Patrick Grove
Encyclopedia
Patrick Grove, born April 30, 1975 in Singapore is a successful Eurasian
media entrepreneur and the co-founder, Major Shareholder and Group CEO of Catcha Group
and co-founder, Major Shareholder and Deputy Chairman of IPGA
(ASX:IPP).
to a Singaporean Chinese mother and an Australian father, Grove spent his youth in Singapore and studied at the Tanglin Trust School
followed by the United World College of South East Asia
. At the age of 17 (1993) Grove moved to Sydney
, Australia
to finish High School at The Scots College
.
He then went on to complete a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Finance and Accounting from the University of Sydney
.
. He served in both the Corporate Recovery and Corporate Finance division before leaving in June 1999 to start Catcha.com.
Catcha.com quickly became a high profile dot com in Asia and raised over US$12m from a combination of angel investors, venture capitalists and publicly listed companies. The company received Approval in Principle from the Stock Exchange of Singapore in early 2000. Whilst on a global IPO roadshow NASDAQ crashed in April 2000 and the IPO was famously aborted and the company become a victim of the Dot-com bubble
.
With an aborted IPO, a collapsing media environment and US$1.5m in debt bankruptcy seemed imminent. Grove managed to turn the company around and is credited with being one of the rare Dot Com Survivors.
In 2001 Catcha launched a publishing arm which has since become one of the largest Magazine publishers in South East Asia. The company is primarily based in Malaysia but also publishes in Singapore and Indonesia. Their portfolio of titles include JUICE, Stuff, K-Zone, Evo, MiNT, Fairways, Clive and Prestige.
By 2004-2005 Grove and his partners had turned around the business and completed a successful Management Buyout
.
In 2007 Grove noticed the renewed success of online companies in Australia and moved back into the online space by acquiring iProperty.com.my. Together with his partners they radically revamped and grew the business into the largest network of online property portals in Asia. They successfully listed the company on the Australian Stock Exchange
on September 11, 2007. Since listing, the company has made numerous acquisitions including the leading property portal in Hong Kong (gohome.com.hk) and other leading portals in the region.
In 2009 Catcha launched Catcha Digital, in conjunction with Microsoft
to run all their online assets in Malaysia.
In July 2011, Grove listed Catcha Media Berhad (www.catchamedia.com) on the Malaysian Stock Exchange.
Besides the two listed companies, IPGA and Catcha Media, Grove also controls several private companies including CDA (www.catchadigital.asia), Dealmates.com, and Catcha Ventures.
Grove is currently based in Asia and lives between Kuala Lumpur
, Malaysia and Singapore
.
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
media entrepreneur and the co-founder, Major Shareholder and Group CEO of Catcha Group
Catcha Group
Catcha Group is an Asian based investment group thats controls a number of companies involved in media, new media and entertainment. The group was formed in 1999.-Portfolio:...
and co-founder, Major Shareholder and Deputy Chairman of IPGA
IPGA
iProperty Group is an ASX-listed company that owns online property portal websites in Asia. The company operates sites under the iProperty.com brand name in Malaysia, Singapore, India and the Philippines as well as GoHome.com.hk in Hong Kong and rumah123.com in Indonesia...
(ASX:IPP).
Early life
Born in SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to a Singaporean Chinese mother and an Australian father, Grove spent his youth in Singapore and studied at the Tanglin Trust School
Tanglin Trust School
Tanglin Trust School is an international school in Singapore. The school teaches a British-based curriculum and is primarily intended to serve the British expatriate community in Singapore. Approximately 70%-80% of the students in the school are British...
followed by the United World College of South East Asia
United World College of South East Asia
The United World College of South East Asia is an independent, international school in Singapore. The school's main campus is in Dover Road. A second campus was opened in 2008 in Ang Mo Kio...
. At the age of 17 (1993) Grove moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to finish High School at The Scots College
The Scots College
For other schools with a similar name see Scots College.The Scots College is an independent Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Bellevue Hill, an eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
.
He then went on to complete a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Finance and Accounting from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
.
Career
Whilst at University, Grove was quite entrepreneurial and started two companies; JDI (a night club promotions business) and Vibecom (a chain of mobile phone shops). Upon graduating in 1996 he joined Arthur AndersenArthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, was once one of the "Big Five" accounting firms among PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG, providing auditing, tax, and consulting services to large corporations...
. He served in both the Corporate Recovery and Corporate Finance division before leaving in June 1999 to start Catcha.com.
Catcha.com quickly became a high profile dot com in Asia and raised over US$12m from a combination of angel investors, venture capitalists and publicly listed companies. The company received Approval in Principle from the Stock Exchange of Singapore in early 2000. Whilst on a global IPO roadshow NASDAQ crashed in April 2000 and the IPO was famously aborted and the company become a victim of the Dot-com bubble
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
.
With an aborted IPO, a collapsing media environment and US$1.5m in debt bankruptcy seemed imminent. Grove managed to turn the company around and is credited with being one of the rare Dot Com Survivors.
In 2001 Catcha launched a publishing arm which has since become one of the largest Magazine publishers in South East Asia. The company is primarily based in Malaysia but also publishes in Singapore and Indonesia. Their portfolio of titles include JUICE, Stuff, K-Zone, Evo, MiNT, Fairways, Clive and Prestige.
By 2004-2005 Grove and his partners had turned around the business and completed a successful Management Buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...
.
In 2007 Grove noticed the renewed success of online companies in Australia and moved back into the online space by acquiring iProperty.com.my. Together with his partners they radically revamped and grew the business into the largest network of online property portals in Asia. They successfully listed the company on the Australian Stock Exchange
on September 11, 2007. Since listing, the company has made numerous acquisitions including the leading property portal in Hong Kong (gohome.com.hk) and other leading portals in the region.
In 2009 Catcha launched Catcha Digital, in conjunction with Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
to run all their online assets in Malaysia.
In July 2011, Grove listed Catcha Media Berhad (www.catchamedia.com) on the Malaysian Stock Exchange.
Besides the two listed companies, IPGA and Catcha Media, Grove also controls several private companies including CDA (www.catchadigital.asia), Dealmates.com, and Catcha Ventures.
Awards
Grove has received several awards for his Entreprenerial achievements over the years which include:- 2000: Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic ForumWorld Economic ForumThe World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
- 2002: New Asian Leader by the World Economic ForumWorld Economic ForumThe World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
- 2004: Austcham Young Entrepreneur of the Year
- 2007: KLue Magazine Top 40 under 40 to watch
- 2008: Asia's Best Young Entrepreneurs 2008 by Bloomberg Businessweek,
- 2011: BRW Young Rich List 2011, part of the Annual BRW Rich 200BRW Rich 200The BRW Rich 200 is a list of Australia's two hundred wealthiest individuals and families, ranked by personal net worth. The list is released annually during May in a special issue of the Business Review Weekly, published by Fairfax Media....
Grove is currently based in Asia and lives between Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.