Manisha Seewal has quit car marketplace Carro after leading its marketing function for three years, while robo-advisor Syfe and alternative protein firm Next Gen Foods have announced new hires.
Carro group CMO Seewal departs firm
The chief marketing officer of Singapore-based used car marketplace unicorn Carro, Manisha Seewal, announced her departure from the company after a three-year tenure in a LinkedIn post.
“I have come to love the brand so much in the last three years, that I am known as “Manisha from Carro”,” she wrote in the post. “While goodbyes are never easy, it’s time for me to spend some time with my mom who is in Singapore and await my next adventure,” she added, suggesting that she resigned for personal reasons.
During her tenure, Seewal built Carro’s marketing functions in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. She also led several initiatives, such as launching Singapore’s first car subscription service and contactless car purchase service to combat COVID-19 restrictions.
Seewal was also the CEO of Jualo.com, Indonesia’s third-largest consumer-to-consumer e-classifieds marketplace that Carro acquired in 2019.
Carro facilitated over $1 billion worth of transactions in 2020 and booked revenue of $300 million in the year ended March 2021.
Before Carro, Seewal had worked at Tokio Marine Insurance Group (Asia), HSBC Insurance and Aviva.
Robo-advisor Syfe announces four senior hires
Singapore-based digital wealth management platform Syfe has announced four additions to its leadership team.
Samantha Horton joins the team as vice president and head of business development to lead the firm’s expansion into new markets in Asia in the next 12-18 months.
Horton previously worked at Morgan Stanley, where she specialised in equity research, and hedge fund Broad Peak Investment Advisers, where she was the managing director and co-head of data analytics.
Syfe made the other three appointments between April and June. These include Jack Prickett, who is the company’s head of new business. Before Syfe, Prickett was the Asia head of securities operations at UBS.
Brice Derouet was appointed head of finance, where he oversees all financial operations, including planning, reporting and compliance. He was most recently the finance team lead at co-living operator Hmlet.
Additionally, Laurens Koppelaar has taken up the role of head of partnerships at Syfe. Before joining Syfe earlier this year, Laurens was CEO of insurtech company Symbo and led the market management function for Allianz across the region.
Syfe last closed a $30 million Series B round led by Valar Ventures in July as it looks to expand into new markets in Asia, hire top talent and develop more investment products and services. The Series B round brought Syfe’s external funding to S$70.7 million ($52.6 million) and tripled its valuation, the company said.
Alt protein firm Next Gen hires three executives
Singapore-headquartered alternative protein firm Next Gen Foods has added three executives to its management team.
Next Gen has roped in Alex Ward, the former head of regional innovation in Asia-Pacific at fragrance firm Givaudan, as its chief operating officer. Rohit Bhattacharya, a former director at Temasek, is now chief financial officer, while Charlotte Teo, previously at Johnson & Johnson, is now the startup’s global marketing director.
According to their LinkedIn profiles, Bhattacharya and Teo joined in June, while Ward came on board in August.
In July, Next Gen Foods, which sells plant-based chicken meat under the TiNDLE brand, raised $20 million in an extended seed round from GGV Capital and Temasek. The financing brought the total seed funding raised by the firm to $30 million.