FOUNDERS PLEDGE - Key Persons
Bio
Alessandra joined Founders Pledge in September 2018. She's a very (very) proud Venezuelan, and lived in Colombia for six years before moving to London. After getting her BA in International Relations she worked at a nonprofit advising high-net-worth individuals on more effective giving practices and seeking grants for projects in education. She also partook in a brief but fascinating stint in the beekeeping industry.
Alessandra is a house plant and US politics aficionado - she is not, however, an Arsenal or Maduro fan.
Job Titles:
- Founder of Founders Intelligence Consultaria
Alex supported Founders Pledge on tech for good and is an Associate at Founders Intelligence, a specialist consultancy that helps the world's leading corporates and investors to harness industry defining technologies and business models. Alex advises corporates and investors on digital strategy and technology innovation, and in this role has worked with Visa, News Corp, and Fannie Mae. Before joining Founders Intelligence, Alex worked in M&A, focusing on investments in media, internet and consumer business. Alex has varied volunteering experience, including coaching football at a local school in Costa Rica, and supporting Founders For Good & NSPCC Digital Taskforce.
Bio
Alex joined Founders Pledge in January 2023. At her last position with Give2Asia, Alex worked alongside corporations and private foundations to create tailored philanthropic strategies and facilitate grantmaking in over 23 countries. Alex has over 12 years of experience with international non-profit organizations, including the Coalition for the International Criminal Court and Partnerships for Trauma Recovery.
Alex has a bachelors degree in French Literature from the University of Notre Dame. After being awarded a Rotary Peace Fellowship, she went on to obtain a masters degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Queensland.
Based in Los Angeles, Alex enjoys backpacking, cycling, and finding new restaurants.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Managing Partner of Headline
Andreas Haug is co-founder and Managing Partner of Headline, a global venture capital company with $4b+ under management. Andreas Haug has started several digital businesses as an entrepreneur and has invested in startups as a business angel for more than 20 years.
Andy is a Partner with SoftTech VC, one of the most active Bay Area seed stage investors. Prior to joining SoftTech in 2015, Andy was co-founder and EVP of London and San Francisco-based Huddle, a leading enterprise SaaS content collaboration company.
Andy has been an active angel investor since 2010 and built a portfolio covering 35+ pre-seed and seed stage investments, mostly in the B2B space but also covering e-commerce, marketplaces and mobile. His companies include innovative SaaS businesses like Apiary, tray.io, Bugsnag, Rolepoint, Intercom, Import.io, Pipedrive, and Buffer, as well as retail plays including Postmates, Secret Escapes, and Zesty.
Andy was awarded an OBE in the 2015 Queen's birthday honours list for services to UK business and technology leadership.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder, Business Operations of Upstart
Anna leads business operations at Upstart where she drives focus on operational scalability, employee experience, and culture-strategy alignment. Since co-founding Upstart, Anna has led Operations, People/HR, and myriad other initiatives before taking on Business Operations. Prior to Upstart, Anna led Gmail Consumer Operations as the business grew from 150 million to 450 million users and launched the global Enterprise Customer Programs team. Anna received a White House Champion of Change award and was recognized as one of Silicon Valley Business Journal's 40 under 40. Anna graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston University with a BA in Finance and Entrepreneurship.
Job Titles:
- Community Manager ( UK & Europe )
Bio
Ariane joined Founders Pledge in October 2021 as a Community Manager for the UK and Europe. Previously, she was on the founding team of an impact investing fintech startup, primarily working in BD. She is half French, half American and she studied at King's College, London. Outside work, Ariane loves yoga and meditation and you will find her on (or leading!) retreats.
Bio
Ashley joined Founders Pledge in the summer of 2018, in a fortuitous confluence of her interests in philanthropy and startups. In a past life, she was an early employee at a tech startup,managing the community and communications. Before that, she worked in Tanzania with a sustainable development non-profit and launched a small food business with a group of women in her village.
Ashley earned a BA from St. John's College, where she studied epistemology and the art of asking questions.
For the love of rivalry, she is now a Tottenham fan - sorry Meera & Sach!
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and CTO of Webflow
Bryant is a serial entrepreneur and technologist, having built several successful businesses in the mobile advertising and web design & digital publishing space. His current company, Webflow, is transforming the way people build for the web by marrying design with a codeless interface. Webflow has over 600,000 users and powering websites for the Fortune 500, to thousands of small businesses.
Bio
Carrie is a seasoned international development professional, having evaluated, researched and designed high impact aid projects for the last 12+ years. Most recently, she led the Impact and Innovation team at Save the Children UK, where she designed cutting edge education, health and humanitarian programmes which leveraged the unique assets and capabilities of philanthropists and business to achieve exceptional impact. Previously, she evaluated the effectiveness of a billion pound portfolio of aid projects for the UK government, and worked at a grassroots level with SPARC, a large Indian NGOs focused on amplifying the voice of the urban poor in urban development. She is a graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of British Columbia.
