Westwood Ventures Team

Bio:Edward has 15+ years of investment experience in the U.S. and China, including a successful track record with investments such as Cruise Automation (acq. by GM), Life360 (IPO), Palantir (IPO), and Brave Software. In addition, Edward has served on the limited partner advisory committees at Cendana Capital and Ten Eleven Ventures, and he has deep operating experience at tech and cybersecurity companies. Most recently, he was Director of Investments at enterprise security company Qianxin, where he led $700 million in fundraising, ran multiple M&A deals, and managed a large investment portfolio. As Assistant GM for Qianxin, he also incubated their cybersecurity spinout fund Security Capital. At 360, he led International Investments and Strategic Development. He started his venture career as Vice President at DCM, a global early-stage VC firm managing $4 billion. He holds BS and MS degrees in Computer Science from UCLA, where he is a Kauffman Fellow (class of ’15).

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, 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: Daniel Berg is a Director at T Mobile and has decades of experience across the mobile and wireless industries.  He has also served as a past president of the Seattle Anderson Alumni Chapter.  Daniel holds an MBA from UCLA, MSEE from USC and a BSEE from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Bio: Sumanta brings a progressive 20 year career in technology innovation and a solid track record of creating new markets/categories, launching 30+ successful products from a variety of industry leaders including Siemens, LG, Sony, Qualcomm, NVIDIA, and Nuance. As the head of product, Sumanta is leading A3 Smart Home in developing state-of-the-art AI powered IoT systems to help protect and manage your home from anywhere in the world. Sumanta has a BS in Engineering/Electronics and Telecommunications from IIEST and an MBA in High Technology Management, Marketing, Entrepreneurship from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Bio: Niraj is currently Senior Vice President of New Product Development and Global Programs at Avita Medical. Additionally, Niraj serves as a Quality and Regulatory consultant for Hyperfine Research, a start-up in Guilford, CT. Niraj is also an Adjunct Professor for South College in the Imaging Sciences Department. Prior to his current role, Niraj held numerous positions over a span of 18+ years at Siemens Medical in their Molecular Imaging Division. Niraj has a Ph.D. in Biomedical Physics from UCLA, a Master’s in Medical Radiation Physics from the Rosalind Franklin University, and a Bachelor’s in Cybernetics from UCLA. He also holds an Executive Juris Doctorate in Law and Technology from the Concord Law School.

Bio: Phillip Friedman is Senior Director of Global Partner & Startup Programs at Microsoft where he leads the team responsible for Azure partner programs and the Microsoft for Startups program. Philip has served in a variety of product marketing and product management roles at Microsoft. Previously, he was VP of Product Marketing at VoloMetrix, an enterprise SaaS analytics startup that was acquired by Microsoft and a marketing analytics consultant at Digitas. Phillip holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of Washington and an MBA from UCLA.

Bio: Julie is a Senior Executive with 20+ years scaling Go To Market teams focused on Enterprise & SaaS cloud offerings. Julie builds high performing teams with the goal of great outcomes for customers and shareholders. Successful exits include New Relic’s IPO in 2014 and Yammer’s $1.2B acquisition by Microsoft in 2012. Julie leads organizations to attain major revenue targets such as $5B in cloud revenue at Microsoft and $1.5B in renewal revenue during her 10 year tenure at TIBCO. Prior to joining Imperva in 2018 as VP Customer Success, she held key roles at notable tech companies including Ariba and Oracle. Julie holds a BA in Economics/Business from UCLA.

Bio: Molly co-founded Element Biosciences and has served as Chief Executive Officer since its inception. She has more than 20 years of experience in technology innovation and management in biotechnology and healthcare industries. Molly was previously a Venture Partner at Foresite Capital, investing in some of the most exciting and innovative companies in healthcare. Before then, she was Senior Director at Illumina, responsible for Illumina’s global protein reagent innovation and improvements, and for leading global scientific and technical teams. She and her team have won twice the Innovation Award, the highest award for innovations with significant revenue impact at Illumina. Prior to Illumina, Molly was the Head of Protein Sciences at Pacific Biosciences, where she was responsible for protein reagent development for their single-molecule real-time sequencing chemistry. She also has years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Molly holds a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles in protein biophysics.

