Jean-Paul Tarud-Kuborn
Spokesman
Jean-Paul was born and raised in Dubai, UAE. With decades of experience in the Arabian Peninsula (GCC), Jean-Paul was appointed by the President of Chile to be the Ambassador of Chile to the United Arab Emirates, the GCC and Pakistan from January 2009 until May 2018. He became the Dean of the UAE Diplomatic Corps in 2018. During his tenure as Ambassador, he attracted over USD 400 million in Foreign Direct Investment into Chile, from the GCC Sovereign Wealth funds as well as private investors, and influenced the exponential increase of Chilean exports to the region.
Prior to that he spent several years in the FinTech industry in the GCC, Australia, Europe, South America and the USA (Silicon Valley, where he participated in several IPOs during the Dot Com Era). He also advised Sovereign Funds, Private Equity and Venture Capital firms on Strategic Investments, Blockchain-based finance and new financial mechanisms to raise capital, such as token-based businesses.
Was conferred the Zayed Order of Independence (First Class) by HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, for his contribution to the Nation.
Fields: Financial Analysis, Investments Analysis, Financial Markets, Venture Capital, Investments Management, Investment Banking, Fund Management, Foreign Economic Cooperation and Development, International Trade, Information Technology, Fintech, Digital Banking, IT Security, Cyber Threat Intelligence, Crypto-Currencies, Blockchain, Digital Assets, NFTs, Security Tokens, STOs, ISOs, DeFi, Layer 1 and token-based Business Management.
Experience
GOVERNMENT ROLES
Ambassador of Chile to the United Arab Emirates, GCC and Pakistan
Embassy of Chile (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
Mar 2009 - May 2018
Responsible for the Bilateral Relations between Chile and the GCC nations. Managed and directed the official visits of the UAE Royals to Chile which resulted in over USD 400 million in Foreign Direct Investment from the UAE to Chile, as well as the first flight to Santiago from Emirates Airlines. Signed the visa waiver programme between Chile and the UAE as well as various Free Trade Agreements. Was in charge of Economic Cooperation and Development, Regional Political Analysis. Presided the Middle East desk for the UN Security Council (2015), overseeing Security, Counterterrorism and Foreign Policy.
Trade Commissioner of Chile ProChile – Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oct 2006 - Mar 2009 Presidential appointee as Trade Commissioner of Chile (ProChile) to the GCC. Oversaw 200% growth in exports during the 3-year period with Chilean exports to the region totalling USD 350 million per annum during the tenure period.
PRIVATE SECTOR ROLES
Investor Relations
Sphera World January 2022 – Presently a minority shareholder
Sphera, a Joint Venture between Deca4 and Kooora.com, is the Web3 environment powered by Kooora.com, the largest sports portal in the Middle East since 2001, now owned by Footballco. Sphera services Kooora's community of over 30 million (users) sports fans across the Arab World. Jean-Paul successfully raised EUR 1,000,000+ from retail non-crypto investors in Europe and the Middle East for the initial development of the project, were he pushed for the NFT marketplace to be developed on Hedera technology and to aim at converting the 30 million Web2 users to Web3 over time. The project was also given a grant from the Hashgraph Association in mid-2023.
Chief Commercial Officer
Deca4 Advisory May 2018 – Presently a minority shareholder Deca4 is a boutique blockchain consultancy and advisory studio that helps companies and governments capitalise on their strengths and sector knowledge to enter the Blockchain-based economy.
Director Golden Arch CB SRL May 2018 – Presently a minority shareholder Financial subsidiary of Deca4 dedicated to Financial Analysis, Advisory, Investment Management. Jean-Paul was responsible for listing Sinclair Capital Reserve, a protected cell belonging to Golden Arch, on the Swiss International Exchange (SIX), which raised subscriptions for over EUR 9 million for Blockchain-based startups but also EUR 50 million+ for traditional financial assets.
Marketing Manager AMLAKI Oct 2003 - Sep 2006 Amlaki was the first cloud-based management system developed in the UAE in the year 2000 and was the leading provider of technology and management systems for the real estate industry in the Middle East and Asia.
Executive Director DragonShape Middle East & Asia Jan 2001 - Nov 2003 Director of DragonShape, a company specialised in cloud-based technology and system for Facilities Management and Maintenance of Real Estate.
Business and Financial Analysis Consultant McKinsey & Company / M. Cohen Group Dec 1999 - Mar 2002 Business and Financial Analysis for various Tech companies preparing to list their IPOs on NASDAQ, NYSE and CAC40.
Professional Services Consultant Jan 2000 - Feb 2001 Workspeed Management, LLC. provides Web-based and wireless applications for Real Estate management in the United States. Its systems provide visibility and control of day-to-day building operations..
Head of Professional Services Abyss Web Design & IT Services Jun 1996 - Aug 1999 Abyss Web Design & IT Services was based in Canberra, Australia and provided web development services as well as IT services and networking infrastructures to Government Agencies and SMBs within the Australian Capital Territory and NSW regions, all this in the very early stages of the Internet penetration.
ADVISORY ROLES
Advisor Sheesha Finance Aug 2021 – Present Member of the Advisory board, overseeing FinTech and Blockchain related investments.
Advisor – Latin America The Executive Office (Abu Dhabi) May 2018 – April 2020 Advisory to the Executive Office (Mubadala and ADIA) for investments in Latin America.
Advisor – American University in the UAE October 2017 – Present Member of the Advisory Board of the University and its colleges.
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