WESTERN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Operations Team
- Principal
- Principal / Investment
Allison is a principal based in New York City. Prior to joining WTI in 2022, Allison was an investor at SWAT Equity Partners, a consumer-focused venture capital fund. She started her career at Wells Fargo Securities as an investment banking analyst in the Technology, Media and Telecom group. Allison graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BS in Business Administration.
Job Titles:
- Operations Manager
- Operations Manager / Operations
Angela joined WTI in 2011 and has a background in managing projects and planning events. Prior to joining WTI she held an executive assistant position at Telenav. Angela graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Communication Studies and a minor in Hospitality and Event Management.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance and SEC Reporting / Operations
Brittany joined WTI in 2022, previously the Director of Risk and Operations overseeing SVB Capital, where she navigated bank policies and developed processes and managed risk for the venture firms. Prior to that, Brittany was a Senior Manager in Deloitte's investment management audit practice, rotating between the Bay Area and London learning all relevant regulatory practices. Brittany has extensive background working with venture capital, hedge funds, and business development companies in addition to having spent time in the Retail / Consumer Business practice with Deloitte learning the ins and outs of the start-up world. She holds both a B.S. and a M.S. degree from the University of Illinois in Accounting, and is an active Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in the State of California.
Job Titles:
- Venture Partner / Investment
Daniel is a Venture Partner based in Los Angeles. He founded and is the Chairman of current WTI portfolio company Pitzi, which powers insurance plans for smartphones across Brazil. Prior to founding Pitzi, Daniel invested in financial services globally with private equity firm Warburg Pincus. Daniel holds a BA in Economics from Oberlin College.
Danielle joined WTI in 2021. Prior to joining WTI, she was a Legal Assistant at ARCR APC in Redwood City. She holds a degree and certificate in Paralegal Studies.
Job Titles:
- Investment Partner
- Investment Partner / Investment
Before joining WTI in 2008, Dave held senior positions at Silicon Valley Bank, Fortress Investment Group and Meier Mitchell/GATX Ventures in the US, as well as at GATX's London-based venture lending business, GATX/ETV. He holds a B.A. from Duke University.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Investment Partner
- Investment Partner, CEO / Investment
David joined WTI in 2000. Prior to that he held marketing, business development, and legal positions with VeriSign, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, and Los Alamos National Laboratories. David holds a BS from the University of Kansas, an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico and a JD from Santa Clara University. He is a member of the California State Bar.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal / Investment
Prior to joining WTI in 2022, Dylan worked at Rockefeller Capital Management in the Quant Research & Portfolio Construction group. He started his career at UBS in New York in the Family Office Coverage group, structuring investments across equities, FX, rates, and credit. Dylan graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a dual-BS in Financial Mathematics and Statistics and a BA in Environmental Science. He is a CFA charterholder.
Job Titles:
- Accounting Ops Manager / Operations
- WTI in 2016 As an Accountant
Ekta joined WTI in 2016 as an Accountant. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in Accounting from L.J. College of Commerce in India and also holds a Master's degree in Accounting and Graduate Diploma of Financial Management from Central Queensland University, Australia. Before joining WTI, Ekta worked with a CPA firm in India and also has some work experience in Australia.
Job Titles:
- Investment Partner
- Investment Partner / Investment
Before joining WTI in 2023, Greg built SaaS, mobile, payments, and connected device related businesses both in startups and public companies. Most recently, he was a VP at GoDaddy where he led the transformation of the Commerce Division. Previously he was CEO and co-founder of Flint Mobile, a WTI portfolio company. Earlier in his career he was a VP on the Series A team at Ribbit (acquired by British Telecom), and a Sr. Director of Product at Polycom. Greg holds a BA from Dartmouth College and a MS and MBA from Harvard.
Job Titles:
- CCO
- CFO
- CFO & CCO / Operations
Prior to joining WTI in 2021, Jared led the asset management group for Deloitte's audit practice in the Northwest region. He has over twenty one years of professional experience serving private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, financial technology companies, broker dealers, fund of funds, registered investment companies, registered investment advisors, business development companies, and depository institutions. Jared led Deloitte's Bay Area Accounting, Research, and Advisory group and also helped develop their national audit approach for the private equity and venture capital industries. He led Deloitte's national venture capital strategy initiative and has deep experience as an alternative investment subject matter specialist for the valuation of level three assets. Jared graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor degree in business administration majoring in both accounting and finance. He currently holds an active CPA license, and is a member of the AICPA.
