Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based Director operating in the Business Development space. If you think a Director is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Jeff Horing
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Jeff Horing has been a co-founder and managing director at Insight Venture Partners since 1995. Under his leadership Insight has become a premier venture capital and private equity firm focused on growth investments in software and internet businesses, currently investing from a $2.56 billion fund. Jeff’s areas of focus include mobile, online gaming, data, infrastructure and internet software. Jeff is a former member of the board of directors of Airborne Entertainment (acquired by Cybird Co.), CTSpace (acquired by Sword Group), Beechwood Data Systems (acquired by Cap Gemini), Greenfield Online (IPO, later acquired by Microsoft), Hitwise (acquired by Experian Group Ltd), IAG Research (acquired by The Nielsen Company), ProMira Software (acquired by Manugistics), Shutterstock (IPO), SLP Infoware (acquired by Gemplus), Solarwinds Inc. (IPO NYSE: SWI), and Xchange (IPO acquired by Amdocs). Jeff is an investor or currently serves on the board of directors of AirWatch (mobile device management), Anaqua (IP asset management), GFI Software (cloud-based services), Jagex Ltd (online gaming), Nexon (online gaming), Datacore Software (storage virtualization), New Relic (application performance management), Teamviewer (remote desktop collaboration), WIX (free DIY flash-based websites), Whitney University System (distance learning technology), and Zumba (global fitness and lifestyle brand). Prior to founding Insight, Jeff was a key member of the technology investing team at Warburg Pincus. Earlier in his career he worked at Goldman Sachs in the Capital Markets group. Jeff holds an MBA from the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management. He has dual undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Engineering and Wharton School, where he graduated with high honors and was Phi Beta Kappa. Jeff is a regular speaker at Wharton as part of the Distinguished Guest speaker series.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Praveen Akkiraju
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Praveen Akkiraju is Chief Executive Officer of VCE. Akkiraju and his team are working to deliver next generation converged infrastructure to transform the economics, agility and profitability of Enterprises and Service Providers as they transition to cloud-enabled business models. VCE is a joint venture between Cisco and EMC with investments from VMware and Intel. A 19-year veteran at Cisco, Akkiraju has successfully led businesses across the enterprise and service provider market segments. In his most recent role, he was responsible for setting the direction for Cisco’s next generation enterprise architecture and integrating security and application awareness capabilities with the network and cloud. His previous roles included vice president and general manager of service provider infrastructure businesses, where he was instrumental in defining the product direction and strategy for Cisco’s Core, Mobile & Broadband Edge business. Akkiraju holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana State University and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School. He also serves on the Senior Advisory Council at the non-profit Industry Initiatives for Science & Math Education (IISME).
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About Insight Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund, VCE: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Richard Wells
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Richard Wells has over 12 years of experience in investing and advising managers of high growth software and Internet companies. He currently serves on the boards of BeyondTrust, Enigma, HealthcareSource, Kinnser, Metalogix, PHD Virtual, Smartbear Software and is active with the board of Zumba Fitness. Richard previously served on the boards of Netsmart Technologies (acquired by Genstar Capital) and Primavera (acquired by Oracle), and was active with the board of Buddy Media (acquired by Salesforce.com). Richard joined Insight in 2005 after previously serving as an investment team member at Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), with a focus on software, online media and e-commerce. Richard also worked in product management for enterprise data protection products at Veritas Software (now part of Symantec), and in field sales for Paciolan Systems (now part of Ticketmaster). Richard received a BS from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude) and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He grew up in Southern California and resides in Manhattan with his wife and son. Thanks to his father’s New England roots, Richard is an avid Boston Red Sox fan and is already having a lot of fun making his son one too.
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About Esper, Insight Partners, Nuvemshop: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Peter Sobiloff
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Peter Sobiloff joined Insight Venture Partners as Managing Director in 1998, bringing to the firm 20 years of operational experience in executive leadership positions, sales management and worldwide operations. Peter was President of Think Systems, an Insight portfolio company focused on supply chain management, which was acquired by i2 Technologies; thereafter Peter served as Vice President of Business Development at i2 Technologies. Prior to Insight, Peter was President of Datalogix, a vendor of enterprise application software for process manufacturers. He also held senior executive roles at Ross Systems, a provider of financial application software. Peter was part of the management teams that executed IPOs for both companies. Subsequently, as President of Datalogix, Peter led the sale of Datalogix to Oracle corporation. Peter is a well-known executive in the software industry and regularly speaks on industry panels. He served as Chairman of Greenfield Online (NASDAQ: SRVY) for six years, including three years as a public company. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Medidata Solutions (NASDAQ: MDSO) for seven years, the final two as a public company. Other notable previous investments include Argus Software (acquired by Altus Group), DWL (acquired by IBM), GETPAID (acquired by Sunguard), Netsmart Technologies (acquired by Genstar Financial), iMany (IPO), Nistevo (acquired by Sterling Software), Paisley (acquired by Thomson Reuters), PerTrac (acquired by eVestment), Primavera (acquired by Oracle), and Rockport Trade Systems (acquired by QRS Corp). Peter currently serves on the board of directors at Achieve3000, Anaqua, DrillingInfo, Kinnser Software, Kony Solutions, Overdrive, Shunra, Syncsort, and Mediaspectrum. In his role as investor, Peter specializes in mentoring management teams to foster technological change in existing markets in order to produce greater productivity and deliver incremental value to customers. Peter enjoys working to create successful liquidity events that positively change the lives of entrepreneurs and employees.
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About Insight Partners, Oracle: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Nikitas Koutoupes
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Nikitas Koutoupes is a managing director at Insight and co-manages Insight Onsite, the firm’s team of dedicated operations and growth experts who provide hands-on assistance and advice to Insight’s portfolio companies. He leads Insight’s investment activities in the post-secondary education market: his most recent investments in education include Whitney International and Academic Partnerships. In addition to his investment and Insight Onsite responsibilities, Nikitas is one of the firm’s experts in online and recurring revenue business models. He currently serves on the Board of Directors or works with Academic Partnerships, GenArts, HealthcareSource, Fanatics, SpaceTime Studios, Syncsort, Whitney International and Zumba Fitness.Nikitas’ prior investments at Insight include Capella University (IPO, NASDAQ: CPLA), Exact Target (IPO, NYSE: ET), Football Fanatics (acquired by GSI Commerce, then eBay), Greenfield Online (IPO, acquired by Microsoft), Platespin (acquired by Novell), and Realink (acquired by Zaio Corp).Prior to Insight, he co-founded and was the Chief Financial Officer of CTSpace, a software-as-a-service company which became part of Insight’s portfolio and was subsequently acquired by the Sword Group. He was previously with McKinsey & Company, where he worked on strategy, turnaround, M&A and corporate finance engagements across a variety of industries.He also contributed to a major research initiative entitled “The War For Talent.”Nikitas co-authored with Hilary Gosher, a chapter titled “Customer Lifetime Value: Methodology and Applications for Operating Partners”, in “The Operating Partner in Private Equity”, published by Private Equity International in 2011.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Josh Fredberg
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Josh has 20+ years as a Director and Vice President in business development, product strategy and marketing at leading CAE software companies such as PTC, ANSYS, and Aspen Technology. His most recent experience was Senior Advisor McKinsey & Company, and is currently a Managing Director at Insight Partners. He has a proven track record of driving sales beyond $1B and operating margins north of 48%.
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About Insight Partners, Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Hilary Gosher
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Hilary Gosher is a Managing Director at Insight Venture Partners, a global growth investor in software companies with $16 billion AUM. Hilary leads Onsite, the firm’s specialized due diligence team and growth experts who evaluate investments and help to drive scale at portfolio companies. She has worked with more than 200 tech companies, engaged with five IPOs and dozens of M&A transactions. Among these are Mimecast, Shutterstock, Cvent, Planview, eVestment and Primavera. Hilary is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) where she teaches entrepreneurship. From 2010-2015 she was an Adjunct Professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business. In 2015 she was listed on the TechWeek100 Tech Leaders in NY. Business Insider recognized Hilary as one of the Most Inspiring Women in Tech in New York City. In 2016, Hilary co-founded, and is currently on the board of Parity Partners, a firm focused on advocating, educating, and recruiting for diverse and inclusive talent in investment, asset management and tech industries.
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About Columbia University, Insight Partners, NYU Stern School of Business: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
George Mathew
Managing Director of Insight Partners
George Mathew is a Managing Director at Insight Partners focused on earlier venture stage investments in AI, ML, Analytics, and Data companies as they are establishing Product/Market Fit. He brings 20+ years of experience developing high-growth technology startups including most recently being CEO of Kespry. Prior to Kespry, George was President & COO of Alteryx where he scaled up the company through its IPO (AYX). Previously he held senior leadership positions at SAP and salesforce.com. He has driven company strategy, led product management and development, and built sales and marketing teams. George holds a Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology from Cornell University and a Masters in Business Administration from Duke University, where he was a Fuqua Scholar.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Adam Berger
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Adam Berger is the managing director/operating partner at Insight Partners.He is also the executive chairman of Episerver.
