ABOUT US
DETAIL-ORIENTED, INTEGRITY & RESPONSIVENESS
Like every great business started by friends, it was over a beer on a humid Hong Kong evening in June 2018. War stories were being told about how to actually get things done in China. We had each spent over ten years doing business in Asia, but China was still the subject of many a tale.
I was in the midst of Chinese factory inspections for the fit-out of the world's premier Cantonese Opera theatre in Hong Kong, and Nick was negotiating the contract terms of a large Chinese firm's IPO on the Deutsche Börse.
We couldn't help but laugh about the intricacies and unspoken rules of mainland Chinese business culture. It was the myth of so-called “Genuine Leather” that got us chuckling about the trials and tribulations of sourcing things for our own passion projects.
I was trying to source leather for a prototype chair and Nick was sourcing parts for a new PC.
It dawned on us then that we could pretty much source everything from a mobile phone case to a literal whole building, and since then and since then we have done just that!
Well, we haven’t looked back.
We’re still elated when we see other people’s inventions and ideas come to life and Nick still gets off on finding the best deal possible.
Let's grab a beer soon, even if only on Zoom.
Giles & Nick
Nicholas Chan.
MANAGING PARTNER
I am a Managing Partner and Co-founder of Makeshift Solutions and act as its principal commercial consultant.
I have an encyclopedic knowledge of the general ledger of Chinese industrials, from wig factories and cell phone manufacturers to real estate companies, having conducted due diligence on more projects than I care to count. This knowledge is brought to bear in negotiations on behalf of clients in a carefully nuanced arm-wrestle.
My expertise comes from close to a decade of investment banking experience specializing in international listings for Chinese mainland companies. This has resulted in an enviable black book of the most successful mainland manufacturing CEOs.
Giles Hall.
MANAGING PARTNER
I am a Managing Partner and Co-founder of Makeshift Solutions and act as its principal technical consultant. I am sometimes a partner, sometimes menace to factory managers, having inspected factories and supervised the production of every possible item required for commercial construction projects (that's a lot of stuff btw).
I bring a career's worth of experience in design, engineering, and material science to the team, having been an architect behind some of the most iconic silhouettes on skylines around the world, most recently the Xiqu Centre in Hong Kong. I bring this design passion and engineering rigour from the biggest objects to much more life-size ones, including the development of custom fabrics for Kvadrat and bespoke furniture to Hong Kong's elite. I was previously an architect at several notable firms including NBBJ, Diamond and Schmitt, and Bing Thom Architects and winner of the HKIA Award, USSIT Honour Award, and Hong Kong Green Building Council Award.
Adena Lavin.
MANAGING PARTNER
Adena Lavin is a Managing Partner at MAKE/Shift since its inception in 2018. She hails from New York with a background in import/export, manufacturing, and hospitality services. Adena has spent the last 13 years across 5 countries, and specializes in adapting Western business models to foreign markets. Her extensive network, and knowledge of cross-cultural customs makes Adena an invaluable addition to the MAKE/shift team.
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