# Gene Yu

> Gene Yu is an American author, former US Army Special Forces officer, and Singapore-based co-founder and CEO of Blackpanda. His career spans military service, Credit Suisse, Palantir, and technology businesses; his role in securing family friend Evelyn Chang’s release in 2013 helped shape his commitment to crisis response.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Blackpanda
- **Organizations:** Blackpanda, United States Army, Credit Suisse, Palantir Technologies, Perx Technologies, migme, FLOW MMA
- **From:** Concord, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BSc in Computer Science, United States Military Academy at West Point, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Earned his Green Beret after returning to training., Played a role in securing Evelyn Chang’s release in December 2013., Authored the three-volume Yellow Green Beret series under the pen name Chester Wong.

## Career timeline

- **1979** — Born in Concord, Massachusetts.
- **1997** — Entered West Point.
- **2001** — Graduated from West Point and received his Army commission.
- **2006** — Joined the US Army Special Forces after repeating training.
- **2009** — Left military service with the rank of captain.
- **After military service** — Worked at Credit Suisse in Hong Kong and in Palantir’s Asia business development team in Singapore.
- **2013** — Helped coordinate the release of family friend Evelyn Chang from Abu Sayyaf captivity in the Philippines.
- **2014** — Appointed Vice President of Corporate Development at migme; previously Director of Business Development at Perx.
- **2015** — Co-founded Blackpanda in Hong Kong.
- **2020** — Blackpanda moved its base to Singapore.
- **2023** — Blackpanda announced US$15 million in Series A funding.
- **2024** — Published The Second Shot: A Green Beret’s Last Mission; Blackpanda announced an additional US$6.7 million strategic investment.

## Achievements

- Earned his Green Beret after returning to training.
- Played a role in securing Evelyn Chang’s release in December 2013.
- Authored the three-volume Yellow Green Beret series under the pen name Chester Wong.
- Authored The Second Shot: A Green Beret’s Last Mission, published by Little A in October 2024.
- Co-founded Blackpanda, which received consecutive Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific incident response company awards in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Blackpanda announced its third consecutive Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific Company of the Year recognition for incident response.
- **2026-01** — Appeared on Tank Talks Asia with Manisha Tank to discuss identity, military service, crisis response and building Blackpanda.
- **2025-02** — Featured in an a+ Singapore cover interview on his military background, memoir and cyber response business.
- **2024-09** — Blackpanda announced US$6.7 million in strategic funding, bringing its aggregate Series A round to US$21.7 million.

## Links

- Website: https://www.blackpanda.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gene-yu-222156136/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/geneyu10261979/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gene-yu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-12