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About Episerver, Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Ganesh Bell
Managing Director of Insight Partners
A lifelong student of enterprise software industry and digital transformation Accomplished builder, operating executive and leader of change. Thought leader, market creator, product innovator, inspiring keynote speaker & evangelist. Battle tested success record across early stage startups, largest multinational corporations, hypergrowth to IPO and M&A. Rare ability to balance GTM & product-oriented CEO responsibilities. Breadth & depth across enterprise software markets (platforms, apps, BI, next gen data), industrial tech & digital business. Passionate builder of high performing culture & teams.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Rachel Geller
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Rachel Geller joined Insight in 2008 and is a Vice President in the Onsite team. She leads engagements and works with portfolio company executives, assisting with managing growth, scaling sales, optimizing pricing and operational support including customer analytics, lifecycle marketing and M&A. She has evaluated more than ten M&A transactions for Insight’s portfolio companies, helping them grow through acquisition. Rachel was a key member of the team that worked with HauteLook, prior to the company’s acquisition by Nordstrom. She currently works closely with multiple eCommerce and software, including SaaS, companies to drive growth and operational efficiency. Prior to joining Insight, Rachel worked as an internal strategy consultant in American Express’ corporate strategy group, where she evaluated business strategy and growth opportunities across all areas of the company. Her strategy work included developing new business concepts, evaluating partnership opportunities, customer segmentation and technology planning. She was also a Senior Marketing Manager in the co-branded consumer credit card division responsible for new product and concept development, customer research and launch planning.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Teddie Wardi
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Teddie Wardi is a Managing Director at Insight Partners. Previously Teddie was a Vice President at Dawn Capital. His focus areas include the Enterprise SaaS market. Prior to joining Dawn Teddie was the founder and CTO of Nervogrid, a Cloud Service Broker operating in the Nordics and the Benelux area. At Nervogrid he grew the company from two to 50+ employees in five countries, managed R&D and service operations, and raised multiple rounds of Venture Capital funding. Nervogrid was acquired by ALSO Holding AG, a Switzerland based publicly listed IT distribution group. His previous investing experience includes being an Associate at Nokia Growth Partners, a global later-stage Venture Capital fund, where he worked on deal sourcing and transactions in the Enterprise Mobility space. Teddie is also an advisor to the Frontier Seed Accelerator in Finland, helping seed stage companies access developing markets in the Middle East and South East Asia. Teddie holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Sc. (Econ) from Aalto University.
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About Icebreaker.vc, Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Whitney Bouck
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Whitney Bouck joined HelloSign as COO in 2016, where she is responsible for growing and scaling the company in partnership with the CEO, CTO and the executive team. HelloSign was acquired by Dropbox in 2019, and Whitney continues to serve as COO of the business inside Dropbox. She is on the board of Paycor and BlueOcean, was previously on the board of Ekata (acquired by Mastercard in 2021), is advisor to ARC and Anvilogic, and invester in LogDNA as well as early stage VC funds. Before joining HelloSign, she ran the global marketing organization at Box and built Box’s Enterprise business from the ground up, helping pivot the company from being an SMB-oriented product. Whitney also spent 15 years with Documentum and then EMC (via acquisition) and held a variety of leadership positions, including CMO of the Information Intelligence division at EMC. Previously, Whitney held a variety of technology and leadership roles at both Sybase and Oracle. She was recognized in 2017 as one of the top 40 Women in Revenue, in 2015 as one of the World’s 100 Most Innovative CMOs, previously recognized with the Silicon Valley Women of Influence award in 2009 and received the Top 40 Under 40 award in 2003.
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About HelloSign, Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Deven Parekh
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Deven Parekh is a Managing Director at Insight Venture Partners and joined the firm in 2000. Deven manages investments in application software, data and consumer internet businesses globally. Notable previous companies in Deven’s portfolio have included Buddy Media (acquired by SalesForce, NASDAQ: CRM), Chegg (IPO), Football Fanatics (acquired by GSI Commerce, later acquired by eBay), Media Mind (IPO and subsequent sale to DG Fast Channel), Procuri (acquired by Ariba, NASDAQ: ARBA), ECI Solution (sold to Carlyle), Russian Trading System (merged with MICEX), Tumblr (acquired by Yahoo!), Hayneedle (sale to Jet.com), Syncsort (sale to Clearlake Capital), Alibaba (IPO), Twitter (IPO), JD.com (IPO), and Website Pros (IPO). Deven is a global investor, actively working with investments in China, Latin America, Europe and Russia. Deven serves as Board Chair for eVestment, DrillingInfo, Turnitin, Campaign Monitor, Ministry Brands and Appriss. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Fanatics, Diligent, 1stdibs, Vela, Chrono24, LetGo, and Wallapop. He represents the firms interests in Despagar, Automattic (WordPress), Yext, SkyTap and Zenefits. Deven was previously a Principal at Berenson Minella & Company, a New York based merchant banking firm where he served on the firm’s M&A Committee. Prior to Berenson Minella, Deven was with The Blackstone Group, where he was involved in both M&A advisory and principal activities. Deven was selected in 2014 by AlwaysOn as a Venture Capital 100 winner for his investments in Twitter and Chegg. He was also selected to be on the 2014, 2015, and 2016 Forbes Midas list. In 2016 he was selected as a Top 100 Venture Capitalist by CB Insights. In 2010 Deven was part of a US delegation of several investors, government representatives, and technology companies that visited Russia to explore investment and technology collaboration opportunities between the United States and Russia. He is a Member of the Technical Advisory Council of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which assists the Commission with developing informed technology policies supporting America’s competitiveness and job creation in the global economy. During the period 2010–2012, Deven served as a Member of the Advisory Board of the U.S. Export-Import Bank which is the official export credit agent of the United States. He was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2016 to be on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation Board. In 2006, Deven was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, which seeks to develop the next generation of community spirited leaders. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Publicolor (which he chaired from 2007 – 2012), a New York City based non-profit organization that focuses on inner city schools. He is a Member of the Board of the Tisch New York MS Research Center. He is a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee for the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. Deven was a member of the Greater NY Partnership, which pairs business executives with non-profit executive directors. The Partnership is an initiative of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. Deven is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations as well as the Economic Club of New York. Deven received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Deven Parekh is a Managing Director at Insight Venture Partners and joined the firm in 2000. Deven manages investments in application software, data and consumer internet businesses globally. Notable previous companies in Deven’s portfolio have included Buddy Media (acquired by SalesForce, NASDAQ: CRM), Chegg (IPO), Football Fanatics (acquired by GSI Commerce, later acquired by eBay), Media Mind (IPO and subsequent sale to DG Fast Channel), Procuri (acquired by Ariba, NASDAQ: ARBA), ECI Solution (sold to Carlyle), Russian Trading System (merged with MICEX), Tumblr (acquired by Yahoo!), Hayneedle (sale to Jet.com), Syncsort (sale to Clearlake Capital), Alibaba (IPO), Twitter (IPO), JD.com (IPO), and Website Pros (IPO). Deven is a global investor, actively working with investments in China, Latin America, Europe and Russia. Deven serves as Board Chair for eVestment, DrillingInfo, Turnitin, Campaign Monitor, Ministry Brands and Appriss. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Fanatics, Diligent, 1stdibs, Vela, Chrono24, LetGo, and Wallapop. He represents the firms interests in Despagar, Automattic (WordPress), Yext, SkyTap and Zenefits. Deven was previously a Principal at Berenson Minella & Company, a New York based merchant banking firm where he served on the firm’s M&A Committee. Prior to Berenson Minella, Deven was with The Blackstone Group, where he was involved in both M&A advisory and principal activities. Deven was selected in 2014 by AlwaysOn as a Venture Capital 100 winner for his investments in Twitter and Chegg. He was also selected to be on the 2014, 2015, and 2016 Forbes Midas list. In 2016 he was selected as a Top 100 Venture Capitalist by CB Insights. In 2010 Deven was part of a US delegation of several investors, government representatives, and technology companies that visited Russia to explore investment and technology collaboration opportunities between the United States and Russia. He is a Member of the Technical Advisory Council of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which assists the Commission with developing informed technology policies supporting America’s competitiveness and job creation in the global economy. During the period 2010–2012, Deven served as a Member of the Advisory Board of the U.S. Export-Import Bank which is the official export credit agent of the United States. He was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2016 to be on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation Board. In 2006, Deven was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, which seeks to develop the next generation of community spirited leaders. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Publicolor (which he chaired from 2007 – 2012), a New York City based non-profit organization that focuses on inner city schools. He is a Member of the Board of the Tisch New York MS Research Center. He is a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee for the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. Deven was a member of the Greater NY Partnership, which pairs business executives with non-profit executive directors. The Partnership is an initiative of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. Deven is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations as well as the Economic Club of New York. Deven received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
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About Chegg, ECi Software Solutions, eVestment, Football Fanatics, Hayneedle, Insight Partners, The Aspen Institute, The Council on Foreign Relations: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Lonne Jaffe
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Lonne Jaffe currently works as the Managing Director for Insight Partners. He previously worked at Precisel as the Board Director.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Anika Agarwal
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Anika Agarwal joined Insight in 2014. She focuses on leveraged buyouts and majority recapitalizations of application and infrastructure software companies. Anika helps lead investments in both high growth and mature software businesses and works with several portfolio companies. Prior to joining Insight, Anika was a member of the investment team at Vista Equity Partners. Anika completed multiple platform and follow on software buyouts in which her role included conducting market and operational due diligence, negotiating agreements, and arranging financing commitments. Anika was active at both the board and company level at portfolio companies advising management teams on operating improvements and add-on acquisitions. Previously Anika was an investment professional at the Mayfield Fund, where she focused on investments in consumer internet companies. Earlier in her career, she worked in the Principal Investment Area at Goldman Sachs and the Technology Investment Banking group at Lehman Brothers. Anika holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BS in Computer Science from Stanford University. She speaks French and Hindi.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Jeff Lieberman
Managing Director of Insight Partners
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Matt Gatto
