Our Founders

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  Marc Alacqua

  Signafire

  

  Marc Alacqua

  Marc is a founding partner of Signafire and a decorated combat veteran of the U.S. Army Special Operations Forces. For his service during Operation Iraqi Freedom, he was cited for “exceptionally conspicuous gallantry” and awarded two Bronze Star Medals and the Army Commendation Medal for Valor. Marc, a 20-year veteran and Lieutenant Colonel, has extensive command experience in both combat and peace time, having commanded airborne and light infantry as well as special operations units. Before volunteering to return to active duty for service in Iraq, Marc was a narcotics prosecutor in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office. He handled major narcotics-related cases including homicides, and managed long term gang and organized crime controlled narcotics investigations, working in conjunction with the NYPD and federal agencies. Marc earned a BA in History and Political Science from Fordham University, and a JD from Hofstra University School of Law.

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  Fred Ausubel

  Octagon Therapeutics

  

  Fred Ausubel

  Fred Ausubel is an emeritus Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical where he was on the faculty from 1982-2018. His laboratory is located in the Department of Molecular Biology and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he still holds a quarter time appointment. Prior to Harvard Medical School, Fred was an Assistant and Associate Professor of Cellular and Developmental Biology at Harvard University from 1975-1982. Fred was trained as a microbiologist at MIT, where he received his PhD in 1972. Fred was one of the first scientists to apply the tools of recombinant DNA to problems related to agricultural science and pioneered the cloning and characterization of nitrogen fixation genes when he was on the faculty at Harvard. When he was recruited to join the newly created Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Fred switched his focus to host-pathogen interactions and became a pioneer in the field of using model non-vertebrate genetic hosts to unravel the complexities of the innate immune response to pathogen attack. For his seminal contributions to the fields of microbiology, genetics, and innate immunity, Fred was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1994, the American Academy of Microbiology in 2002, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003. In 2014, he received the prestigious Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal from the Genetics Society of America, awarded each year to a single scientist for their lifetime contributions to the field of genetics. Fred is also well known for launching the careers of his many graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, seven of whom, like Fred, have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. In recognition of his outstanding mentorship, Fred was awarded the 2014-2015 William Silen Lifetime Achievement Award, the most prestigious Harvard Medical School mentoring award. Since his retirement from the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School in 2018, Fred has devoted most of his energy to two biotechnology companies, Octagon Therapeutics and Artus Therapeutics, which were founded with the help of Fred and several of his recent postdoctoral fellows.

• 

  Altaf Bahora

  Signafire

  

  Altaf Bahora

  Altaf is a founding partner of Signafire and has led the development of Signafire’s differentiated approach to big data solutions. Prior to Signafire, Altaf worked as a lead systems engineer at The MITRE Corporation, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), receiving multiple awards for his direct support of the defense and intelligence community, including the U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. Strategic Command, and the Department of Homeland Security. Among his responsibilities, Altaf helped to stand up a new specialized intelligence fusion cell, serving as the Systems Engineering Division Chief to create infrastructure and applications for integrating large disparate intelligence data sources for advanced analysis and exploitation. Altaf received a BS with distinction in Systems and Information Engineering, and a Master of Engineering in Systems and Information Engineering at the University of Virginia.

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  Donnel Baird

  BlocPower

  

  Donnel Baird

  Donnel Baird is the founder of BlocPower, a clean tech startup based in New York City. BlocPower develops portfolios of clean energy retrofit opportunities in underserved communities, and connects those opportunities to investors seeking social, environmental, and financial returns. BlocPower creates jobs for qualified local low-income workers, energy savings for community institutions, reduces carbon emissions, and provides returns to investors. BlocPower is backed by Kapor Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Eric and Wendy Schmidt, the American Family Institute for social and environmental impact, and Salesforce. Baird is a graduate of Duke University and Columbia Business School, where he was a recipient of the Board of Overseers Fellowship and a recipient of investment from the Lang Fund for Entrepreneurial Initiatives. He spent four years as a political and community organizer, and more than two years managing a national initiative to leverage American Reinvestment and Recovery Act energy efficiency investments in underserved communities. Baird lives in his native borough of Brooklyn with his wife and son.

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  Walter Bender

  Sorcero

  

  Walter Bender

  Walter Bender is the Co-Founder and CTO of Sorcero, an enterprise language intelligence startup that empowers experts to make better decisions in Life Sciences & Insurance with seamless understanding of the world’s technical knowledge. He was a founding member of the MIT Media Lab, where he held the Alexander W Dreyfoos Chair. As director from 2000 to 2006, Bender oversaw a MIT Media Lab’s budget of approximately $40-million per year and led a team of researchers in fields as varied as tangible media to affective computing to lifelong kindergarten. Bender is founder of Sugar Labs, which develops and maintains educational software used by millions of children in more than 40 countries. In 2006, Bender co-founded the One Laptop per Child, a non-profit association with Nicholas Negroponte and Seymour Papert.

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  Catherine Berman

  CNote

  

  Catherine Berman

  • Linkedin

  Catherine Berman is the CEO and Co-founder of CNote, an award winning investment platform delivering competitive returns with 100% positive social impact. She is a 3X entrepreneur with experience building and scaling profitable businesses with transformative social impact.

