Paul Ark (Polapat Arkkrapridi)
Partner & Head of ESG, Gobi Partners (Thailand)

 

 

Paul Ark works with Pan-Asian venture capital firm Gobi Partners, spearheading ESG and sustainability initiatives in the company’s operational and investment activities. Prior to joining Gobi Partners, he managed a US$100 million global corporate venture capital fund for Siam Commercial Bank’s Digital Ventures group, one of the largest fintech corporate VCs in Southeast Asia.

In addition to his career in venture capital, Paul worked as an investment banker across Asia and North America for Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, and in retail development roles for multinationals such as Apple, Microsoft, and Thailand’s Central Group, leading each retailers’ market entry and store roll-out strategy in Mainland China.

Outside of his professional endeavours, Paul co-founded the Amazing Maasai Girls Project, a U.S.- based 501c3 non-profit organization with a mission to fund scholarships to send Maasai girls in Kenya to high school and university to fight poverty and child marriage. Over the past 10 years, the non-profit has funded the high school and university education of over 100 girls and women.

Paul earned his undergraduate business degree at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and his MBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is currently pursuing a doctorate of business administration at the Sasin School of Management at Chulalongkorn University, with a research focus on gender funding gaps in startups and venture capital ecosystems.