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Matt Gatto joined Insight in 2010. Previously he worked in the Global Infrastructure Technology group at Merrill Lynch focusing on Electronic Communications Risk Management in Electronic Communications. Prior to this he was a team member in the PPC Advertising Optimization group at Verizon Information Services. Matt also worked in Hong Kong and Singapore on Deutsche Bank Asia’s Debt Capital Markets and Global Risk Syndicate desks. Matt graduated with high honors from the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Engineering from the School of Engineering and Applied Science and a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School. Matt’s personal interests include golf and most other sports, the outdoors, trying new foods and craft brews, and travel.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Thilo Semmelbauer
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Thilo Semmelbauer joined Insight as a Venture Partner in 2015 and works with portfolio companies to accelerate growth, resolve key strategic and operational issues, and build scalable organizations. Thilo also supports new opportunities, with a focus on Internet, subscription, and marketplace businesses. Thilo has been involved in technology ventures for over 25 years, most recently as President and COO of Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK), a global marketplace for licensing images, videos, and music to businesses worldwide. Under Thilo’s leadership, revenue grew from $60M to over $300M, and the business expanded into new areas, including video, music, and premium imagery. Shutterstock completed a successful IPO in October 2012, and subsequently delivered eight consecutive beat-and-raise quarters as a public company. In the early 1990s, Thilo worked for an internal startup at Motorola, where he launched Motorola’s first consumer wireless “communicator” (the Envoy), and then launched Motorola’s first cable modem for broadband Internet access. In 1996, Thilo joined The Boston Consulting Group, focused on Consumer and Technology strategy, including projects in medical imaging, digital printing, and online retail. While at BCG, he helped launch Sotheby’s online auction business. In 2000, Thilo co-founded and was President & COO of WeightWatchers.com, which became the global leader in online weight loss and was acquired in 2005 by the licensor, Weight Watchers International. Thilo then served as COO of the combined companies, where he oversaw revenue growth from $1.2B to $1.6B through 2008. Thilo lives in NY with his wife, and enjoys traveling, sailing, and photography. He is on the Board of Action Against Hunger, a global humanitarian organization committed to ending world hunger. Thilo holds a dual masters degree from MIT, in Management and Electrical Engineering, from the Leaders for Global Operations program, as well as a BA in Engineering and Computer Science from Dartmouth College, summa cum laude.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Stephen Ward
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Stephen Ward is a Managing Director at Insight Partners.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Drew Harman
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Drew has more than 25 years of software startup experience as a strategy, product management and marketing executive. Since 2001, he been an investor and advisor to early-stage technology ventures, including Mainframe 2, Eucalyptus, Framehawk, AppCentral and Readyforce. Drew was also an early investor in insurance software provider Guidewire (NYSE:GWRE) and revenue management vendor Model N (NYSE:MODN). Previously, Drew was with Ariba, where as VP of Product Management he managed a team of 35 product managers across five product lines with annual revenues of $500m. Later, as VP of Corporate Strategy, he defined product strategy and drove M&A activity. He was formerly VP of Marketing for TradingDynamics, which was acquired by Ariba in November 1999. Earlier in his career, Drew held marketing & technical positions at Neuron Data, News Corporation, Zanza Software and Cambridge Technology Group. Drew holds a BA from Harvard College and an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Ross Devor
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Ross Devor joined Insight in 2013. Ross focuses primarily on leveraged buyouts and majority recapitalizations in both high-growth and mature software businesses. Ross works with several Insight portfolio companies and helps lead new investments across Application and Infrastructure software. Prior to joining Insight, Ross was a member of the investment team at Thoma Bravo. During his tenure Ross completed multiple platform and follow-on software buyouts where his role included leading vertical sourcing initiatives, conducting operational and market due diligence and arranging financing commitments. Post investment, Ross was active at both the Board and company level supporting portfolio company operating improvements and inorganic growth initiatives. Previously Ross worked in the Corporate Finance/ Mergers & Acquisitions group at Morgan Stanley.
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About Insight Partners, Turnitin: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Mark Lessing
Managing Director, Chief Financial Officer of Insight Partners
Mark Lessing joined Insight in 2000 and is currently a Managing Director and the Chief Financial Officer. Mark serves on several of the firm’s executive committees and handles investor relations, including quarterly financial reporting, investor presentations, and communications to limited partners. He was integral to the firm’s efforts in raising its last several investment funds (totaling approximately $2.0 billion in 2011, $1.3 billion in 2007 and $0.7 billion in 2005). Additionally, Mark has been involved in the financial due diligence efforts on many of Insight’s investments since joining the firm in 2000. Subsequent to Insight’s investment in a company, Mark interacts with and supports the CFOs of Insight’s portfolio companies to help them negotiate with lenders, prepare board packages and financial reports, coordinate annual audits and evaluate the impact of new accounting rules. Prior to joining Insight, Mark was a Vice President at Prudential Securities, where he was responsible for a wide range of financial functions, including assessing the firm’s capital requirements, foreign exchange hedging and financial planning issues. Prior to that, Mark worked at J.P. Morgan, as part of the expense management team.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Ryan Hinkle
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Ryan Hinkle joined Insight in 2003 and has worked across many industries, geographies and deal structures, spanning internet, e-commerce, infrastructure and application software companies in Europe, Australia and North America. Ryan’s investments include growth equity, leverage buyouts, growth buyouts, and platform roll-ups. Current investments include eCommerce companies (Hayneedle, Fanatics, Newegg, Ozsale), mobile solution companies (AdColony, Branding Brand), SaaS/applications software companies (ECi Solutions, Kony Solutions, Smartsheet) and education companies (Chegg, Pluralsight). Ryan also works with Syncsort, a big data infrastructure company. Ryan oversaw Insight’s investments and subsequent acquisitions of Argus Software (acquired by Altus Group Ltd), Football Fanatics (acquired by GSI Commerce, now eBay) and Punch! Software (acquired by Navarre Corporation). Ryan works closely with the executive management of his investments and has stepped in as deputy-CFO on several occasions to help the teams. Ryan is also a key manager of the Analyst program at Insight with responsibility for recruiting, training, and mentoring. Prior to Insight, Ryan began his journey as a lifelong technology enthusiast by developing real-time electricity trading productivity tools with PPL Corporation. Ryan also worked with Morgan Stanley where he observed trader behavior and built software tools to increase their efficiency.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Stu Phillips
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Stu Phillips is a managing director at Insight Venture Partners. He joined in 2016 with a successful 20 year technology investing track record and almost 20 years’ experience in corporate operating roles. At Insight he serves on the board of directors, or works with DataSift and Ensighten. Prior to Insight, Stu was a general partner at Bay Partners where he was a board member or observer with Bay’s investments in Deis (formerly Engine Yard), Envia Systems, MiMoni, Mulesoft, Vaxart, and AMEC. Prior to their exits, he also managed investments in Covestor (acquired by Interactive Brokers), Eventful (acquired by CBS Local Media), Lending Club (NYSE:LC), Oncomed (NASDAQ: OMED), Zenprise (acquired by Citrix) and Paraccel (acquired by Actina). Earlier in his career, Stu was a founding partner at Ridgelift Ventures and also served as a general partner at US Venture Partners, where he led investments in communications, software and services companies. These included Cacheflow, @Road, Procket Networks, Flyswat, Merlin Networks and Force10 Networks. Before becoming a technology investor, Stu was VP of Central Engineering at Cisco, responsible for the strategy and development of Cisco’s IOS. He previously held leadership positions at Tandem Computers, Logica, and ICL. Stu is a Commercial Pilot and an avid participant in RadioSport (the contesting side of Ham Radio). Stu lives with his wife, Barbara, in Woodside, CA, where the hardest decision is whether to turn left or right when they cycle on the many routes in the area. Stu earned a BS Electronic from Cardiff University in Wales, graduating summa cum laude.
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About Bay Partners, Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Nikhil Sachdev
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Nikhil is the Managing Director of Insight Partners and a Board Observer at MURAL. He is also a Board Member of Apprentice.io.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Eoin Duane
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Eoin Duane currently works as the Managing Director for Insight Partners. He previously worked at Introhive as a Board Member.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Peter Segall
Managing Director of Insight Partners
Peter is a CEO with a successful track record of growing innovative software and service businesses in the education, human capital management, and healthcare industries. Prior to his role as Managing Director at Insight Venture Partners, Peter led one of Insight’s portfolio company investments, serving as CEO and President of HealthcareSource, a high-growth, leading provider of talent management software to hospitals and other healthcare providers. Before HealthcareSource, Peter served as President North America Higher Education and member of the Senior Executive Team at Blackboard Inc., was EVP Sales and a member of the Board of Directors at WebCT, and a Partner in the Coopers & Lybrand Higher Education Consulting Group. He currently serves on the Board of American Student Assistance and Board of Governors for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Peter is an expert at building SaaS businesses, and is passionate about growing companies with positive, team-oriented cultures that create meaningful value for all stakeholders: customers, employees, partners and investors. In his role as Managing Director at Insight, Peter evaluates potential investments with the investment team, and serves as mentor and executive coach to Executive teams.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Laura Jo Snyder Felix
Director, Facilities & Administration of Insight Partners
Laura Jo Snyder Felix currently works as the Director, Facilities & Administration for Insight Partners. She previously worked at Global Thermostat as the Office Manager.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Nalanie Nath
Senior Director, Sales COE of Insight Partners
Nalanie Nath currently works as the Senior Vice President for Insight Partners. She previously worked at AppNexus as the Director of Global Field Operations.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Amitha Kurmala
Director, Technical & Strategic Projects of Insight Partners
Amitha joined Insight as a Director on the Data team, focused on managing technical and strategic initiatives. Prior to joining Insight, Amitha was a product manager on the digital team for a flexible workspace startup, Industrious, focused on cross-functional growth projects, including managing their external website and the rollout of their campaign attribution program. Previously, Amitha worked at Novantas, a fintech provider that offers digital solutions to banks to improve their ability to acquire customers and revenue. Amitha specifically provided US and Canadian clients both analytic and strategic support in creating a better-optimized network distribution. Before Novantas, Amitha was a sell-side equity derivative strategist for BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs. Amitha holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS in Operations Research from Cornell University.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Ian Sandler
Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer of Insight Partners
Ian Sandler is the Managing Director and COO of Insight Partner.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Josh Raines
Director of Data Initiatives of Insight Partners
Josh Raines currently works as the Director of Data Initiatives for Insight Partners. He previously worked at BlackRock as an Associate.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Merri Castillo
Senior Director, HR Technology & Talent of Insight Partners
Merri Castillo currently works as the Senior Director for Insight Partners. She previously worked at 1960 Family Practice as the Radiology Transcriptionist.