  Prior to CNote, Catherine served as Managing Director at Charles Schwab where she led a strategy division focused on the future of finance incorporating behavioral economics and predictive analytics, and Senior Vice President at venture capital firm, Astia. Her last startup, Global Brigades, grew to a multi-million dollar business in a few short years and is now the global category leader and the world’s largest student development firm operating in 5 countries. Catherine has worked with impact investments for over a decade, speaking at Google, Stanford University, Oxford University, SoCap, Coinbase and others about the importance of values-aligned investing.

  Catherine is passionate about the intersection of money and meaning and believes finance can and should be an instrument for positive change.

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  Carli Blum

  Sunscoop

  

  Carli Blum

  H/L Ventures has been an incredible resource for all things legal, financial modeling, hiring and fundraising. Oliver is very supportive and there when we need him.

  Carli Blum believes in the creativity around her—colors, ingredients, places, and her biggest inspiration, her own food allergies. This led her to create a new category of ice cream that worked for her body, not against it. Her vision was simple: use the magical cream of coconuts to design a frozen dessert that is equal parts delicious, healthy and beautiful. And with that, Sunscoop was born.

• 

  Sea Briganti

  Loliware

  

  Sea Briganti

  The H/L Ventures team is constantly available to tackle the inevitable (and daily!) start up challenges, they’re hyperconnected to the people you need, and willing to expend resources to have your back – If H/L Ventures takes you on, consider yourself lucky, and get ready for blast off.

  Chelsea F. Briganti (“Sea”) is the co-founder and CEO of LOLIWARE, the world’s leading seaweed-based material technology company dedicated to healing the planet by making single-use plastic obsolete.

  As the CEO of an interdisciplinary team of expert scientists, food technologists, and seaweed biologists, Briganti developed LOLIWARE Intelligent Seaweed Technologies (LIST) – a category of materials made from seaweed (a regenerative and carbon sequestering input) that outperform paper products & bioplastics. LIST products look, feel, and act like plastic, but are made from 100% food grade materials and thus are designed to disappear either through compost or natural processes.

  In 2019, the company launched the LOLIWARE’s Straw of the Future – to replace the 360 billion plastic straws used annually worldwide that contaminate our oceans and harm marine life. Early adopters include Marriott Hotels, Pernod Ricard, MoMA, and 4 more launches in 2020.

  Prior to founding LOLIWARE, Briganti graduated at the top of her class at Parsons School of Design (Industrial Design & Engineering) and went on to build innovation pipelines for global CPG companies Coca Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, and L’Oreal, with a lens on sustainable packaging and food tech. Raised in Hawaii, Briganti’s deep connection with the ocean led to an unwavering commitment to eliminate single-use plastics and heal the planet. With LOLIWARE, Briganti and her team are pioneering a plastic-free future with products that are ‘Designed to Disappear’.

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  Mike Burns

  Service First

  

  Mike Burns

  • Linkedin

  Mike is a seasoned executive, growth coach and former Army Officer who has over 30 years of experience in strategic leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion, self-assessment, culture shifting and organizational behavior.
  He is the Co-Founder of Service First Inc, a first-of-its-kind jewelry brand that creates symbols of service, and through these symbols, recognizes those who have dedicated their lives to putting others first.
  Prior to creating Service First, Mike served as the Chief Diversity Officer of Conduent, a $5B technology-focused services business. He also had the privilege of running the company’s largest business line and manage a P&L with revenues of almost $1B, generated by his organization’s 25,000 employees across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean Islands.
  Before coming to Conduent, Michael led the global diversity function for all the Wall Street business of Citigroup, where his mission was to drive diversity and inclusion for one of the world’s largest banks. Michael also served as the COO of the technology company, Medical Information Records LLC, named the 2014 Dell-Intel healthcare startup company of the year.
  Michael joined Corporate America after serving 13 years in the US Army, initially as a helicopter pilot and civil-military advisor with the 101st Airborne Division in support of operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In these roles he had the privilege of leading over 100 brave and motivated American and Iraqi Soldiers on difficult, yet incredibly impactful missions. He concluded his military career as the Head of Diversity Recruitment and Enrollment for the United States Military Academy at West Point.
  Michael has a MBA from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Business Management and Leadership from Webster University, a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and is a Columbia University trained Executive Coach.

   

   

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  Olivier Ceberio

  Resolute Marine Energy

  

  Olivier Ceberio

  We have been working with Oliver Libby at H/L Ventures for the last 6 years and we are so grateful with the connections we made and the contribution and constant support they showed us was critical for our success.

  Mr. Ceberio is an Aeronautical Engineer with more than 10 years of experience in product development and project management experience gained at Starsem where he led the successful development and production of a commercial space launch vehicle. Before joining Resolute, Mr. Ceberio worked for 8 years in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia. He was employed by the World Bank as a consultant and has worked in microfinance in India. He is a dual MBA/MPA graduate of MIT Sloan School of Management and Harvard Kennedy School of Government, USA. He obtained his Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace” (SUPAERO), Toulouse, France, in 1996.

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  Mike Chuter

  Thankful

  

  Mike Chuter

  I’m a global business leader and entrepreneur and have helped deliver business results for >25 years, through building relationships between brands & consumers in Australia, Europe, UK, and US.

