The People Behind the Mission

I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to learn and grow over the past 20 years traversing the enterprise and industrial sectors. With a common theme of focusing on data driven products and businesses to ask very different questions with data that we’ve not yet brought together or knew we had access to.

With a more recent stint in the industrial sector focused on AI and IOT, I am passionate about building companies that unlock new truths with data, as I am a firm believer that AI will enable a new breed of data driven experiences; be it the way of applications we interact with or business models we engage into. It won’t be ‘yet another app’ scenario, nor should it.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work in the big company environment to build the ‘run the business’ muscle, but as well develop the entrepreneurial expertise to invest in, challenge, build and scale new ventures both within and outside.

At Uptake, I joined the leadership team to help transition the company to an AI Insights platform enterprise software business, while aligning the cost structure for growth and industry product market fit.

Prior, I had the fortunate opportunity to be part of the world-class Industrial leader, The General Electric Company, and helped to accelerate the Industrial Internet vision for our customers and employees. During my 3-years at GE Digital and GE Power, we successfully built the fastest growing and most impactful digital business for GE - GE Power Digital - focused on transforming the utility sector.

Prior, I held several senior executive roles at Hewlett-Packard, Vertica and Adobe Capital Partners in enterprise software, startup incubation, M&A integration and consulting.

My start at Hewlett-Packard was inspired by family friends who worked with Bill and Dave and helped to foster the entrepreneurial foundation of Silicon Valley.

Board @Bizworld.org @StompSessions.

I enjoy building and transforming businesses, as well as blending talent and teams. High situational awareness to win in the ecosystem and or in a matrix. Strengths: (i) taking new product ideas to full-scale commercialization and winning first sets of customers, (ii) building a thriving ecosystem from startups to alliances complementing or extending the reach of product/platform companies or venture accelerators, (iii) turnarounds, (iv) functional expertise focused on Growth; Product, Corp & Biz Dev, Marketing, Sales, and Delivery. 

Hale Boggs is a leading legal and business advisor to entrepreneurs and investors in emerging companies, with a particular focus on digital media. From Los Angeles to Silicon Valley and beyond, he works with innovative technology companies across the spectrum of their business cycles, from start-up through late-stage. Hale focuses on venture capital transactions, mergers and acquisitions, public and private securities offerings, and joint ventures.

Hale represents numerous venture capital funds in Southern and Northern California, advising funds and their portfolio companies in a wide range of corporate transactions as they raise and deploy capital across the entertainment, media and technology industries.

Hale regularly acts as outside general counsel to his clients, drawing on more than thirty years of experience to provide strategic corporate counseling on issues including equity compensation matters, SEC reporting and disclosure, complex corporate partnering transactions, intellectual property licensing, and corporate governance.

Hale has been recognized as a top lawyer in multiple consecutive years by Best Lawyers in America, the Daily Journal, and Lawdragon 500, and he has been named several times to Variety’s Legal Impact Report—one of the most prestigious accolades in the media and entertainment industry.  

Prior to joining O’Melveny, Hale was chair of the media, technology, and advertising division and venture capital/emerging companies practice of a prominent national legal and professional services firm.

EDUCATION
University of California Los Angeles, School of Law, J.D., 1986.
Member, UCLA Law Review.
Stanford University, B.A., with honors, 1983.

MEMBERSHIPS & ACTIVITIES
Admitted to practice in California.
Member, California State Bar Association, Century City Bar Association and American Bar Association.

Member of the Board of Directors of BizWorld Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization focused on teaching business fundamentals and entrepreneurship to school-children throughout the United States and internationally.

HONORS & AWARDS
The Best Lawyers in America, 2000-2010.
Named as one of the “500 New Stars, New Worlds” in the Lawdragon guide.

PUBLICATIONS
Co-Author, “Deal With It,” Daily Journal, July 18, 2008.

Timothy C. Draper is the Founder and a Partner of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. On behalf of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mr. Draper serves on the boards of Skype, SocialText, Glam, MailFrontier and Chroma Graphics. His original suggestion to use "viral marketing" in web-based e-mail to geometrically spread an Internet product to its market was instrumental to the successes of Hotmail and YahooMail, and has been adopted as a standard marketing technique to hundreds of businesses. He was an original venture capital investor in Parametric Technology (PMTC), Tumbleweed Communications (TMWD), Overture.com (OVER), Digidesign (AVID), Preview Travel (TVLY), Four11 (YHOO), Combinet (CSCO), and Redgate (AOL). Mr. Draper launched the Draper Affiliate Network, an international network of early-stage venture capital funds with offices in 26 cities around the globe. He founded or co-founded Wasatch Ventures (Salt Lake City), Zone Ventures (LA), Draper Atlantic (Reston), Draper Triangle (Pittsburg), Timberline Ventures (Portland), Polaris Fund (Anchorage), Draper Fisher Jurvetson Gotham (NYC) and DFJ Frontier (Sacramento and Santa Barbara). As an advocate for entrepreneurs and free markets, Mr. Draper is regularly featured as a keynote speaker in entrepreneurial conferences throughout the world, has been recognized as a leader in his field through numerous awards and honors, and has frequent TV radio, and headline appearances. Mr. Draper is also the course creator and founder of BizWorld, a 501c3 organization built around simulated teaching of entrepreneurship and business to children. He served on the California State Board of Education. In November of 2000, Mr. Draper launched a statewide cyber-initiative on school choice for the California General Election. He has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

As a proven Alliances and Sales Executive leader in highly successful software companies (including Oracle, SeeBeyond, Mercury Interactive, Informatica, and SailPoint), I pride myself on being focused on mutual success and programs that result in a large percentage of business being sourced and influenced from the alliance and reseller channel partners. Additionally, I am passionate about driving strategic technology partnerships which unlock the marketplace opportunities. I believe that fostering strong, collaborative relationships with coworkers always delivers innovative and durable results.