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About Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a private equity firm that invests in growth-stage technology and software companies.
Craig Chick
Director of Public Affairs of Foley & Lardner
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About Foley & Lardner: Foley & Lardner is a legal service provider that offers business and legal insights.
Samir Kaul
Founding Partner and Managing Director of Khosla Ventures
Samir is a founding partner and managing director at Khosla Ventures, where he focuses on health, sustainability, food, and advanced technology investments. Samir led the firm’s investments in Cadre, Guardant Health (NASDAQ: GH), Impossible Foods, Mojo Vision, NanoH2O (acquired by LG Chem), Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX), Oscar, Quantumscape, and Ultima, among others. Prior to co-founding Khosla Ventures, Samir spent five years at Flagship Ventures where he started and invested in early-stage biotechnology companies. While there, he was involved in co-founding Helicos BioSciences (IPO), a leader in developing single-molecule sequencing instruments to revolutionize personalized medicine, along with Stan Lapidus and Steve Quake of Stanford. Samir was also founding CEO of Codon Devices, where he raised their Series A financing, built the technical and advisory teams, and booked significant revenues in the company’s first year of operations. His other investments include Epitome (acquired by Millipore), LS9 (acquired by REG), and Morphotek (acquired by Eisai). Previously, Samir led the Arabidopsis Genome Initiative at Craig Venter’s Institute for Genomic Research. Under his direction, the project was completed early and cost-efficiently, culminating in a historic publication in the scientific journal Nature in December 2000. Samir is active in philanthropy and has been a longstanding member of the leadership committee of the Tipping Point Community. He is also a board member of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and on the Board of Trustees for the US Ski and Snowboard Association. In his spare time, Samir enjoys golf, skiing, tennis, meditation, reading, and traveling. He is an avid sports fan with undying loyalty to the Michigan Wolverines, Washington Redskins, and Boston Red Sox.
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About Ausra, Calera, Cogenra Solar, Khosla Ventures, Khosla Ventures, NanoH20, PRAJ Industries, Segetis, Stion, Transonic Combustion: Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that focuses on environmentally friendly tech, internet, computing, mobile, and silicon tech.
David Weiden
Founding Partner & Managing Director of Khosla Ventures
David is a Founding Partner and Managing Director at Khosla Ventures, where he focuses on Internet software and services. A number of his investments have led to significant exits, including AppNexus (acquired by AT&T), Climate Corporation (acquired by Monsanto), Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA), RingCentral (NYSE: RNG) and Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST). David has also been recognized by Fortune and Forbes as one of the top technology investors. Prior to Khosla Ventures, David spent five years at Tellme Networks as VP of marketing and business development. Using the quantitative decision making framework, RIFLE, the company drove revenue to over $100 million, and was ultimately acquired by Microsoft for more than $700 million. Previously, he led AOL’s communications, community and instant messaging product divisions as they surpassed 50 million users worldwide. In 1995, after being told by his employer Morgan Stanley that email would never be used for business, David jumped at the chance to join Netscape, where he learned many lessons in product management. David’s career began in door to door sales, where one sales pitch led to his new career in technology via McCaw Cellular, now AT&T. David holds a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude with highest honors in organizational behavior and economics from Harvard University.
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About Khosla Ventures: Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that focuses on environmentally friendly tech, internet, computing, mobile, and silicon tech.
Sven Strohband
Partner & Managing Director of Khosla Ventures
Sven is a Partner and Managing Director at Khosla Ventures, and led the firm’s investments in Berkshire Grey, GitLab, and Rocket Lab, among others. An engineer at heart, Sven is passionate about technologies that forge new industries and enable novel user experiences. Sven spent six years at Mohr Davidow Ventures where he led technical diligence for the infrastructure IT and sustainability practices. He also worked with the firm’s companies, recruiting technical talent, running product-market fit experiments and crafting fundraising strategies. Previously, Sven was a project manager for the Electronics Research Lab of Volkswagen, where he led technical projects for Volkswagen brands ranging from LED front lighting, electro chromic glass, and driver assistance systems and robotics. Sven also served as lead engineer and project lead for the Stanford racing team’s autonomous car, Stanley, which went on to win the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. Now on display at the Smithsonian Museum, Stanley became the foundation for the Google self-driving car project. He also co-founded AI company Metamind and served as CEO. Metamind is now part of Salesforce and a key component of Salesforce Einstein. Sven sits on the boards of numerous companies, including Berkshire Grey, Fulfil, Openwater, Rocket Lab, Velo3D, Vicarious, Voyage, and Uhnder. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, as well as a Ph.D. in mechanics and computation from Stanford. In his spare time, Sven enjoys teaching his kids to code, flying autonomous drones and cycling.
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About Khosla Ventures: Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that focuses on environmentally friendly tech, internet, computing, mobile, and silicon tech.
Peter Buckland
Partner, Managing Director, & COO of Khosla Ventures
Peter is a Partner, Managing Director and COO at Khosla Ventures. Peter has spent the last 20+ years advising founders and entrepreneurs through the full lifecycle of their companies. Prior to joining Khosla Ventures, Peter was a Partner at WilmerHale LLP, where he led the firm’s emerging growth technology practice and was responsible for building their West Coast corporate practice. During his time there, he grew the practice by 3X, completed hundreds of financing transactions and, mostly importantly, developed deep and long term relationships with amazing entrepreneurs and their teams. Peter holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of San Francisco. In his spare time, Peter enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters, skiing, sailing, mountain biking and reading.
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About Khosla Ventures: Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that focuses on environmentally friendly tech, internet, computing, mobile, and silicon tech.
Ted Maguire
Director, Executive Search of Khosla Ventures
Ted Maguire currently works as the Director, Executive Search for Khosla Ventures. He previously worked at Uber as the Executive Search.
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About Khosla Ventures: Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that focuses on environmentally friendly tech, internet, computing, mobile, and silicon tech.
Avisha Mehra
Director, Executive Talent of Khosla Ventures
Avisha Mehra currently works as the Director in Executive Talent for Khosla Ventures.
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About Khosla Ventures: Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that focuses on environmentally friendly tech, internet, computing, mobile, and silicon tech.
Chinh Chu
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Chinh Chu is a successful Wall Street Billionaire. Today he is the Senior Managing Director and Co-Chair in the Private Equity Group. Chinh Chu has led Blackstone’s investments in Stiefel Laboratories, ReAble Therapeutics’ acquisition of DJ Orthopedics, Biomet, Catalent Pharma Solutions, Alliant, ReAble Therapeutics, Celanese, Nalco, SunGard Data Systems, Nycomed, and LIFFE. He has also been involved in Blackstone’s investments in FGIC, Graham Packaging, Sirius Satellite Radio, StorageApps, Haynes International, Prime Succession. Before joining Blackstone in 1990, Chinh Chu worked at Salomon Brothers in the Mergers & Acquisitions Department. He serves as a Director of Alliant, BankUnited, BayView Financial, Healthmarkets, DJO Incorporated, Catalent Pharma Solutions, SunGard, Graham Packaging. As a well-known philanthropist, Chu has given millions of dollars to relief funds and charitable organizations.
