Background:

Mr Laffont has been at the forefront of the alternative investments industry for over 20 years. Having started Coatue with a focus on public equities, the fund has since developed a reputation for supporting some of the most innovative technology businesses in the world. Laffont attributes this success to a patient and long-term investment philosophy, which has seen Coatue grow from $45 million in 1999 to over $25 billion in 2020. 

In recent years, Laffont has also predicted numerous key trends and events in the public markets. In 2020, Coatue built a significant short position in Wirecard and expanded its stake in Zoom at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their flagship fund is up more than 52% net of fees through to the end of November, making it one of the best performing firms in the industry. 

Mr Laffont has also served on the board of several prominent businesses; the most notable of which is his current position in the Chinese media firm ByteDance. With a history of investing in numerous technology companies in China, Laffont and Coatue also host the annual ‘East Meets West’ conference, which seeks to bring together the brightest minds in the technology industry from both the US and China. 

Prior to founding Coatue, Mr Laffont worked at McKinsey & Co. in Madrid and graduated from MIT with a degree in Computer Science. As a former research analyst at Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management, Laffont is part of a group of hedge fund managers known as the ‘Tiger Cubs’; all of whom started their funds after working under Robertson.

Philippe Laffont

The link for submitting questions for Mr. Laffont will be opened in the link below soon.