Rina's MBA helps on path towards venture capital success
Published on 09 August, 2012
Though she built her early career as an IT specialist, Rina Neoh found an MBA with CQUniversity to be a flexible and affordable way to broaden her horizons, and she's now focused on helping innovators gain venture capital...
Rina is still in touch with the Alumni Office and says she'd welcome hearing from any CQUniversity students or graduates who have a great business idea (via alumni-enquiries@cqu.edu.au ) .
Rina Neoh
Born and bred on the island of Penang, north of peninsula Malaysia, Rina did her schooling locally before gaining a Computer Science degree from London Metropolitan University.
"I have always wanted a better life for my family; my parents separated when I was 11, and mum was the bread winner who brought me and my brother up. Thus, it was always about studying hard and getting a good job," Rina says.
"After finishing my degree I decided to apply for jobs in Singapore, having read about the country's economic standing and how it would potentially be a springboard for me compared to finding a job in Malaysia."
Rina progressed through a range of IT industry roles but wanted to build something of her own.
"However being a Computer Science graduate, they don't teach you business subjects in those classes and I couldn't afford to leave my job to pursue a business degree full-time," she says.
"That is when I decided to enroll in CQUniversity's MBA class through the local partner Hartford. After I finished my MBA, I was head-hunted by a listed IT firm to be VP of Sales and that's where I met my mentor with whom I later co-founded Mercatus Capital."
Mercatus Capital Pte Ltd (www.mercatus-capital.com/) has been an incubator and venture accelerator since its inception in 2006. Through its angel networks, Mercatus Group provides seed capital to these startups. Mercatus Group has seeded and incubated more than 40 startups in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, China and Hong Kong.
Rina has progressed up the corporate ladder with PDs encompassing 'business development', 'sales and marketing', 'corporate affairs', 'managing director', 'co-founder and executive director', 'chief strategy officer', 'managing partner' and 'management consultant'.
She's currently listed as a Senior Management Executive - International Business and is active in leadership roles with cloud-based 24/7 radiology business centre ZAPRAD Portal, and with boutique consulting firm Fix Point Pte Ltd. Last year, Rina was appointed as a Mentor for Cradle Malaysia, a government agency providing commercialisation grants.
Apart from her career achievements, Rina speaks English, Bahasa Malaysian, Hokkien, Cantonese and Mandarin and lists her hobbies as golf, travel, reading, cooking, blogging, extreme sports, and photography.
Rina's advice to young students and graduates is to enjoy the simple things in life, including a good cup of coffee and time with family and close friends.
"What makes me happy ... good company, conversation with substance, topics on spirituality, long drives, solo holidays, a good massage ... more of necessity since I am on my laptop all the time!
"I do silly stuff like folding origami stars for friends who needed encouragements. I do beadings and hand-made accessories for girlfriends but never wore any of my own creations. I just can't imagine myself doing deals, M&A, investments and negotiating like a man in the boardroom and then going back home and starting my little handicraft work or whipping out some Chinese delicacies. I guess that's where the complexity kicks in."