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About Blackstone Group, CC Capital, Collier Creek Holdings: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Adam Fletcher
Managing Director and Chief Information Security Officer of Blackstone Group
Adam Fletcher is the and managing Director and chief information security officer at The Blackstone Group.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Prakash Melwani
Sr. Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone Group
Prakash A. Melwani is a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and is based in New York. He is Chief Investment Officer of the Private Equity Group and chairs each of its Investment Committees. Since joining Blackstone in 2003, Prakash Melwani has led Blackstone’s investments in Kosmos Energy, Foundation Coal, Texas Genco, Ariel Re, Pinnacle Foods, RGIS Inventory Specialists, Performance Food Group and Crocs. Before joining Blackstone, Prakash Melwani was a founding partner of Vestar Capital Partners and served as its Chief Investment Officer. Prior to that, he was with the management buyout group at The First Boston Corporation and with N.M. Rothschild & Sons in Hong Kong and London. Prakash Melwani received a First Class Honors degree in Economics from Cambridge University, England, and an MBA with High Distinction from the Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar and a Loeb Rhodes Fellow. Prakash Melwani serves as a Director of Crocs, Kosmos Energy, Performance Food Group, RGIS Inventory Specialists and Blackstone strategic partner, Patria.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
David Foley
Sr. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone Energy Partners of Blackstone Group
David I. Foley is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone Energy Partners. David Foley is based in New York and is responsible for overseeing Blackstone’s private equity investment activities in the energy & natural resource sector on a global basis. Since joining Blackstone in 1995, David Foley has been responsible for building the Blackstone energy & natural resources practice and has played an integral role in every private equity energy deal that the firm has invested in, including: Premcor, Kosmos Energy, Foundation Coal, Texas Genco, Sithe Global Power, OSUM Oil Sands, PBF Energy, Global Offshore Wind, GeoSouthern, Alta Resources, Moser Baer, Cheniere and LLOG Exploration. Before joining Blackstone, David Foley worked with AEA Investors in the firm’s private equity business, and prior to that served as a consultant for the Monitor Company. David Foley received a BA and an MA in Economics, with honors, Phi Beta Kappa, from Northwestern University and received an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Angelo Acconcia
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Angelo Acconcia is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group, based in New York, and leads Blackstone’s private equity investment activities in the oil & gas sector on a global basis. Since joining Blackstone in 2004, and prior to fully dedicating his time to energy and the oil & gas sector, Angelo Acconcia has been involved in the execution of several important Blackstone investments, including Graham Packaging, Ondeo Nalco, TRW Automotive and Texas Genco. Angelo Acconcia has either led or played a critical role in every one of Blackstone’s oil and gas investments, including: Alta Energy, GeoSouthern Energy, Hunter Oil & Gas, Kosmos Energy, LLOG Exploration, OSUM Oil Sands and Royal Resources. Before joining Blackstone, Angelo Acconcia worked at Morgan Stanley & Company’s Investment Banking Division in their Global Energy and Mergers and Acquisitions departments in both the U.S. and Canada. Prior to that, Angelo Acconcia worked at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s Investment Banking Division in Canada and separately in Hong Kong. Angelo Acconcia is a member of the Investment Committee for Blackstone Energy Partners, a $2.5 billion Blackstone private equity fund dedicated exclusively to the energy sector, and also serves as a director of Alta Energy, GeoSouthern Energy, Hunter Oil & Gas, LLOG Exploration, Osum Oil Sands, and Royal Resources. Angelo Acconcia received an Honors degree in Business from Queen’s University in Canada, where he graduated with First Class Honors.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Martin Alderson Smith
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Martin Alderson Smith is a Senior Managing Director in our Corporate Development and Strategy group. Since joining Blackstone in 1991, Martin Alderson Smith has worked on an array of projects, both for third-party clients as well as on behalf of the firm. Advisory assignments have included the acquisition of Sanford C. Bernstein by Alliance Capital Management; the sale of Banco Patrimonio to Chase Manhattan Bank; the establishment of a retirement services joint venture between the asset management divisions of Citigroup and the State Street Corporation; the sale of Wells Fargo Nikko Investment to Barclays Bank; and the sale of Gartmore to National Westminister Bank. Since 2007, Martin Alderson Smith has also worked closely with Blackstone senior management on the acquisition of new asset management platforms, divestitures of certain businesses, and the firm’s IPO. Before joining Blackstone, Martin Alderson Smith was with First Boston in London and New York for eight years. Martin Alderson Smith holds a MA from Oxford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Verdun S. Perry
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Verdun S. Perry is a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Strategic Partners, Blackstone’s secondary fund of funds business, which it acquired from Credit Suisse in August 2013. Verdun Perry joined Credit Suisse in November 2000 when it acquired Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (“DLJ”), where he was an Associate in the Investment Banking Division before joining Strategic Partners the year it was founded. Verdun Perry sits on Strategic Partners’ Investment Committees and his current responsibilities include fundraising, deal-sourcing, negotiating and executing secondary transactions and co-investments, as well as various post-purchase fund monitoring activities. Previously, Verdun Perry worked in the strategic investments group at Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon and Eckhardt, Inc. and in the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley & Co. Verdun Perry received a B.A. from Morehouse College, where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected Phi Beta Kappa, as well as an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where he was a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow. Verdun Perry serves on the boards of The Blackstone Charitable Foundation and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO).
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
William Murphy
Sr. Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer of Blackstone Group
Bill Murphy is the Chief Technology Officer at Blackstone, leading the Blackstone Innovations and Infrastructure team. William Murphy is responsible for the firm’s technology efforts. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2011, Bill was founding Chief Technology Officer for Capital IQ. Bill was responsible for overseeing all product design, development, infrastructure and technology support and was involved with all operations of the business. Before Capital IQ, Bill led teams at Sapient, delivering solutions for large clients primarily in financial services. He received a BSE in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Brian Dunlap
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Brian Dunlap is the Sector Lead for Technology, Media & Telecommunications for The Rise Fund and is based in San Francisco. Prior to joining TPG, Brian worked at General Atlantic and JMI Equity, where he led investments in enterprise software / SaaS, consumer internet, financial technology and financial services in the U.S. and Latin America. Brian received a B.A., and M.A. from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Brian speaks Spanish and Portuguese and serves on the Boards of Directors at EverFi, HotSchedules, Noodle AI, and Resultados Digitais.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Paul Morrissey
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Paul joined Battery as an Associate and focuses on later stage investments, including growth equity, buyouts, rollups, PIPES and take-privates. Prior to Battery, Paul spent time with Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division focusing on the technology, media & telecom sectors. While Paul was at Goldman, he worked on a variety of debt and equity financings, M&A transactions and strategic advisory assignments. Paul graduated from Stanford University, where he earned a BS in Economics.
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About Battery Ventures, Battery Ventures, Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Gideon Berger
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Gideon L. Berger is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and is Head of Risk Management and Technology for the Hedge Fund Solutions Group. Gideon Berger is responsible for hedge fund manager risk analysis, as well as risk monitoring and analysis of BAAM funds. Before joining Blackstone in 2002, Gideon Berger was a Founder and President of Ez-Ways, Incorporated, a technology startup, where he also served on the Board of Directors. Prior to that, Gideon Berger was a Founder and Principal of a consulting firm specializing in the design and implementation of database and enterprise solutions. Gideon Berger received a BA in Mathematics and Physics from Vassar College, an MS in Applied Physics from Columbia University and a PhD in Computer Science from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
David Blitzer
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
David S. Blitzer is a Senior Managing Director & Head of the Tactical Opportunities group. David Blitzer is based in New York, having established Blackstone’s corporate private equity investment efforts in Europe. Since joining Blackstone in 1991, David Blitzer has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Spirit Group, SULO, Allied Waste, Aspen Insurance Holdings, Houghton Mifflin, Universal Orlando, Centerplate, Cadillac Fairview, Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, Southern Cross, NHP, Orangina, and United Biscuits. David Blitzer graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. David Blitzer serves as a Director of United Biscuits and Jack Wolfskin.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Juergen Pinker
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Juergen Pinker is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in London. Since joining Blackstone in 2011, Juergen Pinker has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Intertrust, ATC, Scout24 and Armacell. Before joining Blackstone, Juergen Pinker worked as a Director at Strategic Value Partners focusing on European distressed situations. Before that, Juergen Pinker was an Associate Director at The Carlyle Group. Juergen Pinker received a master degree in economics and business from WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management. Juergen Pinker serves on the Board of Directors of Armacell.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
AJ Agarwal
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
A. J. Agarwal is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group and is based in New York. Mr. Agarwal oversees the U.S. Core+ business for the Real Estate Group. He has been directly involved in a number of the Real Estate Group’s investments, including Extended Stay Hotels, Hilton Hotels, General Growth Properties, Centro Properties, and Hotel del Coronado. Mr. Agarwal joined Blackstone in 1992. Prior to joining the Real Estate Group in 2010, Mr. Agarwal was a member of Blackstone’s Financial Advisory Group, leading the firm’s advisory practice in a number of areas, including real estate and leisure/lodging. Mr. Agarwal graduated from Princeton University, where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa and received an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Joshua Pang
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Joshua Pang is a Managing Director at Blackstone. Previously Mr. Pang served as a Principal in the Tactical Opportunities group of Blackstone. Before re-joining Blackstone, Mr. Pang was a Principal at BC Partners in New York, where he was responsible for the execution of private equity buyouts. Mr. Pang started his career as an Analyst at Blackstone. Mr. Pang received a B.S. in Finance and Financial Accounting from New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, where he graduated magna cum laude.
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About Blackstone Group, Blackstone Group, Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
John G. Finley
Sr. Managing Director and Chief Legal Officer of Blackstone Group
John G. Finley, a Senior Managing Director, is the firm’s Chief Legal Officer. Before joining Blackstone, John Finley had been a partner with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett for 22 years where he was most recently a member of that law firm’s Executive Committee and Head of Global M&A. John Finley is a member of the Advisory Board of the Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance and a Trustee of the Jewish Board of Family and Children Services. He is also a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School. He has served on the Committee of Securities Regulation of the New York State Bar Association and the Board of Advisors of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University. He has also served as Chairman of the Annual International Mergers & Acquisitions Conference of the International Bar Association. John Finley has a BS in Economics, summa cum laude, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (1978), a BA in History, summa cum laude, from the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania (1978), and a JD, cum laude, from Harvard Law School (1981).
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Jacob Werner
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Jacob Werner is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate group and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2005, Jacob Werner has been involved in analyzing Blackstone’s real estate investments in all property types and has worked on a variety of transactions, including Equity Office Properties, CarrAmerica, Trizec, 1140 Avenue of the Americas and the former New York Times Building. Before joining Blackstone’s Real Estate group, Jacob Werner was an analyst in Blackstone’s Restructuring and Reorganization group where he assisted in advising on a variety of restructuring transactions, including Goodyear Tire & Rubber and General Motors Corporation. Jacob Werner received a BS from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia where he graduated with distinction.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Jason New
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Jason New, 45, has been Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group L.P., a global investment and advisory firm, and Head of Special Situation Investing for GSO Capital Partners LP, a credit-oriented alternative asset manager, since 2005. New focuses on managing GSO’s public investment portfolio with a specific emphasis on stressed and distressed companies and on sourcing direct special situation investment opportunities. He is a member of the GSO Investment Committee. New joined The Blackstone Group L.P. in 2008 in connection with its acquisition of GSO. Before joining GSO in 2005, New was a senior member of Credit Suisse’s distressed finance group. New joined Credit Suisse in 2000 when it acquired Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ), where he was a member of DLJ’s restructuring group. Prior to joining DLJ in 1999, he was an associate with the law firm Sidley Austin LLP, where he practiced in the firm’s corporate reorganization group. New served as a director of Cheniere Energy, Inc. from August 2008 to December 2010 and as a director of Global Aviation Holdings Inc. from September 2009 to January 2012.