Bio: Tim is currently leading a Hardware Technologies program management team at Apple. Prior to Apple, he was part of the early Beats Electronics team that designed, built and shipped the first-generation of the now iconic Beats wireless speaker and headphone products. Tim started his career at Northrop Grumman working on delivering end-to-end communication systems for government and military applications in various engineering and business development roles. Tim holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from UCLA.

Bio: Annu Kristipati is a Silicon Valley startup advisor, experienced in BI/Analytics, with a focus on early stage SaaS software. He has led Customer Success and Professional Services teams at various startups, including Looker, where he earned the coveted “Hero” award for exemplary achievement. Annu is well-versed in SaaS business models, and BI/Analytics go-to-market strategies and systems. Groomed as a consultant and project manager, he has led strategic initiatives at early stage startups and Fortune 50 enterprises. He earned an MBA from UCLA Anderson, and an Economics B.A. and Specialization in Computing, from UCLA. He lives in Fremont, CA with his wife and two young sons. He loves running, options trading, and cheering for the Bruins.

Bio: Todd Kupfer mostly recently managed the West Coast office for Barclays Capital High Yield and Distressed Bond business. He has spent 33 years in the Fixed Income business, starting at Kidder Peabody and migrating through Lehman Brothers and finally Barclays. His role was largely to manage the institutional account base on the West Coast, both for bond trading and capital markets bond and loan origination. He graduated with a finance degree from the Anderson School at UCLA in 1987 after dual majoring in undergraduate studies in Econ and Poli Sci at UCSD.

Bio: Hahn is an experienced corporate development and strategy executive and former senior equity research associate and investment banker. Hahn has deep subject matter expertise in consumer Internet marketplaces and digital real estate technology having served as Executive Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for realtor.com, the second largest digital real estate portal in the U.S. Earlier, Hahn spent 20 years in the media and entertainment space, helping television networks and studios transition to digital business models. He started his career in the Corporate Alliances group at The Walt Disney Company. Hahn also covered the digital media and video game sectors as a senior equity research associate at Jefferies and was an investment banker with Bear, Stearns. He received his MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA and BA in Business-Economics from UCLA, where he graduated summa cum laude.

Bio: Jason is a senior executive with over 15 years of experience leading some of the world’s most successful high-growth companies in the US and Asia-Pacific. He has a proven track record of building new ventures from scratch, blitz-scaling customer acquisition, architecting brand strategy, exceeding revenue targets, hiring A-level teams, and leading global cross-functional teams. He has raised over $50M+ in venture capital financing and was a key early-stage player at multiple companies with successful IPOs or exits, most recently at Vital Proteins which was acquired by Nestle ($92B in revenue in FY20). Jason is currently Chief Digital Officer at Vital Proteins, a Nestle Health Science company. Prior to his current role, Jason was the Chief Marketing Officer at Filld, an app-based service delivering gas to your car, which grew nearly 40X during his two-year tenure. Prior to this, Jason was Senior Director of Marketing at Upwork (NASDAQ: UPWK), the world’s largest freelancing website, where he helped lead the global rebrand and grow the business from $60M to $110M in 17 months. Before Upwork, Jason served as Head of Marketing at Anker, a consumer electronics company that became the first-ever 3P seller on Amazon’s marketplace to successfully IPO (SZSE: 300866). Other previous leadership roles include: Walmart.com (led Black Friday campaigns), eBay (led geo-expansion in emerging markets). Jason holds a BA in Political Science from UCLA, and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. He lives in the Bay Area with his wife and their adorable set of boy-girl twins.

