The 2026 East Coast Family Office Conference

Nicholas Angerame is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Stonegardens Advisory, a New York–based firm that helps dual-use and defense technology companies enter and scale within U.S. and allied government markets. He also serves as a General Partner at Demand Signal Ventures and Co-Chair of Check VI Consulting. He has led and supported hundreds of transactions in government and venture-backed opportunities across sectors including autonomy, energy, AI/ML, and advanced manufacturing. Through Stonegardens, Nicholas has driven the firm’s international expansion, including establishing and scaling its Japan office, and co-leading on-the-ground efforts in Ukraine to help companies validate technologies in active operational environments and accelerate defense adoption.

Prior to founding Stonegardens, Nicholas served as in-house counsel at Barclays Capital and CIBC, where he focused on securities and structured finance transactions. As a securities and venture capital attorney, he has negotiated billions in capital markets transactions. Nicholas holds a Juris Doctor from Hofstra University School of Law and a Bachelor’s degree from Stony Brook University. He is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.

Daniel Selli is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Stonegardens Advisory, where he leads strategic operations, international expansion, and defense market entry for advanced technology companies. He also serves as a General Partner at Demand Signal Ventures and Co-Chair of Check VI Consulting. A former U.S. Marine Corps officer, Daniel was stationed in Iwakuni, Japan for four years, supporting operations across East Asia. He now applies that experience to building cross-border defense partnerships, particularly between U.S. and allied stakeholders. He also supports and co-leads Stonegardens’ Ukraine and Japan initiatives, helping companies test and validate technologies in real-world operational and combat settings.

At Stonegardens, Daniel focuses on aligning companies with defense end-users, structuring pathways into U.S. Department of Defense and allied procurement channels, and executing joint ventures across key markets. Prior to Stonegardens, he held roles at Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Capital One, focusing on technology risk and financial strategy. Daniel holds a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and both an MBA and Master of Science in Finance from Johns Hopkins University.

Leslie Beavers is an international defense and technology innovator whose career spans the battlefield, the intelligence community, Fortune 500 enterprises, and four-star–equivalent civilian leadership in the U.S. government. Transformational executive, she has guided organizations through complex modernization, enterprise change, and strategic risk management across global defense, intelligence, cyber, and commercial sectors. Her distinctive value is the ability to translate deeply technical concepts, policy, and operational landscapes into disciplined governance, clear investment logic, and sustainable enterprise growth.

As Acting and Principal Deputy CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense, she stewarded one of the world’s largest technology portfolios, directing enterprise transformation across a $60B IT and cyber ecosystem. She strengthened global cyber resilience, and enabled the first multi-vendor, multi-cloud, zero-trust architecture deployed at the Secret level with allied partners. She also brings deep systems-level expertise in the end-to-end communications and decision architecture required for hypersonic threat detection, tracking, engagement, and civil response coordination, central to the Golden Dome initiative.

As a U.S. Air Force Brigadier General, she led intelligence, cyber, and information warfare forces exceeding 100,000 personnel and architected the Defense Intelligence Enterprise’s digital transformation. Her work with Five Eyes and NATO partners advanced multinational interoperability, secure communications, and federated identity across classified environments.

In the private sector, including executive roles at GE Healthcare and NBCUniversal, Leslie led Lean Six Sigma and enterprise recovery initiatives delivering more than $260M in financial impact while preserving $800M in annual revenue following a catastrophic loss event.

As a board-ready executive, she guides organizations at the intersection of technology, governance, and strategy, ensuring modernization and investment decisions strengthen resilience, readiness, and long-term competitive positioning.

Max Brown is the Founder & General Partner of Danu Venture Group, an infrastructure technology investment platform. Previously Max led integration of remote, multi-domain platforms, infrastructure, sensors, and associated data security within the US National Security enterprise and alongside commercial early-stage ventures. As a founder (ProMazo), Naval Intelligence Officer (Space Cadre), product manager (Second Front), and advisor (Anduril), Max brings an intimate, global network of scientists, engineers, and leaders in both commercial industries and the US Joint Force and Interagency.

