Asian PE pioneer Randy Kwei dies

Kwei is said to have passed away peacefully in New York, surrounded by his family. He had been in hospital for the past several weeks.

Born in Shanghai, Kwei fled to Hong Kong with his parents and brother in 1948. Four years later, he moved to San Francisco, eventually graduating from Yale University and receiving an MBA from Columbia University. Kwei then embarked on a globetrotting career in finance before settling in Hong Kong.

Kwei made his mark in private equity with the establishment of the Asian Special Situation Equity Trust in 1988 under Asian Oceanic Group. He went on to found Pacific Capital Management in 1992, which subsequently merged with MYM Capital to form JK Capital Management. There were also advisory roles with Orix and Cigna.

Kwei met Kyle Shaw, then leading the Asian PE business of Security Pacific National Bank, in 1989 when Shaw was looking for a co-investor on the $51 million leveraged buyout of Flextronics International. In 1999, Shaw established Shaw Kwei with S.L. Tsui, the former CEO of Flextronics, and Kwei – who by this point had retired from active management – took up his advisory role.

“I have worked with Randy on many deals, shared our family experiences, and learned from him about a wide variety of subjects. Randy was a gentleman in every sense and was truly multi-talented and multi-dimensional. I will always remember him as truly understanding both American and Chinese peoples and being an expert and comfortable in dealing with both cultures,” Shaw said.

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