Sensei Partners
Mr. Patrick Yam is the CEO and Founder of Sensei Partners LLC, a Menlo Park, CA venture capital firm. Earlier, he was a macro-economist, investment banker and investment manager with the Federal Reserve, Lehman Brothers, Security Pacific Bank, Citicorp Investment Bank and Matthews International Management.
Mr. Yam’s career is highlighted by his significant and broad experience as an investor for over three decades in alternative investments. In the 1980’s, Mr. Yam was a Partner with Pacific Assets, a $1B+ private equity firm, in Beverly Hills (affiliate of Drexel Burnham Lambert). From 1990-1996 he was President / COO of Matthews International Management, an early hedge fund firm investing throughout Asia. Beyond Matthews, his hedge fund experience includes the founding and managing of Bay-PCI Real Estate, an early REIT hedge fund. In 1999, he established Sensei Partners LLC, an early-stage private venture capital firm founded on published investment principles Mr. Yam developed as an academician. Among Sensei’s principles is the need for venture capitalist to be greater experienced with enterprise operations. Mr. Yam has been an operating executive of various financial and technology enterprises, including being the CEO of a mature Canadian telecommunications service provider; which achieved a successful sale.
Aside from private sector endeavors, Mr. Yam is an advisor to governments. In 2001, supported by a US / Canada public and private sector community, Mr. Yam co-founded the Alberta California Venture Channel to support technology trade. Today, he is active as a Board Director of a Singaporean entity supported by the public and private sectors.
Mr. Yam is an internationally published author on investments, ‘Company Building’, macro-economic development and, guest speaker at global investment forums. In 2006, he co-authored “Raising Capital for Technology Companies”, addressing today’s evolution of the capital markets and, its impact on entrepreneurs and investors. And, recently published in a journal of international finance an academic theory regarding “Silicon Valley’s “One-Hour” Distance Rule and Managing Return on Location”.
Mr. Yam earned his BA from San Jose State University where he received an athletic scholarship (tennis) and, an academic scholarship for his MBA at Santa Clara University, receiving distinction in marketing and finance. A former SCU faculty member he now lectures on entrepreneurship where he is the Dean's Executive Professor of Entrepreneurship and, formerly taught at the Venture Capital Institute in Atlanta, GA.