Mazy Dar is CEO and Co-Founder of HERE, where he sets the strategic vision and drives the company’s product roadmap—positioning HERE at the intersection of security, AI integration, and workforce productivity. Under his leadership, HERE has secured contracts with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army and is a portfolio company of In-Q-Tel.

Prior to founding HERE, Mazy led the launch of CDS central clearing for the buy-side at IntercontinentalExchange (ICE). He previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at Creditex, where he helped pioneer e-trading for credit default swaps and launched critical auction and processing platforms. He began his career in information technology at UBS.

Mazy has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Financial Technology CEOs by The Financial Technology Report, named to Institutional Investor’s Tech 50, and received the Best Third-Party Technology Vendor CEO award at the American Financial Technology Awards (AFTAs).
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and French Literature from Cornell University

Kalman Sporn is an American lobbyist specializing in the Middle East and Africa. Mr. Sporn is assisting counterterrorism efforts in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria. Mr. Sporn serves as a trustee of the American Foundation Board for the Imperial War Museums in the United Kingdom.

In 2026, Mr. Sporn advises Vespertine, a cyber and intelligence platform focused on cyber warfare, and targeted influence operations. In late 2022, Mr. Sporn was engaged by the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., working with Ambassador Hasan Murat Mercan to support efforts toward rapprochement between Türkiye and Israel.

Marcia is Executive Director, Family Office Coverage – IB, Sales & Trading at Texas Capital. She is primarily focused on family office coverage and regularly produces invite-only conferences for family offices to facilitate networking, relationships and dealmaking in the private dealmaker community.

Marcia joined Texas Capital in December 2025. Prior, she was a Managing Director and Head of the Family Office Division with Freedom Capital Markets, a boutique investment bank. Marcia has also previously served as a Managing Director and Head of Business Development for ShareNett, a members-only global network of professional investors, and at Alberleen Family Office Solutions, an independent investment advisory firm backed by family offices. Over the past 20 years, Marcia has developed a strong network of private families, institutional investors and advisers who are increasingly seeking access to quality direct deal flow from trusted, experienced partners.

Marcia earned a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Utah State College and a Master of Business Administration from the Gabelli School at Fordham University. She holds Series 7 and 63 licenses.

Marcia serves on the global board of the Association of Corporate Growth and the board of ACG’s New York chapter, where she co-chairs the Family Office Committee. She is past chairman of the board of Kinect Capital and serves on the board of University Impact. She is a member of The DealmakeHers and 100 Women in Finance. Marcia received an honorary mention as one of the 2021 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A by Mergers & Acquisitions magazine and was named one of the 2020 Most Influential Women in middle-market dealmaking. She was honored with the 2017 ACG-NY Women of Leadership Award.

As Chief Executive Officer of ETON Solutions, Rob leads a third-generation wealth management technology firm in developing and offering the most comprehensive, integrated platform for the family office, multi-family office and wealth manager market. The ETON Solutions platform is based upon Rob’s deep domain expertise in wealth management, supplemented by strong systems development and client service teams.

Rob holds an MBA in International Business & Finance from the University of Chicago, and a BS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

After graduating with an MBA from the University of Chicago, Carl worked in senior positions at Chemical Bank, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley for over 15 years. He decided it was time to use his love of music and creative thinking to make a mid-career switch to producing theater.

It has been an incredibly successful and joyful decision to help tell transforming stories on Broadway, the West End, national tours and Australia. Carl has won 14 Tony awards on Broadway for Spring Awakening, War Horse, Hair, Death of a Salesman, Pippin, All the Way, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Dear Evan Hansen, Angels in America, The Band’s Visit, Oklahoma, Hadestown, Company and Merrily We Roll Along. He also has an unprecedented success percentage of profitability across 160 shows.

Corey Massella has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, tax and business advisor, and as a specialist in SEC accounting and audit services. Additionally, Corey has experience serving as a Private Equity and Technology Industry Group Practice Leader for a top 20 accounting firm.

Corey has successfully guided his clients through all facets of the mergers and acquisitions transaction cycle to help them make critical decisions while ensuring transactions are strategic and seamless.