  After years working in global agencies (Ogilvy and M&C Saatchi), in 2005 co-founded CUBED Communications which focused on improving customer engagement and delivering results for organisations through the best use of data driven marketing techniques. CUBED was listed in BRW Fast Starters and Fast 100 in 2010. The business was sold to Publicis Worldwide, the world’s 3rd largest communications group.

  In 2010 I was awarded Australian Marketer of the Year by ADMA

  In 2013 co-founded Thankful®… a global social impact and content company working for social good, good business and overall improvement of humanity. Thankful® shifts the current dialogue to expand global awareness of critical issues, create measurable action and unite communities, corporations, influencers and charities. www.thankful.org. In 2016 moved to New York to bring Thankful® to the world.

  In Dec 2018 joined WPP owned global research-based consultancy PSB as Global CEO.

  Current/Previous Board Director positions include Association of Data Driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA), JDRF and Comic Relief Australia. I am a current adviser for JDRFi and a mentor with Defy Ventures for incarcerated men and women.

  Specialties: Business building & leadership, advertising, marketing, data driven marketing, digital transformation and communications, pr – anything that helps build a relationship between brands and customers/prospects to drive incremental results for businesses and social impact

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  Kurt Conti

  The Conti Group

  

  Kurt Conti

  • Linkedin

  Mr. Conti is Chairman of The Conti Group, originally founded in 1906. Since then group has grown into a global holding company with ownerships, partnerships and investments in development, infrastructure, energy, technology, engineering, construction, real estate and biotechnology. Committed to global development, Kurt’s initiatives add vibrancy to communities and serve the common good. An honors graduate in Civil Engineering from Villanova University, Mr. Conti received the College of Engineering’s Alumni Award for Outstanding Leadership. He is a Harvard University Business School alumnus of the Owner/President Management Program, and a recipient of Ernst & Young’s prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award. Mr. Conti has served and continues to support numerous charitable organizations.

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  Dipanwita Das

  Sorcero

  

  Dipanwita Das

  Oliver and his team have been fantastic supporters to Sorcero from Day 1. We started working with them when we were under 9 months old and have been amazed at the breadth and depth of their network, wisdom and friendship. At Sorcero, we are massive fans.

  Dipanwita Das is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sorcero, an enterprise language intelligence startup that empowers experts to make better decisions in Life Sciences & Insurance with seamless understanding of the world’s technical knowledge. An award-winning global technology entrepreneur, Das has been accepted into leading programs for high-growth tech entrepreneurs, including Plug & Play Ventures, Mindshare, and Y Combinator’s Female Founders program. Previously, she was the founder & CEO of 42 Strategies, managing digital transformation projects for Richard Branson’s Virgin Unite, Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. As an Atlas Corps Fellow and Board Member, Das designed the Global Leadership Lab, training leaders from over sixty countries. She completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business’s Executive Program for Social Entrepreneurship, earned her M.A. from the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Sussex, and her B.A. from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. She is heavily inspired by science fiction and philosophy and writes her journal in Elvish.

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  Steve Davis

  Signafire

  

  Steve Davis

  Steve is a founding partner of Signafire and has led the concept and architecture of Signafire’s unique approach to big data analytics. Prior to Signafire, Steve worked at a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) and directly supported an elite U.S. Special Operations Command innovation and fusion cell. In this capacity, Steve worked directly with all-source, human terrain, geospatial, and other specialized intelligence analysts to rapidly develop tools and techniques to integrate and exploit large volumes of data. During his time with Special Operations, Steve deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and received awards from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for his efforts to integrate systems, implement novel solutions, and support deployed forces. Steve received a BS with highest distinction in Systems and Information Engineering, and a Master of Science in Systems and Information Engineering at the University of Virginia.

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  Andras Forgacs

  Modern Meadow

  

  Andras Forgacs

  Andras Forgacs, Co-Founder and CEO of Modern Meadow, is a serial entrepreneur in deep tech and life sciences. He is leading the company into a new age of biofabrication to transform the material world by unlocking the power of nature. Andras is also co-Founder of 3D bioprinting company, Organovo. Previously he held positions with an international technology-focused venture fund, McKinsey & Co., and Citigroup. Andras is founding chairman of the international non-profit Resolution Project and was a Kauffman Fellow with the Center for Venture Education. He holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Harvard University. Named as a 2018 Tech Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, Modern Meadow has created a novel platform of biofabricated materials at the frontier of biotechnology and partners with some of the world’s most thought-leading brands to offer design that contributes to a healthier planet.

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  Andy Frank

  Sealed

  

  Andy Frank

  H/L Ventures has supported Sealed in good times and bad. They are always available to answer a question, make an important phone call, and help us think through challenges. Everyone at H/L Ventures says what they will do and will do what they say – we are excited to have them as a trusted partner!

  Andy is the Founder and President of Sealed, an energy and financial technology company that finances key home improvements using the money homeowners currently waste on energy. Prior to Sealed, Andy led business development for Efficiency 2.0, a software company that helped utilities engage their residential customers. Andy graduated from Harvard College with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Public Policy

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  Richard Graves

  Sorcero

  

  Richard Graves

  • Linkedin

  Richard Graves is the Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Sorcero, an enterprise language intelligence startup that empowers experts to make better decisions in Life Sciences & Insurance with seamless understanding of the world’s technical knowledge. He has founded and scaled data-science driven startups to past $140 million in revenue, which led to them being named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ and Inc. 500 lists. As a social entrepreneur, Graves received the Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship, the Laureate Global Fellowship, and six Best for the World Awards.