Job Titles:
- Philanthropic Services Director
Bio
Casey leads the Philanthropic Services team, managing the Founders Pledge DAF program. She has the great pleasure of stewarding contributions and grants across the US and EMEA.
Most recently, Casey spent 12 years at Silicon Valley Community Foundation, where she led the Donor Engagement and Grants Administration teams. There, she worked alongside families and foundations to create strategic giving plans that helped to turn values into impactful philanthropy, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars deployed locally, nationally, and around the world.
Casey has a BA in Creative Arts and an MS in Justice Studies, both from San Jose State University. An eighth generation native of San Francisco, Casey has traded the fog for sunnier skies, and now makes her home along the San Francisco Peninsula, with her husband, son, and daughter.
Bio
Charlotte brings a wealth of experience to Founders Pledge from working in startups and scale ups as well as in top corporates. She began her career delivering analysis and strategy at Boston Consulting Group, and then went on to lead global teams in both Finance and People Operations at Google. Charlotte played various tactical and operational roles for Cloudreach as it launched and scaled, built her own property side-business, and consults and facilitated for Women Ahead. Charlotte is a graduate of Harvard Business School and the University of Cambridge.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Chair of Andela
- Co - Founder and President of Andela
Christina Sass is the Co-Founder and President of Andela or, as CNN has called it, "The startup that's harder to get into than Harvard". Andela is a global company specializing in engineering-as-a-service. We build distributed engineering teams with Africa's top software developers. Christina has built education and employment programs in China, Gaza and the West Bank, Kenya, and Nigeria. Prior to co-founding Andela, she directed the Program department of the Clinton Global Initiative and advised the President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation, a $9B global foundation working to advance education and financial inclusion for youth in Africa. Christina serves on the Advisory Council of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights and on the board of the non-profit Global Give Back Circle. She also serves as education topic expert for the Clinton Global Initiative University annual meeting. Christina's work has been mentioned by Forbes, CNN, The New Yorker, NBC, and WIRED. She has a BA in Ancient Philosophy from the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs) and a MA in International Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School from Tufts University.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of UiPath
Daniel is the Founder and CEO of UiPath, the fastest growing and leading provider of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and AI software worldwide. Daniel started UiPath in 2005 with the goal of building a solution that could help humans reduce the time and stress that come from menial, administrative business tasks. Today, Daniel's vision is to make software robots, powered by computer vision and AI, as common as PCs in the workplace -- a vision dubbed One Robot for Every Person.
He began his engineering career at Microsoft where he designed and developed the SQL Server Agent. Still a hacker at heart, he is active in driving the company's RPA platform and supporting the 250,000 developers who are building automations on UiPath's RPA platform.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Co - Founder
Job Titles:
- Founder, Unity Technologies
David is a technologist, the founder of Unity Technologies, non-exec director to others, and a restless entrepreneur with a passion for creating feedback loops between innovation and teams and products, applying new and old business models to changing industries, and pushing people to do the very best they can do.
David's background is in programming, an assortment of university dabbling, creating companies, and helping entrepreneurs. He served as CEO of Unity Technologies since co-founding it in 2003 and until October 2014, with an unflinching vision to democratize game development, and to develop technology and business models for the next phase of the games industry.
Job Titles:
- Asana 's CEO
- Co - Founder and CEO of Asana
Dustin Moskovitz is the co-founder and CEO of Asana. As Asana's CEO, Dustin is dedicated to creating a product that helps the world's teams collaborate effortlessly, in addition to leading the company's award-winning culture. Prior to founding Asana, Dustin co-founded Facebook and served as the company's first Chief Technology Officer and VP of Engineering. Dustin majored in economics at Harvard University prior to joining Facebook full-time in 2004.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Chief Science Officer at Twelve
Etosha Cave is Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Twelve (formerly Opus 12), a startup that is converting CO2 into higher-valued products using electricity and metal catalysts on Earth, and someday on Mars. Twelve has received grants from NASA, the US National Science Foundation, the US Department of Energy, Echoing Green, Peter Thiel's Breakout Labs and the Molecular Foundry. Before getting a Ph.D. at Stanford, Etosha worked in Antarctica at the McMurdo Research Station and hopes to return to the continent someday and stay during the winter. Etosha graduated from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in 2006 as a member of the first graduating class. When not quoting Star Trek characters, she spends her free time swimming, reading and enjoying the incredible outdoor landscapes of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Job Titles:
- CEO and Co - Founder of Solugen
Gaurab is the co-founder and CEO of Solugen. As a physician-scientist, Gaurab took an oath to first do no harm-and for him, that goes beyond patients or medicine. So in 2016, he started Solugen to decarbonize the chemicals industry, one of the most damaging for people and the Earth. Gaurab believes in using biology in unconventional ways to solve incredibly complex problems and is building a world-class team to join him on the journey.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and CEO of Alan
- Co - Founder of Expliseat
Jean-Charles is co-founder of Expliseat which has revolutionized aircraft seating for economy class through new technologies: weight divided by three, more comfort, more durability. Titanium Seat is certified worldwide and flying on several airlines, generating massive fuel and CO2 savings.
