Meet Your Investment Team
These are your classmates who wake up every day on your behalf to assemble a great venture portfolio
David Shapiro
Managing Partner
Prior to his time at DataXu, he was a Director with the global venture and private equity firm 3i, and Managing Partner at Great Point Capital (established to manage a venture portfolio spun off from 3i.) This includes Board Directorships with ten companies, as well as strategic advisory work at both the Board and operating levels. His pursuit and passion is helping disruptive technologies and ideas to scale commercially.
Prior to his tenure with 3i, David was Co-Founder and COO of Exygy, focused on GPS and wireless technology. He also worked in the Private Equity group at GE Asset Management, where he specialized in late stage venture and growth capital opportunities.
David received his BA in History from Yale in 1991, and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in 2000.
Lily Wan
Principal
Lily has been a venture investor, advisor, and financial services professional across sectors and regions. Previously, she sourced and vetted venture investments for NYC-based Pure Energy Partners and Boston-based NXT Ventures. As a junior partner at Younker Capital in Beijing, she sourced and executed deals in IoT, healthcare, media, and consumer Internet. Lily was also the seed investor of Huanteng or “Phantom,” where she served as a board advisor; Fast Company later named the smart home company as One of Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in China. Lily has a BA in Mathematics from Bucknell University and an MBA from Yale School of Management (’16).
Investment Committee
Classmates and fellow investors who help create your venture portfolio
Mark Volchek
Mark is a Founding Partner of Las Olas Venture Capital, an early stage venture fund focused on Florida and other underserved venture capital markets. Prior to starting Las Olas VC, he spent 15 years at Higher One as CFO, Chairman, and then CEO, where he had a major hand in steering the company from its first round of seed funding and multiple rounds of venture funding all the way to its successful IPO in 2010. Since 2008, Mark has been an active angel investor and has invested in over 30 companies. He is also a Director of the Founder Institute – South Florida, where he helps budding entrepreneurs get their companies started.
Mark holds a BA and MA in Economics from Yale University. He was also a founding officer of the Yale Entrepreneurial Society and on its board from 2000 to 2010.
Rebekah Woo
Rebekah has 18 years of experience in global financial markets and businesses, with a proven track record in asset allocation, portfolio management, and investing. She started her career with the EDB Singapore before spending more than 6 years with a multi-billion dollar single-family office investing across asset classes. Rebekah then joined JP Morgan Asset Management. After JP Morgan, Rebekah joined CDPQ, Canada’s 2nd largest pension plan when it first opened its Asia Pacific HQ in Singapore, covering investments throughout Asia. She currently invests and advises several startups, growth companies, angel networks, and family offices. Rebekah is an active contributor to Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) and Yale Alumni Association and has degrees from LSE, Yale University and the CFA/CAIA professional designations.
Mat Stover
Mat is Founder and President of LKM Ventures, a firm that advises, invests in, and helps manage technology and media businesses. Over the past 30 years, he has held CEO and other executive roles at companies in search, advertising, publishing, communications, and identity security, and has been on the boards of companies from startups to multi-billion dollar corporations. He also served in the federal government and has overseen government affairs, policy, and regulatory initiatives in the private sector. He holds a BA from Yale and completed the Executive Program of the Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.
Marc Peterman
Marc is a prolific inventor and medical product developer, with broad operating experience as both an entrepreneur and acquirer. He has held a variety of innovation and executive positions at ODC, Medtronic, Abbott, Facet Solutions, Synthes, and Johnson & Johnson. He has played a central role in R&D, M&A transactions, IP strategy, in- and out-licensing of individual technologies, and post-M&A integrations, including the $19.7B acquisition of Synthes by J&J. Marc earned a BS in Physics at Ursinus College, an MS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wyoming, a PhD in Kinesiology at Penn State, and an MBA from Yale.
Phong Nguyen
Phong is an accomplished technology executive and entrepreneur. He serves as EVP of Product Management & Strategy for Accolade, a leading on-demand healthcare concierge (one of Forbes’s 25 most promising companies). Previously, he served as SVP & General Manager for Concur Technologies, a travel and expense SaaS pioneer (sold to SAP for $8.3B) and as Vice President for SAP across key functions including mobility, emerging markets, and corporate development. Phong has an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and graduated as a Joseph Wharton Scholar from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael Miller
Michael joined the private fund placement agent Monument Group in 1998, and is a Partner in the Boston office. Monument has assisted its clients in raising 79 funds, totaling $86B of equity, and has investor coverage responsibility in the US. Previously, he was a Senior Research Associate at Cambridge Associates, where he was responsible for PE. Prior to this, Michael worked in Merrill Lynch’s Media Investment Banking Group. He has a BA in Political Science from Yale and an MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He is FINRA Series 7, 63 and 24 registered through Monument Group.
