Purple Arch Ventures Team

Bio: David has played a leading role in many aspects of the VC investment cycle: structuring transactions as a fundless sponsor, improving operations as a consultant, leading management teams as a CEO, evaluating opportunities as an investor and advisor, and selling companies as a licensed business broker. Previously, he founded Synergy Financial, a private capital and consulting firm for entrepreneurs, PE professionals, and family offices. He started his investment career as a professional advisor managing millions in assets. David has an undergraduate and graduate degrees from Northwestern and played for the two-time Big Ten Championship Northwestern Wildcats Football Team. He serves on the NUvention and Kellogg Entrepreneurial Center Advisory Boards.
Notable Deals: Relayr, Heaven’s Door

Bio: Wayne has held positions in both successful startups and thriving tech firms and brings a wealth of operational experience building teams, executing deals, and developing clients. He is committed to the growth of the venture and tech community in Chicago, serves as an advisor to a number of startups, and is a founding board member of Great Lakes Academy Charter School. Previously, he led analysis, negotiation, and deal execution for the global content acquisition team at Netflix. Before that, he was VP of Business Development at Silver Chalice Ventures, a digital media startup owned by the Chicago White Sox. Wayne began his career in the US Navy, serving as a Surface Warfare Officer. He holds a BS in industrial engineering from Stanford and an MBA from Kellogg.
Notable Deals: Relayr, Exicure

Bio: Erik has worked with both traditional venture investors and corporate venture teams during his career. He has deep experience evaluating opportunities, structuring investments and advising management on value creation. Previously, he helped build the strategy and make investments for the PGA TOUR’s corporate ventures group. Erik began his career with Deloitte Consulting where he focused on corporate strategy and M&A engagements. He holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with High Honors. He has an MBA in Finance from Kellogg.

Bio: Chris is a technology executive with over twenty years of experience as an entrepreneur, operator, and consultant. He has participated in successful transactions as a member of the senior leadership team at two private equity-backed companies. During his career, Chris has led technology organizations at three healthcare companies, and he has experience across payor, provider, pharmaceutical, and laboratory segments. His expertise is in healthcare IT, cloud services, and process automation. Chris currently serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Change Healthcare, one of the largest healthcare IT companies in the world. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Alabama with a major in management information systems and received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Bio: David is recognized as one of the leading corporate real estate advisors and workplace strategists in Chicago as well as nationally. He has consistently earned production and service level awards since 2004 while structuring and negotiating mission critical leases and sales for office, industrial, retail and hotel transactions. He serves as equity Principal at Colliers International, and is an active board member of the Chicago Chapter of CoreNet Global. David played lacrosse at University of Illinois while earning his BA in economics, and then went on to be a consultant at Arthur Andersen LLP when he earned his MBA at Kellogg at night and served as the president of the program’s real estate club. Later, he held a leadership position at technology start-up aimed at disrupting the commercial real estate industry before taking his creativity and entrepreneurial spirit as a service provider to help clients improve profitability and growth by leveraging the workplace as an enabler.

Bio: Rex has spent the entirety of his career in the institutional securities industry. For the last decade, he has served as an investment banker specializing in healthcare M&A. He has advised on ~$10 billion of completed hospital system transactions involving academic (Duke, Northwestern, U. of Chicago), nonprofit (Beaumont, UnityPoint), local-Government (Santa Clara, CA), and for-profit companies (sponsored by Apollo, Blackstone, TPG, Warburg Pincus). Rex spent the early part of his career at Morgan Stanley focused heavily on infrastructure privatization funds. Rex is also an active private investor with a personal portfolio of 20+ angel investments. He is particularly interested in entrepreneurship aimed at bridging social, educational, and economic inequality. He holds an MBA from Kellogg and lives with his family in Winnetka.

