TEAM

Tanner KHANDAKER. (GENERAL PARTNER& CEO)

Tanner , founded KPG Capital & Co. Previously he served as the Managing Director independent RESEARCH FIRM (2004-2012) Khandaker Partners Inc., a Contrarian Value BASED Independent research practice. Tanner has over 20 years of Investment Banking experience. TANNER IS A SERIAL entrepreneur and co-founded Townhall Plus , HUEGO LABS INC & BUMBLEBEE (bee3.Ai) VentureS of KPG, 2020-2024. PREVIOUSLY Tanner COFOUNDED TUIINGLE IN 2013 and introduced recyclable android phone from ocean plastics as well launch video streaming app under the same brand , prior to his 10 years startup CAREER , he PLAYED ADVISORY ROLE for various BOUTQUE AND BULGE BRACKET investment banks and financial firms shortly after leaving academic research at Harvard Medical School and affiliated Brigham & Women's and Massachusetts General Hospitals in 2002. From 1999 to 2001, TANNER was an Adjunct Faculty at Fisher College, Boston. From 1997 to 1998, TANNER had firsthand exposure to the blockbuster Statin Clinical Trials at Mount Sinai Hospital, N.Y., WHILE AT KHANDAKER PARTNERS, TANNER served as a Member of the Advisory Board of Apella Resources Inc., a clean energy resources company. AS THE Director of Nutra Pharma Corporation( BIOTECH SPECILIZING IN CURE FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS) from 2005 to 2007 and BioTech Medics Inc. from 2006 to 2007. AT Khandaker Partners as a Small-cap ANALYST, TANNER researcheD a few thousand small-cap publicly traded and late-stage private companies in MULTIPLE sectors. TANNER WAS a practicing physician in GENERAL Medicine before he joining academic RESEARCH, later WALLSTREET.

Tanner a National Board scholar and received his M.D. (Diploma in Medicine) with distinction in 1995 ,from Mitford Medical College,established in 1875( CURRENTLY SIR SALIMULLAH MEDICAL COLLEGE ) Dhaka, affiliated with Royal College of London. He is an entrepreneur and DISRUPTOR at heart , an AVID CRICKETER (ALL ROUNDER) , AND as THE captain of the medical school soccer team, TANNER led his team to victory on numerous occasions.

DAN SIMS (GENERAL PARTNER& COo)

Dan Sims brings over 35 years of global automotive and product design and leadership experience to his role as Chief Creative Officer at Hydra Design Labs. Widely recognized throughout the industry as an experienced creative strategist and designer, Dan offers an innovative approach to the development of a broad range of consumer products and automotive vehicles. As a champion of human-centered design, Dan leverages ‘Design Thinking’ to uncover deep consumer insights and translates these findings into boundary-pushing solutions for Hydra Design Labs. This innovative approach helps Hydra deliver functional design solutions that are created with the end-user in mind, improving the development process for Hydra’s clients and producing better vehicles that perfectly blend form and function. Prior to joining Hydra Design Labs in 2018, Dan held senior design roles IN several automotive OEMs including Chrysler, where he worked on high-profile concept designs including the 1989 Chrysler Millennium, 1987 Lamborghini Portofino (IDEA Gold Award), 1991 Dodge Stealth and many others. Dan’s distinguished career also includes more than 15 years as the General Manager of Mitsubishi Research and Design of America (MRDA), where he led and directed the comprehensive design activities for all Mitsubishi concept and production vehicles during his tenure, including the IDEA GOLD award winning Eclipse E-Boost, and the Concept SST and many other award-winning designs. Dan also spent more than a decade in Design Leadership roles for Procter & Gamble, where he extended his desigN expertise through his work building the design organization for Asia, while based in Singapore. His team provided the design capability for 8 core business units, fueling Asia as the growth engine for P&G. He also led the brand design work for The Art of Shaving, MACH 3, global shave prep and disposables while working at Gillette in Boston. Dan serves as a member of the Board of Advisors for Design Thinking Department at the University of California, Riverside, where he plays a role in fostering the growth of the next generation of creative product designers. He holds a Master of Project Management degree from Keller/DeVry Graduate school of management and a BS ID from the University of Cincinnati.

