TEAM

I thrive at the intersection of ideas, strategy, and process. These three elements can often be at odds with each other, but drawing from my 9+ years of experience in education, management consulting, and entrepreneurship and innovation, I create value for organizations and teams through being able to deftly navigate these competing elements and distill clarity from (potential) chaos. I am a big-picture thinker who is not afraid to grapple with the details, and a lifelong learner who relishes challenge and ambiguity. As an educator and an entrepreneur evangelist, I am also passionate about Education + Entrepreneurship as touchstones for creating resilient global communities, cities, and countries, and as the most enduring pathway to economic opportunity and freedom.

At 500 Startups, I work in a transversal role spanning business development, market development, implementation, and product. Since joining, I have secured 2.5M+ in project revenue and built an additional 8M+ pipeline in North America; directly manage projects valued at over 500K+; and lead the development and design of our startup and corporate training programs comprising 75%+ of revenue.

Previously, at Deloitte, I led projects with international organizations and government agencies such as the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the US Department of State and US Agency for International Development, and the US Department of Agriculture; and with the social sector and institutions of higher learning including the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, the Irvine Foundation, and the University of Pittsburgh. These projects spanned strategic planning, impact evaluation, program design, growth strategy, and digital transformation.

I am also deeply passionate about leadership coaching and talent development, and have built and executed C-level training and Leadership Labs for my clients at Deloitte and 500 Startups; and served as a leadership advisor to CXOs at startups globally in India, Guatemala, and Kenya.

I obtained my Masters of Public Policy from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, with a focus on International and Global Affairs, and my Bachelor of Science (International Politics) from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

A high impact digital media platforms specialist and proven business and revenue driver with 20+ years experience advising and collaborating with C-suite executives in Fortune 500 media technology companies

Skilled in account and vendor relationship management, business development and digital product launch management, marketing, communications and content acquisition and creator programs management

Core Competencies:
• An innovative and creative thinker capable of high-level strategic planning and problem-solving
• Results-oriented, organised and passionately committed to every task undertaken or assigned
• Proven sales and marketing leadership, entrepreneurial and customer relationship focused, and highly attentive to stakeholder needs
• Skilled communicator, researcher, copywriter, presenter, motivator and educator.

Strategy and investment professional with 12 years of experience (local and regional) in transforming organizations. Proven reliability in leading projects that create meaningful change for the companies, which led to revenue/pipeline growth, significant efficiencies in operations, and better stakeholder engagement.

Fu Kuo Chang, Michael is the Founder and Managing Director of Vital Wellspring. He specializes in integrating academic research with business innovation to solve many of today’s modern challenges.

Michael grew up in Taiwan and majored in Engineering and Management in university – a combination that allows him to utilize technology and business modeling to solve numerous practical problems.  He has worked with many Asian professors to provide education services and industrial consultations.  He is also an important resource to many senior managers in providing industrial innovation and talent cultivation.

Michael moved to Singapore to pursue the PhD GM program offered by SMU.  At the same time, he took the opportunity to expand his family’s publishing business.  Using Singapore as a springboard, he developed partnerships with many publishers to successfully enter the European, American and Chinese markets.

Michael is also passionate about sustainability and climate change and wants to improve the World for his fellow mankind.  With his connections and experience in academia and the industry, he set up The International Association for Agricultural Sustainability (Singapore) which works through a multi-disciplinary platform to gather the professional wisdom of scholars and uses technology to achieve agriculture sustainability.

He also set up Agrigada Biotech Company (Singapore) which is dedicated to the research of utilizing herbal remedies and providing natural solutions to modern lifestyle diseases in the hope of contributing to public health.