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About Blackstone Credit, Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Kathleen McCarthy
Sr. Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Group
Kathleen McCarthy is a Senior Managing Director and Global Chief Operating Officer of the Blackstone Real Estate group. She is based in New York. Kathleen McCarthy oversees Real Estate Investor Relations and Business Development, Human Resources, Legal & Compliance and Finance. Previously she was responsible for marketing Blackstone’s real estate private investment funds. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Kathleen McCarthy worked at Goldman Sachs, where she was a Vice President focused on investments for the Real Estate Principal Investment Area. Kathleen McCarthy began her career at Goldman Sachs as an Analyst in the Mergers & Strategic Advisory Group within the Investment Banking Division. Kathleen McCarthy received a BA with Distinction from Yale University.
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About Blackstone Group, Skyhawk Therapeutics: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Kelley Morrell
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Kelley Morrell is Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. She is responsible for leading the evaluation and execution of a wide range of strategic initiatives, including large-scale strategic mergers and acquisitions, as well as for partnering with senior leaders across the organization to develop the Company’s strategy and execute its strategic priorities.
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About Blackstone Group, CIT Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Jonathan Korngold
Senior Managing Director and head of Growth Equity of Blackstone Group
Jonathan Korngold is a Senior Managing Director and head of Blackstone’s Growth Equity investing platform. Korngold was a Managing Director and Global Head of General Atlantic’s Financial Services sector prior to his move to Blackstone in January 2019. He served as Chairman of the firm’s Portfolio Committee and was a member of the firm’s Executive, Investment, Human Resources, and Emerging Growth Investment Committees. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2001, Korngold worked at Goldman Sachs in the Principal Investment Area and in the Mergers & Acquisitions groups in London and New York, respectively. He received an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College, graduating with honors, and received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Brian Gavin
Senior Managing Director and COO of Blackstone Group
Member, Board of Directors at New York City Investment Fund.
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About Blackstone Group, Partnership Fund for New York City: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Ram Jagannath
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Ram M. Jagannath is a Managing Director with U.S. Buyout, focusing on investments in the healthcare sector. He is based in New York. Since joining Carlyle in 2007, Ram Jagannath has been actively involved with Carlyle’s investments in Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), Healthscope Ltd. and HCR ManorCare. Prior to joining Carlyle, Ram Jagannath was with Genstar Capital and Thomas Weisel Capital Partners (now Tailwind Capital) in San Francisco.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Anjan Mukherjee
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Anjan Mukherjee served as Senior Managing Director at The Blackstone Group, Private Equity Group.Anjan Mukherjee joined The Blackstone Group, Private Equity Group in 2001. He serves as a Manager of Celanese International Corporation. Previously, he served as a Managing Director of The Blackstone Group, Private Equity Group until 2010. Since joining Blackstone in 2001, Anjan Mukherjee has been involved in Blackstone’s investments. He served at Thomas H. Lee Company, where he was involved with the analysis and execution of private equity investments in a wide range of industries. Prior to that, he worked in the media and telecommunications area of the Mergers and Acquisitions Department at Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC. He served as a Secretary of Celanese Corp. He has also worked at the Department of Education as well as the Brookings Institution. He serves as a Director of Stiefel Laboratories. He has been a Director of Celanese Corp. and Celanese Emulsions GmbH since April 2004. He serves as a Director of Emdeon. He is a Director of NantPharma, LLC and NantWorks LLC. He served as a Director of TeleTech Holdings Inc. from September 21, 2009 to December 24, 2014. He served as a Director at Polymer Group, Inc. from January 28, 2011 to December 23, 2014. He served as a Director of Companhia Providencia. He served as a Director of Nycomed Pharma SA. He served as a Director of Mega Bloks Inc., until February 2004. He was a director of LiveWire / H.O. Systems. Anjan Mukherjee holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and B.A. from Harvard University, where he graduated, magna cum laude as a Harry S. Truman Scholar.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Sean Klimczak
Senior Managing Director & Global Head of Infrastructure of Blackstone Group
Sean T. Klimczak is the Global Head of Infrastructure and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2005, Mr. Klimczak has been involved in the execution of several Blackstone investments, including various Sithe Global investments (including Goreway, Bujagali, GNP Mariveles and SKS), Cheniere Energy Partners, Fisterra, PQ Energy, Utility One Source, Meerwind, Transmission Developers, American Petroleum Tankers and The Weather Channel. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Klimczak was an Associate at Madison Dearborn Partners. Prior to that, Mr. Klimczak worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions department of Morgan Stanley & Company’s Investment Banking Division. Mr. Klimczak received a BBA in Finance and Business Economics from the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, and an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with the highest academic standing in his class and was selected as a Baker Scholar, a John L. Loeb Fellow, a Henry Ford II Scholar and a William J. Carey Scholar. Mr. Klimczak was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2015.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Wallace Henderson
Sr. Managing Director and Infrastructure of Blackstone Group
Wallace Henderson is a Senior Managing Director in the Infrastructure Group and leads the group’s investment activities in the midstream sector. Prior to joining Blackstone, Wallace Henderson was a Managing Director and Member of the Executive Committee at EIG Global Energy Partners, where he led the firm’s global midstream effort. In that role, Wallace Henderson oversaw the origination, execution and management of numerous large-scale midstream investments, including transactions in natural gas and liquids gathering and processing, long haul pipelines, and LNG-related infrastructure. Prior to joining EIG in 2011, Wallace Henderson was a Managing Director at UBS Investment Bank, where he led a New York- based, ten-member, investment banking team responsible for advisory and capital raising transactions for UBS oil and gas clients in the Americas. From 1987 to 2004, Wallace Henderson had a number of investment banking roles at Credit Suisse, including as a Managing Director in the Global Project Finance, Oil & Gas and Latin American Groups. Wallace Henderson received his BA in Economics from Kenyon College and his MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School, where he was elected to the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Bruce McEvoy
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Bruce McEvoy has been a director since April 2007. McEvoy is a Managing Director at Blackstone. Before joining Blackstone in 2006, McEvoy worked as an Associate at General Atlantic from 2002 to 2004, and was a consultant at McKinsey & Company from 1999 to 2002. McEvoy received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2006. McEvoy currently serves on the boards of directors of GCA Services, Performance Food Group, RGIS Inventory Specialists, Vivint and Vivint Solar, and is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Ivan Brockman
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
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About Blackstone Group, FIGS: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Tripp Smith
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Tripp Smith is a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group, and a Founder of GSO Capital Partners. Before co-founding GSO, Tripp Smith was Global Head of the Capital Markets Group within the Alternative Capital Division of CSFB. The Capital Markets Group had $16 billion of assets under management including CSFB’s credit opportunities fund, mezzanine investment fund, CDO business and hedge fund-of-fund business. Prior to that, Tripp Smith was a Managing Director and Global Co-Head of CSFB’s Leveraged Finance Group. His responsibilities included the coordination of CSFB’s global origination, distribution and trading activities relating to high yield securities, leveraged loans, high yield credit derivatives and distressed securities. Additionally, Tripp Smith was a member of CSFB’s Investment Banking Operating Committee, Fixed Income Operating Committee and Co-Chair of the Bank/High Yield Finance Committee. He was also a member of CSFB’s Management Council. Tripp Smith joined CSFB in November 2000 when it acquired DLJ, where he was Global Head of High Yield Capital Markets. Tripp Smith had been a member of DLJ’s high yield team since he joined the firm in 1993. Prior to that, he worked for Smith Barney and Drexel Burnham Lambert. Tripp Smith received a BBA in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Mary Citrino
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Amy Stursberg
Executive Director of Blackstone Group
Amy Stursberg serves as Executive Director of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, where she has overseen and led Blackstone’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, bringing four innovative programs to twenty states across the county. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Stursberg served on the transition team for Governor Eliot Spitzer. She also managed the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation’s award of $35 million in cultural enhancement grants and $30 million in community grants in Lower Manhattan.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
James Quella
Senior Managing Director and Senior Operating Partner of Blackstone Group
James Quella has been a director since December 2009. Quella was a Senior Managing Director and Senior Operating Partner in the Corporate Private Equity group of The Blackstone Group until June 30, 2013. Quella was responsible for monitoring the strategy and operational performance of Blackstone portfolio companies and providing direct assistance in the oversight of large investments. He was also a member of the firm’s Private Equity Investment Committee. Currently, James serves as a Senior Advisor to the Private Equity Group of Blackstone and continues to be involved in a few key portfolio companies as a board member and executive advisor, as well as participating in selected portfolio review processes and due diligence. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2004, Quella was a Managing Director and Senior Operating Partner with DLJ Merchant Banking Partners-CSFB Private Equity. Prior to that, Quella worked at Mercer Management Consulting and Strategic Planning Associates, its predecessor firm, where he served as a senior consultant to CEOs and senior management teams, and was Co-Vice Chairman with shared responsibility for overall management of the firm. Quella received a BA in International Studies from the University of Chicago/University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA with dean’s honors from the University of Chicago. He is also the co-author of Profit Patterns: 30 Ways to Anticipate and Profit from the Strategic Forces Reshaping Your Business. Quella has been a member of various private equity company boards and currently, in addition to Catalent, serves as a Director of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Michaels Stores, Inc., and DJO Global.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Menes Chee
Sr. Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Menes Chee is a Senior Managing Director in the Tactical Opportunities Group. He is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing investments in private opportunities and capital markets. Menes Chee joined Blackstone in 2009, as a Managing Director of GSO Capital Partners, and transferred to Tactical Opportunities in 2012. Before joining Blackstone, Menes Chee was a Principal with TPG-Axon Capital, where he invested globally in equity and credit in public markets and private transactions. Prior to that, he was a private equity investment professional with Texas Pacific Group. Previous to TPG, Menes Chee worked at Credit Suisse First Boston in the Merchant Banking Group and at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette in the Leveraged Finance Group. Menes Chee graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School and a B.A. from the College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Thomas Middleton