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  Hal Kamine

  KDC Ag

  

  Hal Kamine

  Since 1983, Hal Kamine has coupled with a strong entrepreneurial spirit with his engineering background to bridge his vision to build, own and operate infrastructure nationwide. As CEO and owner of Kamine Development Company, predecessor to KDC AG, Hal developed, built, and owned seven unregulated non-utility power generation projects located in New York and New Jersey between 1985 and 2000. These projects totaled 600 megawatts and represented a capital investment of more than $800 million. Hal then built, KMC Telecom eventually deployed over $2 billion in capital, had over 1,500 employees and revenues of approximately $600 million per year becoming the largest Privately Held CLEC. Hal also started KDC Solar, which raised $225M from Diamond Castle and is now one of the largest, owners and operators of net-metered solar projects on the east coast with 125 MW operational and another 30 MW in construction. Hal and his team now concentrate on scaling sustainable technologies to create macro closed loop systems.

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  Justin Kamine

  KDC Ag & Upgraid

  

  Justin Kamine

  Justin Kamine has been at the forefront spearheading the sustainable and environmentally progressive technologies, products and food movements for the past 10 years. To date KDC his family office has developed over $3.5B of national infrastructure pioneering the independent energy markets, the deregulation of the telecom industry (as their platform carried 1/3 of the nations dial-up), and developed, owned and operated over 700 megawatts of natural gas cogeneration and solar projects.

  Justin is a Forbes 30U30 for Food and ranked by Forbes at the 50 Most Impactful Entrepreneurs alongside of Bill Gates, Serena Williams and Will Smith. Justin’s angel investments and entrepreneurial talents have lead him to be deeply involved with growing technologies that are actively transforming macro systems. Including creating a more sustainable, waste free food supply chain, eliminating single use plastic waste, launching the worlds first organic pharmaceutical company and creating the next healthiest CPG products.

  Justin is also the cofounder and partner of KDC Ag to upcycle food waste across the country to animal feed within three hours. His team includes ownership from Howard W. Buffett, Ann Veneman former US Secretary of Ag, Bill Fields former CEO of Walmart, Matt Jansen, CEO of Saudi Agriculture Investment Bank, Sam Kass, Obama’s former Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition, Tom Colicchio, celebrity chef and many more.

  KDC Solar, which Justin also helped build, currently engineers, permits develops and owns over 100 megawatts of solar ($400M) and is one of the largest behind the meter asset portfolios – providing cheap renewable energy to major manufacturers – including Amazon, Pfizer, Eli Lily and recently making Six Flags the first amusement park in the world to be 100% powered by solar.

  Justin recently was also an advisor to Pope Francis Sustainability initiatives, is the winner of the Clean Tech Equity Award presented by the Prince of Monaco for the most environmentally progressive technology, Obama’s Presidential Award winner for Sustainability, he is also an investors into Loliware with Mark Cuban, first investors into Aerofarms the worlds largest indoor farm and many others.

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  Matt Kamine

  KDC Ag

  

  Matt Kamine

  Matthew Kamine is a Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer of KDC Sustainable Infrastructure and KDC Agribusiness. KDC’s focus is utilizing infrastructure projects to make society more efficient and sustainable. KDC has developed, owned, and operated close to $4 billion infrastructure projects (power, telecom, solar, agriculture) since the 1980s. Matthew leads the infrastructure development team, where he coordinates development, engineering, permitting, and construction of the different businesses at KDC. His focus is on facilitating a seamless integration between the project development, operations, and finance teams. Matthew, along with his family, are impact investors focused on new sustainable technologies that can be then scaled using the strengths of the team at KDC. Matthew graduated with a B.A. in Engineering and minor in Economics from Lafayette College.

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  Diane Karle

  Wine by Design

  

  Diane Karle

  A proven business builder and entrepreneur in the sports, entertainment and media industries, Diane has historically uncovered early stage business trends in emerging lifestyle verticals. Diane is currently the CEO and Founder of Wine by Design (WBD), the first strategic wine lifestyle and business solutions company.

  Diane’s career path is aligned with the trajectory of the sports, lifestyle and entertainment industries. She spent over 2 decades at sports, entertainment and media giants, IMG, Aegis and Velocity Sports and Entertainment (now MKTG). Working alongside many of the original business pioneers, Diane was able to gain a 360 lens across global property development, corporate brand consulting, talent and rights negotiations and digital strategy.

  She began her career in sponsorship sales at a boutique Tennis agency, that owned a Premier WTA women’s tournament, recognized as the warm-up to the US Open. As the firms first full-time salesperson, Diane increased sponsorship revenue from $500k to over $7mm, and assisted with the television, print and radio partner negotiations. The tournament was later sold to East Germany.

