International law firm Bird & Bird boosts its Venture Capital and Private Equity (VC/PE) practices with the arrival of partner Kaichen (“KC”) Xu in Beijing. KC joins Bird & Bird from private equity firm Zebra Global Capital, where he was the managing director and general counsel.
KC brings with him a unique combination of experience from all aspects of VC/PE deals having previously been an international law firm partner, investment firm general counsel and start-up entrepreneur. KC will continue to develop Bird & Bird’s VC/PE practice leveraging its global coverage and deep technology sector knowledge.
At Zebra, KC was responsible for fund formation and investment transactions and also supervised Zebra’s portfolio company legal department. Under his leadership at a leading convenience store chain, he developed a highly automated contract review system to support its ultra-fast expansion.
Prior to joining Zebra, KC was the founder and CEO of Fadoushi.com, an internet platform for legal services funded by VC investment, giving him first-h1and experience of building a start-up. Before founding Fadoushi, KC was a partner in DLA Piper’s Shanghai office and headed its VC/PE practice in China.
Having worked on VC/PE deals in China since 2006, KC is a specialist in VC/PE investment in China and is recognised by his clients as highly efficient and commercially-minded.
KC received his B.Sc. (1st Class Hon.) degree in Chemistry from National University of Singapore, M.A. degree in Chemistry from Harvard University and J.D. degree from Yale Law School.
Ted Chwu, Managing Partner, Greater China at Bird & Bird comments: “With China’s renewed focus on innovation and technology, it is expected that it will continue to be the second largest VC market behind the US. KC is recognised by his clients as being highly efficient and commercially minded which makes him an ideal addition to our VC/PE team in China. Welcome to the team Kaichen!”
Struan Penwarden, head of the international Venture Capital practice at Bird & Bird says: “I am very much looking forward to the arrival of KC, a highly regarded individual by the VC/PE community, to our VC/PE team in China. The legal market for VC/PE investment in China, like that in the US, is highly competitive which means one has to compete on not only expertise and efficiency but also by offering a differentiating factor such as deep sector knowledge. The addition of KC to our leading VC/PE team coupled with Bird & Bird’s leading sector expertise will enable us to provide a very compelling offering in China for investors and investee companies.”
Kaichen adds: “My extensive experience in the VC and PE space will allow me to bring about innovation for efficiency within my role at Bird & Bird. I look forward to developing the VC/PE practice alongside the rest of the international teams under Bird & Bird’s technology focus sector groups.”