Andy Ann - Founder and Managing Partner


Andy Ann is a serial entrepreneur and venture builder with a passion for turning ideas into reality and scaling businesses to the growth stage. He has successfully founded and exited several ventures, and has venture built 35 tech startups. Andy is highly involved in web3, blockchain, and metaverse, and is dedicated to bringing cutting-edge technologies to the mainstream. He is also deeply committed to giving back to the community and encouraging the next generation of entrepreneurs. With his extensive experience and knowledge, Andy is a highly respected figure in the industry and well-positioned to continue making a significant impact for many years to come.

 

 

Alan Rutherford - Chairman 


Alan Rutherford currently holds several Chairman and Non Executive Director positions in media and marketing companies. He is Chairman of Volume, a UK based global digital and technology company. Alan is a Director of Molinare, a world renowned Post Production House, and he is Chairman of F2F, the biggest independent creative agency in the Middle East.

Alan’s own consultancy, Rutherford and Partners works with private equity companies and major advertisers

Alan was Global President and World Chairman of the International Advertising Association from May 2010. – 2013, and focused on the development of the association in China

Alan's previous roles have included

  • CEO of DIGITAS, where via acquisition he grew the agency from 2 to 20 countries
  • Worldwide head of media and brand communication at Unilever where he was responsible for a £4bn budget
  • Director of Ogilvy and Mather Europe where he launched the Network, the forerunner to WPP’s Mindshare

Alan was recognised one of the ten most influential media figures globally by the Financial Times

 

 

 

Louise Au - General Partner 


Louise is the Co-founder and Partner of Axis Business Consulting – established in 2011, the consultancy works with both global communications networks and local independent agencies in Asia, in developing their M&A and expansion strategies in the region.

Louise is also the Managing Director of Mercury Digital Marketing Communications – an agency founded in 2010 that specializes in strategic planning on digital marketing communications, eCRM and ecommerce. MERCURY’s client portfolio includes Harbour City Hong Kong, Hang Seng Bank, ANTEPRIMA, GATSBY, Triumph.

Originally from Hong Kong, Louise is currently based in Shanghai, and has solid management experiences in the Greater China and North Asia regions.

Prior to starting her own businesses, Louise held the position of President at DIGITAS Greater China since 2006 – one of the biggest digital marketing agencies, with offices in over 30 cities and employs more then 30,000 digital specialists around the world. DIGITAS is wholly owned by the Publicis Groupe, the 3rd largest global marketing communications conglomerate.

During her tenure at DIGITAS, Louise supervised the operations Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo offices; in charge of all key client relationships and new business initiatives. Her key clients include: Ford, Haagen-Dazs, L’Oreal Group China & Japan, Unilever China, etc. Louise was also one of the leaders in Publicis Groupe China Board, which was established to strengthen the Groupe’s presence in China and to facilitate internal resources leveraging.

Prior to working in Digitas, Louise has held key positions in Grey Interactive, Bates Advertising, Junior Achievement Hong Kong and Universal Music. She graduated from the Hong Kong Baptist University with Bachelor Degree of Social Science, Major in Communications (Public Relations & Advertising).