CIO- Global Advisory Council - Year of Elections: In Conversation with Ken Mehlman and Stewart James

Ken Mehlman (New York) joined KKR in 2008 and is a Partner, Global Head of Public Affairs & Co-Head of KKR Global Impact. Since joining the firm, Ken has architected KKR’s responsible investment efforts that seek to create shared value for KKR investors and other stakeholders. He has also worked to identify investment opportunities by leveraging geopolitical, public policy & sustainability trends. KKR’s Global Impact strategy invests behind businesses that promote commercial solutions to global challenges associated with climate action/energy transition, sustainable living, lifelong learning & inclusive growth.

Mr. Mehlman spent a dozen years in national politics and government service, including as 62nd Chairman of the Republican National Committee and Campaign Manager of President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, the only Republican presidential campaign in 34 years to win the popular vote. Mr. Mehlman also served in high level positions in Congress and the White House.

Mr. Mehlman, who currently lives in New York City, graduated with a B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College and holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Mr. Mehlman’s philanthropic focus is opportunity, mobility & equality. He is a trustee of Mt. Sinai Hospital of New York, Teach for America, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), Franklin & Marshall College and Sponsors of Educational Opportunity (SEO). Mehlman is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Stewart is co-head of the Office of Government Affairs for Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong. In this role, he focuses on the firm's public policy agenda in Asia Pacific Ex-Japan, and manages the firm's relationships with key regulators, policy officials, business groups and community leaders in the region.

Stewart joined Goldman Sachs as a managing director in 2022. Prior to joining the firm, Stewart held multiple roles in international public policy and the private sector. Most recently, he served as a member of the Executive Office at HSBC, advising on sustainability policy and regulation.

Before that, Stewart relocated to Hong Kong to lead Government Affairs for HSBC's Asia Pacific region. He joined HSBC in 2016 as deputy head of Group Government Affairs, helping to establish a new global function to engage with public policy makers across the company’s geographical footprint.

Earlier in his career, Stewart worked at the Bank of England, where he acted as Governor Mark Carney’s Financial Stability Board (FSB) Sherpa, leading the team to support the governor in his role as FSB chair. Before that, in 2008, he worked as alternate executive director on the board of the World Bank Group, representing the UK government in Washington, DC. He began his career in HM Treasury, working for five years in London on the UK’s strategic approach to the European Union (EU) and six years in Brussels, focused on EU financial regulation.

Stewart earned a BS in Physics from the University of Glasgow.

Jean Chia is Bank of Singapore’s Global CIO, responsible for the house view across Macroeconomics, Investment Strategy, FX, Equity & Fixed Income Research, as well as Discretionary Portfolio Management (DPM), Advisory Portfolio Management (APM) and Funds Selection teams at Bank of Singapore. She is a member of the board of directors for BOS International Funds, Luxembourg and a member of the OCBC Wealth Panel.

Jean has over 20 years of experience in Private Banking and Asset Management. Prior to her current role, she was previously Head, Equities Advisory & Sales, responsible for the equities and derivatives business at Bank of Singapore, and Head of Client Advisory Services for Equities, Investment Products & Services at UBS Wealth Management, Singapore.

Prior to UBS, she was Vice President, Head of Grassroots Research at Allianz Dresdner Asset Management (now known as Allianz Global Investors).

Jean graduated with an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from University of Oxford, UK. She holds a Sustainable Finance certification from Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership (CISL).

Jean is currently a Financial Women’s Association of Singapore (FWA) Female Champion and an Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) Fellow for Private Banking and Wealth Management.

Eli Lee is the Chief Investment Strategist at Bank of Singapore and he plays a central role in developing asset allocation and thematic strategies across global asset classes for the Bank.

He is a key member of Bank of Singapore’s investment committee, which determines the Group’s overall investment strategy and direction, and serves as a member of the OCBC Group Wealth Panel.

He also previously led the Special Situations Research team at OCBC Investment Research.

As an investment thought leader, Eli’s independent perspectives are often sought after by international media, including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and CNBC.

With close to two decades of industry experience, Eli began his investment career at the Wellington Management Company in Boston.

He graduated from Harvard University with an MA in statistics.