Cindy Gallop is a graduate of Somerville College, Oxford, whose background is 40 years in brand-building, marketing and advertising – she started up the US office of ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty in New York in 1998 and in 2003 was named Advertising Woman of the Year. She founded IfWeRanTheWorld, co-action software launched in beta at TED 2010 and subsequently written up and taught as a Harvard Business School case study, enabling brands to implement the business model of the future – Shared Values + Shared Action = Shared Profit (financial and social). She is the founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn – ‘Pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference’ – a social sextech platform designed to promote good sexual values and behavior, which she launched at TED 2009. Later in 2025 Cindy will launch MakeLoveNotPorn Academy, an aggregator hub making the best of the world’s sex education content easily accessible and searchable for young people, parents and teachers – ‘the Google of sex ed’.

Melanie Gallop is an international senior fashion executive with over 30 years’ experience leading and transforming global lifestyle and luxury brands. A proven leader in Fortune 500 environments, she has driven growth, transformation and value creation for iconic global brands, including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, during her leadership at PVH Corp, a $9.2B global powerhouse.  Acclaimed for guiding brands through pivotal transformations, she blends visionary leadership with disciplined execution to elevate market position and secure lasting success in the world’s most competitive luxury and lifestyle arenas.

Most recently, as President of Calvin Klein Europe at PVH, Melanie led the brand’s strategic repositioning in Europe, setting a clear vision for long-term equity and profitability. Under her leadership, the business delivered sustained double-digit growth, adding substantial incremental revenue and market share, while elevating brand perception, strengthening organizational agility, and driving integrated omnichannel expansion across retail, wholesale, and e-commerce.

During her 14-year tenure at PVH, she held multiple senior leadership roles, including President of PVH Product, where she oversaw product strategy for Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. Under her leadership, these business units consistently delivered exceptional results, maintaining strong growth and profitability even in highly competitive and challenging market conditions. She drove strategic clarity, built high-performing teams, and enhanced operational agility, enabling these businesses to expand their footprint and strengthen brand equity throughout Europe.

Whilst at Warnaco, Melanie spearheaded the commercial strategy for Calvin Klein Europe, building a scalable infrastructure that became the foundation for the brand’s future growth following PVH’s acquisition. Her ability to combine strategic vision with operational discipline enabled consistent market share gains and sustained profitability.

Melanie has completed executive leadership programs at The Wharton School and holds a BA in Italian Studies from the University of Birmingham.

Marcia is Executive Director, Family Office Coverage – IB, Sales & Trading at Texas Capital. She is primarily focused on family office coverage and regularly produces invite-only conferences for family offices to facilitate networking, relationships and dealmaking in the private dealmaker community.

Marcia joined Texas Capital in December 2025. Prior, she was a Managing Director and Head of the Family Office Division with Freedom Capital Markets, a boutique investment bank. Marcia has also previously served as a Managing Director and Head of Business Development for ShareNett, a members-only global network of professional investors, and at Alberleen Family Office Solutions, an independent investment advisory firm backed by family offices. Over the past 20 years, Marcia has developed a strong network of private families, institutional investors and advisers who are increasingly seeking access to quality direct deal flow from trusted, experienced partners.

Marcia earned a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Utah State College and a Master of Business Administration from the Gabelli School at Fordham University. She holds Series 7 and 63 licenses.

Marcia serves on the global board of the Association of Corporate Growth and the board of ACG’s New York chapter, where she co-chairs the Family Office Committee. She is past chairman of the board of Kinect Capital and serves on the board of University Impact. She is a member of The DealmakeHers and 100 Women in Finance. Marcia received an honorary mention as one of the 2021 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A by Mergers & Acquisitions magazine and was named one of the 2020 Most Influential Women in middle-market dealmaking. She was honored with the 2017 ACG-NY Women of Leadership Award.

Jonathan Ruch has more than 20 years of experience investing in technology companies. Currently, he serves as a Managing Partner of Kaissa Capital, a family office headquartered in New York.

