Kanen Oblias, founder of Principia Asset Management, is a multidisciplinary entrepreneur and strategic advisor operating at the intersection of finance, technology, and global enterprise. With two decades of experience across sectors including AI, defense, energy, media, aerospace, private aviation, viticulture, and financial services, he is recognized for architecting transformative strategies that align pension, sovereign wealth, family office and Fortune 500 organizations with emerging markets, national economic priorities, and long-range profitability goals.
Mr. Oblias has led high-stakes capital structuring, strategic acquisitions, and technology commercialization initiatives globally. As Managing Principal of Rubicon Technologies, he has advised and partnered with firms such as Disney, Sony, Meta, Amazon, Adobe, and Autodesk on frontier innovation strategies—from digital imaging and immersive technologies to integrated IP monetization frameworks. His work with Sony Innovation Studios helped secure and operationalize proprietary technologies that have since become foundational to 21st-century media and gaming platforms.
In the energy and infrastructure space, Mr. Oblias secured over $500M in investment commitments from sovereign-linked capital sources to fund large-scale sustainable energy initiatives. As Founder and CEO of Holocene Corporation, he leads the development of biomimicry-based smart infrastructure products that integrate renewable energy, water generation, and environmental diagnostics—pioneering dual-purpose technologies for both terrestrial and space-based applications in partnership with Virgin Global and Virgin Galactic.
His early career includes senior roles at the J. Paul Getty Museum and Trust, where he facilitated acquisitions of European masterworks in partnership with the Getty’s Director of Collections. He has also served as an advisor to leading Chinese entities such as Hunan TV, Alibaba Sports, and Yao Ming Enterprises, supporting cross-border initiatives in media, sports diplomacy, and strategic investment this allows Principia to leverage Mr. Oblias’ unique standing and experience in international business and diplomacy with Chinese state-affiliated enterprises.
Mr. Oblias holds advanced academic credentials through executive and specialized coursework from Yale University (Financial Markets & Risk Management), MIT (Computer Science), University of Cambridge (Social Anthropology), and Clark-Atlanta University (Business Economics).
Gordon R. Clark holds a BA in Finance and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, the world’s oldest professional accounting body. His career spans over three decades in international finance, banking, investment management, corporate advisory, and executive search, with a strong track record in financial leadership, cross-border operations, and regulatory governance.
He began his career as a Chartered Accountant in private practice in Scotland, before joining Ernst & Young in London, Europe, and Singapore, where he advised multinational clients on audit, tax structuring, and financial strategy. Gordon then transitioned into industry as Group CFO of Lake & Elliot, a diversified UK-based conglomerate with operations across manufacturing, real estate, aviation, and commodities trading. There, he led strategic acquisitions, implemented enterprise-wide financial controls, and optimized capital allocation across the group’s business units.
Gordon later joined Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore as Regional Controller and was subsequently appointed Chief Financial Officer for the bank’s operations in Thailand. In this role, he was responsible for balance sheet restructuring, liquidity management, and regulatory capital compliance across the region. He played a key role in aligning financial strategy with business expansion in Southeast Asia, overseeing treasury risk frameworks and spearheading cost-efficiency programs to support long-term profitability.
Following his tenure at Standard Chartered, Gordon co-founded a Bangkok-based investment consultancy, advising institutional clients on asset allocation, structured products, and emerging market exposure. He later transitioned into executive search, specializing in the placement of senior leadership across banking, private equity, and asset management sectors. As Managing Director of H. Neumann International and a founding partner of The Consulting Partnership in Singapore, he developed a robust pan-Asian network and successfully built out talent pipelines for global financial institutions.
Gordon currently serves as CEO of Out Of Obscurity Inc., where he focuses on innovative investment structures and global capital sourcing. He continues to be active in the financial services sector, advising on capital markets strategy, portfolio construction, and risk-adjusted return optimization. He has held directorships and advisory roles with funds and institutions operating under Luxembourg, Singaporean, and UK regulatory frameworks.