Bio: Robert Millet has successfully worked in media and high tech for over 25 years as a senior executive in technology, media and marketing. Robert is EVP of ClixTV, a digital network featuring short form content series driven by celebrities from TV, movies and music as well as social media influencers, powered by their millions of fans and followers. Previously, Robert was Co-Founder & CEO of Nooji, an early stage technology company. Robert started his career at MTV/Viacom. As VP Business Development he worked closely with Mark Burnett, (creator and executive producer of reality TV franchises such as Apprentice, Survivor, and The Voice). Robert is a graduate of the UCLA School of Economics/Social Sciences.

Bio: Jennifer Openshaw is a nationally known consumer financial leader with expertise in technology, innovation, and women. Jennifer brings a unique background to Silicon Valley, having held top positions in media, government and the financial industry, including head of the Financial Women’s Association. She started her career as press secretary to California State Treasurer Kathleen Brown and has advised Fortune 500 organizations including Microsoft and EY’s People Advisory Service. Jen has served as a longtime columnist for Dow Jones’ MarketWatch and has appeared on multiple shows, including Oprah, CNN, and Public Television, where she hosted her own show. In 2016, Jennifer founded Girls With Impact, the nation’s only live, online entrepreneurship program for teen girls. A Rotary Scholar, Jennifer holds an MBA in finance and BA, both from UCLA.

Bio: David Sharifi is a startup attorney and business consultant with a focus in intellectual property law, digital asset transactions, deal structuring, and competitive barrier strategy in technology markets. David applies a blend of intellectual property law, personal startup experience, contract negotiation, and lean startup principles in advising innovation firms on product development and promotion strategies. He started his career as an entrepreneur and inventor. David has been recognized as Top 30 Most Influential Digital Media and E-Commerce Law Attorneys by the Los Angeles Business Journal. David is an active member of the California State Bar, holds a Political Science BA from UCLA, and JD, concentration in Entertainment, from Southwestern Law School.

Bio: Geoff Wolfe has over 25 years of leadership experience making customers wildly successful at technology companies such as PeopleSoft (Oracle), Ask Jeeves (IAC), and several high-growth startups. He is currently SVP of Customer Success for Everplans, a B2B2C software provider of life planning applications. Geoff is a technology and data enthusiast who is a co-inventor of one of the earliest mobile commerce patents and is a regular guest lecturer at UCLA on econometrics. He achieved his BA in Economics-Business from UCLA and his MBA from UC Berkeley.

Bio: Jayson Yardley, CEO, Avadyne Health has over 25 years of experience in the business of hospitals and health systems, Jayson Yardley is a CEO, innovator, entrepreneur, speaker, and Amazon.com bestselling author of Rev Up! Bold and Disruptive Strategies to Rev Up Your Revenue Cycle Hero’s Journey. Yardley holds a Master of Business Administration from California State Polytechnic University-Pomona and he earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles. He’s an active member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and CEO of Avadyne Health. His prior career experience includes executive positions with Conifer Health Solutions, Navigant Cymetrix, Navigant Consulting, Capgemini and Ernst & Young, LLC.

Bio: Lawrence is a co-founder and CEO of Wire, the first nationwide scooter subscription startup, which is dedicated to democratizing personal light electric vehicle ownership. While running his startup, he is pursuing his MBA at UCLA Anderson. A serial social entrepreneur, his background and experiences encompass healthcare, technology, and nonprofits. Lawrence advises various startups and nonprofits, and currently serves on the Boards of SV.AI, Global First Ladies Alliance, LifePaths Global Alliance, Global Adolescent Project, and the Pico Union Friends of the Library.

Bio: Aditi is an experienced program executive in the Pharma industry specializing in the oncology and neuroscience therapeutic areas. She started her career as a licensed Clinical Cytogenetics & Molecular Biologist working on genetic disorders and currently works as a project management leader in drug development. She has co-authored several publications in the diagnostics space, and presented on the topic of international regulatory frameworks for acceleration of drug approval, real world evidence, and digital health. Aditi got her MBA from UIUC and a Bachelors in Neuroscience from UCLA, and has PMP and RAC certifications.

Bio: Gracelyn Koshy is a Venture Fellow with Westwood Ventures. She graduated from UCLA in 2017, and has experience across finance, business development and human capital. She is passionate about entrepreneurship and helping early stage founders share their vision.