Prior to joining Kaissa, he was a portfolio manager at Cramer Rosenthal & McGlynn, a leading value equity manager. Before his tenure at Cramer Rosenthal & McGlynn, he spent 4 years at Morgan Stanley. Initially, he served as an analyst in their Technology and Business Services divisions within the Investment Bank, and subsequently, in their Venture Capital Group, where he conducted analyses of technology companies and identified promising investment opportunities.

He holds a BA in Economics from the School of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University

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Ross is the second generation of the Morton Family office who are leaders and investors in the British Life Sciences community. They have exited $2B in biotech, medtech and pharma companies with special focus on oncology and rare disease products.

A successful Founder in his own right Ross has built and sold two single-asset biotech companies in immunology and rare disease. Most recently Ross has spearheaded the spin-out of his FOs Life Sciences investing to a Venture Fund called Nodenza.

Nodenza focuses on giving fellow families access to the Life Sciences vertical delivered by the Morton’s deep industry expertise.

Joseph serves as Executive Chairman of ELRH Investments, Electra America and American Landmark, diversified investment vehicles with assets throughout the sunbelt. He recently served as executive chairman of Landmark Apartment Trust of America, Inc. He is the founder of Landmark Residential and has successfully completed $8 Billion of value-added multifamily transactions in the Southeast in the last 20 years. An expert in value added and distressed real estate repositioning, Joe has 25 years of experience in multifamily acquisitions, operations and disposition. On behalf of ELCO Holdings, ELRH ‘s largest investor, Joe is very familiar with the publicly traded world and reported quarterly to analysts covering ELCO and made numerous presentations before the members of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In his capacity as CEO, Joe was responsible for annual GAAP and IFRS audit presentation as well as standard institutional reporting. An honors graduate of Cornell University, he holds a Juris Doctor degree from Delaware Law School. He is active in numerous civic and charitable organizations, including AIPAC, Hillel, and The Cornell University Tower Club. Joe also serves as presidential Advisor of Temple Beth David in addition to civic and corporate Board assignments.

An avid motorsports aficionado, Joe has competition licenses in several racing classes.

Steve Long has over 40 years of experience in the acquisition, management, and operations of oil and natural gas assets.  Mr. Long currently serves as the CEO of Derby Energy, LLC, which has investments in the following verticals:

• Operated Oil and Natural Gas assets through a private equity-backed operating company, Derby Exploration, LLC, with a 36,000 acre footprint in the Northwest STACK basin of Oklahoma and a related gathering and compression midstream company that services the upstream natural gas production.
• Non-operated Oil and Natural Gas company, Huntsman Energy, LP, which provides long-term cash yield to its partners along with related tax advantages.
• The company also engages in special projects such as activist equity stakes in undervalued public companies, AI agent development, renewable project evaluation, etc.

As a significant landowner in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles, Mr. Long has also been a long-time cattle rancher and farm manager.  This situation has also presented opportunities in the renewable energy space, primarily through wind and solar installations.

Mr. Long is a 1979 graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a B.B.A. in Petroleum Land Management and is a 1983 graduate of Harvard Business School with an M.B.A.

As Chief Executive Officer of ETON Solutions, Rob leads a third-generation wealth management technology firm in developing and offering the most comprehensive, integrated platform for the family office, multi-family office and wealth manager market. The ETON Solutions platform is based upon Rob’s deep domain expertise in wealth management, supplemented by strong systems development and client service teams.

Rob holds an MBA in International Business & Finance from the University of Chicago, and a BS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Harry brings over 13 years of experience in cross-border policy and regulatory strategy, with deep expertise in U.S. frameworks including CFIUS. He specializes in navigating complex regulatory environments across the U.S., Europe, and China, enabling the firm to structure and execute investments in highly regulated and strategically sensitive markets. Harry plays a critical role in de-risking transactions and ensuring alignment with government priorities across jurisdictions.

Mitch Thrower is the CEO, Chairman, and Founder of Events.com, a leading global SaaS platform that helps passionate people create, promote, discover, enjoy, and make the most of every event.  Events.com gives organizers access to a suite of products for every step of the event
life cycle, allowing organizers to save time and generate more revenue.  Events.com offers sponsorship and promotional tools, event management software, event calendars, digital marketing services, on-site check-in, and sales to make the event organizing process a smooth experience from start to finish.

