Founder & Managing Partner, Kyber Capital
Alex Klokus is a Founder and Managing Partner at the SALT Fund. Alex is a serial entrepreneur who built and sold both the media company Futurism and the sleep and wellness business Gravity.
Ilana D. Weinstein
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, The IDW Group
Ilana Weinstein is founder and CEO of THE IDW Group LLC, a New York-based executive search firm focused on placing senior hedge fund and business professionals across the investment landscape. The firm has become a leading boutique for hedge fund managers, asset managers, private equity firms and family offices in search of top investment talent for their public, private and global investment initiatives. Weinstein previously worked at Goldman Sachs and The Boston Consulting Group. She is a frequent guest on Bloomberg and CNBC TV programs, discussing market trends and the hedge fund universe. Weinstein holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Geoffrey von Maltzahn
General Partner, Flagship Pioneering
Geoffrey von Maltzahn is an inventor, entrepreneur, and co-founder of more than ten first-in-category life science companies. A general partner at Flagship Pioneering, Geoff builds companies that integrate biology and data science to transform human health and environmental sustainability.
Geoff has deep expertise in genome engineering, bioengineering, the microbiome, and nanotechnology. He is listed as an inventor on over 200 patent applications and patents, and has co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed articles. Since joining Flagship in 2009, Geoff has co-founded companies that have, in aggregate, achieved over $10 billion in public and private market capitalization including: Tessera Therapeutics, Generate Biomedicines, Indigo Agriculture, Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MCRB), and Axcella Health (NASDAQ:AXLA).
Geoff co-founded Tessera in 2018 to pioneer Gene Writing, a new category of genome engineering technology that aims to write curative therapeutic messages into the human genome. By breaking the rules that have governed genetic medicine to date, Gene Writing holds the potential to correct genetic defects at the root of thousands of diseases. Geoff served as Tessera’s founding CEO for four years and today serves as board chair and director.
Geoff has received numerous awards and honors, including Bloomberg 50's Ones to Watch; Business Insider’s 30 Biotech Leaders Under 40; and the prestigious Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, awarded to the most innovative students at MIT. Geoff earned his PhD in biomedical engineering and medical physics from MIT under the mentorship of Sangeeta N. Bhatia, MD, PhD; an MS in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego; and an SB in chemical engineering from MIT.
Kristin Smith
Executive Director, Blockchain Association
Kristin is the Executive Director of the Blockchain Association, the Washington DC-based trade association representing more than 80 of the industry’s leading companies. Kristin serves as a liaison between policymakers and the cryptocurrency industry to assist in the creation of legislation and regulation that promotes the growth of the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the U.S.
She is also a leading, public voice advocating for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry through top-tier media interviews, op-eds and letters to the editor, and global speaking engagements. Kristin is a renowned voice for the industry, having been featured on Fortune’s 2020 40 under 40 list, CoinDesk’s 2021 50 people who defined the year in crypto, and CoinTelegraph’s 2022 top 100 Influencers in Crypto and Blockchain.
Prior to leading the Blockchain Association, Kristin helped blockchain and technology companies achieve their public policy objectives in Washington. She served as a Senate and congressional aide on Capitol Hill for nearly ten years, much of which was spent focusing on technology policy. She co-founded HODLpac and currently serves on the organization’s board of directors. Kristin is a Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web board member and an independent director for Skybridge Capital’s G and GII Funds.
Jennifer Prosek
Founder & Managing Partner, Prosek Partners
Jennifer Prosek is the founder and Managing Partner of Prosek Partners, a leading international public relations and financial communications consultancy with offices in New York, London, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Palm Beach, Fairfield and Cape Town. The firm ranks among the top financial communications consultancies in the U.S. and UK. Prosek Partners was named among Forbes’ America’s Best PR Agencies in 2021, has been listed as an Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company for nine years running, and is ranked among the Top 25 firms in New York Observer’s PR Power List. Jennifer was also listed personally among Insider’s list of top financial communicators in the United States. Jennifer received her MBA from Columbia University and a B.A. in English Literature from Miami University.
James Peyer
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Cambrian Biopharma
James Peyer, Ph.D., is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cambrian BioPharma, a Distributed Drug Development Company focused on developing therapeutics targeting the biological drivers of aging. Cambrian builds, directs, operates, and finances a pipeline of therapeutics. He founded the company to translate laboratory breakthroughs in the extension of healthy lifespan into the clinic with the mission of shifting the modern medicine approach from reactive to preventative.
