Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder, CEO, and chief business officer of Insilico Medicine (HKEX:3696), and Jeremy Lui, managing director of investment banking at BNP Paribas Asia Pacific, are innovators at the intersection of biotech and banking. Together, they were behind Insilico’s initial public offering in December, resulting in the largest biotech IPO in Hong Kong that year. We talked to them about their time at Queen’s and life on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence technology, science, and finance.
Insilico’s IPO was the largest in biotechnology on the Hong Kong stock market in 2025 – and you both know Hong Kong well. Some of our grads might be surprised to know that there is a thriving alumni community in Hong Kong. Can you share any stories about that?
Alex: Hong Kong is the “New York of Asia,” the world’s second-largest financial hub, and Smith alumni are well represented there. When you arrive, you quickly discover graduates working across finance, technology, entrepreneurship, and consulting. The alumni network tends to be informal but very close – people regularly meet for dinners, events, or simply to reconnect when someone new arrives in the city.
Jeremy: What we have always appreciated is how those relationships often lead to meaningful collaboration. Conversations that start socially can turn into introductions, partnerships, or new ideas. In fast-moving industries like biotech and finance, having trusted connections across sectors can make a big difference.
Alex: Jeremy is actually a great example. Today, he is a power player and superconnector in the world of finance. We first met as classmates, and years later those same connections helped us reconnect professionally. Seeing that relationship come full circle around Insilico’s IPO really highlights how the Queen’s community continues to create opportunities long after graduation.
Jeremy: Alex is a special friend. Who would imagine that we would come across each other again this way? Sometimes the world seems to be very small, and life seems to be very fast. Just 29 years ago, we shared a desk at Queen’s as friends, and today we have achieved a significant milestone together. Lifetime friendship means a lot in this turbulent new world.
Your careers took you into very different arenas – biotech and banking – but you both have the same educational background. How did your education at Smith specifically, and Queen’s in general, help you prepare for the different roads you took?
Jeremy: What Queen’s provided was a framework for thinking about complex problems. Even though Alex moved into biotechnology and AI and founded a global unicorn, and I went into investment banking and became a seasoned banker in Asia, the analytical approach we learned is surprisingly universal.
Alex: At Insilico, we operate at the intersection of cutting-edge AI, biotechnology, automation, and aging research. The training at Queen’s helped develop the skills that traverse these areas.
Another important aspect was the collaborative culture. Drug discovery today is highly interdisciplinary – you’re working with scientists, engineers, clinicians, and investors. Learning how to work effectively in teams and communicate across different domains is critical.
Jeremy applied many of the same principles in corporate finance/banking and having a successful track record supporting many global champion corporations as advisers. Our paths diverged, but the foundation we built at Queen’s proved valuable in both fields.
In addition, the education we had in business school developed within us a strong “action-driven” approach. We always believe that the ability to maintain resilient effort to get things done with a “can-do” attitude is the key to winning in today’s ever-changing environment.
Graduates today often talk about how hard it is to prepare for careers that don’t yet exist. What advice would you give current students or recent alumni who are drawn to emerging fields but unsure how to position themselves early on?
Jeremy: Many of the careers emerging today simply didn’t exist 20 years ago. AI-driven drug discovery is a good example – it was largely theoretical when we were students. Instead of trying to predict a specific job, I think it’s more useful to build adaptable skills.
Develop real depth in one or more of the core domains – science, technology, finance, or engineering – but stay curious about adjacent fields. Innovation tends to happen where disciplines intersect.
Alex: Equally important is the ability to learn quickly. Technologies evolve rapidly, so your long-term advantage is your capacity to absorb new knowledge and adapt.
We also encourage students to think globally. Emerging industries like artificial intelligence and biotechnology are inherently international, and the ability to collaborate across borders will become increasingly important.
The future belongs to people who are comfortable navigating uncertainty and building bridges between fields.
AI is accelerating both capital markets and scientific discovery. What will matter most in the future – smarter technology or smarter judgment in using it?
Alex: AI will undoubtedly become far more powerful, but human judgment will remain critical. Technology can analyze enormous datasets and generate insights at unprecedented speed, but it still needs people to define the right problems and make strategic decisions.
In drug discovery, for example, AI can identify biological targets and generate novel molecules much faster and better than traditional methods. But raising capital, bringing together the teams, choosing which diseases to focus on, designing clinical strategies, and allocating resources still require human expertise.
Jeremy: In investment banking, the same principle applies. Algorithms can process information quickly, but understanding long-term value and broader implications requires judgment. The capital market favours companies with disruptive business models, and the disruption is accelerating at unprecedented speed. As bankers, you will need to evolve your knowledge and skills quickly.
The real advantage will come from people who understand both domains: those who can leverage advanced technologies while applying thoughtful leadership to guide their use.
In other words, smarter technology is powerful, but smarter judgment determines how effectively it is applied.
As former classmates who have joined forces to great effect, what does your shared story say about the value of relationships built at Queen’s?
Jeremy: One of the most valuable things you gain at Queen’s is the network of people you grow alongside. When you’re a student, you can’t predict where everyone will end up. Years later, classmates may become leaders in finance, entrepreneurs, scientists, or policymakers.
Those connections often resurface in unexpected ways. Alex and I started as classmates, pursued careers in very different fields, and eventually collaborated on something as significant as Insilico’s IPO.
What made that possible was a foundation of trust built years earlier. When you already understand how someone thinks and works,
it becomes much easier to collaborate effectively.
Alex: Students sometimes underestimate the long-term value of these relationships. The people you meet during university can become future partners, collaborators, or advisers. Maintaining those connections over time can open opportunities that you might never anticipate.