Most recently, Jean-Charles co-founded alan, a new startup which uses data to predict disease and send patients to specialist appointments before they start showing symptoms. The aim to change healthcare from passive and actuarial model to one of prevention and action.
He has been awarded French Industry Medal by French Industry Minister and 2 Montgolfier Prices from French "Society for the Encouragement of National Industry", and was selected among the 100 in European aerospace. Jean-Charles is also the founder of a French think-tank focusing on future of technology with French young leaders and an investor in topics such as AI and biotech. Jean-Charles has two degrees, an MSc from Ponts et Chaussés and an MBA from Collège des Ingénieurs.
John Hering co-founded Lookout, a leading global cybersecurity company, while attending the University of Southern California (USC). Lookout protects over 175 million devices globally and works with many of the largest organizations in the world including the US Department of Defense and the New Zealand Defense Force. Lookout is backed by over $400M in venture capital from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Blackrock, TRowe Price, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Qualcomm. Lookout is a member of the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer. Mr. Hering served as the company's Chief Executive Officer until March 2014, and he currently serves as a Co-Founder and Executive Director.
Top publications have recognized John as an industry leader and innovator. BusinessWeek named John a Best Young Tech Entrepreneur, Fortune named him a Smartest Person in Tech, the editors of MIT Tech Review dubbed John a 35 Under 35 entrepreneur and Fortune Magazine included John on its list of 40 Under 40 entrepreneurs.
Mr. Hering now focuses his time as a technology investor at Vy Capital, a global technology investment company with over $1B in assets under management. Vy invests in pioneering technology companies on behalf of primarily non-profit institutions and endowments. John studied Public Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California.
Job Titles:
- CEO and Co - Founder of Coalition
Joshua is the CEO and Co-Founder of Coalition. Prior to Coalition, Joshua was the CXO and Head of Special Projects at Cloudflare (NYSE: NET), a $25B web infrastructure and security company, following roles at Goldman Sachs, the Central Intelligence Agency, and Microsoft, among others.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of Farfetch
"Founders Pledge is a revolutionary approach to early stage philanthropy that allows founders of tech companies to "give back" at a point where they may be worth a lot on paper but very little (if anything!) in cash. Hopefully, the pledge will send a message to the global tech community that tech businesses may not be the biggest contributors to not-for-profit organisations and NGOs today, but they will be in the future and that we are materially committed to the values of corporate social responsibility."
José Neves is founder and CEO of Farfetch, a global community of over 300 fashion boutiques offering an inspirational shopping experience to fashion-forward consumers.
In creating Farfetch, José brought together his interests and experience in fashion, technology, design, wholesale and retail to create a business that gives boutiques the opportunity to compete with the leaders of fashion e-commerce. Farfetch now features more that 300 boutiques, has customers in over 180 countries and receives an average of 9 million hits monthly.
José Neves is founder and CEO of Farfetch, a global community of over 300 fashion boutiques offering an inspirational shopping experience to fashion-forward consumers.
In creating Farfetch, José brought together his interests and experience in fashion, technology, design, wholesale and retail to create a business that gives boutiques the opportunity to compete with the leaders of fashion e-commerce. Farfetch now features more that 300 boutiques, has customers in over 180 countries and receives an average of 9 million hits monthly.
José has received numerous accolades, including The Business of Fashion's 500 People Shaping the Fashion Industry in 2013, Ernst & Young's 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year and Vogue's DirectorsOf.COM Top Entrepreneur in 2011.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder of Kabbage
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Chamber Music Festival
Kathryn is Co-Founder of Kabbage a fintech company that allows businesses to access working capital through an online platform within minutes, compared to traditional, offline lending practices which can take weeks. Kabbage ranked on the Inc. 500 list as one of the fastest-growing companies in the US for the third consecutive year, on Deloitte's Fast 500 list, and is in the top 10 of KPMG's Fintech 100.