Before Cambrian, Dr. Peyer started Apollo Ventures, the first company builder in Longevity Therapeutics, where he was the founder, investor, and CEO of multiple companies. He did his Ph.D. with a focus on blood stem cell biology as a National Science Foundation Fellow at UT Southwestern.
David Mercer
Chief Executive Officer, LMAX Group
David Mercer is the Chief Executive Officer of LMAX Group, a global financial technology company headquartered in the UK, and the leading independent operator of institutional execution venues for FX and crypto currency trading. Following a successful management buyout in 2013, David has built LMAX Group into a key player in both the traditional capital markets and the crypto trading industry. With a global client base and offices in 9 countries, in 2021 LMAX Group sold a minority stake to J.C. Flowers & Co. A former City banking executive and currency specialist, David is an outspoken industry commentator and a long-term champion of the UK’s technology sector as well as a passionate supporter of entrepreneurship.
Lisa Diaz
Managing Partner & Founder, Turf Advisory
Lisa is the Managing Partner and Founder of Turf Advisory, a business development advisory firm that bridges the public and private sectors to build smarter and more human-centered cities. Turf works with next generation construction technology companies developing their go-to-market strategies, marketing narrative, capital raising and acts as an extension of the client's business development team. Turf also partners with both technology and constructions companies from around the world to bring their innovation solutions to the US market.
Prior to her focus on urban innovation, Lisa was President & CEO of Prince Street Capital Management, an emerging markets asset management company. She was also a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs spearheading the firm’s relationship with Sovereign Wealth Funds, global hedge funds and mutual fund complexes. Her nearly three-decade career on Wall Street
spanned capital markets, research, prime brokerage across the capital structure and globe.
Lisa received her BA Middlebury College and sits on the board of The Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon, Prince Street Foundation, and is on the advisory board of Dalia Empower, a women’s leadership and innovation platform.
Matt Brown
Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman, CAIS
Matt Brown is the Founder, CEO, and Chairman of CAIS. He has spent over 30 years at the intersection of wealth management, alternative investments, and platform design. He began his career as a financial advisor at Shearson Lehman Brothers and Smith Barney. In 2009, Matt founded CAIS, the first truly open marketplace for alternative investments, where financial advisors and asset managers can engage and transact directly on a massive scale. Financial advisors, the professionals we designate to oversee our economic futures, do not have the same access to alternative investments in comparison to large institutions. CAIS is changing that. Matt believes entrepreneurship is the major driver of economic and social change. He’s spent the better part of two decades working with Endeavor, the world’s leading organization for high impact entrepreneurs. During his tenure, he had the opportunity to mentor dozens of entrepreneurs from around the world, including Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Matt is honored to have been on Endeavor’s South African and Turkish Boards which ultimately led to a position on the Global Board of Directors.
The experience deepened his belief that helping entrepreneurs build and scale their businesses promotes economic growth and prosperity. It’s Matt’s personal mission to ensure that anyone with a dream, and the drive to achieve it, have an equal opportunity to make it happen.
Sam Bankman-Fried
Chief Executive Officer, FTX
Before founding Alameda and then FTX, Sam was a trader on Jane Street Capital’s international ETF desk. He traded a variety of ETFs, futures, currencies, and equities, and designed their automated OTC trading system. He graduated from MIT with a degree in physics
Delian Asparouhov
Principal, Founders Fund
Delian Asparouhov is a principal at Founders Fund and cofounder and President of Varda Space Industries, which is building the world's first space factories. Before joining Founders Fund, he was a principal at Khosla Ventures, head of growth at Teespring, and founder of a healthcare company called Nightingale.
Dina Radenkovic
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Gameto
Dina is a co-founder & CEO of Gameto, a biotechnology company using cell engineering to develop novel therapeutics for the diseases of the female reproductive system. Dina is also a Partner at SALT. She is an academic medical doctor by background and a healthcare entrepreneur. Dina qualified in medicine and physiology from UCL Medical School, London, UK. Dina was a co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Hooke, longevity research clinics launched in collaboration with Dr Eric Verdin, Buck Institute for Research on Aging. She had research posts at King’s College London and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.
