Robert provides overall strategic leadership of EMPEA and oversees the continuous expansion of value to existing and prospective members and the organization’s work to develop the asset class globally. Prior to EMPEA, Robert was the Asian Development Bank’s Director of Private Sector Capital Markets, based in Manila, Philippines, responsible for origination and structuring of US$2.5 billion in transactions and investments across 40 Asian emerging and frontier markets. Robert oversaw ADB's US$1 billion in private equity investments deployed in 47 funds. He pioneered three new private equity funds and two new non-bank financial institutions, raising close to US$1 billion in third-party capital commitments. Previously, Robert served as Managing Director and COO for an Asia-focused hedge fund venture, and prior to that as Senior Executive Vice President and CFO for the Singapore Exchange. His experience further includes roles as Senior Vice President, CAO and other leadership positions with Lehman Brothers in New York; Managing Director and Global Treasurer with GE Energy in Atlanta; and Managing Director and Treasurer for GE Capital Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong during the Asian Financial Crisis. Earlier in his career he worked with ABN AMRO Bank in Amsterdam, Chicago and Singapore, and with Royal VOPAK in Rotterdam. Robert currently serves on the Board of Trustees of International House of New York. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Music For Life International, Inc. Mr. van Zwieten earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, holds JD and MA degrees from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and an LL.M. degree from Columbia University School of Law in New York. He is a citizen of both the Netherlands and the United States.