Andrea Xu is an Associate Director based in Blackpeak’s Shanghai office. Andrea has five years of experience leading due diligence, investigations and business intelligence projects in the manufacturing, education, and healthcare sectors, among others. She has conducted in-depth research in Greater China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Prior to joining Blackpeak, Andrea worked as a senior associate at a risk consulting firm, where she managed complex research and investigations assignments.

Andrea holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Annie is an Associate Director in Blackpeak’s Hong Kong office, where she conducts due diligence research and corporate investigations. Since joining, she has worked on a variety of investigative due diligence cases and investigations for financial and corporate clients.

Before joining Blackpeak, Annie worked at a consulting firm as a researcher, where she worked on investigative due diligence and business intelligence projects in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Prior to that, she worked at a translation company in Hong Kong where she mostly specialized in the translation of financial documents.

Annie holds a Master’s Degree in Interpreting and Translation from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Hainan University. She is fluent in English, Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese.

Ben conducts due diligence research and corporate investigations in Blackpeak’s Hong Kong office. He has research experience in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Singapore. Ben’s areas of expertise include the private and online education, insurance, and supply chain management sectors.

Before joining Blackpeak, Ben worked at a consulting firm handling business and investor migration cases, including preparing documentation for investments and sources of funding, liaising with high net worth clients, and analyzing the financial status of prospective applicants.

Ben holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial Services from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and is fluent in English and Cantonese.

Hao Ren is an Associate Director based in Blackpeak’s Shanghai office. He works with the Greater China team on due diligence and research projects.

Prior to joining Blackpeak, Hao Ren interned at a consulting firm where he helped conduct market research.

Hao Ren holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from Imperial College London. He grew up in Shanghai and is fluent in Mandarin and English.

Isa is an Associate Director at Blackpeak and leads the firm’s editorial team, helping to ensure the quality and consistency of reports to clients. Currently based in Shanghai, Isa also has experience conducting in-depth English-language due diligence research for investment bank and hedge fund clients.

Prior to joining Blackpeak, Isa was a Writing & Speaking Fellow at NYU Shanghai, where she provided writing and speaking support to the global student body.

Isa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in literature from the National University of Singapore. She is fluent in both English and Mandarin.

Jacob is an Associate Director at Blackpeak’s Shanghai office, where he undertakes business intelligence and investigative due diligence research for financial services companies, law firms, and corporate clients in Greater China. Jacob has previously worked in multiple due diligence roles under Acuris, first as an analyst and senior analyst at Capital Profile, where he completed research projects on more than 100 high-net-worth business families in Asia. He later joined Acuris Risk Intelligence as a product manager, and was mainly responsible for managing the team’s screening projects, as well as overseeing ARI’s day-to-day operations in the Shanghai office.

Prior to joining Acuris, Jacob worked as a relationship manager at Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai and interned in the consulting department of infrastructure and engineering company Louis Berger in Washington DC.

Jacob holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from the University of California, San Diego, and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Qingdao University. Jacob is also a CFA charter holder. He is fluent in Mandarin and English.

Jiaxin is an Associate Director in Blackpeak’s Beijing office and works closely with the greater China team. She has been exposed to a wide range of investigative due diligence and business intelligence projects for private equity funds, hedge funds, investment banks, and multinational corporations.

Prior to joining Blackpeak, Jiaxin worked as an intern at two multinational management consulting firms, conducting extensive market research, consumer investigations, and business intelligence research. She also has experience assisting qualitative research projects in the American Studies Center of Beijing Foreign Studies University and interning as an editor at a major publishing agency in China.

Jiaxin holds a Master’s Degree from Beijing Foreign Studies University with a concentration on US politics and international relations. She previously obtained a bachelor’s degree in English from Sichuan University. She is fluent in Mandarin and English.

Liann conducts business intelligence and investigative due diligence research in Greater China for financial services, corporate and law firm clients.

Prior to joining Blackpeak, Liann interned as a researcher at a global market research and consulting company, conducting quantitative and qualitative market research projects in multiple industries.

Liann holds an Master’s Degree in Marketing from the City University of Hong Kong and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from East China University of Political Science and Law. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and English.

Lionel conducts intellectual property infringement, unfair competition, internal fraud, and due diligence investigations for corporate clients.

Lionel has been an investigator for almost 10 years and has worked on over 400 cases. His areas of expertise include developing sources, fraud interviews, site visits, external surveillance, evidence collection, notarization, and coordinating with law enforcement.

Prior to Blackpeak, Lionel was a senior investigator at the Japan External Trade Organization’s intellectual property agency.

Lionel graduated from Shanghai University with a degree in Law and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Shanghainese.

Mabel leads and executes complex due diligence assignments and investigations across South and Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Europe. Mabel has extensive experience managing due diligence assignments as well as complex research projects for corporate clients, financial institutions, and law firms.

Prior to joining Blackpeak, Mabel was a consultant at an international risk consulting firm, where she conducted business intelligence and investigative due diligence projects in Southeast Asia. She was also a consultant at a boutique risk advisory firm where she conducted due diligence assignments in Asia Pacific. Mabel previously served in a Singapore government trade agency.

Mabel graduated from Singapore Management University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science with majors in political science and business law. She is fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese.

Maria is a Director at Blackpeak’s London office, where she works with the EMEA team on investigative due diligence, business intelligence and litigation support cases. Prior to joining Blackpeak, Maria managed a business intelligence & investigations function of a London-based global strategic risk consultancy where she led complex global and multijurisdictional integrity investigations and due diligence projects. Before this, Maria worked in Scotland for a boutique intelligence-led business advisory where she led Eurasia-focused investigative projects and political risk assignments.