  Joining IMG in 1996, Diane was the first female on the core business development team – servicing all IMG business units. In addition, she played a pivotal role in building undervalued assets in emerging lifestyle segments – this included two of IMG’s assets; Fashion Week and the Grammy’s (NARAS). She successfully redefined the sponsorship strategy for each, resulting in multi-million-dollar blue chip contracts and national marketing campaigns. During the dotcom boom, she stepped in to launch IMG’s first venture backed content website, with over 150 content deals featuring IMG’s premier assets such as Wimbledon, Sports Illustrated Awards, PGA events, Tiger Woods, Heidi Klum, Derek Jeter, Joe Montana, Mohamad Ali, Peyton Manning, and outside contracts with professional sports teams and entertainment properties.

  After IMG, Diane and was brought in by CEO, David Verklin, of Carat (Aegis) to build the agencies first sports and entertainment consulting business. Her business development and leadership skills were essential to the divisions start-up success. Subsequently, she led the acquisition of Velocity Sports & Entertainment (MKTG) to increase Carat’s footprint and establish a global business for the company. The acquisition delivered $16 million in revenue and added formidable blue-chip firms including FedEx, Cingular, IBM, and Home Depot to Caratʼs portfolio.

  In 2008, Diane identified white space at the cross sector of the multi-billion-dollar sports and wine industries. By leveraging some of the world’s most recognized sports and entertainment franchises, the company successfully created and managed new revenue channels, allowing the sports industry and WBD to monetize the wine category. WBD was the first company in MLB history to ink an exclusive wine licensing contract and was also instrumental in the recent NFL team by-law modifications—essentially changing the landscape for team branded wines and paving the way for more lucrative sponsorship deals with the major wine companies.

  Her advances have been chronicled in national and regional press, including Fast Company, Sports Business Journal, Huffington Post and regional TV broadcasts. Diane has repeatedly illustrated her passion to drive change and identify unmet and undervalued business opportunities. She is the recipient of the 2018 Sports Business Journal Women’s Game Changer Award and selected as one of the publications executive mentors, for women in sports.

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  Cassandra Kelly

  Atomli

  

  Cassandra Kelly

  Cassandra Kelly inspires action as a thought leader, speaker and coach to global leaders who dare to think and do – both corporate and political. She helps leaders to solve their most complex problems and make change happen quickly.

  A tech entrepreneur and former CEO, Cassandra has served as advisor, board director and chair for some of the world’s most influential organizations. She is regularly invited to speak at forums and summits including for the G20, European Union, African Union, World Government, United Nations and NATO.

  She has lived and worked in most of the world’s continents and currently lives in New York City. She co-founded the award-winning global corporate advisory firm, Pottinger, and subsequently C-Change.

  Cassandra’s ability to compel organizations to seize new opportunities and challenge the status quo has resulted in numerous accolades including her being awarded an Order of Australia.

  She speaks regularly on technology, including AI and humanity, and continues as a founding member of the European Union’s Global Tech Panel.

  A known advocate for investing in female talent and helping women to connect across industries, from public and private sector, she founded the Glass Elevator, served on the inaugural Australian Federal Treasury’s Inclusive Workplace Committee and is now the Global Chair of the Google initiative that has been spun out and is now supported by the BBC, UNESCO, NASDAQ and many others.

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  Marie Kloor

  Hydra Studios

  

  Marie Kloor

  The team at Hatzimemos Libby isn’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and work closely with early stage founders. They have spent a significant amount of time providing strategic advice and championing our business every step of the way. The deep relationships they have brought to the table have developed into investment capital, new partnerships and industry connections that have accelerated our launch.

  A Colorado native, Marie moved to NYC in 2012 and was immediately hooked by the city’s energy. Before founding Hydra Studios, she led Revenue & Business Development at News Deeply, a media startup building news platforms covering complex global issues. She spent over five years at Goldman Sachs in Investment Management, working closely with institutional clients on portfolio allocation strategies. When not working with the amazing Hydra Studios team, she can be found playing piano or exploring Brooklyn’s ever changing food scene.

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  Nigel Lake

  Atomli

  

  Nigel Lake

  Nigel is a New York-based entrepreneur and corporate advisor. He co-founded the award-winning advisory firm, Pottinger, in Australia in 2003 and subsequently Atomli in New York in 2016. He is also an adviser to a number of start-ups in the USA, Australia and UK, including Change Foods. In 2020, he co-founded ESGX.ORG, a non-profit sustainability initiative. He has 30 years’ experience working with hundreds of companies, governments and start-ups on strategy, M&A, innovation and large-scale infrastructure projects. With a background in finance, science (Cambridge University) and systems thinking, he has worked in most of the top thirty economies and is driven by long-term thinking and sustainability. His book The Long Term Starts Tomorrow urges others embrace long-term thinking to lead us to better outcomes. He continues to be a regular commentator in the Australian media.

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  Dan Mangru

  TheaterEars

  

  Dan Mangru

  Eric Hatzimemos has been a godsend to our company. Part of being a startup is to be able to cut through the noise to get things done. Eric and his team at H/L Ventures always deliver and have been incredible partners with us on this startup journey.

  Dan Mangru is the CEO of TheaterEars, an iPhone and Android based app that empowers individuals to enjoy a movie at the movie theater in the language of their choice with just their smartphone and a pair of earbuds. As CEO, Dan has created content partnerships with Disney, Universal, Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount, and STX. He has also recruited a world class advisory team featuring the former Chairman of News Corp Europe, former President of Telemundo, the founder of E! Entertainment, the former Chairman of FOX Entertainment TV, the former CTO/CDSO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and other prominent Latino, entertainment, and media executives. Under Dan’s leadership TheaterEars has been a top ranked app on the App Store and Google Play with over half million users.

