TECH EQUITY HUB

Eva Sasson is a marketing leader, impact investor, and startup advisor with 10 years of experience in technology marketing. Sasson grew her career on the marketing teams at Google, popular developer platforms Twilio, Sentry, and currently is the Head of Marketing at New York-based fintech startup Argyle. Sasson is passionate about supporting and promoting women in technology, managing several programs for girls and women in tech spanning from London to New York to San Francisco, and currently manages an impact-investment fund Primera Impact. A Bay Area native, Sasson holds a BA from Barnard College and a MSc from University College London.

Luke Wippler is Executive Vice President and Treasurer for U.S. Bank. He has operated in numerous finance and treasury capacities during his 20 years at the Company. In his current role, Luke oversees the Asset and Liability Management for U.S. Bank’s $575 billion balance sheet, which includes the measurement and distribution of capital, management and measurement of liquidity and interest rate risk, development and execution of various balance sheet strategies and oversight over the Company’s LIBOR transition efforts. Luke spent the first several years of his career in a variety of finance roles within the CFO organization, which concluded with him serving as Corporate Finance Director.

He earned his MBA from the University of Minnesota and his B.A. degree from the University of St. Thomas.

As the Innovation Catalyst and Product Manager for Citibank, Sarit seeks to accelerate the growth trajectory and adoption in a changing industry landscape. She drives innovation, competitive differentiation and speed to market by bringing the outside in, focusing on identifying and introducing startups to jump-start the Bank’s objectives and priorities. Sarit has had the responsibility for creating an entrepreneurial culture by facilitating Design Thinking and Lean Startup workshops, presenting at a variety of internal events to foster a spirit of innovation. She has launched new digital products through Citi’s D10X startup incubator, a program that enables employees to identify, test, and validate new solutions. Previously, Sarit led the Consumer Insights team supporting North America businesses. Prior to Citi, Sarit worked at GfK in business development and as a management consultant at Novantas. Originally from Israel, Sarit studied Sociology at the University of Florida and earned a PhD in Demography from the University of Texas at Austin.

John Bernat is a Finance Director within the Asset Liability Management function of Corporate Treasury at U.S. Bank. He leads the consolidated reporting and interest rate risk analytics team, communicating balance sheet and NII performance as well as the Company’s interest rate risk positioning to senior management in order to assess financial results (both projected and actual). John has 10 plus years of corporate finance experience, predominantly within large banking institutions.

He earned both his undergraduate degrees in Accounting and Finance as well as a Master’s of Accountancy from the University of South Carolina.

Hannah Honeycutt is a Senior Vice President within the Asset Liability Management function of Corporate Treasury at U.S. Bank. Currently she leads the banking forecast team, focused on understanding and communicating loan and deposit trends and expectations with senior management and business line leaders. Hannah previously spent more than 10 years at Bank of America in their Treasury department focused on forecasting, reporting, and data management.

She holds B.S. in both Financial Management and Accounting from Clemson University and is Certified Public Accountant, licensed in North Carolina.

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Jenevra Georgini is a lawyer, startup advisor, and angel investor. She is the founder of Spark + Sterling, a legal and business consultancy that helps entrepreneurs negotiate lasting relationships with large companies. Before starting her own company, Jenevra spent 20 years as a manager and in-house counsel at American International Group, Inc. (AIG) where she built and led a legal group that closed $50-$100 million worth of deals each year. She has advised C-level executives on matters including contracts, process improvement, and online marketing. A frequent speaker and writer on startup law topics, Jenevra mentors early stage companies through Project W and the Hudson Community Incubator.

Jennifer Richard is a Principal at Bonfire Ventures. Prior to Bonfire, Jen sourced and executed seed–stage investments at Vitalize VC and Cross Culture Ventures. Before beginning her career in venture, Jen was a founding member of three venture-backed startups and saw two of them through successful acquisitions. She has been responsible for building e-commerce platforms from the ground up and has scaled online commerce to reach over 30 countries worldwide. Her expertise revolves around technical product management, global supply chain, and (most importantly) a deep understanding of customers across a variety of verticals and geographies.

Melanie Broome is a corporate and transactional attorney at Davis Wright Tremaine, with a focus on the restaurant, food and beverage, and technology industries. She represents companies and investors in equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, private tender offers, corporate restructurings, and other complex strategic transactions. Melanie also regularly represents emerging and established companies—including family-owned businesses—in various industries, advising them on matters such as formation, corporate governance, and general commercial matters.

In addition to her role as the Managing Principal of Five Mile Advisors, Janet DeFrino is a Venture Partner with 1843 Capital and has over 25 years’ experience as an equity investor and sell-side analyst. Beginning her investing career as a sell-side analyst at Morgan Stanley, Janet later moved to a Bass family office and, subsequently, to Eachwin Capital, a long-only asset management firm where she was responsible for the firm’s consumer investments. She serves on the boards of ROAR.io, a Golden Seeds company; Shindigz, a $50MM privately held online party supply company; and the Women’s Business Development Council in Stamford, CT. She is a mentor at the Founder Institute and CT Next accelerators and is an advisor to several early stage companies.

Yasmin is devoted to helping female entrepreneurs and innovators with mission-driven startups navigate a complex business environment. She founded Carnegie Crescent Consulting (CCC) to help propel startups towards greater, more sustainable, growth including developing go-to-market strategies, streamlining operations and supporting their fundraising efforts. A female entrepreneur herself, Yasmin knows the value of a strong community of women in business who can bring new perspectives and innovative solutions to the table to solve complex problems.

Prior to founding CCC, her career spanned nearly two decades at the intersection of strategy, financial services, and entrepreneurship. Most recently, she led the US strategy team at American Express in NY, after having founded her own startup – a quick-service restaurant concept serving fresh, healthy meals in NYC called Desi Shack.

In her free time, she is actively involved with a number of non-profit organizations, including serving on the board of Bottomless Closet, a New York-based organization that empowers women for entry into the workforce. Additionally, Yasmin serves as a member of UNICEF USA’s NY-board and as a member of the leadership team for the Harvard Business School Club of New York’s Recover and Rebuild Initiative.

Bio coming soon.