Carlson Lau is the Managing Director and co-Head of Northstar Ventures focused on investing in early and growth stage startups in Southeast Asia. Prior to joining Northstar Group, he was the CEO and Co-Founder of CoHive where he grew the startup to Indonesia’s largest co-working and facility management operator.

Before CoHive, Carlson was at PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya Tbk., where he was General Manager of Business Development in charge of private equity investments. Previously, he was with the private equity team at Goldman Sachs Global Commodities Principal Investments in Singapore, Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia in Hong Kong, and the investment banking team at Goldman Sachs in New York.

Carlson graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Management and Technology Program, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, with joint degrees in Systems Science Engineering and Finance.

Founded in 2003 by Patrick Walujo and Glenn Sugita, Northstar Group consists of over 25 professionals based in Singapore and Jakarta. It is the leading Indonesia-focused private equity firm with demonstrated reach across Southeast Asia.

Northstar Group manages US$2.6 billion in committed capital and has led or co-led over US$4 billion of investments in more than 50 companies across Southeast Asia. The Northstar Group holds a Capital Markets Services License for the provision of Fund Management services from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The Northstar Group is also an Exempt Reporting Advisor with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. NSV I will make early-stage investments, primarily in entities headquartered, or with significant operations, in (a) Indonesia and (b) to a lesser extent, other countries in Southeast Asia.

The fund’s core focus is on: (a) consumer internet, (b) financial technology (fintech), and (c) enterprise software, each being sectors that Northstar Group believes will benefit from long-term growth factors in Southeast Asia.