Razer has hired veteran Singaporean investment banker Li Meng Lee as its chief strategy officer, the gaming company said, extending a recent trend of investment bankers leaving to join up-and-coming technology companies.
Lee was most recently a managing director at US investment banking advisory firm Evercore, and part of the team that opened Evercore’s Singapore office in 2013.
Before joining Evercore, Lee had a brief stint at ANZ as head of debt capital markets in Singapore in 2013. He was a vice president at JP Morgan between 2002 and 2010, and a principal at Singaporean private equity firm CMIA Capital Partners between 2010 and 2013.
Lee is joining the high-flying gaming firm four months after it became a public company in Hong Kong. Evercore was the sole financial advisor for Razer’s HK$4.12 billion ($528 million) initial public offering in November.
“[Lee] had been instrumental in leading the Evercore team to push for our series C and D fundraising efforts,” said Min-Liang Tan, Razer’s co-founder and CEO. “A key banker for our successful IPO in Hong Kong last year, Lee brings to Razer a wealth of experience in corporate financing, as well as an invaluable network of contacts.”
In his new role, Lee will be driving Razer’s strategic initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions, investments, partnerships and further penetration into broader entertainment segments.
Lee is yet another recent example of investment bankers switching their careers and making their way into technology companies. Earlier this month, JP Morgan’s Brian Gu joined Chinese electric car startup Xpeng Motors, while Bocom International’s Esther Wong joined Chinese AI startup SenseTime.
This article has been corrected to show Lee was part of the team that opened Evercore's Singapore office. He did not lead the team.
