The Firm
Principal Profile
Nearly two decades in private markets, first as an institutional investor deploying capital for major public pension funds, and subsequently helming senior regional leadership roles across some of the world’s largest asset managers and fund managers in Asia-Pacific.
Lester has spent close to two decades in private markets. Following the 2008 global financial crisis, he began his career as an institutional investor, deploying capital across private equity funds, secondaries and co-investments on behalf of some of the world’s largest public pensions, endowments and government institutions.
He was part of the first wave of global institutional capital investing into China in the aftermath of the financial crisis. More than fifteen years ago, he also made discretionary allocations to Asian venture and growth strategies, representing some of the earliest commitments to the asset class by large global institutions.
As one of Asia-Pacific’s largest institutional investors at the time, Lester later served on the LP Advisory Committees of several Asia-focused private equity funds, representing major institutional investors in matters including fund governance, conflicts of interest and other key issues affecting limited partners.
He subsequently moved to the other side of the table, leading capital formation for private equity firms and raising capital from global investors across North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Over the past decade, he has brought together these perspectives as both allocator and manager to advise some of Asia’s most substantial families on the deployment of their private capital.
Before founding Gatelanes, Lester was Head of Asia-Pacific (Family Capital) at KKR Asia in Hong Kong, where he built strategic relationships with prominent billionaire families across the region and advised them on the allocation of private capital across KKR’s global investment platform.
Prior to KKR, he was Head of Investor Relations at FountainVest Partners, one of Asia’s largest private equity firms. At FountainVest, he led the capital formation of its $3.0 billion flagship fund, as well as a number of co-investment vehicles, raising capital from leading institutional investors and private capital groups in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Earlier, Lester was a Director at HSBC Alternative Investments Group, advising family offices and high-net-worth individuals across private equity, hedge funds, private credit and real estate. More than a decade ago, he helped pioneer the development of semi-liquid alternative investment structures in Asia, with the platform deploying more than $1.0 billion annually across alternative assets.
His institutional investing career began at Pavilion Alternatives Group, where he was a Senior Investment Manager and the firm’s first hire in Asia. He invested discretionary and advisory capital across China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Australia — spanning buyout, growth, venture, special situations and credit, through a combination of funds, directs and secondaries.
Lester studied philosophy under Saranindranath Tagore, the great-grandnephew of Rabindranath Tagore. He also speaks fluent Mandarin and Shanghainese, and has lived in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. He is an active member of the Harvard alumni clubs in Hong Kong and Singapore.