Northrup Knox
Northrup has broad private equity experience. In 1990 he founded Noonmark Capital to acquire small, high-growth specialty manufacturers. The firm led a series of successful buyouts, and Northrup currently invests in earlier stage private companies. Previously, he was an associate at Goldman Financial Group and later at Shawmut National Ventures. Northrup serves on the investment committees of the $900M University at Buffalo Foundation and the Seymour H. Knox Foundation, and on the boards of several nonprofit organizations. He received a BA from Amherst College and an MBA in Finance and Organizational Behavior from the Yale School of Management.
Reshma Karipineni
Reshma’s experience includes public and PE investments, strategy consulting, and business development in healthcare. As Director of Business Development for Stanford Health Care, she facilitates strategic program growth. Prior to that, she was a Partner at Impact Consulting, where she assisted venture-backed health tech and life sciences companies with business development, market strategy, and pre-market planning. She also worked as an Associate in Pinnacle Ventures, evaluating venture investments in med tech, digital health, and life sciences startups. Reshma has a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Yale and an MBA from Stanford.
Neil Inala
Neil has worked in industries from AI/machine learning to financial services, networking, robotics, and more. He has broad expertise in engineering and software development, product management, sales, and market strategy. He is now a product manager at Google Life Sciences, working on surgical robotics. Previously, he was in the Apps group, leading large brands strategy for Google Plus, and drove major initiatives in the Ads org. Prior to Google, Neil worked in financial services at ITG (an international broker-dealer) and developing proprietary trading and analytics tools for Wellington Management. Neil holds a BS in Computer Science from Yale University.
Ali Fenn
Ali’s expertise includes capital raising, market development, sales and product management, and she has led both early stage business development as well as F100 initiatives. She is now founder and managing partner of York Street Strategy, a consultant assisting venture-backed tech companies, and is founder and CEO of Rethink: Circular, an advisory firm helping companies adopt circular economy principles. Past roles were at Seagate, Archetype Solutions, Genius.com, Alliances Wyse (acq. by Dell), and BEA Systems (acq. by Oracle.) Ali has an Economics Degree from Yale and is pursuing an Executive Master’s in Public Policy at the London School of Economics.
David Cohen
David is an investor and financial strategist with experience in companies and capital markets/M&A, with a focus on energy and technology. He has also directly invested in a number of private companies. He spent over a dozen years at Goldman Sachs Group, most recently as co-head of Investment Banking Strategies. He has managed portfolios for global macro hedge funds Fortress Investment Group and Tudor Investment, served as a CFO of a solar power plant, and was partner and CFO at a boutique investment bank. He graduated from Yale College with a BS in Mathematics and holds an MS in Scientific Computing and Computational Mathematics from Stanford.
Jaques Clariond, CFA
Raymond Chang
Raymond is a successful entrepreneur and active angel investor. He is also a Lecturer in the Practice of Entrepreneurship at the Yale School of Management and Adjunct Professor in Entrepreneurship at Babson College. He founded GigaMedia, the first broadband internet company in Asia (its US$280M IPO was one of the largest for an internet company prior to 2000). He also founded Luckypai, a leading TV shopping company in China (sold to Lotte Home Shopping for US$160M). He received his BA from New York University, MBA from Yale School of Management, and MPA from Harvard JFK School of Government.
Venture Fellows
Select group of young Yale alums participating in our Venture Fellow Program
Matthew Moroney
Venture Fellow
Matthew is the co-founder of Raise Green, a crowdsourced financing company for renewable energy projects. Previously, he spent two years doing statistical programming for the Data-Driven Yale research group while obtaining a Masters of Environmental Management Degree from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Before graduate school, he spent four years as a Senior Staff Environmental Scientist at Landau Associates, Inc. investigating contaminated properties, overseeing clean-up actions, and providing air emissions modeling for regulatory compliance. Matthew holds also holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Science with a minor in Chemistry from Western Washington University.