Kyle Samani
Co-Founder & Managing Partne, Multicoin Capital
Kyle Samani is a Cofounder and Managing Partner at Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven investment firm that invests in cryptocurrencies, tokens, and blockchain technology. In his current role, Samani helps identify market opportunities and sets the strategic direction for the firm. Prior to Multicoin Capital, Samani co-founded Pristine, an enterprise software company that enables deskless workers with solutions for smart glasses. Under his leadership as CEO, Pristine grew to millions in revenue and raised over $5 million in venture capital before being acquired by Upskill in May, 2017. Based in Austin, Texas, Samani is widely recognized as a thought leader on blockchain and cryptoeconomics. He holds degrees in Finance and Management from NYU Stern and has been programming since he was 10 years old. Follow him on Twitter @KyleSamani.
Asiff Hirji
President, Figure
Asiff Hirji is the President of Figure Technologies, Inc. (“Figure”), a blockchain-based home equity lender. Prior to joining Figure, from November 2017 to June 2019, Mr. Hirji served as President and COO of Coinbase, Inc. Prior to Coinbase, Mr. Hirji was an Operating Advisor with Andreessen Horowitz from October 2016 to December 2017, Chief Restructuring Officer of Hewlett Packard Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) from November 2014 to March 2017, and served as President and COO of TD Ameritrade from July 2005 to October 2006. Mr. Hirji has also held senior leadership roles with TPG Capital, Saxo Bank A/S, Hewlett-Packard and Bain Capital, and has served on a number of public and private boards, including Citrix Systems from May 2006 to July 2015, Advent Software from September 2011 to July 2015, and Saxo Bank A/S from December 2010 to September 2018. Mr. Hirji has served as an Advisory Board Member for Nubank (Nu Pagamentos S.A.) since December 2019 and as a Director of Forge (formerly Equidate) since November 2019.
Ted Seides, CFA
Host, Capital Allocators Podcast
Ted Seides, CFA is the founder of Capital Allocators, a flywheel that includes the Capital Allocators podcast, Capital Allocators University, and Capital Allocators Summits. Ted launched the podcast in 2017, and the show crossed ten million downloads in April 2022. The show has been recognized as the top institutional investing podcast. In March 2021, Ted published his second book, Capital Allocators: How the world's elite money managers lead and invest that distills key lessons from the first 150 episodes of the podcast.
From 2002 to 2015, Ted was a founder of Protégé Partners LLC and served as President and Co-Chief Investment Officer. In 2016, he authored his first book, So You Want to Start a Hedge Fund: Lessons for Managers and Allocators, to share lessons from his experience. He began his career under the tutelage of David Swensen at the Yale University Investments Office and spent time in between investing directly at three of Yale’s managers.
He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Alliance for Decision Education and an active participant in the Hero’s Journey Foundation. He previously served as Trustee and member of the investment committee at the Wenner-Gren Foundation, Trustee and head of the Programming Committee for the Greenwich Roundtable, and on the Advisory Board of Citizen Schools-New York.
Georgia Quinn
General Counsel, Anchorage Digital
Georgia Quinn is the general counsel of Anchorage, the premier digital asset platform for institutions and first federally chartered digital asset bank. Prior to that she was the general counsel of CoinList, a cryptocurrency exchange and platform that provides services to top token developers including compliant offering, distribution, and liquidity services. She is also the co-founder of iDisclose (now LawCloud), a legal technology company focused on the disclosure and legal document needs of small business and startup entrepreneurs. Ms. Quinn began her practice in capital markets at Weil, Gotshal and Manges and later moved to Seyfarth Shaw before founding iDisclose. Ms. Quinn received a JD from Columbia Law School, and received a BFA from New York University.
Meltem Demirors
Chief Strategy Officer, CoinShares
Meltem Demirors is Chief Strategy Officer of CoinShares, a digital asset investment firm that manages $4B in assets on behalf of a global client base, and serves as a trusted partner to investors and entrepreneurs navigating the digital asset ecosystem.
An established veteran of digital asset investing, Meltem draws on her substantial experience and widespread influence to accelerate growth and acceptance of the asset class. Prior to joining CoinShares, Meltem helped build and grow Digital Currency Group, raising capital from the world’s largest corporations and managing a portfolio of 120 companies and 4 subsidiaries. Before she was bitten by the bitcoin bug, Meltem worked in the Oil & Gas industry in trading, corporate treasury, and M&A roles.
