Gemini boasts a management team with many years
of experience and a long track record of success
Stephen Margolis
Founder & Managing Partner,
Head of Global Ventures
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Originally a lawyer with over 35 years’ experience in asset finance with a particular focus on real estate, intellectual property and media, Stephen co-founded the ARIE Capital Group in 2017 as a China-Israel-UK venture capital fund.
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Stephen is also a Director of ARIE Finance (the group's digital banking platform) and a founder of IoT startup Net4. Additionally, he retains board seats on portfolio companies including Peratech and SatixFy.
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Prior to co-founding ARIE, Stephen founded Taurus Asset Finance, a boutique finance house across different asset classes. Through Taurus, Stephen has been involved in raising over £500 million for a wide variety of projects including the construction of data centers in North East England, the renovation of a city landmark building as an educational facility, and the development of next-generation haptic and sound technology.
Stephen also founded Future Films and has been involved in raising over £2 billion for film and TV production, with credits as a producer, executive producer or financier on more than 30 titles, including “Cracks”, “Bend It Like Beckham”, “Flawless”, and “Ladies in Lavender”.
Gianni Jiang
Partner (Head of China)
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Gianni leads the team in the Greater China Region. He has extensive experience in China in Venture Capital, Private Equity and government-guided funds.
Previously raised and managed over RMB 3 Billion in China and directly led investments in a number of star companies. Successful investment exits include XPENG Motors, LD Intelligent Technologies, Farasis Energy, Kindstar Global, Global New Material International Holdings, Suzhou Hybiome.
He also initiated and launched a RMB 750m Jiangsu Provincial Government-Guided Fund where he serves on the Investment Committee.
Gianni holds a Masters in Accounting and Finance from University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Finance from Australian National University.
Markus Lu
Principal (China)
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Markus focuses on investments in the MedTech and Healthcare sector.
Prior to joining Gemini, Markus worked at China Merchants Bank as a leader of the regional fund business department and allocated over RMB 1 billion in the field of medical devices and technology in China.
Markus’ specialty is his deep understanding of both Western and Chinese markets for medical device businesses. He has a broard familiarity of the pathway of regulatory approval (NMPA) for medical devices in China and a skill set to assist and mentor companies.
Markus is a CFA Charterholder and holds a Master of Finance and Bachelors in Mathematics and Financial Engineering from Nanjing University of Finance and Economics.
Felix Yao
Head of Risk & Compliance
(China)
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Felix oversees all risk and compliance matters and supports pre-investment due-diligence and provides ongoing support to investee companies.
He was previously the Chief Compliance Officer of a RMB 600m VC Fund.
Felix has several years experience as Chief Compliance Officer registered with AMAC (Asset Management Association of China)
Felix is a CFA Charterholder, Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and holds an MBA and Bachelor of Arts in Applied Mathematics from Nanjing University.
Ascher Shmulewitz
Venture Partner (Israel)
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Dr. Shmulewitz has more than thirty years of experience as a Life Science scientist, originator, executive, in management, operations, and finance with track record generating high multiple growth of BioPharmaceutical public and private companies in the US, Europe, and Israel.
He has proven success in start-ups, turnarounds, and healthcare management, corporate and product development (in the US, Europe, and Israel as well).
Dr. Shmulewitz combines extensive experience in R&D, operations, marketing, and Business Development, with start-ups and public companies.
Asif Hussain
Head of Finance
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Asif oversees the finance function and works closely with the deal team and portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Gemini, he qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA) at an alternative asset finance firm and worked at a B2B Fintech startup for international corporates.
Before this, he worked at a private single-family office with over USD 1 billion under management in alternative investments, real estate and private equity.
Ricky Margolis
Principal (USA)
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Ricky has many years of experience in the venture capital space, working as a VP for ARIE Capital where he worked closely with the fund's active portfolio whilst also seeking out new investments.
Ricky has also worked extensively in the entertainment industry, previously heading up the LA office of a finance and production company where he was involved in the financing, production, and/or distribution of over 30 films and TV shows.
Ricky has a Master's Degree from the University of Manchester and is fluent in several languages, having spent time working in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, and the US.
