Ven has more than 18 years of experience in finance, actuarial consulting and F&B industries. He holds a Master of Business Administration (Distinction) from the Manchester Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Actuarial Studies from the University of Melbourne.

Prior to founding OMI Group, Ven co-founded GD Group, an award-winning restaurant chain in Singapore. Under Ven’s management, GD Group has grown to 13 restaurants under the brand of Gurney Drive, Penang Culture, Penang St Buffet & Mamak Culture in a span of 6 years.

GD Group was awarded:

-       Emerging Enterprise Award 2015 by OCBC and Business Times Singapore

-       SME of the Year 2015

-       Singapore Successful Brands 2015

-       Singapore Best Asian Chain Restaurant 2016.

Ven was awarded:

-       EYA Entrepreneur of The Year 2016 in Singapore

-       Faces of Melbourne 2019.

Ven was also being featured by:

-       Universities and MBA Schools - INSEAD Business School, Manchester Business School, Deakin University

-       Singaporean Media - Channel News Asia, Mediacorp Channel 8, Business Times, Straits Times, Lian He Zao Bao, Berita Harian, Singapore Business Review

-       Australian Media – Franchise Council Australia, Franchise Executive, Franchise Business, SBS Radio, EZ Magazine

-       Hong Kong Media - TVB Hong Kong

-       Malaysian Media – World Gourmet

Under Ven’s management, OMI Group expanded to 4 retail brands, 20 outlets across 4 cities and 2 countries within 5 years. OMI Group receives the following awards:

OMI Group

-       Australia Enterprise Awards 2023 by APAC Insider

OMI

-       National Winner for Emerging Franchisor 2022 by Franchise Council Australia

-       Best Japanese Restaurant 2020 featured by the Age

-       Most Popular Japanese Restaurant in Australia 2022 by World Gourmet

Local Hero Singapore

-       National Finalist for Emerging Franchisor 2022 by Franchise Council Australia

-       Most Popular Asian Restaurant in Australia 2022 by World Gourmet