Discerene is a private investment partnership that invests globally on behalf of several philosophically aligned investors, pursuing a fundamental, contrarian, long-term value investing philosophy.
Strategy
The Firm invests in businesses protected by either structural barriers to entry or hard assets, when they are out of favor, at prices offering significant margins of safety. The Firm employs private-equity-like structures to make truly long-term investments in public companies.
In order to deliver on its investment mandate, the Firm believes that it is important to develop a tight-knit base of partners who share its philosophy, values, and investment horizons. The Firm does not consider its partners to be interchangeable, or capital to be fungible; the who behind the capital, and the relationships the Firm builds with them, are core to its DNA.
Our Team
Apostolos is a Partner at Discerene. He has a Master of Finance degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science (first class honors) degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. In his free time, Apostolos enjoys traveling, playing tennis, cooking, reading, and spending time with friends and family.
Bowen is an analyst at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, Bowen worked at Causeway Capital Management and MIG Capital. Bowen has a Master of Philosophy degree in Economics from Oxford University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics from the University of California, Irvine. In his free time, Bowen enjoys spending time with his family, reading, traveling, and playing table tennis.
Kyle is an analyst at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, Kyle worked at Argyle, ENA Investment Capital, HBK Capital Management, and Citi’s investment banking group. Kyle has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from George Washington University. In his free time, Kyle enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, and sailing.
Brett is an analyst at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, Brett worked at NIV Asset Management, HoldCo Asset Management, and Sugarloaf Rock Capital. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from St. John's University. Brett is the author of the forthcoming book "Buffett's Early Investments", scheduled for November 2024 publication. In his free time, Brett enjoys reading and playing hockey.
Hiroki is an analyst at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, Hiroki worked at ThornTree Capital Partners, the International Finance Corporation, and J.P. Morgan. Hiroki has a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School, a Master of Public Administration degree in International Development from Harvard Kennedy School, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics (with general honors) from Johns Hopkins University. In his free time, Hiroki enjoys spending time with his family, running, skiing, and playing golf.
Pranay is an analyst at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, Pranay worked at the Blackstone Group. Pranay has a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. In his free time, Pranay likes hiking, watching sports and topical comedy, and taking long drives.
James is a Partner at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, James worked at Solas Capital Management and Glenview Capital Management. James has a Master of Business Administration degree (Dean’s Honors) from Columbia Business School, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Yale University. In his free time, James enjoys spending time with his family, reading, traveling, and coaching lacrosse.
Max is Controller at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, he was a Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers where he was responsible for auditing hedge funds, private equity funds, funds of funds, and their management companies and general partner entities. Max has a Master of Science in Taxation degree from the University of Miami, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree (majoring in accounting) from the same institution, graduating first in his class. Max is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In his free time, Max enjoys spending time with friends and family, golfing, and engaging with religious texts.
Soo Chuen is President and portfolio manager at Discerene. Before founding the Firm, Soo Chuen was a Partner and Managing Director at Deccan Value Advisors. Prior to Deccan, Soo Chuen worked at the Baupost Group, Halcyon Asset Management, and McKinsey & Company. Soo Chuen has a Master of Business Administration (high distinction) degree from Harvard Business School, where he was a George F. Baker Scholar and a Harvey Fellow, and a Bachelor/Master of Arts (double first class honors) degree in Law/Jurisprudence from Oxford University, where he won the Martin Wronker University Prize for graduating first in his class. In his free time, Soo Chuen enjoys traveling, reading, painting, and mentoring young professionals.
Wilson is Director of Operations at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, Wilson was the Senior Assistant Controller at Glenview Capital and a Senior Accountant at Mazars. Wilson has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Binghamton University. Wilson is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York and a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder. In his free time, Wilson enjoys spending quality time with his friends and family, traveling, exercising, and playing tennis.
Justin is Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Discerene. Justin has experience working with investment and public accounting firms. Before joining the Firm, Justin was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at SkyTop Capital Management, and prior to that worked at Shumway Capital and Deloitte & Touche. Justin has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree (majoring in accounting) from Bucknell University, and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York. In his free time, Justin enjoys hiking, skiing, and kayaking with his wife and three children.
Mike is an analyst at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, Mike worked at L Catterton, Matrix Partners, and Primavera Capital Group. Mike has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from NYU Stern School of Business. In his free time, Mike enjoys traveling, reading, wine tasting, and playing tennis.
Values
In 2020, we polled Discerene team members, asking them to describe what they believed to be our core values. The synthesis of their responses is now our Discerene Core Values document, a descriptor of the values we already live out and a prescriptor for current and future team members to be accountable to going forward:
Act with integrity and honesty.
Be good stewards and good partners.
Build a win-win team.
Strive to be A-players.
Think long term.
Be first-principles-based thinkers, learners, and visionaries.
Do good and make a positive difference.
Naveen Gowda
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Sona Kumar
Lahore University of Management Sciences
Thiri Lwin
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Wang Ying
Southwest Minzu University
Lv Xianyan
Dongbei University of Finance and Economics
Sha Xianhui
Southwest Minzu University
Tu Shixian
Pu'er University
Xiao Liangjing
Yunnan University of Finance and Economics
Yang Jinhua
Chuxiong Normal University
Discerene Scholars
Discerene sponsors scholarships to outstanding students to attend university. Meet our scholars.
ESG & Diversity
We believe that people are our most important assets, and diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and points of view helps us better understand different business cultures and makes us better investors. We seek to hire the most talented people we can find globally that match the Firm’s DNA.
Discerene is an equal-opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.
Discerene is a UNPRI signatory. We believe that ESG practices within the Firm and the companies we invest with can make a valuable contribution to the broader business environment.
Conversations
External Interviews
External Interviews
We Study Billionaires
External Interviews
The Compounders Podcast
Discerene Conversations
Careers
Discerene's Approach to Hiring
Fundamentally, we believe that it takes a certain personality — a certain chutzpah — for an analyst to believe that he/she can consistently make money by being right analyzing businesses when others are wrong. Analysts with the most potential are not likely to be the most consensus-driven, intellectually easygoing people we will meet.
When we recruit, we actively seek out a preternatural spark, that "off-center" quality that many people with high capacity for independent-minded blue-sky thinking have. However, intellectual creativity does not always go hand-in-hand with analytical discipline. We also look for folks who show the ability to follow through on independent ideas with rigorous, methodical empirical work, especially in seeking out and evaluating disconfirming evidence, guided by clear, knife-through-butter logic.
