Expertise withCommitment
The experience and dedication of the ETS Strategic Capital team ensures successful outcomes for our engagements worldwide.
|Introduction
Our team members showcase subject matter expertise in every aspect of equity investment, strategic growth partnership and mergers/acquisitions, with experience in the financial, business and technology sectors from Wall Street to Asia. Our international perspective, world-class strategic competency and focused mission make our team uniquely qualified to execute successful engagements that meet the objectives of all stakeholders.
Ralph E. Taylor-Smith
Managing Director,
Princeton/Washington, D.C.
Ralph E. Taylor-Smith
Ralph is the Founder and Managing Director of ETS Strategic Capital; he also serves as Chief Investment Officer (CIO) for the unit. Previously, Ralph was Managing Director at GE Ventures (the investment unit of General Electric® Corp.). Before that, he was General Partner and Managing Director at Battelle Ventures (the investment unit of the Battelle Corporation – Battelle Memorial Institute). He initiated his tech-finance career on Wall Street in New York, working in Investment Banking at GoldmanSachs® and at JPMorgan®, focusing on Mergers & Acquisitions and IPOs for technology companies.
Ralph was trained in Engineering and Finance at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Princeton University and holds a Ph.D. degree in Engineering (Chemical & Biological Engineering Focus) and an MBA degree in Finance (Corporate Finance & Strategic Planning Focus).
Janet Choi
Principal,
San Francisco/Princeton
Janet Choi
Prior to joining ETS Strategic Capital, Janet was Vice President at JPMorgan® (San Francisco) and Barclays® (New York City), where she executed strategic M&A, leveraged buyout, equity capital raise and debt financing for the technology, media, and telecom companies spanning across different growth stages and geographies. Prior to her move to the United States, Janet has worked in management consulting and finance in Seoul, Korea, for five years.
Janet received an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a B.A. degree from Korea University.
Jeff Jaekle
Principal,
Princeton
Jeff Jaekle
Prior to joining ETS Strategic Capital, Jeff was a Vice President at the boutique investment bank, Berkery Noyes, focused on education technology and healthcare technology M&A and growth equity investments. Jeff started his career as a management consultant working within the department of defense and intelligence community for Northrop Grumman and Scitor Corporation, a boutique consulting firm. After business school, Jeff then worked as a management consultant for Deloitte® focused on strategy and corporate finance engagements within the technology, consumer products and financial services sectors.
Jeff received MSc degree in Finance from Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School and a B.A. degree in economics from the College of William and Mary.
Sameep Wali
Principal,
San Francisco
Sameep Wali
Prior to joining ETS Strategic Capital, Sameep was a Vice President at Baird® where he executed M&A and debt financing transactions spanning multiple industries. Prior to Baird, Sameep held underwriting and M&A roles at Capital One® and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey®, respectively.
Sameep received a B.S. degree in Finance and International Business from Indiana University.
Thomas Wolf
Senior Director,
Princeton
Thomas Wolf
Prior to joining ETS Strategic Capital, Tom held several roles at ETS focusing on product innovation, business development, M&A, and strategic partnerships across education and workforce markets. Prior to ETS, Tom worked for ten years in business development, product management, and engineering roles at Boeing® and Honeywell International® (Los Angeles / Phoenix) in the aerospace and industrial automation sectors.
Tom received an MBA degree from Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business, a M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA, and a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Malone Ma
Senior Director,
Princeton
Malone Ma
Prior to joining ETS Strategic Capital, Malone was General Manager of portfolio company management division of HNA Group North America where he executed restructuring transactions in the aviation industry. Prior to HNA, Malone worked as a senior analyst in T.A. McKay & Co., Inc, performing analysis on distressed investment opportunities across multiple industries.
Malone is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. He received his Masters of Science in Finance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received a BA in Business Administration from California State University, East Bay. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Tim Zhao
Associate,
San Francisco
Tim Zhao
Prior to joining ETS Strategic Capital, Tim has had more than five years of professional investment experience across corporate VC and Equity investments.
Tim’s prior experience includes being a Strategic Investment associate at JD.com’s Mountain View office, a Junior Analyst at SRS Investment Management, a New York City-based hedge fund, where he conducted fundamental research on publicly traded companies in Chinese internet and technology sectors. He previously also worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers® in China.
He received an MBA degree from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a B.S. degree in Finance from University of Southern California.
Tim is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese.
Jill Drews
Administrative Professional,
Princeton
Jill Drews
Jill has been with ETS for three decades. Throughout her career at ETS, she has provided support to various programs such as K-12, GRE and New Product Development. She joined the newly formed ETS Strategic Capital in 2019 and is an administrative professional to the Managing Director and CIO of ETS Strategic Capital and its team. Jill is based in Princeton, New Jersey.