  Dan Mangru has over 15 years of marketing and executive experience. He was the founder and Managing Director of The Global Advisory Group, a Palm Beach advisory firm that focuses on strategic partnering, media, and new business development. At The Global Advisory Group he was involved with the procurement of sponsorships for a NASCAR racing team, a multi-million dollar turnaround of a medical facility, an app marketing startup, acquisitions, and client media strategy securing appearances in national media outlets such as Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg, Huffington Post, CNN, MSNBC, Reuters, the Associated Press, TechCrunch, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Information Week and many more.

  Dan Mangru was born in New York and holds a B.A. in Political Science from Florida Atlantic University, where he sat on the Board of the College of Business. Dan is also active in the local community, serving on the board of Best Buddies Palm Beach and previously a 3 year term on the board for the College of Business at Lynn University. He spent two years in the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, has raised money for college scholarships awarded to children of fallen soldiers (Freedom Alliance) and aided organizations that help veterans find employment.

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  Kim McDonnell

  Thankful

  

  Kim McDonnell

  The team at H/L Ventures have been a great support – both strategically with business planning as well as tactically with resourcing and advice. We are very thankful for our great partnership.

  Kim is an Entrepreneur, Strategic Marketer, Thought Leader, Impact Innovator and Founder of Thankful®. Thankful is leading the conversation of positivity and is the world’s first global lifestyle brand founded on more than 20 years of scientific research. The first multi-product, multi-cause social impact brand that combines global scale, positivity, profit and measurable impact, demonstrating that doing good is good for business.

  Thankful brings positivity and brands together. The Thankful plug and play flexible platform enables organisations to engage with consumers to demonstrate authentic, meaningful and sustainable commitment to global challenges.

  Kim is a recognized social impact leader, and marketing communications industry leader with involvement in industry associations in Australia, and the US and has been featured in Forbes US and numerous media outlets. She has spent over 25 years working in the Australian advertising, digital and data-driven marketing industry at international agencies including Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide. In 2005, she co-founded CUBED Communications which, after winning multiple local and international awards and voted as one of the fastest growing companies in Australia (BRW magazine), was sold to Publicis Worldwide (world’s 3rd largest communications group) in 2014. She has been nominated for Australian Business Woman of the Year and is a regular public speaker and marketing tutor for industry leading training organizations.

  Kim is a member of the Professional Business Council Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, and Honorary Adviser to the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development NY.

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  Travis Montaque

  Holler

  

  Travis Montaque

  H/L Ventures has been a crucial component of our early success at Holler. The firm truly cares about helping early stage businesses realize their full potential, and provides the tools and support needed to get there. They also remain invested far beyond just the early stages of growth. Holler is a dynamic business that is constantly innovating, and we’re grateful that we continue to have the support and guidance of a venture firm like H/L Ventures.

  As the CEO and founder of Holler, Travis leads a top-notch team of animators and AI scientists to build the next-generation messaging experience. Travis has been included in Forbes 30 Under 30, Entrepreneur Magazine’s Most Daring Entrepreneurs, and led Holler to a place on Fast Company’s 2020 Most Innovative Companies List for developing greater emotional expression in today’s digital conversations. Travis is passionate about enhancing digital communication with creativity and technology, and has taken the stage at Cannes Lions, CES, Social Media Week, Advertising Week, SXSW and Harvard Business School to ignite conversations on the topic.

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  Sandhya Murali

  Solstice

  

  Sandhya Murali

  Sandhya is a co-founder of Solstice, an award-winning social enterprise dedicated to expanding access to clean energy to all Americans, where she manages business and product development. Prior to joining Solstice, she worked at Buen Power Peru, a social enterprise that distributes solar lamps and water heaters to off-grid communities in Peru. Sandhya began her career in Barclays’ investment banking division in New York and London, advising and executing public equity transactions for Technology, Media and Telecom companies. She was also deeply involved in Barclays’ philanthropy work with Endeavor, Women’s World Banking, and Barclays’ Social Innovation Fund. Sandhya holds a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she received the Sustainability Certificate.

• 

  Dan Nielsen

  Hydra Studios

  

  Dan Nielsen

  The team at Hatzimemos Libby isn’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and work closely with early stage founders. They have spent a significant amount of time providing strategic advice and championing our business every step of the way. The deep relationships they have brought to the table have developed into investment capital, new partnerships and industry connections that have accelerated our launch.

  Originally from Arizona, Dan has spent the last 5 years of his career between San Francisco and New York City. Before founding Hydra Studios, Dan developed his operational expertise across multiple industries and roles including sales strategy and operations at Tubemogul (an advertising tech company purchased by Adobe), corporate development and acquisitions at Backcountry (an ecommerce company purchased by TSG), and working within credit derivatives at Goldman Sachs. In his free time, Dan enjoys reading, playing basketball with friends, and online gaming with his nephews on the West Coast.

• 

  Helene Rutledge

  Upgraid

  

  Helene Rutledge

  As a first time Founder, H-L has been an invaluable asset to both our company and me personally, providing advice, resource recommendations, and contacts that we could have never accessed on our own.