Meltem has been recognized for her personal contributions to the industry and serves as an outspoken advocate. She is a founding member and co-chair of the World Economic Forum Cryptocurrency Council and testified before the House Financial Services Committee on the importance of bitcoin.
Meltem teaches at her alma mater MIT as well as Oxford, and is passionate about privacy and civil rights.
Erika Karp
Chief Impact Officer, Pathstone
Erika is the Chief Impact Officer at Pathstone. She joins the Pathstone team from Cornerstone Capital Group (acquired by Pathstone in 2021), the sustainable and impact investment advisory firm she founded in 2013.
Erika founded Cornerstone Capital Group to bring the disciplines of finance, economics, and sustainability to bear in pursuit of a more regenerative and inclusive form of capitalism. Over the course of her 25-plus years on Wall Street, she developed a deep belief in environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) analysis as a critical input to investment decision-making.
Prior to launching Cornerstone, Erika was Managing Director and Head of Global Sector Research at UBS Investment Bank. She chaired the Global Investment Review Committee, served on the UBS Securities Research Executive Committee, and served on the Environmental and Human Rights Committee of the UBS Group Executive Board.
Her work has been featured by media including Bloomberg, The Guardian, the Financial Times, Investor Relations Magazine, and Forbes. Erika speaks on sustainable investing and finance at venues around the world including the UN Global Compact, the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Clinton Global Initiative, the Wharton School, the NYSE, the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD), the Aspen Institute, the White House, and many other forums. Erika holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia University and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School. She recently joined the Board of Directors of Conscious Capitalism.
Joe Lonsdale
General Partner, 8VC
Joe Lonsdale is the founder and managing partner at 8VC, a US-based venture capital firm managing over five billion dollars in capital. In 2003, he founded Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR), a global software company known for its work supporting US and allied defense and intelligence. He is the founder and chairman of Addepar, which has over $4 trillion on its wealth management technology platform, as well as OpenGov. More recently, he founded Epirus, Affinity, National Resilience Bio, LIT, and other mission-driven technology businesses. He continues to found companies through the 8VC Build program.
As an investor, Joe was an early backer of companies like Anduril Industries, Oculus (acq. FB), Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH), Oscar (NYSE:OSCR), Illumio, Wish (NASDAQ:WISH), JoyTunes, Blend (NYSE:BLND), Flexport, Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY), Orca Bio, Qualia, Synthego, RelateIQ (acq. CRM), Yugabyte, and others.
Joe and his wife Tayler are active in a variety of philanthropic and institutional pursuits, including support for liberty in public policy, the classical arts, and healthcare innovation. In 2018, they founded the non-partisan Cicero Institute, which crafts and advances policies to promote transparent and accountable governance in over a dozen states. In 2021, Joe became a founding trustee of the University of Austin (UATX), a new university dedicated to restoring the pursuit of truth in higher education. He sits on the board of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, and serves as an advisor to a range of other non-profit ventures.
Joe, Tayler, and their four daughters live in Austin, TX.
Lo Toney
Founding Managing Partner, Plexo Capital
Lo is the Founding Managing Partner of Plexo Capital, which he incubated and spun out from GV (Google Ventures), based on a strategy to increase access to early-stage deal flow. Plexo Capital invests in emerging seed-stage VCs and invests directly into companies sourced from the portfolios of VCs where Plexo Capital has an investment. Investors in Plexo Capital include Alphabet (holding company of Google), Intel Capital, Cisco Investment, the Royal Bank of Canada, Kapor Capital, the Hampton University Endowment (Cambridge Associates client), the Ford Foundation, family offices, and technology executives.
Prior to founding Plexo Capital, Lo was a Partner on the investing team at GV, where he focused on marketplaces, mobile, and consumer products. Before GV, Lo was a Partner with Comcast Ventures, leading the Catalyst Fund and worked with the main fund focusing on mobile messaging marketplaces.
He also worked with Zynga as the GM of Zynga Poker with full P+L responsibility For Zynga’s largest franchise at the time. During his leadership, web bookings increased by over 150% with margin expansion. Lo has also held executive roles with Nike + eBay as a startup funded by top tier investors.
Lo received his M.B.A from the Haas School of Business (University of California at Berkeley), where he completed the Management of Technology program, a joint curriculum program with the College of Engineering. Lo received his B.S from Hampton University in Virginia.