Jacky Yao grew up in Toronto, Canada in an entrepreneurial family. From a young age Jacky was exposed to the entrepreneurial environment where his family business expanded through Asia, North America and Africa. During Jacky’s formative years and early professional life, he often participated in advising the family-owned businesses with his unique perspective while nurturing an owner-operator philosophy of entrepreneurship. 

Previously, Jacky worked in the VC sector for the conglomerate Fosun Group, working on projects such as investments in Ant Financial and other international projects across countries such as Israel, Vietnam, and Germany. Investments ranged from $5M USD to $150M USD, totaling $550M USD, working with management teams in multiple industries including financial services, logistics, manufacturing healthcare and technology.

During the same stint, in addition to the valuable experience in investing, Jacky also also gained management and operational experience working for VC backed portfolio companies as well as running a TechStars backed technology startup. 

Jacky received two BAs in Business Administration and Economics from the Richard Ivey School of Business in Canada and a MBA from the Wharton School and a MA from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. In his free time, Jacky enjoys playing basketball, biking and hiking. He's also a passionate traveler who loves venturing into the great outdoors.