Samuel Miles
Community Engagement Fellow
Sam began his career as a consultant in Dakar, Senegal, advising investors, foundations, and governments on emerging markets. He’s since helped build early-stage startups in education and renewable energy across the African continent and is currently working on the deployment of decarbonization technologies and solutions. A dual citizen by way of the French Caribbean, Sam holds a BA from Yale and an MA (summa cum laude) from Sciences Po Paris.
Sophia Luo
Venture Fellow
Yale University
Sophia is currently an energy industry analyst at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), where she serves as an expert witness on cost of capital for electric utilities. Prior to FERC, Sophia was a senior consultant in the energy practice at Navigant Consulting, Inc. and a project controller at Deloitte Consulting LLP. She was also an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellow at KKR & Co. L.P. Sophia holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Yale University and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Georgetown University.
William Olds
Venture Fellow
Yale University
Will has been in the biological sciences for over a decade, specializing in metabolic disorders and antibody production. As scientific officer at Proteintech, he has worn many hats in marketing, R&D, and strategy, including hosting a podcast on career development for scientists called The Incubator. Will has a B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan and a PhD from Yale University (’15).
Sarah Guzick
Venture Fellow Emeritus
Yale University
Sarah (YC’13) works in Business Operations at Tesla Energy. Previously, she was a Project Development Associate at SolarCity and head researcher for the CEO of Eurasia Group, where she built energy market investment risk models for Fortune 100 companies. Prior to that, she analyzed energy legislation for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives. Sarah holds a BA with Distinction in Political Science from Yale.
Yang Zhang
Venture Fellow
Yale University
Yang (YSPH’17) is an MPH candidate at Yale School of Public Health and investment manager at AngelsGlobal, a funding platform and venture fund. At Yale, he serves as a regulatory analyst at the Institutional Review Board reviewing biomedical research applications. Previously, Yang worked at Zhen Fund, an early-stage investment firm in China. Yang received a bachelor degree in Biology and Asian Studies from Macalester College.
Casey Street
Venture Fellow
Casey (YC’06) works as Chief of Staff to a Mississippi congressman on the House Appropriations Committee and Majority Whip team. Previously, he was a staff member for the House Veterans Affairs Committee and legislative aide to a senior member of the House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees. He holds an MBA from Mississippi State, an MA from the US Naval War College, and is also a graduate of the US Air Force Air Command and Staff College.
Sherry Li
Venture Fellow Emeritus
Yale University
Sherry (YC’17) is a senior at Yale College, pursuing a BA in Economics and a certificate in Energy Studies. She interned in the finance department at Sungevity, a solar company, experiencing their announcement to go public through a reverse merger. At Yale, Sherry worked at the Office of Sustainability.
Javaughn Lawrence
Venture Fellow Emeritus
Yale University
Javaughn (YC’14) works in Sales Strategy and Operations at Linkedin, providing data-driven insights and process improvements to senior sales leaders. Previously, he was an Associate Consultant at Bain & Co., where he worked on strategic projects for Fortune 500 clients and a venture fellow at Rokk3r Labs where he performed due diligence and provided support to portfolio companies. He also co-founded an e-commerce website called thevinelist.com.
Alumni Ventures Group Support Staff
The team behind the Blue Ivy Investment team - freeing them to build you a great venture portfolio
Chris Sacharuk
Investor Relations Manager
Prior to joining AVG, Chris was a Customer Advocate at Graphic Packaging and in Sales & Marketing at Putnam Investments, where he created materials for reps and investors. He’s a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Manning School of Business, where he studied Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Studies.
Anne Miller
Investor Relations Manager
Previously, Anne was an Applied Behavioral Analysis Counselor for Melmark and a medical biller for Physicians Resources. She is also a certified Certifiied Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor, with her own clientele. Anne has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire.
Hilary Ncala
Director of Investor Relations
Prior to joining AVG, Hilary was a Staffing Executive and Program Manager at Robert Half. Previous positions include Retirement Planning & Guidance Consultant for Fidelity and an Investor Assistant for an independent investor. She has a Bachelor of Science, Business Management & Marketing from Fisher College.
Jamie Eitel
Community Relations Manager
Jamie was the Clinical Secretary Sr for Pediatric Gastroenterology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Earlier, he served as a Claims Processor Associate and then a Senior Associate at Cigna Health. He has also served in multiple church youth ministries for over 15 years throughout Ontario, Canada, in many different cultural contexts. He was part of the adjunct faculty in the youth ministry department at Tyndale University College. He has a BA in Psychology from York University, a Masters of Divinity from Tyndale Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.