Derek van Pelt
Entrepreneur, Investor, Director, Advisor
Based in Southeast Asia since 1997, focusing on early-stage investment, corporate governance, and cross-border business development.
Entrepreneur, Investor, Director, Advisor
Based in Southeast Asia since 1997, focusing on early-stage investment, corporate governance, and cross-border business development.
Partner at Stonelotus Ventures, working with investors to support early-stage businesses across Southeast Asia through capital and strategic guidance.
My focus includes government relations, trade advocacy, and facilitating cross-border business development throughout the region. This work involves regular engagement with government representatives, trade missions, and business delegations. As a Fellow of the Thai Institute of Directors (2018, with Strategic Board Master Class certification), my board work includes international businesses, non-profit organizations, and property management entities.
These board positions span recruitment (Criterion Asia), sustainable protein (Protanica), craft beverages (Beervana International), and food service. I'm also a Partner at Smiling Albino, a luxury travel company.
Through my role as Past President of the Thai Canadian Chamber of Commerce and publisher of Mekong Memo, I maintain connections across the region's business and policy landscape.
Syndicate investors on a deal-by-deal basis to support entrepreneurs and early stage businesses with growth capital and management expertise across Southeast Asia.
Beervana International
Commitment to good governance, strategic clarity, and value creation for stakeholders through involvement in incentive programs and strategic initiatives.
Criterion Asia Recruitment
Led strategic direction and operations as Interim MD (2021-2022), continuing as Chairman to guide the company's growth and market positioning.
Protanica
Leading manufacturer and exporter of premium cricket protein powder to global buyers. Drive market expansion and strategic partnerships.
Smiling Albino
Investor and advisor to fast-growing adventure travel company covering Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Nepal, delivering unique experiences to thousands of guests.
Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce
President (2020-2023), Vice President (2010-2015, 2017-2020). Lead NGO advocacy efforts, coordinate trade missions and government delegations, and advance bilateral business relationships between Thailand and Canada.
Data-driven news platform that separates signal from noise. Tracks 1,500+ stories using Wikipedia pageview data to measure which news has lasting significance versus fleeting hype. Automated daily pipeline classifies stories as "Still Standing" or "Noise" based on sustained public interest. Visit site
Newsletter providing insights on business, politics, and culture across the Mekong region. Covering Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar with analysis and commentary for professionals and investors interested in Southeast Asia. Visit site
The content management system built for the AI era. Enables AI-generated content that continuously evolves through performance-based optimization while preserving human expertise and maintaining complete auditability. Visit site
Upload a resume and a job posting, get back a tailored version optimized to pass applicant tracking systems. Built to take the guesswork out of job applications.
Converts visual AI workflow exports into production-ready Python projects. Handles the tedious translation from drag-and-drop to real code, with async pipelines, retries, and support for 7+ AI providers.
Structured self-improvement system for AI agents. Captures feedback signals and converts them into validated decision-making principles through an automated observe-extract-refine cycle. View on GitHub
The parsing engine behind TravelBuddy. Uses pattern matching first and falls back to AI only when needed — keeping costs under $0.002 per email while maintaining 97%+ accuracy.
Turns the mess of booking confirmations in your inbox into clean, organized travel itineraries. Parses emails from airlines, hotels, and tour operators using multi-LLM consensus for reliable extraction.
Personal productivity tool for quick AI-powered text rewrites via Telegram. Send a message, get back polished copy, with built-in cost tracking and usage analytics.
Built for Canadian Chamber of Commerce leaders across 18 Indo-Pacific markets to share board governance playbooks, templates, and institutional knowledge.
Watches over my server infrastructure and alerts me when something needs attention. Auto-discovers new services as they come online and degrades gracefully when individual checks fail.
Nearly three decades in Southeast Asia means I've done some things that don't fit neatly on a CV. Through Smiling Albino, I've led trips for celebrities and business leaders across the region. I've been a certified PADI diver since the late 90s. I've cycled Lhasa to Kathmandu over 21 days via Everest Base Camp, the French and Italian Alps, the Dalmatian coast, and hiked the West Coast Trail. Skydiving, bungee jumping, a couple of half marathons at Angkor Wat, playing ice hockey with North Korea's national team in Pyongyang (with them, not against them). I had the opportunity to take a BMW off-road motorcycle course with the legendary Simon Pavey, which was a lot more fun than studying for the Thai IOD exam.
In my younger (more svelte) days, I did some acting and modeling work for TV, print, and a couple of films. It was interesting but not particularly lucrative, and I had the time of my life doing it. I've also been an MC and public speaker for years, hosting everything from industry seminars and forums with thousands of attendees to weddings and community events. Being comfortable in front of a crowd is just part of the job.
For inquiries regarding investment opportunities, board positions, or advisory engagements.