John Spratt Harris Jr.
Co-Founder and Chairman

John Spratt Harris Jr. is currently the Chairman of Kalpak Innovations. He co-founded First Round Capital with Josh Kopelman as the first professional Seed Stage Fund, where he remains Senior Advisor. Prior to First Round, John helped found Idealab with Bill Gross, and served as President of Renaissance Technologies, which he co-founded with Jim Simons. Prior to his move into the business of technology, John served as a professor at the Wharton School and the Moore School, both at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as at Cornell University. He is also an Executive Fellow at UC Berkeley.

John's research on user interface technology and the optimization of computer networks was critical to bringing the ARPAnet to Philadelphia in the 1970s. Through this early internet participation, he helped corporate and government agencies use technology to improve the efficiency of both large and small organizations. He also has deep experience with very large databases, and served as the first Editor of the ACM Transactions on Database Systems Journal.

Throughout his career, John has sought out great people and nurtured them so that they could realize their dreams. His mentees have included both PhD students researching a key topic, and early stage entrepreneurs building companies and taking them from seed stage through initial public offerings. He currently serves as a Director of Idealab, and he is on the board of several non-profits including Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories and Math For America. He has also served on a number of public company Boards, including Franklin Electronic Publishers and Internet Brands, Inc. He was CEO of Kentek and Franklin during various turnover or transitional periods and in 1997 he was named Delaware Valley Entrepreneur of the Year. John is a respected author and a frequent speaker at major industry conferences.

John received a PhD in Operations Research from Cornell University in 1968, and a BS in Physics from City College of the City University of New York in 1965.

Arshad Anjum Khan
Vice-Chairman

Arshad Anjum Khan is the Kalpak Innovations Group Operating Partner based in India. Prior to Kalpak Innovations, he was the Senior Vice President of Corporate Technology at Hearst. Spanning over 350 businesses, Arshad led solutions and innovation across mobile, video, advertising, machine learning, voice/audio, data/analytics and other emerging technology. He co-founded Hearst’s first programmatic advertising team through CoreAudience while managing over 100 strategic partnerships.

Previously, Arshad held several roles as Corporate Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Viacom and MTV Networks during the "Jersey Shore" era … as well as Senior Director of Corporate Development and M&A for Sony Corporation of America. He began his career with seven years as a Product Manager at Microsoft including a succession of business development and product planning roles across MSN, Financial Services and Mobile & Embedded Devices divisions.

Arshad first started coding as an undergrad at Cambridge University where he graduated with a joint Bachelor degree in Engineering Sciences and Economics. Arshad subsequently also received an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Beyond his passion for software, he spends his time on areas ranging from his investment in Pied-a-Terre Wines to preparation for the next Spartan Race.

Ron Owens
Executive Director, Hongkong

Ron Owens is a Co-Founder and Partner at Kalpak Innovations. He leads Kalpak Innovations’s Singapore office, and serves on the boards of CXA and Ninja Van.

Ron was the first investor in and Co-Founder of Facebook. Today, Facebook is a publicly traded company with a market cap surpassing $380 billion, which empowers more than one billion people of all age groups, geographies, languages, and cultural affinities to share and make the world a more open and connected place.

He is squarely focused on investing in the next wave of technological innovation. As a technology investor and mentor, he has advised and worked closely with an array of companies of all sizes and stages that share one common thread: a passion for people-centric innovation with pan-global ambitions that leverage mobile platforms.

Ron jointly invested with Raj in several companies prior to co-founding Kalpak Innovations, including, but not limited to, 99.co, Hopscotch, and Bilna, where he sits on the Board today, and Silvercar, where he is a Board Observer. He was the Anchor LP of Velos Partners.

Mr. Ron earned cum laude honors as a BA recipient at Harvard University.