Thrower also serves as Chairman of The La Jolla Foundation, a 501c3 foundation whose primary initiative is Project Active, providing funding, mentoring, encouragement, and education to areas of world tension —specifically — sending sports equipment to children in war zones.

Thrower Co-Founded Active.com (The Active Network, Inc.). He also launched ActiveEurope.com (Active Europe Network) as Co-Founder and CEO. Active went public before selling to Vista for $1.05 billion. Vista later sold a few divisions of Active to Global Payments for $1.2 billion.

Thrower was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Triathlete Magazine, the world’s largest triathlon magazine, where he also served as Chairman. He has also served as the Chief Interactive Officer, Strategist & Senior Correspondent for the Competitor Group (CGI), the active lifestyle industry’s leading media and event entertainment company.

Thrower spoke at his university graduation at St. Lawrence University and has lectured at many colleges such as Stanford University, Anderson School at UCLA, UCSD, and the University of San Diego, where he served as the “Entrepreneur in Residence,” teaching Entrepreneurship.

Thrower is an active member of TED.com and the Executive Producer of TEDxLaJolla, an independently organized TED event. He is the author of “The Attention Deficit Workplace: Winning Strategies for Success in Today’s Fast-Paced Business Environment” published by Lyons Press, and he was the Author of the popular monthly column “Starting Lines” in Triathlete
Magazine for more than a decade. He was also co-author of the travel guide “The Passport,” which, for several years, was distributed to 50,000 college students before traveling abroad each year.

In 1990, Thrower co-founded his first company and served as CEO of The College/Rail Connection, Inc., serving American Express, AT&T, and Eurail until he sold the venture in 1997.

Thrower graduated from the Executive Institute at Stanford University. He holds an MBA from the University of San Diego and a bachelor’s degree from Saint Lawrence University. He also studied strategic thought at Yale University. He has competed in 22 Ironman Triathlons, including 13 World Championships. He is the only photojournalist ever to photograph and film
the Ironman Triathlon World Championships while competing in the event.

Thrower is an East Coast native whose father, Fred Thrower, was a television pioneer as Vice President of NBC and also as president of WPIX-TV in New York City and is known for his holiday creation of the televised “Yule Log.” Thrower’s mother, Lori, worked as an assistant for
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in NYC.

Thrower is happily married to his lovely wife Amanda and lives in La Jolla, California with their children.

Kevin Wensing is a leader in the military and veterans community advising organizations and companies following 30-years of service to America in the US Navy and the Pentagon.

Working with various business and non-profit enterprises, he is a senior advisor on business development, fundraising, special events, media relations, crisis communications and strategic planning.

Planned & executed the U.S. Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemoration opening ceremony with the President of the United States, Vice President and other national leaders, Veterans and military families and service related organizations.

As Vice President of the USO he helped launch the US Olympic Committee/Dept. of Defense “Warrior Games” and other initiatives. As a Naval Officer and DoD Senior Executive he served as a Surface Warfare Officer, advised senior leaders and served those in uniform and supported their families. In 2011 he joined the Gary Sinise Foundation to continue supporting America’s severely wounded warriors and military children.

Assignments at sea and ashore include Special Assistant to Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England at the Pentagon and leadership positions with the Secretary of the Navy, Pacific Fleet, Seventh Fleet, Naval Forces Central Command and service aboard USS BLUE RIDGE, USS ARTHUR W. RADFORD and USS TRIPOLI. He is a graduate of Quincy University (IL) and U.S. Naval War College.
Wensing has served as Chairman of FCA Americas, on the USS CONSTITUTION Advisory Board, the Advocacy Committee and Diversity Committee of the US Tennis Association, Advisory Boards of the SPI (NY) & American Sportscasters Assoc., Military Veterans in Journalism and as a member of the National Press Club served on the Headliner Committee hosting many Cabinet and military leaders, sports executives and others.