Bio: Mellie is a Senior IT/Technology and Management Consultant and Executive Director at CANADA Practice. Working with tech entrepreneurs ranging from Fortune 100 to early stage startups, she manages complex business transformation projects, builds digitally disruptive agile products, and provides growth advisory. She also serves on the advisory board for Electro-Medical Instruments Co. and The Vinetta Project investing in Women Tech Entrepreneurs. Mellie holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and an MBA from Kellogg and the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Bio: With more than 20 years as a skilled urologic surgeon, Steve Y. Chung, MD, is a driving force behind Illinois Urologic Health Surgeons. Dr. Chung treats erectile dysfunction, BPH, urinary incontinence, kidney stones, prostate and kidney cancers, and other urologic problems using advanced minimally invasive technology. His goal is to use personalized, evidence-based, modern medicine to restore health with less downtime and easier recoveries.  Dr. Chung earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Northwestern University. He then obtained his medical degree at the University of Texas School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania. Dr. Chung then finished fellowship training at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California in advanced minimally invasive urologic surgery. He’s well-known as a medical author and has written for more than 20 publications. He has also been interviewed by National Public Radio and mentioned in the New York Times for his research in tissue engineering.  Dr. Chung also holds two patents for advanced medical devices and has worked as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Urology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He has spent his recent years leading a health technology company in the field of patient experience and communication. Moreover, he has experience with blockchain and peer-to-peer technology in healthcare. The healthcare landscape is undergoing significant changes and Dr. Chung is able to experience it first hand.

Bio: Jeff’s career has spanned over 30 years with global brands like The Coca-Cola Company, Lufthansa, and Amway, as well as several startups. He has worked extensively across Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America in a variety of C-Suite roles. His industry expertise includes Consumer Products, Foodservice, and Direct Selling, and is noted for building winning strategy and high performing teams. Corporate Citizenship has been a core foundation, and Jeff has partnered with several global organizations like World Vision, Habitat for Humanity, and Big Brothers Big Sisters where he was an active “Big”. Currently, he is an Operating Partner with Luther King Capital Management, Angel Investor, and Management Advisor. Jeff is a graduate of The Ohio State University, and earned his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Bio: Ricardo is a Managing Director in the Fixed Income & Debt Capital Markets Group at FIG Partners, an investment banking boutique specializing in regional and community banks. He has over 25 years’ experience and a track record of successfully developing, positioning, managing a multitude of fixed-income products and evaluating investment platforms on behalf of both institutional and retail investors. He has extensive experience as both an investment banker and portfolio manager structuring and assessing investment opportunities within large institutional platforms including Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, AIG, and SunTrust Bank. Ricardo has a BA in Economics and Political Science from Northwestern University.

Bio: Payal is a hospitality industry executive and has spent the past decade focused on growing the footprint of big brands in the hospitality industry in a variety of investment, acquisitions and business development roles, most recently at Kimpton and Starwood. She offers deep expertise in feasibility and underwriting efforts focused on real estate and advises on hotel development decision-making, contract negotiation, corporate finance and long-term strategic planning. Previously Payal co-founded and built both an early stage property tech startup and a company in the hospitality space. She started her career in the financial services industry in Corporate Strategy & Development and Equity Research roles working at JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers, respectively. Payal invests in early stage companies and has actively sourced real estate development opportunities as well as managed private equity investment assets. Payal is a CFA Charterholder and holds a BA in Economics from Northwestern University and an MBA in Marketing from The Wharton School of Business.

Bio: Grant is Co-founder and CTO of Vodori, an enterprise marketing solutions company providing SaaS software to help life science companies create, review, and distribute marketing and sales collateral. As an entrepreneur, a deep technologist, and chief product architect, he has led the commercialization of Vodori’s enterprise product portfolio, working across customer and product development while supporting sales and marketing efforts, partnerships, and pricing. Grant is the President of the Board for Equality Illinois, involved in NUVentionWeb, a mentor at Junto Institute, and an active Chicago angel investor. He also holds a BA from Northwestern University.

Bio: Kurt has over 25 years of experience in Fortune 500 and entrepreneurial leadership, has founded four tech companies, and has sold over $300M in goods and services. He has a background in biotech, hospital supply, IT outsourcing, management consulting, retail, supply chain. He founded K8 Ventures, a unique venture builder studio, and as Managing Partner, leads the organization in investing in and building early-stage companies. Kurt has an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a BS from the University of Iowa.

Bio: Daniel is a product leader with experience in the video game industry, e-commerce, and streaming. He is currently a product manager at Google developing the Stadia video game streaming platform. Daniel has over 15 years of experience in software development and engineering ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small startups. He is passionate about designing amazing experiences through efficient iteration. Daniel holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Florida Tech and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Bio: Susan Kim’s career spans executive finance, investment banking and engineering roles. She is currently the CFO of App Annie, the leading provider of data and analytics for mobile app performance. Susan was recently recognized as one of 2019 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business by San Francisco Business Times. Before App Annie, Susan was the CFO at Katerra, a construction tech start-up where she led all aspects of the company’s financial operations during a time when the company’s revenue grew 3x. Prior to Katerra, Susan was a finance executive for KLA-Tencor, a publicly traded $3Bn revenue company, a finance leader at Solexel, a solar energy start-up, and an investment banker in Morgan Stanley’s technology practice. Susan started her career as a manufacturing engineer working for Advanced Micro Devices. Susan holds an MBA and MEM from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University.