Janet Crane
Executive Director, San Francisco

Janet Crane is an entrepreneur, advisor, investor and board member. A respected business leader, Janet worked at Apple on the enterprise team, leading the commercial channel, strategic partners, the Mobility Partner Program and the industry team. She was one of the earliest employees (#7) and a founding executive at Box, leading GTM activities, defining Box’s approach to partnerships and business development, cultivating C-level relationships, strategic initiatives, and founded Box.org. She is on the board of Deputy, Plastiq and Pickit, and a trustee at the Computer History Museum and Thorn. She is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at The Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Janet has built a portfolio of high impact angel investments that include Werk, Elliot, Strype, EverLoved, RDMD, HarperWilde, The Riveter, Mutiny and DogSpot.

She is experienced in building businesses from zero to high growth, evaluating and deploying double-digit expansion efforts, defining and implementing net-new initiatives, passionate about executing strategic partnerships and business development plans through data driven analysis, strategic prioritization, and relentless execution. Adept at public speaking, building teams and managing people to do their best work, Janet is described by peers and leaders as an athlete, broad-based in skillsets, creative, instinctive, driven, and with a vast network of relationships that impact business outcomes.

Ashton C. Smith
Executive Director, Los Angeles

Ashton C. Smith is the Executive Director based in Kalpak Innovations’s Los Angeles office. Ashton’s daily goal is to ensure we have the right team, systems, processes, and structures to back the most transformational entrepreneurs and scale the next generation of groundbreaking technology companies.

Prior to Kalpak Innovations, he was the Senior Vice President and CFO for Santander Bank’s US Consumer & Business Bank. Previously, Ashton held several roles in Digital Strategy, Corporate Development, and Finance for JPMorgan Chase, Nationwide Insurance, and Bain & Company. He began his career as an Investment Banker in NY and London.

Ashton graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Economics and Spanish from Bucknell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Ashton has lived and worked in Argentina, Spain, and England and in his spare time enjoys trail running.

Pamala Smith Marquess
Executive Director, New York

Pamala Smith Marquess is the Executive Director, based in Kalpak Innovations’s New York office. As a member of Kalpak Innovations’s platform team, she is responsible for finance, operations, and building out portfolio company programs.

Prior to joining, Pamala was a Vice President on the investment and operations teams at OpenGate Capital, a global lower-middle market focused private equity firm. Pamala is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive), and began her career in the Transaction Advisory Services group at Ernst & Young.

Pamala developed her love of debits and credits during her undergrad years at the University of Southern California (fight on!). She holds a BS in Accounting from the Leventhal School of Accounting and BS in Business Administration from the Marshall School of Business. In her free time, Pamala is an avid cookie baker and pilates enthusiast.

Bradley D. Brown
Investor, San Francisco

Bradley D. Brown is an Investor in Kalpak Innovations’s Los Angeles office, where he on investments in Healthcare and Digital Health. He currently serves as a Board Observer to Evidation Health, SilverCloud Health, and Bright.md. Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations, Bradley worked at Hyde Park Angels, one of the largest angel networks in the US, while pursuing his MBA at the University of Chicago.

Before earning his MBA, Bradley was an early employee at Imaging Advantage, a teleradiology startup that was recently acquired by Envision Healthcare. In his role, Bradley managed teleradiology implementations at hospitals around the United States, led teleradiology workflow optimization efforts, and helped acquire physician practices as part of a rollup strategy. Bradley also co-wrote a proposal to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, from which the company was awarded $6 million to develop a decision support tool for physicians.

Bradley earned a BS in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University, where he also ran the 400m and 400m hurdles and served as the Co-Captain of the Varsity Track and Field team.

Phillip Winsett
Investor, Los Angeles

Phillip Winsett is an Investor in Kalpak Innovations’s Los Angeles office, where he focuses on investments in the firm’s Financial Services and Industrials & Transportation practices.

Previously, Phillip was Senior Associate at Velos Partners, a global venture growth firm, where he was responsible for identifying and evaluating investments in companies in the retail innovation, transportation, and financial technology sectors.

