLA’s Department of Earth, Planetary & Space Sciences.  Fritz is a long-term resident of Hong Kong with his wife and two daughters. 

Sidney Huang has over 16 years of experience in the technology and internet industry in China. He is currently a senior advisor of JD.com and a Board member of Kuaishou Technology.

Prior to 2004, Sidney spent 12 years in the United States, lastly as an investment banker at Citigroup Global Markets in New York. He earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Sidney moved to London in 2021 and is currently a Foundation Fellow at St Antony’s College at the University of Oxford where he was an Academic Visitor from 2021 to 2022.

Thierry Porté is a Vice Chairman and Managing Director of J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC, a global private equity firm focused exclusively on financial services. In this capacity, he currently serves as director of the J.C. Flowers Asset Reconstruction Company, a Mumbai-based non-performing loan platform.  He is also on the board of LMAX, a global financial technology company.    

Over the course of his time with J.C. Flowers, he has led successful investments in OneLife Insurance (a cross-border life insurer in Luxembourg), Equita SIM (an investment bank in Italy), Fidea NV (a general insurer in Belgium), Eurovita SpA (a life insurance company in Italy), Acuon Corporation (a leasing and finance company in South Korea), Financière CEP (an insurance and credit broker in France), and Chi-X Asia Pacific, an alternative equity trading platform operating in Japan and Australia. 

 Mr. Porté worked previously at Shinsei Bank, Ltd., Tokyo, where he served as Vice Chairman (2003-2005) and President and CEO (2005-2008). From 1982 to 2003, he served in various capacities at Morgan Stanley in New York, London and Tokyo, including as President, Branch Manager and Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Japan (1995-2003). In a personal capacity, he serves a Senior Advisor of Equita, a Milan-based investment bank; director of Baobab, a Paris headquartered microfinance institution operating in Africa and China; director of CBOE Japan (formerly Chi-X Japan) and director of AZ Therapies, a Boston-based biotechnology company.

Mr. Porté holds a bachelor of arts in Economics from Harvard College, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA with high honors and the designation of Baker Scholar from Harvard Business School.  He has held leadership roles in a number of Harvard related activities, including serving as President of the Harvard Club of Japan (1995- 2008) and currently as a member of the Board of Dean’s Advisors of Harvard Business School, the Harvard Global Advisory Council, the Harvard Asia Center Advisory Board, and the Harvard Art Museum Director’s Advisory Council.  He is Chairman of the US-Japan Bridging Foundation. He is a founding member and Co-Chair of the Asia Society Japan Center and is a Global Trustee of Asia Society (New York). He served on the Board of Trustees of Regis High School from 2009 to 2015 and continues to serve on the Regis Investment Committee.  He currently serves on the Investment Committee of the Missions of the Society of Jesus. He served from 2008 to 2013 as Chairman of the Japan-US Friendship Commission and the US-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange, appointments designated by the President of the United States.

An experienced communicator, Jean-Michel returned to Europe after 35 years in Asia to focus on expanding the communication opportunities between the two continents. To provide counsel on strategies for Asia, Jean-Michel draws on his knowledge and experience from many different types of clients from a broad spectrum of sectors.

His lengthy experience in Asia gives Mr. Dumont a thorough understanding of how to create and implement image-building programs throughout the region, supporting brands as diverse as Mars M&M’s, Hermes, Hennessy, and Audi. He has also helped represent the governments of Finland, France, and Brazil; positioning Beijing as the Asian hub of contemporary arts in the build-up to the 2008 Olympics through the global launch of the UCCA Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art; and managing the USA, Brazil and Colombia pavilions during the Shanghai World Expo 2010. He was also involved in assisting the Beijing 2000 Olympic Bid Committee as well as the World Health Organisation and providing Beijing government communication support during the SARS outbreak in 2003.

Jean-Michel was listed in the PRWeek Global Power Book 2017 as one of the most influential PR professionals in the world, received the Sabre Individual Achievement Award 2016, and Consultancy Professional of the Year at Public Affairs Asia Gold Standard Awards 2015. He was listed in the PRWeek Asia Power List 2014.

A native of France, he is fluent in French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese and has a working knowledge of Mandarin and Italian.

Dr. Ding served as Vice President and Dean at CEIBS from May 2015 to March 2023. As an established scholar in the area of accounting, corporate governance, and mergers & acquisitions with numerous academic publications and more than 20 years of teaching at the level of MS, MBA, EMBA and PhD in Europe and in China, he has been continuously on the Elsevier annual list of Highly Cited Chinese Researchers in the category of Business Management since the list was established in 2015.

An expert on higher education in business management, Dr. Ding is a Dean Director at the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), Steering Committee Member of EFMD Conference for Deans and Director General; International Advisory Board Member at Université Paris Dauphine, EHL and Bologna Business School. He has also served and continues to serve on the Boards of Directors of several listed firms and financial institutions in mainland China, Hong Kong, Europe and North America.

