Our Team
The Innov8 Team
Singtel Innov8 has a core team that combines hands-on experience in the telecommunications industry and an extensive network of resources to accelerate the growth of our portfolio companies.
Singtel Innov8 has a core team that combines hands-on experience in the telecommunications industry and an extensive network of resources to accelerate the growth of our portfolio companies.
Edgar Hardless is the CEO of Singtel Innov8, Singtel’s global corporate venture fund. With investment teams based in Singapore, US, Israel and China, Singtel Innov8 has been actively investing into the startup ecosystems of these countries since 2010.
Prior to Singtel Innov8, Edgar was Vice President, Strategic Investments at Singtel and was responsible for coordinating and executing all M&A activities undertaken by Singtel.
He has been with Singtel for over 17 years, having joined the company’s International Group in June 2001 as a Director of International Finance and Operations. During his tenure, Edgar also set up and headed Singtel’s first ever Group Innovations unit which was tasked with identifying new technologies and innovations that had the potential to make a significant impact on the telco industry and Singtel Group.
Before Singtel, Edgar spent almost seven years with British Telecommunications (BT), the UK’s largest telecommunications service provider, working in a number of strategy and corporate finance roles across the BT Group both in the UK and Asia Pacific.
Edgar is an associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and holds a BSc (Hons) in Business Administration from the University of Bath in the UK.
Boon Ping Chua (BP) is Managing Director, Investment APAC at Singtel Innov8, where he oversees the firm’s investment activities across the Asia-Pacific region.
BP has over 25 years of experience in venture capital. Prior to joining Singtel Innov8, he was a Partner at Cento Ventures, where he was responsible for early-stage investments across Korea and Southeast Asia. Before that, he held senior leadership roles at SPH Ventures and EDBI, where he led global technology investments across multiple sectors and geographies.
BP holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and an MBA in Banking and Finance from Nanyang Technological University. He passed the CFA Level III examination in 2002.
Michael is a Managing Director of Investments with Singtel Innov8 overseeing investments in North America.
Michael has been an investor, operator and advisor working with early, growth, and public stage companies across the consumer, enterprise, and infrastructure spaces. Prior to joining Singtel Innov8, Michael was an investor at Rogers Venture Partners, a Palo Alto based venture fund backed by Rogers Communications, investing in enterprise SaaS, data analytics, network infrastructure, consumer and IoT companies. He also advised on the launch of a US Tier 1 Telecom venture fund in conjunction with Touchdown Ventures. Michael has held positions leading up corporate development and strategy operations within the mobility industry focusing on U.S., Europe, and Asia operations.
Prior to being an investor, Michael was part of Morgan Stanley’s #1 II Ranked Tech Equity Research Team covering communications equipment, mobile devices, and semiconductors. He began his career in corporate finance and investment banking working for JPMorgan and Oppenheimer and Co.
Michael holds a B.A. from Georgetown University in Political Economy.
Danny is the China Country Director at Singtel Innov8, responsible for investing innovative tech start-ups in China and facilitating Chinese start-ups/entrepreneurs going to Singapore/SEA to form partnerships with Singtel Group. Danny comes to Singtel Innov8 with fourteen years of investment and business development experience focused on the TMT sector.
Before joining Singtel Innov8, Danny was the Director of Strategy Consulting at Accenture China, working in the ICT industry. Prior to that, Danny held the position of Corporate Development Director at Telstra and was responsible for strategy execution of the enterprise business’ inorganic growth activities, including M&A and strategic investments at China. Danny has also held the role of Consulting Director at BDA, a leading investment advisory firm in China, where he conducted investment advisory and due diligence work on both private and public companies for private equity and hedge funds.
Danny’s hobbies include football, after becoming a fan during his postgraduate study at UCL in London, reading history books and travelling. Danny is also an avid dog lover and owner.
Gil is a Director at Singtel Innov8 and leads the Israel team, with a focus on investing and partnering with innovative startups and technologies across Israel and Europe. In his current role, Gil has driven investments in more than twenty portfolio companies to date, from seed to growth stages.
Gil brings to Singtel Innov8 more than eighteen years of venture experience, having had roles leading Secondmarket’s (NASDAQ) activity in Israel and as a Principal at Viola Ventures (previously Carmel Ventures), one of Israel’s premier venture capital funds. Previously, Gil gained ten years of experience in business development, sales and marketing for several Israel based software startups in the US.
Gil holds a B.Sc. from the University of California, Irvine and enjoys playing basketball and running.
Sharan is a Senior Director of Investments with Singtel Innov8 and is focused on investments in Southeast Asia and Australia.
Prior to joining Innov8, Sharan spent 4 years with Singtel’s Group Strategy team where he led strategy and M&A for Singtel’s portfolio of digital businesses and the Group’s initiative to invest in FinTech.
Prior to Singtel, he was part of the leadership program at the Tata Group. At Tata, he led the digital economy vertical for the new venture arm of the group, investing in digital and internet-driven businesses in the region. Sharan began his career as the founding employee of a tech startup, where he created a first of its kind sports video streaming portal.
Sharan holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM B), an engineering degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and completed a 1-year program in entrepreneurship at Stanford University.
Sushil is a Director of Investments with Singtel Innov8 and is focused on investments in North America.
Sushil has been an entrepreneur, investor, and a visionary product leader, with a broad range of experience driving key investments decisions encompassing early stage startups to growth companies. He joined Singtel from Deutsche Bank, where he led strategic venture investments, primarily focusing on Enterprise Tech and FinTech startups. Prior to DB, Sushil led startup investments and strategic partnerships at IBM to accelerate the company’s footprint in new areas of growth such as Cloud, AI, and IoT. Prior to being an investor, Sushil led Innovation and product teams at Zynga and Charles Schwab. He has spent a significant portion of his career in entrepreneurial and early-growth ventures, where he championed the creation of new offerings across several business models and industries.
