Investing in Green Tech: Bridging Finance and Sustainability

Olivia To is Senior Vice President (Sustainability)Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Invest Hong Kong, the government department responsible for attracting and facilitating foreign direct investment into Hong Kong. She is a sustainability professional specializing in climate change and green technology.

She is an engineer by training, certified carbon auditor, carbon trader and WELL AP. In her previous role at the Environmental Protection Department of HKSARG, she worked with directorates to prepare Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050 and carbon accounting.

She holds a master’s degree in environmental engineering and management from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a bachelor’s degree in Global Environmental Studies from the Education University of Hong Kong. She also serves as a Committee Member of the Energy Institute. As a rescue diver, she continues her passion in marine conservation at leisure.

Frederik has over 15 years of research, operational and investment experience in climate technologies across Asia, Europe and the US. As the founding member at Brawn Capital, a private equity fund manager specialised in renewable energy, Frederik was Director of Investments & Risk Management managing a portfolio of solar assets across Asia. During his time at Brawn, Frederik connected with the two founders, Li Tan and Toby Chan, of Audacy Ventures, a Hong Kong based VC investing at the nexus of Climate, Energy, and Tech. Frederik joined Audacy last year as Head of Science and part of the investment team to deepen the team’s technology DD expertise and to identify technology trends in Audacy’s three sectors of focus: electricity & storage, transportation & fuels, and carbon removal & utilization.

After graduating from LMU/Technical University of Munich, Frederik obtained a Ph.D. in Physics at the City University of Hong Kong, winning a scholarship to undertake research on new materials for third generation solar cells. He built and improved solar cell developing and testing laboratory facilities, collaborating with major international research facilities in Japan, Singapore, China, Israel and the US.

Fred has over 12 years of experience in deal transactions, management operations, and turnaround. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance. He is a certified HKICPA Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA). Fred began his career as a restructuring specialist at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services. Later, he gained full-cycle deal experience and served on the board of directors of portfolio companies during his positions at VC and PE firms, including Senior Associate at Ocean Equity Partners (MFO), Vice President at CITIC’s CLSA Capital Partners, and Executive Director at Hywin International. He also acquired practical experience in business management, successful turnaround, and digital transformation as Group General Manager at Gaia Group, a company in his previous portfolio. Fred has accumulated valuable experience across technology and business operations, with a focus on university spin-offs, Healthcare & Biotechnology, GreenTech, SaaS solutions, digital transformation, and more. He has served as the panelist, speaker, trainer, and mentor for a number of universities and ecosystem partners such as BIOHK, HKSTP and Cyberport.