Kathryn is also a Member of the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Chamber Music Festival, an orchestra camp for young musicians with limited financial means. She was also named as one of Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women in the World.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Head of Marketing at Branch Metrics
Mada is Co-Founder and Head of Marketing at Branch Metrics, an award winning innovative mobile linking platform which is dramatically changing how content is discovered and delivered on the Internet. Branch powers deep linking and mobile attribution for some of the most advanced apps in the world, including names like Airbnb, Pinterest, Slack, Ticketmaster, Tinder, Starbucks, and Yelp.
Mada has a BS in Computer Engineering from Cornell and a masters in design from Stanford before jumping straight to the forefront of competitive startups in Silicon Valley. When she's not working on the Branch dashboard or partner products, Mada likes to go to growth hacking meet ups, play with dogs, and play the latest addictive mobile game.
Job Titles:
- CEO and Founder of Nobell Foods
By now most people know that meat production is a nightmare for the environment, but fewer people focus on the negative ramifications of dairy production. Magi Richani, 33, is working to skip the cows, making dairy products that are less harmful while tasting just as good. "Our technology allows us to make dairy proteins directly from plants without the need for cows," says Richani. In her view, most plant-based dairy products are missing one key ingredient: a protein called casein, which gives them their creamy texture. Nobell is making cheese using casein from genetically engineered soybeans and aims to have its first products on the market by next year.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and CEO of Bolt / CEO & Co - Founder of Bolt. Passionate about Education and Science
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and CEO of Front
- Founder and CEO of Front
Mathilde is the co-founder and CEO of Front. Prior to that, Mathilde served as a project manager at Concord. She holds a master's degree in entrepreneurship from HEC School of Management.
Job Titles:
- Chief Information Officer
Niklas co-founded unicorn payment company Klarna 2005, backed by investors such as Sequoia, Atomico and General Atlantic. More than 10 years later he quit his operational role as deputy CEO to found tech-for-good Norrsken Foundation. Norrsken invests in entrepreneurs such as Welcome Movement, Doctrine and Karma that tackles the biggest problems in society. In addition to investments, Norrsken last year opened the largest co-working space in Europe for people that tries to improve the world with over 350 members.
Job Titles:
- CEO and Co - Founder of Glovo
I'm really extremely proud of having become a Founders Pledge member. Social impact was a big reason to found Glovo and this move guarantees that a part of what we are building will help solve some of the biggest global issues. The Founders Pledge team does an incredible job at guiding founders through understanding their deepest philanthropic interests and optimize the impact when donating. I'm also proud to have hosted my first Founders Pledge dinner at home with other entrepreneurs in Barcelona, thanks FP with all the logistics and support!
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and CEO of Blockchain
- Co - Founder and CEO of Blockchain.Info
Peter Smith is co-founder and CEO of Blockchain.info - a Bitcoin block explorer service and cryptocurrency wallet provider. Peter Smith was born and raised in England and, before founding Blockchain, had been living, studying and working in the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe. Peter Smith's Bitcoin involvement started with co-founding the startup Blockchain with Nicolas Cary in 2011. Under the leadership of Peter Smith, the Blockchain company has become a leader in the cryptocurrency and distributed ledger technology market. For some time, he was an active investor in the crypto industry. Peter has been featured in popular magazines, and he is frequently invited as an expert and speaker at various related conferences.
We're guided by a network of Advisors with expertise in philanthropy, research and business.
Sofia Nunes is Co-founder of Mambu, mentor and leadership coach. Sofia has been instrumental in building Mambu's unique and diverse company culture through scaling over the last decade from three to nearly a thousand Mambuvians. She focused on creating an environment where employees can thrive and become their best selves. She is now on a one year break from Mambu, having built its people function from day 1.
Sofia holds a master's degree in human-computer interaction and she is passionate about using experience design in building high performing, healthy and supportive workplaces.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Chairman of Wise
Taavet is the Chairman of Wise, which he co-founded in 2010. Prior to starting Wise, Taavet was Skype's director of strategy until 2008, starting as its first employee. He's also an active angel investor in Europe with 100+ investments including Bolt, Zego, Veriff, Gideon Brothers, Meatable, Farewill and many others. More recently he co-founded Jõhvi Coding School to help increase the amount of people with coding skills and Certific to help bring trust to the medical testing market.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO Upside Foods
Uma is laser focused on advancing the commercial viability of real meat farmed directly from animal cells (sometimes called clean or cultured meat). A cardiologist by training, he believes that meat should not only be safe and sustainable but also good for the body and the soul. He has extensive experience in entrepreneurship and business and has invested in a variety of food, medical and tech companies. Uma is an advisory board member at The Good Food Institute, a former Board member of New Harvest and is a leader in the clean meat movement. In addition to his many contributions in the health sciences, he wants his biggest contribution to be leading the development of a profitable and a world positive future food system. Fun fact: Uma has rescued several people in cardiac arrest.