Job Titles:
- Accounting Manager
- Accounting Manager / Operations
Jen joined WTI in 2021 from Wells Fargo Bank where she was a financial accounting senior consultant for the Wealth Management Group. Prior to that, she was an audit manager at Anchin Block & Anchin LLP and was a senior associate at PwC Manila. Jen is an active Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in the state of California.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance
- Director of Finance / Operations
Jeremy joined WTI in 2021. Prior to joining WTI, he held accounting and finance positions at various organizations including a commercial bank, a retail bank, a healthcare software designer, an online retailer, KPMG and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Jeremy holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Accounting from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah and is a licensed CPA in Maryland.
Job Titles:
- Senior Loan Specialist Manager / Operations
Julie joined WTI in 2014. Prior to joining WTI, she was a Customer Service Representative and Administrative Assistant for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
Job Titles:
- Loan Specialist / Operations
Prior to joining WTI in 2015, Laurie held administrative positions at Mercedes-Benz, Woodmont Real Estate, and the Cumulus Station KNBR. Laurie holds a BS degree from California State University, Chico.
Job Titles:
- Analyst
- Accounts
- AP / AR Analyst
Lena Kolesnikova is an Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable Analyst. She joined WTI in 2021. Prior to joining WTI, Lena was an Accountant with Crouse and Associates, Insurance Broker based in San Francisco.
Job Titles:
- Director of Investments and Finance / Operations
Linh joined WTI in 2011. Prior to joining WTI, she was with KPMG in both financial audit and tax advisory practice at various offices including KPMG Leeds (England) and KPMG New York. Linh holds a BA in Economics and an MSc in Finance and Investment from the University of Durham, England. She is a CPA in California and has completed all ACA exams.
Job Titles:
- Director of Administration
- Director of Administration / Operations
Lynda joined WTI in 1999. Prior to that she held finance and sales administration management positions at Manugistics, Inc.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal / Investment
- WTI in 2020 As an Analyst
Maddy joined WTI in 2020 as an analyst after interning at the firm in 2019. Prior to joining WTI, Maddy worked on Product Marketing and GTM Positioning at Ubiquity6, an AR and 3D Gaming startup acquired by Discord. Maddy graduated from the University of San Francisco Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Philosophy.
Job Titles:
- Director of Compliance and Operations / Operations
Prior to joining WTI in 2023, Marina led the Compliance Program at SVB Asset Management, an institutional registered investment adviser affiliate of Silicon Valley Bank. In this role, she also provided Compliance Marketing support for the private funds business, SVB Capital. Prior to SVB, she has held various positions as Compliance Officer, Director, and Analyst at LMCG Investments, Fidelity, and Wellington Management in the Boston area. The Compliance roles encompassed a broad scope of responsibilities, inclusive but not limited to SEC Exams, Mock Exams and Audits, Code of Ethics, Annual Compliance Reviews, Policies and Procedures, Marketing, Personal Trade Monitoring, SEC Filings, Regulatory Reporting and Compliance Training. Marina has over twelve years of Compliance experience supporting registered investment advisers. Marina graduated from New England School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree and Boston University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. She also holds her FINRA Series 65 license and Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional (IACCP) designation through NRS.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Investment Partner
- Investment Partner, Chairman / Investment
Maurice joined WTI in 2001 and is currently Chairman, having served as CEO of the firm from 2009 to 2021. His background includes positions as a Venture Partner at Outlook Ventures, an early stage venture firm, and Chief Investment Officer at MetaMarkets, an online mutual fund company. Maurice also founded and served as CEO of Left at Albuquerque, a venture-backed chain of restaurants. Prior to business school, Maurice worked in corporate finance at Robertson Stephens. Maurice holds both a BA and MBA from Stanford University and is a member of the Stanford Board of Trustees.
Job Titles:
- Senior Accountant
- Senior Accountant / Operations
Meenakshi joined WTI in 2021. Prior to that, she was an Associate in the Assurance Services Group of Marcum LLP. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Texas and is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Job Titles:
- Portfolio Manager
- Principal
- Principal and Portfolio Manager / Investment
- WTI in 2013 As an Analyst
Patrick joined WTI in 2013 as an analyst after interning at the firm in 2012. Patrick brings a global perspective after living in Sydney, London and Tokyo. While at university, he gained corporate experience by working at Nike, Inc. and Allergan, Inc. Patrick graduated from SMU with a BS in economics.
