Tan worked at Goldman Sachs, where he started as a Vice-President at J.Aron and Co (Singapore) Pte and was eventually the Regional Director and Head of J.Aron and Co (Singapore) Pte. in charge of the Asia-Pacific Region.[9] Tan worked for Shell Eastern Petroleum Ltd in Singapore and as Chief Trader at Shell Japan Ltd.[10] Tan was a Founding Partner and managing director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson ePlanet's ("DFJ ePlanet") Asian operations.[9] Tan was managing director and head of the Credit Suisse First Boston ("CSFB") group of banks in Singapore and Malaysia.[9]
Tan founded Vickers in 2005[11] and is the Chairman of the investment committee for Fund V (the "Investment Committee"). He is based in Singapore and travels frequently to all the cities in which Vickers has a presence, especially San Diego, California, where Samumed (NAV at 34.4x for Fund IV), the largest Vickers’ portfolio company, is based and for which Tan was a co-sponsor of the deal. He identified and played major roles in several of the Vickers’ portfolio companies including Cambridge Industrial Trust Management as Chairman of the board (exit at 26x for Fund I), Asia Food Channel as Founding Chairman of the board (exit at 5x entry price for Fund I) and M-DAQ (NAV at 2x for Fund IV). He is currently actively serving on the boards of Matchmove as chairman (NAV at 9.8x entry price for Fund III) and Mainspring (NAV at 3.8x entry price for Fund IV). Tan was managing director and head of the Credit Suisse First Boston ("CSFB") group of banks in Singapore and Malaysia.[9]
Tan previously served as chairman or board member for United Eagle Airlines (China), Sunfun Info Co Ltd (China) listed in Taiwan, Media Development Authority of Singapore (Singapore, Chairman Audit Committee and Investment Committee), Singapore Polytechnic (also on Exco), Singapore Government Parliamentary Committee for Trade and Industry Resource Panel, Defence Science and Technology Agency (Singapore), SMA (Singapore-MIT) Governing Board, Singapore National Computer Board, The National University of Singapore (also member of the investment committee), Tuas Power Pte. Ltd (Singapore), Sentosa Cove Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), Majulah Connection (Singapore), the Singapore Venture Capital Association, the Singapore-Shandong Business Council and the first chairman of the Sentosa Cove Owners’ Council.[11]
Tan served was Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and later as Chairman of the TIF fund. In 1997, he was a member of the Economic Review Committee of Singapore and in 2002, he was part of the working group of the Economic Review Committee of Singapore.[11]
Tan served as Deputy Chairman of the National Science and Technology Board in Singapore and was on the boards of the Life Sciences Investment Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), and the National Cancer Centre (Singapore).[12]