Sushil holds an MBA from London Business School and an engineering degree from Rutgers University.
Alex is a Director based in Innov8's Singapore office and focuses on early and growth investments in the APAC region (ex China) across a wide variety of sectors, including Fintech, Enterprise SaaS and Infrastructure.
Alex had previously spent 3 years in Innov8's US office, where he focused on Cybersecurity, Big Data and Network Infrastructure investments. Prior to joining Singtel, Alex founded and successfully exited an eCommerce start-up that retailed professional audio equipment.
Alex holds an MSc in Technopreneurship and Innovation from Nanyang Technological University, where he was placed on the Director’s list and awarded a scholarship. Alex also holds a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours) from NTU.
Darren is an Investment Manager with Singtel Innov8. Based in Singapore, Darren supports Singtel Innov8’s venture capital activities, ranging from research to sourcing, performing due diligence, executing deals, and adding value to our portfolio companies. He also manages the ICE71 cybersecurity accelerator and related portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Singtel Innov8, Darren was an associate at KAI Capital Partners, where he prepared pitchbooks and financial models to help US-based tech startups to raise funds and expand to Asia through strategic partnerships.
Darren holds a Masters of Science Technopreneurship and Innovation from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Patricia Lim is an Investment Associate with Singtel Innov8 and is focused on investments in Southeast Asia and China. Based in Singapore, Patricia supports the Investment Directors in end-to-end venture capital activities, including scouting for promising tech start-ups, performing due diligence, executing deals, and managing portfolio companies. She also facilitates partnership discussions between Innov8 portfolio companies and the Business Units.
Prior to joining Innov8, Patricia has experience in partnerships and corporate purchasing roles during her stints at Shopee, United Overseas Bank, and Henkel. She was a trailblazer who spearheaded sourcing of recycled resins for Henkel APAC packaging team, pioneered Shopee’s inaugural loyalty partner rewards programme, and experimented Shopee’s first-ever coins donation campaign in the region.
Patricia holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) from the National University of Singapore.
Marcus is an Investment Associate with Singtel Innov8, focusing on investments across SEA. He supports Singtel Innov8’s investment activities, ranging from conducting market research to sourcing, screening, performing due diligence and executing deals.
Prior to joining Singtel Innov8, Marcus was part of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Entrepreneurial and Private Business strategy department, where he was involved in formulating growth strategies for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore.
Marcus graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and Economics) from Monash University. In his free time, Marcus enjoys playing football, running and is an avid angler.
Wen Liang is an Investment Associate with Singtel Innov8, focusing on investments across SEA. He supports Innov8’s investment activities including deal sourcing, market research, investment due diligence and executing deals.
Prior to joining Singtel Innov8, Wen Liang was involved in Argor Capital (previously known as Go-Ventures) and Gentree Fund, participating in venture capital investment processes.
Wen Liang holds a Bachelor in Accounting and a Bachelor in Business from Nanyang Technological University (NTU). In his free time, Wen Liang enjoys playing sports including squash as well as making coffee.
Ryan is an Investment Associate at Singtel Innov8 focusing on investments across SEA. He supports the full spectrum of investment activities, including deal sourcing, due diligence, deal execution, and portfolio management.
Prior to joining Singtel Innov8, Ryan was involved in ABC Impact and Quadria Capital, participating in private equity investment processes.
Ryan holds a Bachelor in Accounting from Nanyang Technological University (NTU). In his free time, he enjoys playing football, frisbee and poker.
Irad is a Venture Consultant at Singtel Innov8. Irad is a seasoned venture capital investor with over a decade of experience spanning both early and growth-stage investments. He was previously a Partner at M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, where he co-led global investments in Cloud & Data Infrastructure and served on the Investment Committee. Before joining M12, Irad served as the Venture Partner for Israel at Eight Roads Ventures, an $11B global venture capital fund backed by Fidelity. He began his investment career at Singtel Innov8 VC, where as a Director, he led investments in cybersecurity and cloud infrastructure. Across these roles, he has specialized in Enterprise Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, and B2B SaaS.
Prior to his career in venture capital, Irad spent nearly two decades in technology, holding leadership roles in product development, innovation, and business strategy within both startups and multinational corporations. He is a graduate of the IDF Army Intelligence unit, where he completed his service with distinction.
Irad holds dual B.Sc. degrees in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science from Tel Aviv University (TAU) and an Executive MBA from London Business School. Outside of work, he enjoys practicing Tae Kwon Do and cooking.
Leon is an Investment Associate based in Innov8’s San Francisco office and focuses on investments in the U.S. and EU across a wide range of sectors, including Generative AI, 5G & Connectivity, Network & Compute Infrastructure, Enterprise Software, Data Privacy, Digital Economy, and Robotics.
Prior to joining Singtel Innov8, Leon worked as a semiconductor lithography engineer at Micron Technology, Texas Instruments, and GlobalFoundries, where he helped scale 3DxP memory and 14nm FinFET technologies. Beyond his semiconductor career, Leon contributed to Exelon Corporation’s Climate Change Investment Initiative, co-organized the Kauffman Foundation’s 1MillionCups Salt Lake City chapter, and gained venture investing experience at Piva Capital and Sabanci Climate Ventures, focusing on early-growth investments in energy transition, industrial technology, future of work, and climate technologies.
Leon holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, where he was a Lee R. Johnston Scholar.