Job Titles:
- Senior Accountant
- Senior Accountant / Operations
Peggy Lee joined WTI in 2021. Prior to WTI, she has consulted at Wells Fargo Asset Management department working in the Operations department. Prior to that, she worked at Citco Fund Services as an account manager. Peggy earned a Bachelor's degree in International Business from California State University, Sacramento.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate / Investment
- Associate at WTI
Rishabh is an associate at WTI, joining the firm in 2021 after interning in 2019. Prior to WTI, Rishabh was a Data Scientist at VMware, specializing in the construction of NLP and ML models. Rishabh graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with bachelor's degrees in both Economics and Data Science.
Job Titles:
- Chief Accounting Officer
- Chief Accounting Officer / Operations
Roger joined WTI in 2021 and was previously the Senior Director of Finance at Mayfield where he oversaw the firm's finance and accounting department. Prior to that, Roger was a manager in Deloitte's investment management audit practice and primarily served clients in venture capital, private equity, and hedge funds. Roger graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Business Management and Economics and is an active Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in the State of California.
Job Titles:
- Investment Partner
- Investment Partner / Investment
Prior to joining WTI in 2011, Rudy founded or led a number of venture backed startups. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer of scanR Inc., a mobile productivity service company, Vice President of Business Development with iMediation S.A., an enterprise software company, and Senior Vice President of Corporate Development with Internet Pictures Corporation Inc., a provider of content infrastructure. Rudy also held a variety of venture, finance, and strategic planning positions with Intel Corporation. Rudy holds a BS in Finance and Economics from San Jose State University.
Job Titles:
- Investment Partner
- Investment Partner / Investment
Ryan joined WTI in 2023. Ryan has over 20 years of experience in the venture debt space. Most recently, Ryan was a Managing Director at Nomura Strategic Ventures (NSV). Prior to NSV, Ryan was a Partner with Lighthouse Capital Partners, a venture debt fund. Earlier in his career, Ryan was an Investment Banker in the technology/growth space with Hambrecht and Quist (H&Q) as well as JPMorgan. Ryan holds an MBA from Harvard Business School as well as a BA from Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Investment Partner
- Investment Partner / Investment
Sarah recently joined the WTI team in 2023. Prior to joining, she most recently held senior positions at JP Morgan Chase and Silicon Valley Bank. Ahead of joining the world of venture banking, Sarah co-founded an Ed Tech startup in Mexico City in 2013. Sarah holds a B.A. from Boston College.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager of Finance / Operations
Sean joined WTI in 2022 and was previously VP of Finance at Virgo Investment Group and Manager of Finance at Vista Equity Partners, where he oversaw the firms' fund accounting operations. Prior to that, Sean was a manager in Deloitte's investment management audit practice servicing clients primarily in private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds. Sean gradated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A in Business Economics and Minor in Mathematics. He is also an inactive Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in the State of California.
Job Titles:
- Venture Partner / Investment
Seth is a Venture Partner based in Boston. He is the CEO of current WTI portfolio company CustomMade, an online D2C custom jeweler. Previously he was co-founder of a venture-backed marketplace for custom goods and services where WTI was a venture lender. Prior to CustomMade, Seth was Vice President and one of five shareholder-level investment bankers in the Debt and Equity Capital Markets group at Meredith & Grew, which sold to FirstService Corp (Nasdaq: FSV) in 2008. He structured, negotiated and placed over $750MM USD in transactions during his tenure, and was made a Shareholder at age 26. Seth received his BA in Psychology from Boston University, and his MBA and MST (Master of Science, Taxation) from Bentley University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager of Investments and Operations / Operations
Thomas joined WTI in 2022. Prior to joining WTI, Thomas worked with Mayfield Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm, and Vinson & Elkins, an international law firm. Thomas holds a bachelor's degree from Santa Clara University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Accountant
- Senior Accountant / Operations
Zain joined WTI in 2023 and has previous experience with BDO in the asset management practice as well as fund accounting experience at KKR & Co. Zain holds a bachelor's degree in Accounting from Oxford Brookes, England.