Maria holds a PhD from the University of St Andrews for her thesis on energy security and risk governance in the Arctic as well as a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Energy. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Strategic Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science & Languages from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Maria is fluent in English, Russian and Spanish, and has a working knowledge of French and Ukrainian.

Matthew is an Associate Director at Blackpeak’s Washington DC office where he overseas due diligence and business intelligence research projects for financial, corporate, and law firm clients.

Matthew previously worked at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in their Western Hemisphere office, where he analyzed macroeconomic trends across Latin America. Prior to this, Matthew analyzed political and regulatory risks for clients with interests in Brazil and the Southern Cone at Control Risks.

He holds a Master’s Degree in International Economics and Latin American Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Azusa Pacific University. Originally from California, Matthew is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

Qi works with the Americas team on investigative due diligence, fraud investigation, and business intelligence cases. She manages the research team and also supervises pre-transactional due diligence research in the United States.

Previously, Qi worked in Blackpeak’s Shanghai office for almost four years, where she led the research team in Shanghai and managed complex due diligence cases for banking, hedge fund, and corporate clients in Greater China.

Qi is a Certified Fraud Examiner. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management from Renmin University of China. She is fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese.

Rikwan leads and executes complex due diligence and asset search assignments across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, with a particular expertise in Indonesian cases. Rikwan has completed more than 150 risk advisory projects at Blackpeak. He has conducted investigative due diligence on private and public companies as well as family-owned conglomerates across various industries, including oil and gas, mining, plantation, power generation, property, chemicals, shipping and financial services. He has also actively participated in the development of research resources in difficult-to-research jurisdictions.

Prior to joining Blackpeak, Rikwan worked at a political risk advisory firm, where he assessed reputational, regulatory and political risks of companies in Southeast Asia. He also worked at a prominent bank in Singapore, during which he was involved in an ad-hoc research projects on infrastructure companies in Indonesia. He also carried out market entry research on the education sector in Indonesia for a boutique management consulting firm in Singapore.

Rikwan graduated from the National University of Singapore with a double major in applied mathematics and economics. He is fluent in English and Indonesian.

Susan is a Director at Blackpeak and the Head of the firm’s Shanghai office, where she manages complex due diligence, fraud and conflict-of-interest investigations. Susan also leads Blackpeak’s work for Chinese clients on both domestic and overseas projects. She has completed over 400 risk advisory assignments, including pre- and post-investment due diligence projects, business intelligence research, and fraud and intellectual property investigations.

Prior to joining Blackpeak, Susan worked for another global risk advisory firm, where she completed a number of due diligence projects for M&A clients, complex fraud investigations for multinational firms, and litigation support projects for international law firms. She also conducted in-depth pre-employment background checks for domestic and overseas companies.

Susan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from Shanghai International Studies University, and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, English, and Shanghainese.

Vanessa is a Director at Blackpeak. She manages the Singapore team and works with the founding partners to further expand the business across Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Australia. Vanessa has extensive experience in the risk advisory sector, especially in Southeast Asia, where she has lived for some 14 years.

She has led a broad range of matters in various sectors, including large-scale, cross-border disputes and investigations, problem-solving and investment support, business intelligence, and integrity due diligence. Prior to joining Blackpeak, she worked at an international risk consulting firm in Jakarta and Singapore, and more recently at a global business advisory firm, where she was a Director in Singapore managing Southeast Asian due diligence and investigative projects. Before this, Vanessa worked in Jakarta for a French strategy and risk management consulting firm.

Vanessa holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and another one in Strategic Studies. A Certified Fraud Examiner, she was until recently a board member of the Singapore Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Vanessa is fluent in English, Indonesian, and French.

Yijun Guo is an Associate Director in Blackpeak’s Shanghai office and works closely with the Greater China team and Japan team. She has undertaken a range of investigative due diligence and business intelligence projects for hedge funds, private equity funds, investment banks, and multinational corporations.

Prior to joining Blackpeak, Yijun worked as an intern at two television networks, researching, verifying, and analyzing political newsworthy information and current affairs.

Yijun holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University. She previously acquired Bachelor’s Degrees in Japanese Literature and Business Administration from the Beijing Language and Culture University and Bunkyo Gakuin University, respectively. Yijun is a native Mandarin speaker who is also fluent in English and Japanese.

Mao is a Director at Blackpeak and has extensive experience in the fields of business intelligence, due diligence and investigations. Mao has worked – first as a researcher and investigator, and later as a senior case manager – on assignments of varying scale across Asia Pacific, with a focus on greater China. She has assisted numerous financial services, legal, regulatory and corporate clients in making informed decisions related to potential and existing investments, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and de-listings, senior management and board appointments, market entry, internal investigations, and disputes and litigation.

Prior to joining Blackpeak, Mao worked at a number of leading international corporate intelligence and risk consultancies, as well as in the Business and Client Intelligence Unit of Deutsche Bank.

Mao is a native Mandarin Chinese speaker who is also fluent in English and Cantonese. She holds a Master’s Degree in Finance and a Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion & Textiles from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Zin Bo undertakes risk investigations including due diligence, fraud investigations and business intelligence across Southeast Asia. He has experience conducting due diligence and academic research and producing reports for various stakeholders including governments.

Prior to joining Blackpeak, Zin Bo was a research analyst at the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He also worked as a part-time research assistant at the National Institute of Education and as an independent researcher for a risk management consulting firm while pursuing his master’s degree in Singapore.

Zin Bo holds a Master’s Degree in International Political Economy from Nanyang Technological University and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Yangon. Originally from Myanmar, he is fluent in Burmese and English.