  Helene Rutledge, brings a career of experience in the Healthcare industry to UPGRAID, the start-up she co-founded that is dedicated to science-based, safe and effective products for preventative health. She is known as an innovator and change agent and has held senior leadership roles including Global Head of Open Innovation at GlaxoSmithKline, VP R&D at Nature’s Bounty, and Director of Global Clinical Supplies at Pfizer. Most recently, as Chief Innovation Officer of New Avon, she launched the line of Espira nutritional supplements and achieved the No Animal Testing claim for the entire North American portfolio. She has served on the Board of Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) and is an award-winning product developer and subject matter expert on Innovation. Helene earned an Executive MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Chemistry from Manhattan College, where she has returned as an adjunct professor and to coach teams of entrepreneurs. She is a native New Yorker and lives in Chelsea where she is family nutritionist to her husband and two teenagers.

• 

  Lauren Salz

  Sealed

  

  Lauren Salz

  Lauren is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sealed, an energy and financial technology company that finances key home improvements using the money homeowners currently waste on energy. Lauren previously worked at McKinsey & Company, where she focused on fixed income strategies. She was also named to the Forbes “30 under 30” list for energy. Lauren graduated with a BA. In Economics from Barnard College.

• 

  Steph Speirs

  Solstice

  

  Steph Speirs

  Steph is an entrepreneur and community builder with management experience in the Middle East, South Asia, and the United States.

  She co-founded and runs Solstice, an enterprise dedicated to radically expanding the number of American households that can take advantage of clean energy using community-shared solar farms. Solstice also invented the EnergyScore, a new, proprietary underwriting standard for solar customers that is simultaneously more accurate in predicting who will pay their utility bill and more inclusive of low-income Americans (than FICO credit scores, the industry standard). She was selected as an Echoing Green Climate Fellow, Inc Magazine’s Female Founder 100, Elle’s US Women Entrepreneur of the Year, a Kia Revisionary, for Techstars Boston, a Renewable Energy World 40 Under 40 in Solar, a Grist 50 Fixer, a GLG Social Impact Fellow, a Cordes Fellow, and an Acumen Global Fellow.

  She previously led sales and marketing innovation initiatives in India at d.light, a solar products company powering areas without reliable electricity; spearheaded Acumen’s renewable energy impact investment strategy in Pakistan; developed Middle East policy as the youngest policy director at the White House National Security Council; and managed field operations in seven states for the first Obama presidential campaign.

  She holds a B.A. from Yale, a Master in Public Affairs (MPA) with distinction from Princeton, and an MBA from MIT with a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She originally hails from Hawaii.

• 

  William Staby

  Resolute Marine Energy

  

  William Staby

  H/L Ventures core principles are perfectly aligned with ours; focused on creating measurable social impact through product and service delivery mechanisms that respect the environment and value the contributions of all stakeholders. We’re very impressed with the broad range of relationships that the H/L Ventures principals have developed and which they unsparingly share with us when appropriate. The advice we have received from H/L Ventures over the years has been invaluable and we look forward to a long and productive relationship for many more years to come.

  Mr. Staby is a seasoned professional with more than 20 years of management and leadership experience gained at global enterprises including Credit Suisse, Xerox and Rabobank International, and more than 10 years of experience in wave energy conversion and mechanical engineering. He is Chairman of the U.S. delegation to the International Electro-technical Commission TC-114 technical standards committee in Geneva, Switzerland, whose mission is to prepare international standards and certification protocols for marine energy conversion systems. Mr. Staby is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute and a member of the board of the World Ocean Council. He obtained his MBA from New York University and he has completed executive education programs at the Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management.

• 

  Yanev Suissa

  SineWave Ventures

  

  Yanev Suissa

  Yanev is the Founder and Managing Partner of SineWave Ventures. Prior to SineWave, Yanev was an investor at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), where he sourced, managed, and helped advise dozens of early stage investments. Yanev was also a Senior Investment Officer during both the Bush and Obama Administrations for a ~$150 billion investment vehicle created to advance the commercialization of new innovative technologies.

  Yanev holds degrees from Yale University (B.A., Magna Cum Laude), Harvard Law School (J.D.), Oxford Said School of Business (M.B.A., Christ Church), and Sydney Law School (Masters, Distinction).

• 

  Gopal Swamy

  Conductiv

  

  Gopal Swamy

  Gopal is a former management consultant and 3x entrepreneur with 15+ years of experience in strategy and startups. He founded or co-founded B2B/enterprise startups in the services, mobile technology, edtech, and fintech spaces. He has one successful exit and deep experience in sales, marketing and product management.

  Career highlights include co-founding and exiting Modo Labs, a venture-backed, mobile software company, leading a $10MM global mobile effort (11 countries, 6 languages) for a fortune 10 company, and recovering $200mm for a top 5 bank through software.

  Gopal enjoys speaking at entrepreneurship-related events, and advising early-stage startups.