Mark Byers is an accomplished global brand strategist and Chief Brand Officer with extensive expertise in strategic partnerships, intellectual property management, and cross-border market expansion. Over the course of his career, he has successfully launched and scaled global brands across North America, Asia, and Europe, building a distinguished track record of fostering international co-financing and co-development relationships.
With a foundation in content creation and intellectual property development, Byers has directed and overseen the growth of branded assets across multimedia platforms, leading initiatives that integrate brand storytelling across live-action, animation, publishing, and emerging media. His leadership has been instrumental in establishing and expanding brand presences in key global markets, including China, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
A recognized leader in Asian market brand strategy, Byers has spearheaded numerous international co-branding ventures and product licensing initiatives. His deep engagement with the animation and publishing industries — particularly in China — includes creating, managing, and commercializing brand-driven IP assets in collaboration with major international partners. He has advised global publishing companies on brand extensions, co-publishing ventures, and rights management, with a specialty in graphic novel development and IP adaptation strategies.
Byers' career reflects a commitment to strategic brand building, global market engagement, and innovative content monetization, positioning him as a dynamic executive at the intersection of brand leadership, international business development, and IP commercialization.
Chief Operating and Global Marketing
Garrett Biggs is an award-winning, strategic marketing executive with over 20 years of experience in government advisory, political communications, and integrated marketing strategy. With a lineage that traces back to Presidents George Washington and Andrew Jackson, Biggs brings a deep-rooted commitment to public service and civic engagement.
He launched his career in political media, producing high-impact broadcast and digital campaign assets and overseeing more than 130 political campaigns across the United States. His clients have included high-profile figures such as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ballot initiatives, multiple U.S. Congressional members, and key state legislative leaders. His work has been instrumental in shaping public opinion and influencing policy outcomes.
Biggs also serves as a strategic partner with Susquehanna Polling & Research, consistently ranked among the nation’s most accurate political and public opinion research firms. His role bridges data analytics with messaging optimization to drive effective voter engagement and campaign performance.
Currently, Biggs advises and leads large-scale, multi-channel commercial productions for Fortune 500 companies, managing multi-million-dollar budgets and complex cross-functional workflows. He specializes in procurement strategy, production cost optimization, and creative operations.
His client portfolio includes brands such as Mazda, Stellantis, Experian, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, and Tracfone, where he has led end-to-end execution of broadcast, digital, and experiential campaigns. Known for blending strategic foresight with operational precision, Biggs consistently enhances brand equity and market reach through high-performance content delivery.
A published writer and sought-after media commentator, Biggs’ insights have appeared in leading publications including The Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Albuquerque Gazette, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Mr. Herbst is a seasoned infrastructure‐investment and operations executive with distinctive sophistication, specializing in capital‑intensive government contracting portfolios within network engineering and satellite communications. He delivers measurable ROI and risk‑adjusted returns through disciplined capex planning, OPEX optimization, and rigorous financial controls.
He directed P&L and balance‑sheet impacts for $50M–$120M annual budgets, employing NPV/IRR analyses and scenario stress‑testing to prioritize high‑yield network assets and SATCOM deployments. Andrew drove 18–22% cost efficiencies via strategic vendor negotiations, master‑service agreement (MSA) restructuring, and dynamic spend‑management dashboards aligned to EBITDA enhancement targets.
He has orchestrated end‑to‑end due‑diligence for M&A and JV transactions, integrating technical assessments with GAAP/IFRS financial models and ensuring compliance with FISMA, NIST SP 800‑53, and SOX audit requirements. Andrew iImplemented enterprise risk frameworks—including Monte Carlo simulations and VaR metrics—to hedge currency exposure and mitigate counterparty concentration in 53 emerging‑market theaters.