He is a founding member of the Warrior Cup Invitational Golf Championships and served as Chair of Military Committee for the 2017 PGA Senior Championships. He has also supported several Hollywood productions and appeared in the 2001 film “Pearl Harbor.”

David Bonfili is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of ACME General Corp., a boutique professional services firm focused on driving innovation in the national security sector through connecting government clients with cutting edge technologies being commercialized by early-to-mid-stage startups. Prior to starting ACME, David served as Managing Director & COO at Aptigon Capital, a unit of $27B hedge fund Citadel, as Managing Director & global COO at BlackRock Alternative Investors, BlackRock’s $120B diversified alternative investment platform, and in senior management roles at $50B quantitative hedge fund Two Sigma Investments where he was responsible for launching and managing the firm’s Asia-Pacific subsidiary.  Prior to his career in finance, David served as Special Advisor to the President & CEO of the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) and as a Research Staff Member in IDA’s Joint Advanced Warfighting Program, where he earned the Army Commander’s Award for Civilian Service for his work in Iraq with Multi-National Corp-Iraq’s counter-IED task force. Earlier in his career, he served on active duty with the US Navy as a nuclear submarine officer as well as on the faculty of the US Naval Academy where he taught in the social sciences department and as an intelligence officer associated with the Office of Naval Intelligence in the US Navy Reserves.  David earned an MLitt at the University of Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar and an AB with honors from Harvard University where he was a Truman and Harvard College Scholar and is a certified Naval Nuclear Engineer.  He is a current or former member of Business Executives for National Security (BENS), the New York City-chapter of YPO, the American Council on Germany (ACG), the Military Operations Research Society (MORS), and the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

Evan Chrapko is a serial tech entrepreneur best known for the $568 million exit of his company, DocSpace, in just 30 months.

Now, as the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Trust Science, Evan is harnessing AI to transform creditworthiness assessment, ensuring that deserving individuals gain access to fair financial opportunities.

His leadership is distinguished by a rare combination of technical expertise, financial acumen (CPA), and legal insight (JD from Columbia University). A lifetime member of the Henry Crown Fellowship in the Aspen Global Leadership Network and a member of YPO, Evan has been recognized alongside global visionaries like Bill Gates, Sir Richard Branson, and Elon Musk.

Committed to ethical business practices and long-term impact, Evan offers a unique proposition for family offices seeking both financial returns and responsible investing. With a proven ability to navigate complex challenges with speed and precision, he stands out as a compelling direct investee—deliberately keeping institutional funding off his cap table.

Amy is Founder and CEO of Sky Partners, a Performance Coaching, Facilitation, and Advisory Firm. Amy has spent her career helping Families, CEOs and high-profile individuals navigate their most confidential and complex matters, including conflict within partnerships and family dynamics. Amy has worked with a myriad of notable CEOs, families and high-profile individuals struggling with their dynamic and unable to have effective and difficult conversation, and who are looking to resolve conflict, create return, develop purpose and live happy and successful lives. We help facilitate difficult conversations and allow space to talk through issues such as; wealth and control and a myriad of family governance issues to provide solutions that are mutually beneficial.

Amy is also a Leadership Coach for MIT Sloan School of Management and other notable institutions.

Amy has 30 years of experience in leadership, transformational change, negotiation and executive coaching across sectors. She has led client engagements ranging from large-scale mergers and acquisitions, organizational change, and cultural integrations. Amy holds a J.D. from New York Law School, Executive Coaching Certification from Columbia University and B.A. from University of New Hampshire.

Her past employers include J.P. Morgan, Union Bank of Switzerland, and U.S. Trust and many notable family dynasties. Amy has been a guest on CNN to discuss the topic of harassment in the workplace. She is a wellknown speaker on the topic of Family Dynamics, Performance Coaching and Acquisitions. She has volunteered extensively with children with disabilities and disease, is an avid sailor, hiker and marathon runner. She was also a short-term Fisherman and Ice Road Trucker.