• 

  Yuliya Tarasava

  CNote

  

  Yuliya Tarasava

  • Linkedin

  Yuliya Tarasava is the COO and Co-founder of CNote, an impact investment platform delivering competitive returns by investing in women, minorities and low-income communities across America. As an experienced financial professional with expertise in risk management and product development, Yuliya focuses on leveraging financial tools to increase economic opportunity for everyone. Previously, Yuliya led the quantitative due diligence for over 20 mutual funds across multiple asset classes for AMG Funds. Later at Summit Rock Advisors, she co-developed the proprietary analytics and risk management framework for a portfolio of over $10B in assets. She was one of 12 individuals selected for Acumen’s Global Fellows program, which led to her running strategy and operations for Juhudi Kilimo, a micro-financial institution in Nairobi that supports farmers and small-to-medium agro-businesses throughout Kenya. Yuliya was born and raised in Belarus and moved to the United States in 2004. She is a CFA and CAIA charterholder.

• 

  Daniel Terry

  Command Systems

  

  Daniel Terry

  Daniel Terry, the founder and CEO of Command, has a reputation for providing outstanding support, engineering, and project management. As a cofounder (2004), and CEO of Mission1st, he was war-zone imbedded, gaining the highest level of customer trust with PEO EIS, PM DCASS, PM DCGS, NETCOM, and CENTCOM. As the SETA contractor for PM DCASS, he led a team responsible for planning, engineering, and implementing large-scale, mission-critical telecommunication systems worldwide, especially OIF & OEF. After Mission1st, Dan became the CEO of Cogility Software Corporation, a developer of a Model-Driven Software Engineering environment for designing solutions for Complex Event Processes. During his time as CEO, Cogility developed, built, and fielded JIST, the Joint IED Analysis Tool, for JIEDDO and PM DCGS-A. Before becoming a defense contractor, Dan held executive positions in technology firms NetFRAME, Micron, and ConnectedSupport.com. With PCR, he grew a nation-wide telecom engineering, deployment, and service operation.

• 

  Brian Tran

  Serif

  

  Brian Tran

  • Linkedin

  Brian Tran is a product builder and community organizer at heart. Previously, he was the first Designer in Residence at Kleiner Perkins. Before Kleiner, Brian led Product at a venture backed stealth startup that was acquired by Stripe. 

• 

  Melanie Travis

  Andie Swim

  

  Melanie Travis

  • Linkedin

  Melanie Travis is the Founder and CEO of Andie, the leading digitally native swimwear brand. Melanie established her career at some of New York City’s most successful consumer technology companies: Foursquare, Kickstarter, and most recently Bark & Co. Melanie studied Comparative Literature at Haverford College and film directing at the California Institute of the Arts (MFA).

• 

  Al Vallejos

  Service First

  

  Al Vallejos

  • Linkedin

  Al has a diverse experience with demonstrated achievements in the areas of operations, project/program management, relationship management, team building, and organizational leadership.

  He is the Co-Founder of Service First Inc, a first-of-its-kind jewelry brand that creates symbols of service, and through these symbols, recognizes those who have dedicated their lives to putting others first.

  Additionally, Al serves as a Partnership Manager for Johnson & Johnson, and was initially brought in to focus on a startup joint venture partnership with Google.​ Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, Al worked for General Electric Healthcare as a Project Manager where he was responsible for the implementation of capital medical equipment.​ He spent over 5 years as an active duty military officer, to include a deployment to Iraq where he earned a Bronze Star for his performance and outstanding leadership.​ His last active duty military assignment was serving as a Diversity Recruitment Officer at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY.​

  He has earned an MBA in Organizational Leadership from New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY.​ ​

• 

  Carine Vinett

  ChicShop

  

  Carine Vinett

  H/L Ventures was really helpful in developing my product The Best Friend and was there alongside with me at every twist and turn. Bringing a new product to market is an enormous task (esp for a 1st time inventor) but H/L Ventures helped provide resources, advice and feedback that helped put me at ease and set us up for success.

  Carine Vinett is a media dynamo and inventor with over 15 years experience in publishing, working on some of the world’s biggest brands like People, InStyle + Real Simple. Upon struggling to zip up the back of her dress each morning before work, she came up with the idea to create The Best Friend and the rest is fashion history. She is currently the CEO (Chic Executive Officer) + President of ChicShop and loves creating products that make women’s lives better, easier & chicer. She believes that women are the future and that anything can be achieved with a power dress, killer shoes and a good blowout.

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  Marleen Vogelaar

  Ziel Inc.

  

  Marleen Vogelaar

  • Linkedin

  Marleen Vogelaar is the founder and CEO of Ziel. Previously she was co-founder of Shapeways, the world’s leading 3D printing service and marketplace for consumers. In 2008, she and her co-founders launched the world’s first upload-to-3D-print service Shapeways in Eindhoven the Netherlands. Shapeways grew very quickly and Marleen was responsible for scaling the company as COO/CFO. She built two factories, created a network of vendors and the material handling and software processes to run and scale it efficiently. She led the move of Shapeways to New York and during her time at Shapeways she supported the raise of $50M in venture capital from the most prominent VC’s in the world.

   Marleen loved the concept of on-demand manufacturing at Shapeways for various reasons. Consumers got exactly what they wanted, on-demand manufacturing is resource efficient as there is no over-supply and it is efficient with working capital. She quickly saw an opportunity to make a positive change in the apparel industry

   Prior to Shapeways, Marleen was a Strategy and M&A consultant and was in operations management in the paper industry. She holds a Master Degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Science. Marleen is a former heptathlete and spends her spare time in the outdoors as much as possible.