Receiving Ph.D. in Accounting, University Montesquieu Bordeaux IV, France, Dr. Ding started his academic career at HEC School of Management, Paris, France and became a tenured faculty member. Fluent in French and Mandarin Chinese, he is also a frequent contributor to academic and executive conferences across the world.

Debra Eisenman is Chief Operating Officer of the Asia Society and Founding Director and Senior Fellow of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). As COO, Debra oversees the operations and strategy of the Society’s substantive pillars, as well as the global network.

Prior to this role, Debra was Managing Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute, where she led and oversaw projects on development, governance, sustainability, and security challenges throughout Asia, with a particular focus on Myanmar, Central Asia, and Iran. She also ran ASPI’s strategy and operations, and has been with ASPI and its predecessor, the Global Policy Programs department at Asia Society, in numerous, progressively responsible roles since 2011. Debra also created the initial business, operations, and strategic plans for the development of ASPI, prior to its launch.

Before joining Asia Society in 2011, Debra worked on the Peacebuilding and Western Balkans grantmaking programs of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. From 2005 to 2008, she worked at the National Crime Prevention Council on projects to advance youth civic engagement and individual and community safety.

Debra has been a short-term election observer in Kosovo (2010), Albania (2011), Ukraine (2012 and 2014), and Armenia (2017). She holds a master’s degree in politics from New York University, and is a cum laude graduate of the University of Maryland with high honors in her government and politics major. She is also a fellow of the Truman National Security Project and a member of Women in International Security. Debra is a contributor to radio, television, and print media. In June 2018, she authored the ASPI report, Reconciling Expectations with Reality in a Transitioning Myanmar. 

Jean-François Huchet is currently President of the University for Oriental Language and Civilization in Paris (INALCO). He was vice-president for research of INALCO from 2017 to 2019. He was director of the Centre for Asian Studies (ASIEs) at INALCO from 2014 to 2017. Between 2006 and 2011, he was director of the French Centre for Research on Contemporary China (CEFC) a French National Research Center (CNRS) research institute based in Hong Kong, and director of the Academic Journal "China Perspectives". He was based in Asia for 18years and has occupied several academic positions as senior research fellow at the French Centre for Research on Contemporary China (CEFC) in Hong Kong between 1997 and 2001. He was also senior research fellow at the Maison franco-japonaise in Tokyo between 1993 and1997 and PhD researcher at Beijing University from 1987 to 1991. He has received his PhD of economics from the University of Rennes (France) in 1993. His research and publications have focused on the role of the state in economic development in China and India and on the global consequences of China’s economic development. He has published numerous articles and books on the Chinese economy. His latest books and articles include: The Environmental Crisis in China (in French), Paris, Presses de SciencesPo, 2016 ; China and India in Central Asia, A new Great Game?, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, 254 pp. ; "Impact of 1989 on the Emergence of State and Authoritarian Capitalism in China ", in Jacques Rupnik and Christian Lequesne (eds.), 1989: Europe and the World transformed, London, Routledge, 2011.

Eric Labaye is former President of École Polytechnique, a major French institution of higher education and research in sciences and engineering and President of Institut Polytechnique de Paris, created by École Polytechnique,
ENSTA Paris, ENSAE Paris, Télécom Paris and Télécom SudParis in 2019.

He serves on the board of Telecom Paris, the International Advisory Board of ESSEC, and the Board of Advisors of the School of Public Affairs at Sciences Po. Eric Labaye was formerly Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company and
Chairman of the McKinsey Global Institute. Prior to this, he was Managing Director of the France office, led the firm’s Global Knowledge and Communication and was a member of the Shareholders Council of the firm (Global Board) for ten years, of which he chaired the Client Committee. Eric Labaye has intensively worked with Asian companies on business development interest in Asia and more recently strengthened partnerships with Asian universities.

Eric Labaye is a graduate from École Polytechnique and Telecom ParisTech and holds an MBA with distinction (Henry Ford II award) from INSEAD.

Officier of the French Légion d’Honneur. Founder and President (1981-2003) of the Institut Aspen France with former Prime Minister Raymond Barre as chairman (2015- 2017). Lifetime trustee of The Aspen Institute USA and Board Member of Aspen Italia. Chairman and CEO of Interfina SAS. Former chairman and CEO of Mellerio dits Meller, a family High Jewellery group since 1613. Chairman of Mellerio Foundation. Board Member of the Fondation Victor Segalen.

Former chairman of the Comité d’Echange franco-japonais (CEFJ). Honorary member and Former chairman of COMITE COLBERT (Association of French Luxury Brands), Former vice president of the sectorial committee Fashion and luxury (French Ministry of Finance), Board Member of La Haute Ecole de Joaillerie, Former Board member of Union Française de la Joaillerie (UHBJO), Honorary member of the French Family Business network (FBN France), Former member of the Paris advisory Board of Banque de France, Former elected member of the Paris Chamber of Commerce, former chairman of Promosalons, President d’honneur de IREFI (Institute for Economic Relations between France and Italy), former vice president of comité d’Etablissement of HEC Business School. Olivier Mellerio graduated from HEC in France and has an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Peter Piot MD PhD is a Professor of Global Health and former Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He is the Special Advisor to the President of the European Commission on European and Global Health Security and the EU Chief Scientific Advisor, Epidemics. He is also a visiting professor at the Rega Institute, KU Leuven, the University of Antwerp, and the National University of Singapore.