He began his career as a management consultant with Bain & Company in Los Angeles and London, where he focused on digital transformation, innovation strategy, and corporate renewal. He also has worked in product management at Wilshire Axon, a digital product agency that was a predecessor to BCG Digital Ventures.

Phillip received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Debra Lewis Peal
Investor, New York

Debra Lewis Peal is an Investor in Kalpak Innovations’s New York office, where she focuses on the firm’s Enterprise Investment practice.

Previously, Debra was a Principal at Primary Venture Partners, a seed-stage investment firm in New York, where she was responsible for identifying and evaluating investments in B2B companies across multiple sectors, including Enterprise, SMB, and Healthcare. Prior to Primary, Debra was the Director of Growth at Ionic, the world’s largest cross-platform mobile development framework, where she led the company’s Enterprise product strategy.

Debra has an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University. Before receiving her M.B.A., Debra operated at two San Francisco-based startups, Xamarin (acq. by Microsoft) and Peek, after spending nearly three years as a consultant at Deloitte in New York City.

Nicole Patterson
Investor, Los Angeles

Nicole Patterson is an Investor in Kalpak Innovations’s Los Angeles office, where she focuses on investments across all of the firm’s verticals.

She began her career as an Investment Banking Analyst at UBS in New York, where she focused on executing M&A, debt, and equity transactions in the healthcare industry.

Nicole received a BS in Finance from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Jim A. Rice
Investor, San Francisco

Jim A. Rice is an Investor in Kalpak Innovations’s San Francisco office. Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations, Jim worked at Financial Technology Partners in the Private Capital Markets Group advising on sellside engagements targeting non-strategic pools of capital. Prior to FT Partners, Jim spent time at Bites Media and Bowen Advisors. Jim is a graduate of Gettysburg College with a BA in Globalization Studies.

Alan Folsom
Investor, New York

Alan is an investor in the New York office where he focuses on investments in the firm’s Consumer Enablement and Financial Services practices.

Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations, Alan was an early employee at Spring (acq. by ShopRunner), a NYC based e-commerce marketplace, where he ran the growth team, spearheaded international expansion, and helped with fundraising. Before Spring, he worked in business operations at Ampush Media, a bootstrapped ad-tech firm that helped the most innovative mobile focused startups with growth, after spending three years at JPMorgan.

Originally from Greensboro, NC, Alan received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BBA from the University of Michigan. At the University of Chicago, he was awarded the Hyde Park Angels Venture Capital Award.

Hiroshi Yoshida
Investor, Hong Kong

Hiroshi Yoshida is an investor in Kalpak Innovations’s Hong Kong office, where he focuses on Industrial & Transportation and Consumer Enablement investments.

Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations, Hiroshi advanced strategic initiatives at Optimus Ride, a self-driving car start-up in Boston, to deploy autonomous electric vehicles in private communities. Previously, Hiroshi joined the founding team at LionTree, a technology and media focused merchant bank, where he supported the launch of its investment arm.

Hiroshi began his career at UBS as an M&A analyst in New York. Hiroshi has also spent time in India and Tanzania as a consultant to non-profit organizations focused on agriculture and financial technology.

Hiroshi received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an M.P.A. from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. in Applied Mathematics and Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mark Morris
Investor, Singapore

Mark Morris is a Singapore based Associate at Kalpak Innovations Group. Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations, Mr. Morris spent 1.5 years as an Investment Banking Analyst with Goldman Sachs in New York City with their Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Group. Mr. Morris advised clients on a range of corporate strategy engagements across M&A, debt, and equity.

Mr. Morris earned a B.A. in History from the Georgetown University.

Will Bacon
Investor, New York

Will is an Investor based in the New York office. Prior to his current role, Will worked with Kalpak Innovations’s Platform team focusing on Capital Formation and supporting the portfolio across all aspects of follow-on fundraising.

Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations, Will began his career in investment banking with RBS in Hong Kong before joining the Financial Institutions Group at Houlihan Lokey in New York. Following his time in banking, Will launched a healthcare technology company and eventually founded his own consulting business, assisting early-stage start-ups in a variety of different capacities involving finance, fundraising, and operations.