With academic training in molecular biochemistry and biophysics, Nate has had a lifelong interest in technology, food science and DIY food making. Nate has spent his career as a serial entrepreneur bringing new technologies to market across software, middleware and hardware — from software updating and media streaming to touch screens and now chocolate. His latest startup, CocoTerra, has developed the world’s first table-top chocolate maker for the home kitchen. The development of CocoTerra draws on Nate’s knowledge and skills from all his prior startup experiences to simplify the chocolate-making process so anyone can become a creative, successful and proud chocolate-maker. His “hobbies” include beekeeping, making wine, olive oil and vinegar, growing exotic fruits, and a host of other weekend farming activities. Nate lives in Palo Alto, CA with his wife, two kids, five chickens and 15,000 bees.

Dr. Thornbury is Executive Director of Silver Art at The World Trade Center. Dubbed “Y Combinator for the Arts” due to its reputation for breaking out the next generation of successful artists in the contemporary art market, Silvetr Art is changing the way people in tech, finance, and startups experience the creative life. A lifelong professor of philosophy and religion, Thornbury’s work at the World Trade Center has been featured in The Observer and The New York Post.

James Nazarov is a private investor based in NYC, with a keen focus on contemporary art and blockchain technology. He seeks out novel investment opportunities that challenge conventional thinking, pursuing ideas that are ahead of their time. Adopting a high-risk, high-reward approach, James is not afraid to take bold bets, setting himself up for exponential returns. As a patron of the arts, he enjoys collecting works from emerging artists, combining his passion for supporting creatives in need with acquiring valuable assets. His investment philosophy centers on identifying promising ventures overlooked by the masses, positioning himself as a pioneer in innovative investment landscapes.

Aleksandra Dinic (AD) is the founder and managing editor of Anarchy Daily, an independent platform offering sharp analysis of contemporary art, culture, and immersive art & tech. She has led major projects at Superblue and PACE, working closely with Es Devlin, JR, teamLab, and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, and earlier shaped narratives for Celine and Maison Margiela. She knows luxury is not about more, but about the exact meeting point of desire, style, strategy, and cultural edge. Today she supplies collectors, brands, and institutions with clear research and editorials that cut through the clutter, while balancing motherhood and living between New York and Miami.

Shannon Bender is a tech entrepreneur and founder who has spent her career bridging art, tech, and culture. She runs the creative agency Bender/Martine and is an influential voice in forging new alliances between art and culture. She also serves on the Board of Advisors at Silver at The World Trade Center.

Dr. Colby Kash is the Chief Executive Officer & co-founder of Camelot BioCapital, a biotechnology venture studio and advisory group that seeks to bring technologies to life that increase the human health span. Dr. Kash, author of the Amazon bestseller, The Autoimmune Plague: How to Regain Sovereignty Over Your Body and Life, is trained as a wellness and longevity functional medicine practitioner. A sought-after lecturer on healthcare-related topics, as featured by Young Presidents’ Organization, Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, The Epoch Times, Chiropractic Economics Magazine, and Health Professional Radio. Dr. Kash was a 2024 40 Under 40 Honoree of the University of Florida’s Alumni Association.

William Lam is a serial entrepreneur, father, and exotic car enthusiast. Raised in Hong Kong, he moved to the United States at sixteen, carrying the awareness of a family legacy that had faltered before he was born. That absence left him obsessed with the deeper question of how empires are built, maintained, or lost. He co-founded Jump, a robotics-driven simulation that creates hyper-real environments where human potential can be tested safely. He founded Eternum, a microlongevity company preserving energy and focus under stress. At the core is UPGRD®, the operating system for the mind — designed to make success endure.

Frank Liu is the Managing Director of Infinite Grid Capital, a cross-border energy investment and advisory platform focused on battery energy storage systems (BESS), hybrid energy hubs, and next-generation infrastructure supporting AI data centers and high-demand industries. With a background spanning technology, finance, and international operations, Frank has led and structured projects across North America and Europe, working closely with family offices, institutional investors, and strategic partners. He is passionate about building long-term, resilient assets and believes in collaborative capital as a driver of sustainable value creation.