Bio: Sally is a Director in the Corporate Finance & Investment Banking group at Eli Lilly where she evaluates and advises on multi-billion dollar M&A and licensing transactions, as well as pharmaceutical & biotech venture capital investments. Prior to this role, she led financial controllership for the $2B+ Oncology Business Unit in North America amid substantial portfolio expansion and new drug approvals. Before getting into the healthcare space, Sally led sell-side equity coverage of the telecoms sector in the Middle East and North Africa region, publishing investment research to institutional buy-side clients globally. Sally holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management and a BS in Finance from the American University in Cairo.

Bio: Mike has 25+ years of experience in management and investments within financial services and technology industries. He currently leads the Strategic Transactions Group at Guardian, which includes M&A and its corporate venture capital fund, which is focused on fintech and infotech. Prior to Guardian, Mike was EVP, Corporate Development for Crump Group, Inc., the largest wholesale insurance distributor in the U.S. He was on the Executive Committee, had responsibility for several businesses and completed numerous acquisitions and dispositions across life insurance, P&C insurance, financial technology and retirement services. Before Crump, Mike was on the executive team of Worldinsure, an insurance technology start-up. Prior to WorldInsure, he had various leadership positions in financial services and manufacturing sectors. Mike is a CFA Charterholder. He has a BS in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern and an MBA from Kellogg.

Bio: With over 25 years in management roles at multi business global corporations, Prasaad is currently a Managing Partner at Elan Partners, an advisory firm that helps clients deliver strategic change initiatives around digital transformation, operational excellence and innovation led growth. As an executive at IBM Watson’s consulting practice, he coached client C-suites in industrial, financial and healthcare sectors at delivering lean agile transformations as well as digital technology integration into future state value streams for improved business performance at lower costs. He was also their internal subject matter expert for the Innovation consulting practice. Prior to IBM, Prasaad had several cross functional roles at Caterpillar, culminating with leadership of worldwide new product teams for a $2 Billion strategic business unit. Prasaad holds an engineering Master’s degree from Clemson University and completed a Caterpillar sponsored Advanced Executive Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is a Caterpillar certified Six Sigma Black Belt and IBM certified Design Thinking practitioner.

Bio: Kristin is a tech executive with 20 years’ experience who has been named as one of HBS’s Top 100 Distinguished Alumnae of Northern California. She is Managing Partner of Menlo Group, an advisor working with companies on growth strategies. She also serves on Northwestern’s Farley Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Board and as mentor to NUvention’s startup teams. As a venture-backed CEO, COO, and CMO, she has worked with Fortune 100 corporations to startups and led teams who have raised $150M+ in VC. She was CEO and Co-founder of LimeLife, one of the first mobile software companies. Kristin has a BS in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Bio: Vanessa has built her career at the intersection of technology and consumer in both strategic and operating roles for over 10 years. She has played key management roles at innovative and disruptive consumer companies such as global luxury fashion platform Farfetch, beauty content & commerce retailer Violet Grey, and early subscription model company Shoedazzle. Vanessa has advised multiple early and seed stage ventures in e-commerce and digital media. Vanessa began her career in strategy consulting at LEK Consulting where she specialized in Retail & Consumer Products. She holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management and a BS from Northwestern University.

Bio: Mary Jo has been an active entrepreneur and investor for 30 years. She has invested in a variety of entities, but is now focused on healthcare. She is currently Managing Partner of Healthcare Angels and a GP in Keiretsu Capital. She has held executive positions with BDC Advisors, Highperlink, Sibson, and Omega. Her clients have included Kaiser, Partners, Trinity Health, WEBMD, Sutter, and Genentech. Mary Jo has a bachelor’s degree from Siena Heights University, a Master’s from Northwestern where she is on the School of Education and Social Policy Board, and completed an Executive program at Stanford in India.