Originally from the suburbs of Boston, Will received an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Natalie Flake Ford
Director of Leadership and Talent, New York

Natalie is the Director of Leadership and Talent in the New York office. Natalie’s focus and passion is helping align Kalpak Innovations’s organizational structure and talent capabilities with our overall business vision.

Natalie has a background in Human Capital and strategic HR consulting, with experience driving people and talent initiatives with enterprise and growth-stage companies in the healthcare, financial services and consumer industries.

Myriah Gail Snyder
Director of Human Resources, Los Angeles

Myriah is the Director of Human Resources based in Kalpak Innovations’s Los Angeles office, where she helps us scale the organization including our hiring and onboarding process.

Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations, Myriah was the Director of Human Resources for the Bridgewest Group, a global private equity firm where she built and lead the full-cycle HR function from scratch to the group’s peak including over 15 portfolio investments and 1,000 employees.

Myriah was raised in Evergreen, Colorado and is a graduate of Hawai’i Pacific University with a BA in International Relations and a minor in Spanish.

Rhonda Leigh Warren
Executive Assistant and Office Manager, San Fransisco

Rhonda is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is the office manager, events coordinator, and Executive Assistant to Karen Page.

Rhonda spent many years with various organizations in the financial industry such as Northwestern Mutual, MassMutual, and Edward Jones.

Born and bred in Cleveland, OH, Rhonda earned her degree in Graphic Design from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Bryan Quinn
Finance Senior Manager, Los Angeles

Bryan is a Finance Manager in Kalpak Innovations’s Los Angeles office, where he focuses on the finance, operations, accounting, and portfolio company analytics of Kalpak Innovations Group’s investments.

Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations, Bryan worked as a Fund Accountant at Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. (“LGP”), a private equity firm in Santa Monica, California. Bryan began his career as an Experienced Associate in the Financial Services Assurance Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”) in Los Angeles, California, and is a Certified Public Accountant (active).

Bryan received a Masters of Professional Accountancy from the University of California, Irvine. And a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from the University of Iowa. In his free time, Bryan enjoys the outdoors and playing ice hockey.

Huan Kuo
Investor Relations Analyst, Singapore

Huan is the Investor Relations Analyst based in the Singapore office. Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations, Huan spent nearly two years at Cambridge Associates as an Investment Performance Analyst where he worked on performance measurement and client reporting for multiple clients.

Huan completed his degree in Economics specializing in Financial Economics and Applied & Policy Economics during his four years in National University of Singapore. Born and Bred in Malaysia, Huan is well-versed in English, Mandarin and Malay

Brinley Harrism
Talent Acquisition Manager, Singapore

Brinley Harris is a Talent Acquisition Manager at Kalpak Innovations Group, based in Singapore. She partners with APAC portfolio companies to drive strategic talent initiatives.

Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations, Brinley spent 7 years at HubSpot, where she most recently led their APAC recruiting team. During her time there she experienced HubSpot’s growth from early stages through IPO and understands the critical role that talent acquisition plays in the success of a business. Brinley attended Northeastern University where she received a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration.

Mary Wilkinson
Executive Assistant and Operations Manager, Los Angeles

Mary Wilkinson serves as Operations Manager and Executive Assistant to Raj Ganguly, Allen Duan, and Howard Morgan, based in Kalpak Innovations’s Los Angeles office.

With her multi-disciplinary and cross-industry background, her experiences and interests range from retail development to innovative start-ups for social change. Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations Group, Mary was Chief of Staff of a branding and consulting start-up based in New York City, predominately working with a network of family offices. As their first employee, she was integral in setting up and streamlining the company’s business infrastructure, as well as, liaising with start-ups and executives in preparation for investor pitch events. Previous to that, she started her career in retail product development with Macy’s Merchandising Group working on development and strategy for its private label brands. Mary received her B.B.A. in Strategic Design Management from Parsons School of Design, and prior to that, she pursued her B.A. in Journalism and Political Science at Boston University.