When the going gets tough, Andrew was embedded with Peshmerga in Iraq (2016) to stand up a resilient SATCOM backbone and MANET overlay, unlocking real‑time ISR/C2 capabilities and elevating asset utilization by 35%. He has managed full asset‐lifecycle CAPEX/OPEX for L‑, C‑, and Ku‑band VSAT networks; optimized throughput via adaptive coding & modulation, QoS governance, and predictive maintenance tied to SLA‑based vendor incentives.
His fluency in advanced financial modeling, FP&A processes, and dashboarding tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) to deliver real‑time visibility into cost drivers, cash‑flow forecasts, and variance analyses are unique assets to Principia. He holds a B.A. in Marketing & Communications; M.S. in Physiology & Sports Management, James Madison University (1994)
Andrew’s unique blend of technical depth, financial rigor, and operational excellence enables him to architect scalable, cost‑optimized infrastructure solutions that drive investment partner value and fortifies respective sovereign economic and national‑security objectives.
Mr. Lee is the “Jedi Mind” at Principia and a strategic quantitative leader whose distinguishing acumen underpins over a decade of driving digital transformation, operational ROI, and scalable growth. As an AI/ML data‑platform engineer, he excels at architecting cloud‑native infrastructures, automating end‑to‑end workflows, and embedding data‑driven insights into mission‑critical environments, consistently aligning technology investments with overarching business objectives.
During his tenure as Assistant Vice President of AI/ML Services at Citigroup, Kyung Ho architected and managed containerized platforms on Kubernetes and Docker, introducing infrastructure‑as‑code with Terraform and robust CI/CD pipelines via Jenkins and GitLab CI. These initiatives accelerated model deployment velocity by 60% and reduced infrastructure run‑rate costs by 25%. He partnered closely with cross‑functional stakeholders to develop KPI‑driven dashboards that optimized capital allocation for data‑science initiatives and enhanced transparency across the enterprise.
At Oracle NetSuite, as a Senior JavaScript Developer, Kyung Ho spearheaded full‑stack enhancements for cloud‑native ERP solutions. By implementing asynchronous micro‑frontend architectures with React and Node.js, he improved page‑load performance by 40% and elevated user‑engagement metrics. He also championed agile best practices—integrating continuous integration and automated UI testing—that transformed release cycles from quarterly to bi‑weekly sprints, driving operational cadence and stakeholder satisfaction.
While at Accenture as a Senior Java Developer, Kyung Ho delivered high‑availability, enterprise‑grade applications for Fortune 500 clients. He integrated Spring Boot microservices with Kafka event streams, instituted DevSecOps controls to maintain 99.9% uptime, and led technical due diligence and performance‑tuning efforts that reduced transaction‑processing latency by 30%. His work ensured that mission‑critical systems met stringent SLAs and compliance standards.
Kyung Ho’s technical and strategic expertise spans AWS (EC2, S3, EKS), Cloudera Data Platform, Terraform, Helm, Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins/GitLab CI, Ansible, and Prometheus/Grafana. He is proficient in Python, PySpark, MLflow, Airflow, and the design of large‑scale ETL pipelines, as well as distributed‑systems architectures—microservices, Kafka, IP‑sec VPNs, encryption modules, and fault‑tolerant frameworks. His leadership in agile transformation and P&L stewardship ensures that technology solutions are both innovative and financially disciplined.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (Information Internetworks & Devices) from the Georgia Institute of Technology and maintains multiple industry certifications: AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty, Cloudera Certified Developer for Apache Hadoop, and MapR Certified Administrator.
Beyond his corporate achievements, Kyung Ho is the founder of an AI‑driven innovation lab that delivers web and mobile solutions to real‑world challenges. He is a sought‑after mentor and speaker on data‑platform best practices, CI/CD optimization, and cloud‑cost management. At Principia, Kyung Ho leverages his technical depth and strategic insight to optimize investment‑operations workflows, drive technology‑enabled efficiencies, and support the firm’s commitment to delivering differentiated, data‑driven investment solutions.
