Raja Shamsul Kamal Bin Raja Shahruzzaman,
Founder and Senior Partner.
Prior to setting up Vida Partners, Raja Shamsul was the
founding member and Chief Executive Officer and
Executive Director of Commerce-Ventures. Over the
last 10 years, he has developed Commerce-Ventures
into one of the leading private equity management
group in Malaysia. Commerce-Ventures is a wholly
owned subsidiary of the CIMB Group.
Raja Sham’s primary responsibilities in Commerce-
Ventures included managing investment teams and
setting overall organization and investment strategies
for various funds with diverse mandates. He was also
directly involved in fund management and fund
raising. He was also a member of Commerce-Ventures’
Investment Committee and served as director for the
various funds.
Under his leadership from 1997 to 2007, Commerce-
Ventures grew its funds under management from
RM15.0 million to RM900.0 million. During the same
period, Commerce-Ventures also enjoyed a period of
double digit annual growth in profits from RM0.5 million
to RM103.0 million.
Before Commerce-Ventures, he held numerous senior
management positions and headed various
subsidiaries within the Commerce Group of companies
between the period 1984 to 1997 before assuming his
position as CEO and Executive Director of
Commerce-Ventures.
Currently, he holds directorships in various private
companies and few public companies i.e. Carotech
Berhad and Hovid Berhad.
of Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Lee Yu Lian,
Founder and Managing Partner
Prior to joining Vida Partners, Yu Lian was the Chief
Operating Officer and Executive Director of
Commerce-Ventures. She was one of the pioneers in
CAV when she
joined in 1997 as an analyst. During her
time with
Commerce-Ventures, she had the
opportunity
to
experience and acquire a wide range
of knowledge
and skill in private equity management.
Her major responsibilities at Commerce-Ventures can
be summarized into two, Firstly, assisting the CEO in
mapping the organizational and investment
strategies for the Funds and secondly, to ensure the
execution of
the direction and goals set by the CEO
and Board of
Directors. She was also a member of the
Investment
and Risk Oversight Committees.
Besides her macro responsibilities, she was also hands
on in a whole ambit of investment, fund raising and
fund management activities.
Preceding her career in private equity in 1997, she
was involved in corporate lending in Bank Of
Commerce Berhad and Southern Bank Berhad.
She had also served as a director in a host of boards
of private and public investee companies i.e.
Carotech Bhd and International Medical University
Sdn Bhd.
She holds a Bachelor of Law Degree, LLB, from
University of London.
Mohd Jafni bin Mohd Alias,
Founder
and Partner.
Prior to setting up Vida Partners, Jafni was the
Associate Director of Commerce-Ventures and a
senior member of the Management Committee.
During his tenure in Commerce-Ventures between
2000 and 2007, he was primarily involved in fund
raising and a full range of investment activities. His
last
position was head of Commerce Agro Ventures
Fund, sa
collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia.
During his tenure at Commerce-Ventures, he has
served as director on numerous board and executive
committee in the portfolio companies for both private
and public companies. In Commerce-Ventures, he
was
not only involved in managing portfolio
companies but also hands on in the investment
sourcing, structuring, negotiation and driving the exit
process as well.
Before joining Commerce-Ventures, between 1991 to
2000, he was with Bank Bumiputra and then the CIMB
Group. His main responsibilities then were in areas of
corporate lending, capital markets and investment
and financial advisory.
He studied Chartered Institute of Management
Accountants in the United Kingdom.