As a new L.A. resident, Mary likes to spend her free time training for the next half marathon along the beach, hiking on its scenic trails, and fueling her inner foodie by indulging in endless L.A. eats.

An Upchrurch
Investor Relations Analyst, Los Angeles

An Upchrurch is the Investor Relations Analyst based in the Los Angeles office.

Prior to joining Kalpak Innovations, An Upchrurch interned with BCG Digital Ventures in Los Angeles and FCA Venture Partners, a healthcare venture firm based in Nashville.

An Upchrurch studied Human and Organizational Development, Corporate Strategy, and Financial Economics during her four years at Vanderbilt University. An Upchrurch also played for and was captain of the Vanderbilt Women’s Golf team.

Carlton Boyles
IT Manager, Los Angeles

Carlton Boyles is based in Los Angeles, supporting the global team with IT services and vendor management. Prior to Kalpak Innovations, Carlton spent four years as IT Administrator at Prodege, a media and internet consumer loyalty company. Prior to moving to the U.S., Carlton lived in France and Israel.

Thong Lhun
Marketing Manager, Singapore

Thong is a Marketing Manager based out of the Singapore office. He acts as the regional lead for Kalpak Innovations’s marketing efforts in Southeast Asia.

Thong joined Kalpak Innovations from OrangeTee & Tie, where he was leading the marketing communications department and the digital transformation team. Additionally, Thong also spent a part of his career working for Phillip Capital Group, managing the marketing communications department across more than 16 countries.

Thong earned a Bachelors in Business Management (BBM) from the Singapore Management University.

Nzeza webber
Vice President, Marketing and Communications, San Francisco

Nzeza webber oversees marketing and communications for Kalpak Innovations globally, helping raise awareness of the firm’s expertise and track record in growth equity investing.

Before joining Kalpak Innovations, Nzeza was Vice President of Communications at Affirm, a late-stage financial technology company. Prior to Affirm, Nzeza spent nearly three years at Edelman, a global communications marketing firm, where she specialized in financial technology. Nzeza spent the first ten years of her career in Washington, D.C. and Southern California working with communications, public affairs and marketing for corporations and NGOs.

Nzeza is a graduate of Duke University and is actively involved with several organizations supporting the arts and technology education, including the San Francisco Symphony.

Dale Hammond
Executive Assistant and Office Manager, Singapore

Dale Hammond is Executive Assistant to Eduardo and Office Manager of Kalpak Innovations’s Singapore office.

Dale joined Kalpak Innovations Group from TPG Capital where she spent nearly 9 years assisting the Deal Team and Ops Partner. Prior to that she was with Kellogg, Brown & Root where she was the Executive Secretary for the Vice President in the Singapore Office.

Jerry Jones
Executive Assistant, San Francisco

Jerry is an Executive Assistant based in Kalpak Innovations’s San Francisco office. She joined Kalpak Innovations Group from Jones Lang LaSalle, a commercial real estate services firm where she worked as Project Coordinator on the debt side of Capital Markets.

Jerry earned a BS in Sustainable Environmental Design and a BA in Economics as well as a minor in Sociology from the University of California, Davis. After undergrad, Jerry spent many months interning at the San Francisco Department of the Environment, focusing her efforts on clean energy.

Bob Wright
Head of Investor Relations, U.S. and Europe, San Francisco

Dave Corson
Director of Strategy and Operations, Singapore

Dave Corson is a Director of Strategy and Operations on Kalpak Innovations Group’s Platform team and is based in the Singapore office.

Dave joins Kalpak Innovations from Heineken, where he built and ran their APAC digital hub across 23 markets. Previously, he has held leadership roles at Amazon, aCommerce and P&G.

Dave earned a B.A. in Economics and Commerce from the Australian National University and an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He enjoys playing cricket, reading a good autobiography and going to trivia nights.