Richard Vaughan ( EXECUTIVE IN RESIDENCE)

 At the forefront of the automotive startup world since 2014, and with 2 decades in the industry, Richard is a global leader in early-stage automotive design, prototyping and investor relations. Beginning his career as a degree sponsored apprentice with Bentley Motors in the UK, Richard had a highly successful early career as a consultant to a plethora of prestigious OEMs across Europe, Scandinavia and the US before joining LUCID Motors in the very early days, initially consulting in design before transitioning to early stage prototyping and all aspects related to prototype involvement in marketing, business development and investor relations.

As Global Manager of Prototype Build & Operations for Chinese funded startup BYTON, Richard continued his heavy involvement in early prototype development, leading a global prototype team across EU, US, and CN, before spearheading investment activities on the ground in the MENA region. 
Following his time at BYTON, Richard led boutique vehicle builder Singer Vehicle Design through a period of major growth, relocation, and investment as Director of Operations. During his tenure, 2 new major vehicles were launched, that will remain the core of Singer Vehicle Design’s portfolio for decades to come.

Consulting work recommenced for Richard in 2022, directing several companies through new growth periods, and guiding such aspects as facility selection and buildout for design & prototyping, electric vehicle landscape, infrastructure, and sustainability consulting as well as vehicle aesthetics and propulsion preference for various international markets.

With automotive brand prestige ranging from Skoda to Ferrari, and from the highly traditional Bentley Motors to ultra-early-stage auto-tech startups like BeyonCa and BYTON, Richard has truly seen the full spectrum of the global automotive industry.

Jaswinder Singh ( CTO & VENTURE PARTNER)

JAS is an accomplished Chief strategist with over a decade of experience in the technology and fintech sectors. He has successfully led numerous projects from the ground up, guiding teams to execute complex solutions using AI and ML. With expertise in digital automation and the latest technologies, Jaswinder is also running a tech company which provides all type of technology and staffing solutions to the companies across the world specifically western countries.

As a co-founder of two startups, he combines entrepreneurial vision with technical excellence, consistently delivering transformative solutions and driving growth in dynamic and competitive environments

JON HULL (VENTURE PARTNER)

or over 25 years, Jon Hull has shaped the automotive landscape with award-winning vehicle designs that push the creativeboundary of what’s possible. As the founder and CEO of Hydra Design Labs, Jon leads a team of experienced designers,engineers, fabricators and automotive visionaries focused on shaping the future through functional design – solving major challenges and delivering groundbreaking designs for some of the world’s top OEMs. Leveraging decades of in-house OEM design experience prior to founding Hydra Design Labs in 2010, Jon served as a key member of the design team a Mitsubishi Motors, where he worked on many award-winning vehicles, including the MMR25, SSS, and SSU concept cars as well as the Eclipse, Endeavor, and Galant. At Mitsubishi, Jon worked extensively on the exterior and interior designs for both production and concept cars – and used his expertise as a CAD specialist to take projects from the ideation phase through design to final surface data. In addition to his expertise in automotive design, Jon has an extensive background in plastics engineering, which helps lead vehicle development products from the design phase through to final manufacturing. Under Jon’s leadership, Hydra Design Labs introduced an innovative approach to vehicle development that incorporates engineering and technology early in the design process. This unique concept allows for greater efficiency in the development of new models and improves the translation of design intent into the final production vehicle. Hydra Design Labs has developed vehicles for many of the biggest names in the automotive industry, including Nissan, Infiniti, Lordstown Motors, Saleen Automotive, Monarch Tractors, Autocar and Northrop Grumman.