East Ventures appoints new partner

Irene joined East in 2015 as an associate based in Indonesia with no investment experience nor digital industry knowledge. It was her first full-time job. She went on to close a number of deals for the firm and was eventually promoted to principal.

“Over years, she developed personal traits [and] thought out every VC task given to her, and she aligned with our firm core values; integrity, empathy, and velocity,” Willson Cuaca, a managing partner at East, said in a statement. “We welcome Melisa Irene as our youngest partner – probably youngest in the region – and looking forward to her impact in our ecosystems.”

Founded in 2010, East operates across offices in Singapore, Jakarta, Tokyo and San Francisco, with a focus on early-stage start-ups in Southeast Asia and Japan. It claims to have invested in hundreds of companies across Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand, most of which have gone on to raise follow-on rounds.

Last year, East set up a $150 million fund targeting tech companies in Southeast Asia alongside Indonesia’s Sinar Mas Group and Yahoo Japan. The firm launched a $30 million fund in 2017 that focuses on Indonesia after raising $27.5 million for a pan-Southeast Asia vehicle. It also operates a co-working space with two locations in Indonesia that run about 100 public events a year.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• GPs
• People
• Indonesia
• East Ventures
• Appointments