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Tom Middleton is a Senior Managing Director (partner) at The Blackstone Group based in New York City. He has specialized in mergers and acquisitions, and strategic advisory to the communications sector since 1985. His clients and transactions have included a wide range of telecommunications, technology and media businesses in the US and abroad. He has also led public and private equity and debt financings for new, growing and mature businesses. After working in the Mergers and Acquisitions department of Kidder, Peabody he became co-head of the Telecom Group at Salomon Brothers in 1990 and then the head of the Communications Group at Merrill Lynch in 1996. He joined Blackstone in 2003 and engaged in both merger advisory and private equity projects. Thomas Middleton is a member of the Board of Directors of the Nature Conservancy, the Advisory Board of the Northwestern University School of Communications, and the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California, as well as several of charity boards. He graduated in 1980 from Ithaca College and in 1985 from the Columbia University School of Business.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Joshua Blaine
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Joshua Blaine is a Senior Managing Director in Strategic Partners, Blackstone’s secondary private fund of funds business. Joshua Blaine is based in New York and sits on the Investment Committee for each of the SP Funds. He founded the Strategic Partners London office in 2004. Since joining Strategic Partners in 2001, Joshua Blaine has led or been involved in several hundred secondary transactions, co-investments and primary fund commitments on a global basis across SP’s private equity, real estate and infrastructure verticals.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Scott Soussa
Sr. Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Scott Soussa is the Co-Head of the Hedge Fund Solutions Group’s Strategic Capital Group, which includes the hedge fund seeding and GP stakes businesses. Previously, Mr. Soussa was Head of Due Diligence in the Hedge Fund Solutions Group where he led a cross-functional team charged with evaluating and monitoring underlying hedge fund managers, which encompassed front office, business and operational, risk management and legal due diligence. Before joining Blackstone in 2003, Mr. Soussa was Controller of Lava Trading Inc., a securities trading technology company. Prior to that, he worked in Arthur Andersen’s Hedge Fund Advisory and Capital Markets Group. Mr. Soussa received a BS in Accounting from Binghamton University, where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma. He is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Michael’s Mission, a charity focused on improving the quality of life and treatment options for colorectal cancer patients, families and caregivers. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
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About Angelo Gordon, Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Sebastien Sherman
Sr. Managing Director and Infrastructure of Blackstone Group
Sebastien Sherman is a Senior Managing Director in the Infrastructure Group and leads the group’s coverage of the utilities, renewable and transportation sectors. Prior to joining Blackstone, Sebastien Sherman spent 14 years with OMERS Infrastructure (Borealis Infrastructure), including most recently as its Head of the Americas region. While at OMERS, Sebastien was involved in the origination, deal execution and oversight of a number of large-scale infrastructure portfolio companies across North America, Europe and South America. These investments spanned sectors including utilities (gas and electric), natural gas transmission pipelines, LNG import infrastructure, power generation, high-speed rail infrastructure, airports, toll roads, land registry and satellites. Prior to joining OMERS Infrastructure, Sebastien spent seven years with Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets and TD Securities, where he advised on M&A transactions and financings. Earlier in his career, Sebastien also worked at the Bank of Canada, Canada’s Central Bank. Sebastien has an Honours BA (Economics) from Queen’s University, and is a CFA charterholder.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Joan Solotar
Senior Managing Director, Head of External Relations and Strategy of Blackstone Group
Joan Solotar is a Senior Managing Director, Head of the External Relations & Strategy Group at Blackstone and a member of the firm’s Executive and Management Committees. Joan Solotar has management responsibility for shareholder relations and public affairs and also guides the firm on analyzing strategic development opportunities. Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Joan Solotar was with Bank of America Securities where she was a Managing Director and Head of Equity Research. She started her career in equity research at The First Boston Corporation and, prior to joining Bank of America, was part of the financial services team at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and later with CSFB as a Managing Director. Joan Solotar was consistently ranked highly in the Brokers and Asset Management category of the Institutional Investor “All-America Research Team” and the Greenwich Survey of portfolio managers. She also served as Chairperson of the Research Committee for the Securities Industry Association and is currently serving on the Advisory Board of Evine. Joan Solotar Chairs the Board of Directors of Blackstone’s Charitable Foundation. She is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the East Harlem Tutorial Program and the East Harlem Scholars Academy. She is the recent author of a Harvard Business Review article entitled “Truths for our Daughters.” Joan Solotar received a B.S. in Management Information Systems from the State University of New York at Albany and an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Martin Brand
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Martin J. Brand is a director on the board of Orbitz Worldwide. Martin Brand was appointed to the board as a Class II director in March 2010. His current term expires at the 2015 Annual Meeting.Martin Brand is a Managing Director in the Private Equity group of The Blackstone Group. Martin Brand joined Blackstone’s London office in 2003 and transferred to Blackstone’s New York office in 2005. Before joining The Blackstone Group, Martin Brand was a consultant with McKinsey & Company in London from 2000 to 2001 and worked as a derivatives trader with the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York and Tokyo from 1998 to 2000.Martin Brand currently serves on the boards of directors of Travelport Limited, Performance Food Group, PBF Energy and Bayview Asset Management, LLC.Martin Brand holds a BA and MA degree in Mathematics and Computation from Oxford University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Michael McRaith
Managing Director and Insurance Solutions of Blackstone Group
Michael T. McRaith is a Managing Director in Blackstone Insurance Solutions. Before joining Blackstone in 2018, Michael served from 2011 to 2017 as the first Director of the Federal Insurance Office in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. From 2005 to 2011, Michael served as Illinois Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance, including on the Executive Committee and as an officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Prior to his public service, Michael practiced law for fifteen years, was admitted to the Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois (1995), and focused on the defense of financial institutions as a partner in the Chicago office of McGuireWoods.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Gregory Blank
Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Gregory Blank is a Managing Director of Blackstone in the Private Equity Group based in New York where he focuses on investments in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors. Gregory Blank has been involved in the execution of many of Blackstone’s investments, including most recently in Kronos, Ipreo, and Optiv. Prior to joining Blackstone, Gregory Blank was an Associate at Texas Pacific Group (TPG) in San Francisco where he was involved in the evaluation and execution of private equity transactions. Gregory Blank graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College and received an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He currently serves as a director of Ipreo, Optiv, Travelport, and The Weather Company.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Jonathan Pollack
Sr. Managing Director of Real Estate and Chief Investment Officer of Real Estate Debt Strategies of Blackstone Group
Jonathan Pollack is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of the Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies group and is based in New York. Since joining Blackstone in 2015, Jonathan Pollack has been responsible for overseeing our real estate debt investment strategy. He is also a member of the firm’s real estate investment committee, and serves on the board of Blackstone Mortgage Trust. Prior to joining Blackstone, Jonathan Pollack was a Managing Director and Global Head of Commercial Real Estate, as well as Head of Risk for Structured Finance, at Deutsche Bank. Jonathan Pollack joined Deutsche Bank in 1999 from Nomura Group. Jonathan Pollack received a BA in Economics from Northwestern University. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the East Harlem Tutorial Program.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Anthony Merhige
Sr. Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Group
Anthony Merhige is a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, serving as the Chief Operating Officer of Harvest Fund Advisors, Blackstone’s publicly traded MLP and Yield-Oriented Investment Platform. Having joined Blackstone in 2017, Anthony Merhige oversees the business development and investor relations functions of Harvest, as well as the day-to-day management of Harvest’s operations. Before joining Harvest in 2005, Anthony Merhige was the Chief Operating Officer of the Vivum Group. Prior to that Anthony Merhige was an Associate at the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP, where his practice focused on a wide variety of commercial matters, including antitrust mergers and acquisition counseling for national and multinational corporations. Anthony Merhige holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and a JD from the Temple University Beasley School of Law.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Stephen H. Can
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
Stephen H. Can is Senior Managing Director and Co-head of Strategic Partners, Blackstone’s secondary private fund of funds business, which was acquired from Credit Suisse in August 2013. Stephen Can is the founding member of Strategic Partners, joining DLJ in 2000 as a Managing Director. Before joining Strategic Partners, Stephen Can worked with the IBM Pension Funds where he co-managed a $7.9 billion private equity portfolio with a focus on both secondary and primary investing. Stephen Can is the Chairman of the Strategic Partners Investment Committees, and previously served on the investment committee of CS Private Equity Strategies, L.P., Real Estate Capital Partners IV, L.P., Credit Suisse Selected Partners, L.P, and Credit Suisse First Boston Fund Investments VII, L.P. Stephen Can received an A.S. in Business Administration from J.C.C. S.U.N.Y. in 1980, a B.A. magna cum laude in Accounting from Plattsburgh S.U.N.Y. in 1982 and an M.S. in Finance from the Krannert Business School at Purdue University in 1984 where he was named outstanding graduate instructor. Stephen Can subsequently earned C.P.A., C.M.A., and C.F.M. designations.
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Liping Zhang
Senior Managing Director and Chairman of Blackstone Group
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Jim Schaefer
Senior Managing Director of Blackstone Group
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Katsuyuki Kuki
Chairman and Representative Director for Japan of Blackstone Group
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About Blackstone Group: Blackstone is an investment and advisory firm providing financial solutions for investors and clients.
Anthony Schiller
Co-Founder and Co-Managing Director of Green Bay Ventures
Led venture investments in Dropbox, Lyft, Spotify, DocuSign, MuleSoft and Xiaomi. Early investor with Kramlich in the world’s largest private nuclear fusion company, Tri Alpha Energy.
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About Green Bay Ventures: Green Bay Ventures (GBV) is a San Francisco based venture capital firm backed by some of the world’s most prominent families.