Bio: Joe is a financial executive with a career spanning over 30 years primarily focused on audit and financial reporting process as well as financial and tax advisory work for start-up, high growth and established companies in the Renewable Energy, High Tech, Telecommunications and Manufacturing industries. Earlier in his career he worked in the high-tech audit practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers focusing on helping companies prepare for and complete initial public offerings and then meet performance requirements in a public company environment. In addition to his public accounting experience, Joe has served in CFO roles for start-up, turnaround and high growth situations, most recently with a renewable energy company where his experience as CFO has included financial and governance responsibilities for a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and subsequently under private equity ownership. He holds a BA from Indiana University and an MBA from Kellogg and is a CPA. Joe lives in Chicago.

Bio: Ravi Prasad is a technology executive and digital transformation leader who believes in data-driven business re-invention.  Throughout his career, Ravi has relied on his passionate entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to spearhead change via focused collaboration across some of the world’s most well-known organizations. In the last 5 years, Ravi is focused on renewable energy and cleantech investments and mentors’ startups on product strategy, market growth and raising capital. Ravi holds a management degree from Kellogg School of Management and engineering degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Bio: Craig is an innovator, leader, advisor, and educator. Technologist by training, human-centered designer by nature, and business professional by experience, Craig is founder of TBD Innovation and professor at the Segal Design Institute at Northwestern. He spent much of his career at IDEO, founding and leading the firm’s Chicago office and later their Global Health practice. Craig advises senior leaders and entrepreneurs, and his expertise ranges from the details of engineering and interactions to the big picture of strategy and brand purpose.

Bio: Michael has spent the past 20 years working in Financial Service positions. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Michael was a Managing Director at Guggenheim Partners in Chicago, and ran their Midwest Institutional Equity Sales effort. Prior to his time at Guggenheim, Michael was in senior Institutional Equity sales roles with Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup. In those roles, Michael sourced relationships with corporate leaders, money managers and financial professionals and helped Corporate clients raise money in the Capital Markets. Michael also spent time working in money management at PPM America and as a tax professional at Arthur Andersen. Michael received his BA from DePaul University and a MBA, with concentrations in Finance and International Business, from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Michael is a CFA Charterholder, and is currently working towards a CPWA designation. He has resided in LaGrange for the past 16 years with his wife Stefanie and 3-children, Andrew, Cooper and Camille. In his spare time, Michael can be found on the golf course or as a spectator around a wrestling mat.

Bio: Mat’s career spans more than 20 years helping companies grow revenues and value, both in senior advisory and internal operational roles. As a management consultant, including as a Partner with OC&C Strategy Consultants, he’s led a range of strategic and diligence initiatives for corporate and private equity clients including Visa International, G-star, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Advent International and American Capital. His consulting background is complemented with senior operating experience, where he most recently led (based in Singapore) the international business for a private equity-owned energy storage company, ending in a successful exit at the end of 2018. Mat now brings his experience together in an advisory practice focused on strategy, commercial due diligence, and international business development. Mat has a BA from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.

Bio: Aarathi Singh is a senior executive in the medical device industry with 15+ years of strategy and operating experience. She has a strong background in marketing, sales force optimization, and the commercialization of innovative technologies. Aarathi is Chief Operating Officer of MedGyn, a global manufacturer and distributor for women’s health products. Through Aarathi’s leadership the company has expanded into international markets and new product lines to address the unmet needs in women’s health throughout the world, including partnerships with governments, NGOs, and leading healthcare organizations. Prior to joining MedGyn, Aarathi held positions of increasing responsibility at Deloitte Consulting and at Johnson & Johnson. Aarathi has a BS in Finance from Boston University and a MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

Bio: James has over 20 years’ experience as a leader in global healthcare companies including Baxter Healthcare, Roche Diagnostics, Medline, AmerisourceBergen and Aramark, and IBM Watson Health, where he has consistently transformed industries and companies using technology, processes and people. James has multi-brand expertise in biotech, medical device, lab diagnostics, surgical products, dental, pharmaceutical distribution, pharmacy automation, diagnostics imaging, hospital supply chain, and lean/six sigma operational transformation. As an operations and growth executive, James has unlocked over $400M+ in new business development, product commercialization, geographic market expansion, and M&A transactions. James serves as Vice Board Chair of the University of Oklahoma School of Biomedical Engineering, and Board Member for the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). James began his career in the USMC, serving as an Artillery Officer. He holds a BS in Marketing from the University of Oklahoma, and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. From Kellogg, he also completed the mergers and acquisitions program.