Jennifer Johnson is an executive vice president and chief operating officer for FranklinResources, Inc. In this role, she oversees Global Transfer Agency operations, InvestmentManagement Services, Global HR and Compensation and the company's bankingsubsidiaries. She has global responsibilities for software development andinfrastructure/systems support. Ms. Johnson is an officer of Franklin Resources, Inc. andserves as a director of Fiduciary Trust Company International and several othersubsidiaries of Franklin Resources, Inc. She joined the company in 1988.

Ms. Johnson received the 2012 Robert L. Gould Award presented by global investmentmanagement association NICSA, recognizing outstanding achievement in helping themutual fund industry better serve investors through customer service, thought leadershipand technology. In 2010 and 2011, she was recognized by the San Francisco BusinessTimes as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business. In 2002, she was named "E-commerce Executive of the Year" by mutual fund industry publication, Fund Action (now Fund Industry Intelligence).

Ms. Johnson earned B.A. degrees in economics from the University of California atDavis. She is a board member of Riva Financial Systems and BizWorld.org. She is also a trustee at Crystal Springs Uplands School.

Steve Silver has over 30 years experience in the jewelry industry. In 1980 he founded S.H. Silver Company Estate and Fine Jewelry. The company has established itself as a highly successful wholesale and retail business. Through his illustrious network of worldwide contacts, Steve has acquired some of the most rare and finest stones in the world. Among the most prestigious examples include an exquisite, one-of-a kind vivid orange diamond, a six-carat vivid blue diamond that is one the rarest and largest blue diamonds ever cut and the second largest red diamond ever cut, nicknamed the "cranberry."

Additionally, one of the highlights of his career was attaining the famous Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace, which he acquired directly from the Cullinan family. Steve has become known as an estate jewelry expert within the industry. Two notable collections include jewelry belonging to the late Eva Gabor and Irving Scott, the founder of Union Iron Works of San Francisco, which built the famous battleship USS Oregon. By leveraging his well-developed global network of contacts in the jewelry trade, Steve is able to acquire almost any item, for any client around the world.

As a large donor and supporter of the trade, Steve was inducted into the Gemological Institute of America’s (G.I.A.), Circle of Honor for his continued contributions to the G.I.A. Historical Museum Collection of gems and jewelry. To ensure new and young talent continues to be cultivated within the trade, Steve has made a ten-year commitment to G.I.A. to fund an annual scholarship for low-income students to study jewelry design. In 1999, Steve founded and served as chairman of Miadora, an online jewelry eCommerce site and recently, Steve co-founded Delamina, a new jewelry and fashion web site designed specifically for women to shop and play in an environment with direct access to top designers and information about the latest trends.

As an avid golfer and community philanthropist, Steve co-founded the annual Randy Cross Invitational Golf Tournament, which has raised millions of dollars for the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford Children’s Hospital over its 24-year history. He attended San Diego State University where he studied Geology and holds a graduate Gemology degree from G.I.A.

Steven Singer has more than 26 years experience in venture and corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, high net worth individual, corporate and partnership taxation and strategic planning. Prior to joining the firm, Steve was V.P. of Finance for Callixa, an enterprise-based data integration software provider where he was responsible for all corporate finance and accounting issues. He has acted as interim CFO for numerous high technology firms and advisor for a variety of manufacturing, wholesale and distribution companies for whom he raised over $25MM in seed and venture capital. As Partner at Stadtler, Rosenblum & Saris, Steve concentrated on debt and equity planning, successfully negotiating improved rates and increased amounts on bank and institutional financings. Steve holds a B.S. degree in Business from U.C. Berkeley and a Masters degree in taxation from Golden Gate University.

Tracy Tuens is a Managing Director at Boston Private and former director for BNY Mellon Wealth Management where she advised family office clients and private investors of the firm’s Family Office and Charitable Solutions group. Tracy joined the firm in 2012.

Previously, she spent seven years with Wells Fargo Family Wealth, as senior vice president and director of client management. In that capacity, Tracy was responsible for client acquisition and relationship management for families located throughout the United States. Her prior experience consists of new business development and client relationship management at US Trust Company, Bank of America Private Bank, and Robertson, Stephens & Company. She’s also worked internationally in Geneva, Switzerland.

Tracy is a member of the San Domenico School Investment Committee, where she has served for 5 years. Through The Bank of New York Mellon, Tracy is an advisor member of the Family Office Exchange (FOX) and the Institute for Private Investors (IPI). Tracy received a bachelor’s degree in international political economy from the University of California, Berkeley.