Richard Kramlich
Co-Founder and Co-Managing Director of Green Bay Ventures
Dick Kramlich began his venture career in 1969 as a General Partner with Arthur Rock and Co. after nine years in general management as Manager of Financial Planning at the Kroger Co. and Investment Management as Executive Vice President at Gardner & Preston Moss Company in Boston. Since co-founding NEA in 1978, he has been involved in eight companies that have grown from start-up or near start-up stage to companies with market value in excess of $1 billion, including Juniper Networks, Ascend Communications (acquired by Lucent), ImmuneX (acquired by Amgen), Macromedia (acquired by Adobe), and Dallas Semiconductor (acquired by Maxim Integrated products). Dick was the first investor to invest in the Ethernet at 3Com with Bob Metcalfe and an early investor with John Simpson in balloon angioplasty at Advanced Cardiovascular Systems (acquired by Eli Lilly) as well as Forethought (acquired by Microsoft), the company that originated PowerPoint. Dick continues to work with start-ups such as Financial Engines, Force10 Networks, MaxiScale, Tabula, Visual Edge, Xoom, and Zhone. He recently joined the board of CITIC Pharmaceuticals in China and is also a director of Silicon Valley Bank. Dick has received four Lifetime Achievement Awards including awards from the National Venture Capital Association (he served as Chairman and President from 1992-93), the University of California- Haas School of Business, the Silicon Valley Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Program, and the Red Herring Magazine Award. He received an MBA from Harvard University and a BS in History from Northwestern University. Dick and his wife, Pamela, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2006. They are noted collectors of Media Art and founded the New Art Trust to foster best practices in the field in 1997. They have four adult offspring and five grandchildren; they enjoy hiking, traveling, tennis and swimming and are currently residing in Shanghai, China where Dick is assisting NEA’s China practice.
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About Green Bay Ventures: Green Bay Ventures (GBV) is a San Francisco based venture capital firm backed by some of the world’s most prominent families.
Nadia Buonocore
Director of Fund Accounting and Operations of Bessemer Venture Partners
Nadia Buonocore joined Bessemer’s New York office in 2015 as a Director on the Operations Team. She leads the firm’s financial reporting, investor communications, auditing, and financial compliance with GAAP. Nadia directs the fund’s daily financial operations and protects the fund’s assets by monitoring and enforcing internal controls. Along with the finance team, she is accountable for creating timely financial-system efficiencies to support the firm’s global strategic growth. Prior to joining Bessemer, Nadia’s role was Executive Director at JP Morgan Asset Management where she was the Controller to the firm’s $4.5 billion Infrastructure Equity and Debt Funds. Nadia began her career at Ernst & Young LLP where she developed strong client relationships and managed all aspects of asset management audit engagements. Nadia graduated with a B.S. from Fordham University and is a certified public accountant.
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About Bessemer Venture Partners: Bessemer Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that funds consumer, enterprise, and healthcare startups.
Augie Wilkinson
Director of Portfolio Monitoring & Analysis of Bessemer Venture Partners
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About Bessemer Venture Partners: Bessemer Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that funds consumer, enterprise, and healthcare startups.
Sara Byrne
Director, GP Accounting of Bessemer Venture Partners
Sara Byrne, Director of GP Operations, is a partner in Bessemer’s New York office. Having joined BVP in 2003, Sara has held many roles within the Operations group including previously serving as the firm’s Controller. She currently is responsible for the accounting, reporting and tax work for BVP’s general partner entities in addition to being involved in various other projects such as valuing the firm’s portfolio and assisting in tax reporting. Sara previously worked with JP Morgan Partners, where she helped administer the JPMP Global Investors Fund and was involved with JP Morgan’s Equity Investment division before its merger with Chase. Sara holds a BS in accounting from Villanova University. –
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About Bessemer Venture Partners: Bessemer Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that funds consumer, enterprise, and healthcare startups.
Liam H. Mulcahy
Director, Sales GTM of Unusual Ventures
Liam H. Mulcahy is the Director, Sales GTM at Unusual Ventures and focuses primarily on helping portfolio companies create and scale their go to market strategy as it relates to sales and customer acquisition. Prior to joining the Unusual team, Liam worked at MongoDB as one of the top sales reps in North America before going on to manage the top performing sales team worldwide.
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About Unusual Ventures: Unusual Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital offering hands-on support and expertise to startups on their early-stage journey.
Richard Tapalaga
Director of Qualcomm Ventures
Director at Qualcomm Ventures.
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About Qualcomm Ventures: Qualcomm Ventures is the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated. Founded in 2000, the fund has over 150 active portfolio companies.
Peter Y. Chung
CEO and Managing Director of Summit Partners
Peter Y. Chung joined Summit Partners in 1994. Prior to Summit, he worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions department of Goldman, Sachs & Co. Based in Summit’s Menlo Park office, Peter is active in the firm’s investment activities in North America, Europe and Asia. During his 19 years with Summit Partners, Peter has invested in more than 25 companies including 13 currently or formerly publicly-traded companies. His prior board seats and investment experience include E-TEK Dynamics (NASDAQ: ETEK, later merged with JDS Uniphase in a transaction valued at over $18 billion), AltoCom (acquired by Broadcom), Card Capture Services (acquired by E*Trade), Ditech Networks (NASDAQ: DITC, later acquired by Nuance Communications), Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR), GoldenGate Software (acquired by Oracle Corporation), iPayment (NASDAQ: IPMT), NightHawk Radiology Holdings (NASDAQ: NHWK, later acquired by Virtual Radiologic), SeaBright Insurance Holdings (NYSE: SBX, later acquired by Enstar Group Limited), Sirenza Microdevices (NASDAQ: SMDI, later acquired by RF Micro Devices), Splash Technology Holdings (NASDAQ: SPLH, later acquired by Electronics for Imaging) and Winshuttle Holdings. He is currently a director of Acacia Communications, Empower RF Systems, M/A-COM Technology Solutions Holdings (NASDAQ: MTSI), Trident University International, Ubiquiti Networks (NASDAQ: UBNT) and WebAction. Peter holds an AB in economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University. He is currently a trustee of the California Academy of Sciences and a director of the Asian Pacific Fund. In addition, he serves on the Advisory Boards of the Friends of Harvard Football and the Salvation Army’s Golden State Division.
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About Asian Pacific Fund, California Academy of Sciences, Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Adam Hennessey
Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer of Summit Partners
Adam H. Hennessey joined Summit Partners in 2004. Prior to Summit, he worked for Oxford Bioscience Partners and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Adam works in Summit’s Boston office. He received a BS in accounting and business planning & analysis from Babson College and an M.B.A. from Northeastern University. He is also a CPA.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Thomas S. Roberts
Managing Director and Senior Advisor of Summit Partners
Robert Thomas brings more than 30 years of technical, sales, marketing and management experience in the technology industry. In his current role as president and CEO of Infoblox, he has built the company into a highly profitable and valued business and successfully took it public in May 2012 (Nasdaq: BLOX). Previously, he was CEO and president at NetScreen Technologies, which was acquired by Juniper Networks; and he held senior management positions at Sun Microsystems, Fujitsu and ICL. During his nine years at Sun Microsystems, he was general manager of intercontinental operations and director of international marketing development, overseeing Sun’s international business opportunities and policies. Robert holds a B.Sc. in mathematics from Adelaide University in Australia.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Christopher J. Dean
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Christopher J. Dean joined Summit Partners in 2001. Prior to Summit, he worked for Morgan Stanley, J.H. Whitney & Co. and Sun Microsystems. Based in Summit’s Boston office, Chris is active in the firm’s investment activities in North America, Europe and Asia. During his 12 years with Summit Partners, Chris has served as a director of many companies. He is currently a director of Aurora Diagnostics, Champion Windows, Commercial Defeasance, Focus Financial Partners and Salient Partners. His prior directorships include optionsXpress Holdings (NASDAQ: OXPS, later acquired by Charles Schwab), PSC Info Group (acquired by Roark Capital Group) and Senior Home Care (acquired by Oaktree Capital Management). Chris holds a BA in history, summa cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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About Focus Financial Partners, Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Andrew J. Collins
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Andrew Collins joined Summit Partners in 2008. Prior to Summit, he worked as an investment banking analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions group at Banc of America Securities and ABN Amro Financial Services in Chicago. Based in Summit’s Menlo Park office, Andrew is active in the firm’s investment activities in North America and Asia, and focuses primarily on the technology and healthcare sectors. His investment and board experience includes Cloudmark, Delphix, NetWitness (acquired by EMC Corporation), Philz Coffee, RiskIQ, Rocket Fuel, TeleSign Holdings, Ubiquiti Networks (NASDAQ: UBNT), Visier, WebAction, Wildfire Interactive (acquired by Google), Winshuttle Holdings and Wowza Media Systems. Andrew holds a BS in finance from Miami University. Andrew is a member of the Associates Board of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation (UCCRF), an organization that seeks funds to underwrite basic clinical research programs for the treatment of cancer
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
Michael A. Medici
Managing Director of Summit Partners
Michael joined Summit Partners in 2005 as an Associate. Today, as a Managing Director, he focuses primarily on the technology sector. Michael’s current board and investment experience includes Clarabridge, Klaviyo, MacStadium, Markforged, NetBrain Technologies, Vestmark and Zenoss. His prior investments and directorships include Acacia Communications (NASDAQ: ACIA), Accedian Networks (acquired by Bridge Growth Partners), Anesthetix (acquired by TeamHealth), Diagnostic Hybrids (acquired by Quidel Corporation), Fermentas International (acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific), Hiperos (acquired by Opus Global), Logi Analytics (acquired by Marlin Equity Partners), Mi9 Retail (acquired by General Atlantic), and Telerik (acquired by Progress Software). Prior to Summit, Michael worked for Prudential Capital Group. Michael received a BS in finance and international business from Georgetown University.
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About Summit Partners: Summit Partners is an investment firm that is currently investing in to growth equity, fixed income, and public equity opportunities.