Bio: After years of working as a consultant in the Big Five, on Wall Street, and for a Fortune 500 Company, Eric founded Vergys in 2008 to have a positive impact on how the government operates. Over the years, he and his team have built a boutique multi-million-dollar consultancy focused on delivering strategic and project management services to federal civilian agencies. He has advised multiple early and seed stage ventures in HealthTech, ecommerce, SAAS, and manufacturing, and served as the Chairman of the Board for a major non-profit organization. Eric has an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BS from Northwestern University.

Bio: Todd divides his time between the tech industry and entrepreneurial educational ventures. He is a Managing Director at Divergent Ventures, focusing on early stage computing infrastructure companies. He is also an Adjunct Professor in computer science at Northwestern and co-teaches NuVention Web, a top entrepreneurship course in the country. Previously, Todd worked at Microsoft for 21 years in product management, general management, and product development. He is a past member of the Northwestern board of trustees, and currently serves on several school advisory boards. He holds a BA in Computer Science and Economics at Northwestern.

Bio: Roland has 25+ years of experience in management and investments within financial services and healthcare services. Roland has served as a Managing Director, Risk Treasurer for Citigroup, Head of Fixed Income Americas for the Central Bank of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, and senior fixed income portfolio manager with Citi, Norges Bank, ABN AMRO and Bank of Montreal. More recently, he has served as a venture-backed COO and CFO within Fintech and Healthcare. Roland has worked with Fortune 100 companies to start ups and has helped raise over $30mm in VC funding. Roland has a BA in Political Science from DePauw University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Lastly, Roland is a CFA Charter holder.

Bio: Sarita is currently pursuing an MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Prior to Kellogg, Sarita was a Senior Consultant in the Analytics & Cognitive practice at Deloitte Consulting. She guided Fortune 500 clients in defining and executing strategies around innovation and emerging technology such as AI and blockchain. Sarita earned her B.A. from Columbia University.

Bio: Lisa Litherland has been focused on the ever-evolving world of disruptive technology, most recently specializing on the Internet of Things (IoT). She has helped multiple organizations imagine the “World of the Possible” and then execute a strategic plan to implement their business goals. Lisa is known for having a genuine interest and commitment to coaching and mentoring, driven by a passion for building leaders and guiding people on how to handle tough business situations. She holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois and an Executive MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Bio: Andrew is currently the managing editor of 2 Minute Medicine, Inc., a health news media site covering high-impact health research. He is also an attending physician and clinical scholar at McMaster University while completing his full-time MBA at the Kellogg School of Management. Andrew completed his fellowship training at McMaster University and residency training at the University of Toronto. He holds an MD from the University of Ottawa and a BHSc from McMaster University.

Bio: Karen is a second year MBA candidate at the Kellogg School of Management. On campus, she holds leadership positions in the Net Impact club and Student Admissions Committee. Prior to Kellogg, she was the City Manager of Cove, a real estate start-up based in Washington, DC. She holds a BA in Government from Dartmouth College.

Bio: Jacob is an Associate Recruiter with TRANSEARCH International, focusing on Vice President, C-level, and highly technical management roles in the construction, engineering, real estate, power, and manufacturing spaces. He received his B.A. from Northwestern University in Biological Sciences and Psychology, originally studying as pre-med. He has been involved with two NU-founder led startups in biotech and data-driven media and is thrilled to continue contributing to the Northwestern startup community.

Bio: 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.

Bio: Previously, Anne was an Applied Behavioral Analysis Counselor for Melmark and a medical biller for Physicians Resources. She is also a certified Certified Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor, with her own clientele. Anne has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire.

Bio: Prior to joining AVG, Jenna was an Investor Service Representative at Putnam Investments, where she provided customer support to both clients and brokers. Jenna is a graduate of Merrimack College, Girard School of Business, where she studied Business Administration with a dual major in Management and Marketing.

Bio: Prior to joining AVG, Jordan worked in consumer and commercial lending with New Hampshire based firms. A Massachusetts native, Jordan graduated with honors from Plymouth State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management with a focus in business law.

Bio: Taylor graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a B.S. in Finance/Economics. Prior to joining Alumni Ventures Group, Taylor spent the early part of his career at Fidelity Investments as a licensed Financial Advisor, providing existing 401k clients with financial planning advice.

Bio: 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.

Bio: 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.