Bio: Hardik manages a semiconductor business that stretches across 6 continents and spans many verticals as a product marketing and corporate strategy professional at Texas Instruments. He has taken his learnings from Texas Instruments to co-find and serve as CEO for 2x startups. To help those that share an entrepreneurial drive like him, Hardik serves as a Venture Advisor at Data Driven Investor, an online publication with a consultancy arm. Hardik graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from UCLA and credits his technical background for spawning a passion to tackle seemingly unsolvable problems.

Bio: Neilda loves making an impact. She is a mission-driven founder-turned-venture fellow who is focused on accelerating the next generation of startups. As a founder, she raised capital to protect citizens from dangerous active shooters and has built apps for millions of people as a VP at Bank of America and as a Sr. UX/UI Designer at Sephora. She has a BA from UCLA and in the coming months will have completed a startup-centric Master’s in Integrated Design, Business, and Technology at USC Iovine and Young Academy. With her recent move into venture capital, she is now on a hunt for passionate founders who are obsessed with solving a problem that will both improve the world and make a billion dollars while doing it.

Bio: Pritam is a product lead at Arrcus, Inc. an exciting venture backed networking operating system startup where he is responsible for designing and implementing product/feature requirements into Arrcus products. Previous to Arrcus, Pritam was at Cisco Systems for a number of years wherein he worked on the Data Center switching and routing portfolio. Pritam has an MBA from UCLA Anderson with a specialization in Finance and Strategy and a Masters in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Southern California.

Bio: Brice is currently a Senior Investment Associate at Wilshire. In this role, he assists and advises on over $1T in portfolio assets for institutional investors (endowments or pension funds) and has a proven track record of boosting investment profitability through statistical market research and complex data analysis. Prior to Wilshire, he worked as a consultant for Mercer advising Fortune 500 companies as well as US States entities on their asset allocation. Brice holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management and Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of San Diego.

Bio: Jack is an MBA candidate at UCLA Anderson. A US Navy Logistics Officer, he currently serves as Director for Logistic Shore Support, which supports 73 US Navy vessels across the SOCAL operations area. He has served in various leadership and operations roles across several platforms, countries (to include Japan and Iraq), and organizations to include Naval Special Warfare. He has extensive background in Supply Chain Management, DoD acquisition, Operations Research and Planning. Jack holds a B.A. in Philosophy, Linguistics and the History of Mathematics and Science from St. John’s College, Annapolis.

Bio: Raymond is an MBA candidate at UCLA Anderson with a background in marketing, and entrepreneurship. He is currently a performance marketing manager at NerdWallet, a fintech company, where he uses marketing to expand into and scale new lines of business. Previously, he started two import/export businesses and worked at startups. He has combined his love of food and startups by investing in restaurants. Raymond holds a B.A. from UCLA.

Bio: Quentin Yip is a second-year MBA student at UCLA Anderson with a functional background in corporate finance with experiences in the military and health insurance industries. During his 6 years as an active-duty Air Force finance officer, Quentin built cost estimates for major acquisition programs, constructed budgets for the Air Force in the Pentagon, and managed the budget for the Afghan National Army during his deployment to Afghanistan. After leaving military service, Quentin spent several years in the health insurance industry culminating in a CFO role for a startup Medicaid plan, Aetna Better Health of Maryland, before coming to UCLA Anderson. Quentin also holds a B.S. in Economics from the United States Air Force Academy and a M.S. in Investment Management from Boston University.

Bio: Ted is a Sr. Materials & Process Engineer at Wisk Aero, where he helps develop a novel new aircraft called Cora, an all-electric, self-flying air taxi that will change the future of daily commutes and urban travel. Prior to working at Wisk, he worked as a materials engineer at Northrop Grumman on the James Webb Space Telescope which will be the largest, most powerful and complex space telescope ever built and launched into space. Ted graduated from UCLA with a Master’s degree in Engineering focusing on Materials Science and Systems Engineering. He also holds a Master’s degree in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.