Meet the Contributors

John Rowland, Managing Partner, Whitelake Group

John has been investing in Private Equity for the last 8 years. Prior to founding White Lake, John was an Investment Manager at a large Family Office, whom he still advises. The Family Office invested over $500m in new Energy and Environmental Infrastructure private equity investments. John has spent several years working on Cleantech transactions for the $250m Abu Dhabi Masdar Cleantech Fund and Inspired Evolution Fund with Board responsibilities across the portfolio of investments. He has advised a tech­transfer PE fund between South Korea and Israel. Prior to this John spent over 3 years managing high net worth equity portfolios for Custom House Capital where he also led research.  John has also worked in industry as an engineer designing leading edge telecommunication systems. John has degrees in Electronic Engineering and Business, holds the CFA designation and is a qualified accountant. He is currently working as consultant CFO for Bridge International Academies in Kenya. He focuses on private equity market analysis, deal-making and transforming PE backed companies’ governance and processes to world-class. John can be reached at jrowland@whitelake-group.com

A Silicon Valley native, Sierra has eclectic background in digital media, mobile gaming, finance and has expertise in the technology, EdTech and e-commerce sectors. Before joining the Whitelake Group, Sierra was a business development executive for the first KidsApp mobile gaming startup in South Korea. Previously, she has served as the Chair of Educational & Industry Events for the Producers Guild of America, Northwest, where she conceived their first ever live bi-coastal Digital Conference between New York and San Francisco that brought together many of Silicon Valley’s foremost technology entrepreneurs and politicians including Craig Newmark and the former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.
She has a BA from Columbia University and MA from University College London.

Sierra Choi, Director of Marketing and Senior Consultant

Ashok Parekh, Director of Investment Services

Ashok has lived all over the world before settling into the U.K. Born in Edmonton, Canada he’s lived in Vancouver, Toronto and Copenhagen before making London his home base.  Since being here, he has been an investor/ strategist/ consultant and fund manager, first at a large family office, then at the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, before reconnecting with his old colleague, John Rowland at White Lake. He spends his time investing and advising companies across a range of sectors. In his free time, he likes to collect letters after his name (CFA [Chartered Financial Analyst], CAIA [Chartered Alternative Analyst], CGMA [Chartered Global Management Accountant]) and as a member of the Worshipful Company of International Bankers and Freeman of the City of London drive the occasional sheep across London Bridge.  Most recently, he has decided to unleash his inner Jean-Luc Picard (or some might say Guinan) by taking up fencing.