Tyler R. Wanke, MD, MBA, MEM/MSDI is an investor, entrepreneur, and professor. Tyler invests in MedTech ventures as an angel investor and on behalf of his family office. He is CEO & Co-founder of Madison Scientific (MadSci), a start-up developing electromechanical “smart” medical devices for treating neurologic disorders. He previously co-founded and serves on the board of Innoblative, a breast cancer therapeutic medical device company spun out of Northwestern, and EDGe Surgical, a revenue-stage Orthopaedic and Spine medical device company.

Tyler is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University where he teaches medical technology innovation and entrepreneurship to graduate engineering, medical, and business students. He completed an MD from Feinberg School of Medicine, MBA from Kellogg School of Management, a Masters of Engineering Management (MEM) / Masters of Science of Design Innovation (MSDI) from McCormick School of Engineering, and a BS in Neurobiology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Tyler volunteers with Cures Within Reach (CWR), a non-profit dedicated to funding research of “re-purposed” drugs and devices to cure diseases.

Charlie is a founding Partner with Silvertech Ventures, a venture fund and Hub affiliated with the Silverstein family. Silvertech has a portfolio of over 30 companies, primarily from Israel in the cyber, enterprise, and health fields. Most visible Silvertech investments include: Semperis, Vi, and TheGuarantors. 

Charlie is a well-known investor and advisor to technology companies and was a Partner with the Israeli/US venture firm BRM, whose partners are best known for co-founding the security company Checkpoint. Prior to Silvertech, he was an active personal investor and was the seed investor and board member in Payoneer.  Prior to BRM Mr. Federman spent 15 years, culminating as Chairman with Broadview. At Broadview, he advised on more than 100 acquisitions of software companies and was instrumental in establishing its affiliated venture relationships and growth in Europe and Silicon Valley.

Mr. Federman holds a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Doron M. Behar is the Founder and CEO of Igentify, a digital platform designed to scale access to genomic medicine. Under his leadership, Igentify has developed an end-to-end solution that enables clinics, laboratories, and genetic counselors to streamline patient education, consent, interpretation, and delivery of results, improving both efficiency and patient experience.

Dr. Behar brings over 25 years of experience across clinical medicine, research, and genomics. He holds an MD in internal medicine, critical care, and medical genetics, and a PhD in molecular and population genetics. He is also an Associate Professor of Population Genetics at the University of Tartu.

Prior to founding Igentify, Dr. Behar served as Chief Scientific Officer of Family Tree DNA and Chief Medical Officer of Gene by Gene, where he helped build one of the largest consumer genetic testing platforms in the United States.

Gil Eyal is the Head of Marketing and Innovation at Inspire, the management arm of Silverstein Properties’ $40B+ real estate portfolio. He also advises and invests in startups at Sticker Ventures and Stardust Ventures, with a focus on consumer tech, AI and early innovation.

Previously, Gil was the Founder and President of HYPR, the leading data-driven influencer marketing platform, which was acquired by JuliusWorks in 2020. Under his leadership, HYPR helped transform influencer marketing from guesswork to strategy, earning top industry accolades including Digiday’s Best Influencer Marketing Platform, Best Content Marketing Tech Platform, and the International Performance Marketing Award for Best SaaS/Tracking Platform.

Widely recognized as a pioneer in influencer marketing, Gil ranked #30 on Influence Weekly’s list of most influential people in the space and was dubbed the “New King of Influencer Marketing” by Nathan Latka. He’s negotiated over 200 celebrity endorsement deals with A-listers including Leonardo DiCaprio, Zendaya, Pitbull, Lil Wayne, Gal Gadot, Victor Wembanyama, Stephen Curry, and Serena Williams.

At Stardust Ventures Gil was an early investor in several market defining consumer brands including Bubble Skincare, Goodles and Antelope Pets.

Gil is a frequent keynote speaker at leading industry events like Influencer Marketing Days (NYC) and Influencer Marketing Hub (London). He has twice won the MarCom Award for Excellence in Marketing and Communications and was honored with the Digiday Top Boss Award in 2017.

He holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and is known for his work as a strategic operator, team builder, and marketing innovator.