Quad launches investor group with Andy Penn, Joe Hockey on board

The Australian Financial Review | May 21, 2023

Over the weekend the Quad announced the formation of the Quad Investors Network, which is made up of public and private stakeholders from the group’s four nations of India, the United States, Japan and Australia.

The idea is to “foster co-operation, collaboration, and co-investment into critical technologies and supply chain resilience” across the region, and membership is by invitation.

Mr Penn and Mr Hockey will join 19 other prominent business, academic and diplomatic figures on the network’s advisory board, including Ankur Verma, senior vice president at Tata, and Jim Breyer, the founder of Breyer Capital.

The other Australian-based leaders on the board are Ashok Jacob, executive chairman at Ellerston Capital, former Liberal politician and ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos, and Bec Shrimpton, defence strategy and national security director at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

In a statement released by the White House, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said: “Critical and emerging technologies will profoundly shape our future. By seeking to accelerate the development and manufacturing of these technologies, from semiconductors to quantum to clean energy, the Quad Investors Network demonstrates the tremendous potential of the Quad nations to mobilise world-class talent and investment to foster a more prosperous, resilient, and innovative Indo-Pacific.”

The Quad Investors Network also established five expert working groups focused on artificial intelligence, semiconductors, clean energy and critical minerals, mobile networks, and quantum information sciences.

Entrepreneur and investor Karl Mehta will serve as the inaugural chairman of the Quad Investors Network.

The full list of the Quad Investors Network advisory board are:

• Thomas Bell, CEO of Leidos
• Jim Breyer, founder and CEO of Breyer Capital
• Kris Gopalakrishnan, chairman of Axilor Ventures
• Hara Ichiro, managing director of Japan Business Federation
• Joe Hockey, founding partner and president of Bondi Partners
• Ashok Jacob, executive chairman and portfolio manager for Ellerston Capital
• Lydia Jett, managing partner at Softbank Investment Advisers
• Jeong Kim, chairman of Kiswe Mobile
• Koshiba Mitsunobu, chairman emeritus of JSR Corporation
• Arun Kumar, managing partner of Celesta Capital
• Paul Kwan, general partner at General Catalyst
• Nakahama Fumitaka, managing corporate executive and group head of global corporate and investment banking business at MUFG
• Jeff Nuechterlein, managing partner of Nue Capital
• Andy Penn AO, former CEO of Telstra
• Bec Shrimpton, defence strategy and national security director at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
• Arthur Sinodinos AO, former Australian ambassador to the United States
• Sugiyama Shinsuke, former Japanese ambassador to the United States
• Yanase Tadao, senior executive vice president at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
• Ankur Verma, senior vice president at Tata Sons

Published by The Australian Financial Review.