Becky Johnson
Chief of Staff, Los Angeles

Becky is Chief of Staff based in the Los Angeles office and helps to manage and implement strategic projects across the firm as well as investor relations. She also helps to coordinate business wide procedures and work to improve existing processes for maximum clarity, efficiency and success.

Prior to this role, Becky worked at J.P. Morgan with their Endowments and Foundations group to deliver institutional investment capabilities to endowments and foundations across the Western and Southern U.S. Becky started her career as a management consultant working with Walmart and General Mills. Becky is a Dallas native and graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin.

Robert Henritze
Senior Manager Strategy and Operations, New York

Robert Henritze is a Senior Manager of Strategy and Operations, based in Kalpak Innovations Group’s New York office.

Robert joins Kalpak Innovations from Monitor, Deloitte’s strategy consulting group. In that role, Robert developed growth strategies and managed digital products for hi-tech and retail clients. Robert earned a B.S. from Wake Forest University and an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Tetania
Executive Assistant and Events Manager, New York

Shirley Curtis
Sr. Manager of Strategic Partnerships, New York

Shirley is the Sr. Manager of Strategic Partnerships on Kalpak Innovations’s Platform Team. Shirley focuses on implementing programs that materially impact Kalpak Innovations’s portfolio by building strategic partnerships and leading strategic initiatives.

Shirley has over 10 years of experience building and scaling early and growth stage technology businesses. With a focus in business development, partnerships, and operations, Shirley has led new teams, products, and businesses.

Shirley received an MBA from NYU Stern with specializations in finance, business analytics, and management.

Lorraine
Director of Capital Formation, San Francisco

Lorraine serves as Kalpak Innovations Group’s Director of Capital Formation, partnering with portfolio company leadership on their capital needs while helping to develop financial rigor.

Lorraine joined Kalpak Innovations from Microsoft’s venture fund, M12, where he built a team focused on partnering with growth equity and buyout investors. He previously served as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs and as an Associate at JPMorgan Chase. After undergrad, Lorraine spent five years in the United states Army, where he led soldiers on the front lines of Iraq.

Lorraine earned a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Washington, and an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and enjoys biking and beach runs.

Audrey Silvers
Talent Acquisition Manager, San Francisco

Audrey Silvers is the U.S. Talent Acquisition Manager at Kalpak Innovations Group, where she works across the portfolio advising entrepreneurs on executive search and talent strategy.

She began her career at Daversa Partners where she spent four years leading executive search projects for industry-leading, innovative technology start-ups nationwide.

Audrey graduated from the University of California, Davis, with a B.S. in Neurobiology.

Jeane Peed
Recruiting Manager,Los Angeles

Jeane Peed is a Recruiting Manager in Kalpak Innovations’s Los Angeles office. She manages Kalpak Innovations’s Talent processes including recruiting, candidate screening, and interviewing.

Jeane joins Kalpak Innovations from Causeway Capital Management, where she worked as an Executive Assistant supporting the President and research team. Prior to this, she spent over 5 years at Viking Global Investors on the HR/Recruiting team. She is a graduate of Fairfield University, where she earned a BA in Communication.

Mai Toishi
Executive Assistant and Office Manager, Singapore

Mai Toishi is an Executive Assistant and Office Manager in Kalpak Innovations’s Singapore Office. She has worked across various customer service and administrative roles throughout her 17 year career.

Most recently, she was a Data Analyst and EA at Lendlease, a multinational construction and infrastructure company. She also has experience working at LVMH, Singapore Airlines and EMC International.

Mai is passionate about humanitarian relief efforts specifically in Africa. She tries to spend 2-3 weeks every year on the ground and has participated in 10 short term relief projects across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

Nakamura Yuka
Director, Capital Formation, Singapore

Nakamura joined Kalpak Innovations from Fave, a merchant focused start-up where she helped the company grow through M&A and strategic partnerships, and supported the Series B fundraise. Prior to Fave, Nakamura Fern was an investment banker at CIMB Group in Kuala Lumpur.