Discerene is a private investment partnership that invests globally on behalf of singular, philosophically aligned investors, pursuing a fundamental, contrarian, long-term value investing philosophy.
Strategy
We invest 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. We employ private-equity-like structures to make truly long-term investments in public companies.
In order to deliver on our investment mandate, we believe that it is important to develop a tight-knit base of partners who share our philosophy, values, and investment horizons. We do not consider our partners to be interchangeable, or capital to be fungible; the who behind the capital, and the relationships we build with them, are core to our 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.
Gerry is Chief Financial Officer at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, Gerry was Finance Director at Strenta Investment Management Services and before that served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Snowhook Capital, Durant Partners, and Pleasant Lake Partners. Prior to that, Gerry worked at Summit Rock Advisors, Brencourt Advisors, and KPMG. Gerry has a Bachelor and Master of Science in Accounting with a Certificate in Accounting Information Systems from Bentley University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Massachusetts. In his free time, Gerry enjoys spending time with his family, running, watching sports, and coaching little league.
Vedant is an analyst at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, Vedant worked at Hound Partners and Falfurrias Capital Partners. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce and Mathematics from the University of Virginia. In his free time, Vedant enjoys rock climbing, traveling, 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.
Luis is an analyst at Discerene. Before joining the Firm, Luis worked at Sunstone Partners, Francisco Partners, Symphony Technology Group, and Morgan Stanley. Luis has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Harvard University. In his free time, Luis enjoys running, trying new restaurants, traveling, and spending time with his wife and two dogs.
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 Buffett's Early Investments. 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 a Partner 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.
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.
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
Sakina Abubakar
University of Cape Coast
Lv Xianyan
Dongbei University of Finance and Economics
Patience Mills
University of Cape Coast
Sha Xianhui
Southwest Minzu University
Xiao Liangjing
Yunnan University of Finance and Economics
Yang Jinhua
Chuxiong Normal University
Guntuku Santosh Sagar
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Pamela Alvarez Chao
Universidad Autonomo del Beni
Monn Soraly
University of South-East Asia
Sam Chamroeun
University of South-East Asia
Samiksha Panwar
Hansraj College
Satish Kumar
Hansraj College
Shashank Kumar
Hansraj College
Alejandra Marupa Alvarez
Universidad Autonomo del Beni
Mitchell Muema
Masinde Muliro University
Sherine Miroyo
Kenyatta University
Ayush Kumar
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
K Ravi Karthik
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Rishav Raj
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Sona Kumar
Lahore University of Management Sciences
Discerene Scholars
We award university scholarships to the most deserving students from the most underprivileged communities in developing countries around the world. 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.
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
Cadarn Capital Conference, London
The Insightful Investor
Discerene Conversations
Discerene Scholar 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.