He was the founding Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under- Secretary General of the United Nations. He co-discovered the Ebola virus in 1976 and led pioneering research on HIV, women’s health and infectious diseases. He trained at the University of Ghent (MD) and the Institute of Tropical Medicine/University of Antwerp (PhD) and has held positions at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp; the University of Washington, Seattle, USA; the University of Nairobi; Imperial College London; the College de France, Paris, and the Gates Foundation. 

He is a member of the Belgian, American, British, and French National Academies of Medicine, and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He is Chair of the Global Burden of Disease Independent Advisory Committee and Chair of the International Advisory Panel, PREPARE & PrepVax, Singapore. He is also Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Vice-Chair of GHIT Fund, Tokyo, and was a founding Board Member of CEPI, as well as of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, Malaria. In 1995 he was made a Baron in his native Belgium and in 2016 he received a UK Knighthood. He was honoured with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in Japan in 2018. His awards include the Canada Gairdner Global Health Award, Robert Koch Gold Medal, Prince Mahidol Award, Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize, and the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights. He was a 2014 TIME Person of the Year and in 2023 he was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the WHO.  He has published over 600 scientific articles and 16 books, including his memoir, No Time to Lose, available in 5 languages.

Investor and entrepreneur in China and Silicon Valley for over 20 years, Will is a co-founder of Timeplus Inc, a leading global streaming data analytics platform.  Will also sits on the investment committee for CreaDev China, the ever-green private equity firm of the Mulliez Family. Mulliez family businesses span over 200 companies and includes global market leaders such as Auchan, Decathlon, Leroy Merlin, and Agapes. Prior to TImeplus, Will was an early investor and the Chief Strategy Officer at TalkingData. While at TalkingData, Will led the scaling of the business to become China’s leading independent big data analytics platform, achieving unicorn status.

Will started his career at Goldman Sachs, where he worked in the New York and London offices. Will received his BA from Tufts University, and his MBA from the Harvard Business School. He has served as a Board Member of Harvard Business School’s Global Alumni Board.

He is also a member of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, Sous-Commanderie de Los Angeles. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and French. Will lives in Santa Barbara with his French-American wife and three children.

Born in the U.S. to immigrant parents from China, Amy Tan rejected her mother’s expectations that she become a doctor and concert pianist. She chose to write fiction instead. Her novels are The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Saving Fish from Drowning, and Valley of
Amazement, all New York Times bestsellers. 

She is the author of two memoirs, The Opposite of Fate and Where the Past Begins; two children’s books, The Moon Lady and Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat; and numerous articles for magazines.

Ms. Tan served as co-producer and co-screenwriter for the film adaptation of The Joy Luck Club and was creative consultant for Sagwa, the Emmy-nominated PBS television series for children.

She wrote the libretto for the opera based on her novel The Bonesetter’s Daughter. With music composed by Stewart Wallace, the opera had its world premiere in 2008 at the San Francisco Opera.  Tan is the subject of the American Masters documentary Amy Tan:  Unintended Memoir which premiered at Sundance in 2021. In addition, she is an instructor of a MasterClass on Fiction Writing.

French seasoned tech entrepreneur with two exits, a business data platform with global footprint (GIA) and an Asia wide business expert platform (Fusion). She invests in Health businesses with a focus on Mental Health innovations and serves on the board of growth stage companies. Marine has a special interest in neuroscience, science and data-centric businesses.  She co-founded and was the CEO of a gamified and AI powered social network for cancer patients in China (MedAnt) and a video Q&A platform based in London (YurOn). She started as an investment banker in 1994 in Tokyo where she also managed the editorial team of a Japanese publishing house. Marine lives in London with her three children and English husband.

Laurent's digital expertise started in 1999 with Lastminute.com, a leading European e-travel company, where he opened up Continental Europe, and IPOed in 2001. His second venture in e-travel was with Voyage Privé in 2010, leading its international expansion in Europe and in Latin America.

Laurent is also a Fintech expert, with 8 years in the payment industry at Edenred (2001-2008), growing the company in multiple geographies, including Asia-Pacific. He also spent 2 years in the insurance industry (Aviva), leading its digital transformation. Since 2012, Laurent is active on the European tech start-up scene, at different stages of their development (seed to 10 million € turnover), and with various roles: angel investor, advisory, interim management (mandate from funds) and board role. He is a co-founder in France of a start-up studio (Senseii Ventures), of a holding company focussed on decarbonation (Redmill Capital). Laurent was also involved with two start-up accelerators (Wilco and P/Factory) and was a Venture Partner at Blackfin Capital.

Laurent is an ex-consultant at McKinsey, is a graduate from Harvard Business School and from Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP).