Alumni Spotlight is pleased to announce The Top 100 Entrepreneurs of 2022. These individuals are driving economic growth across the country. They stimulate new employment opportunities in nearly every industry. Some of the greatest entrepreneurs created companies that today are household names across the world. Those like Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs remain some of the most influential entrepreneurs of all time but with the advancement of technology and with the ever-changing world, this list is evolving.

Awardee Tim Hwang, the CEO and Founder of FiscalNote, leads the company as the most trusted information services company focused on global policy and market intelligence. Meanwhile, Michael Fertik, Founder of Reputation, pioneered the field of online reputation management and is widely recognized as the world’s leading cyberthinker in digital privacy and reputation. Bob Bonder, the Co-Founder of Rhinegeist Brewery, tapped into the increasing interest in craft beers and now leads one of the fastest growing new breweries in the nation.

Many of this year’s awardees are also drivers of social change, economic growth, community development and income generation for individuals across the world. It is our distinct honor to recognize such an accomplished group of innovative and devoted entrepreneurs. Please join us in celebrating the achievements of The Top 100 Entrepreneurs of 2022.

 

2. Tim Hwang
Founder and CEO, FiscalNote
Princeton University

Tim Hwang began his professional career over 13 years ago. Today, he is the Founder and CEO of FiscalNote. FiscalNote is a privately-held company that uses artificial intelligence and big data to deliver immediate predictive analytics of governmental action to pinpoint impact. FiscalNote's flagship platform provides real-time legislative predictive capabilities as well as enterprise collaboration and visualization tools for data on campaign finance, demographics, news, and open data to government relations professionals to help them make faster decisions.

Hwang first got his start in 2007 as a Youth Regional Field Organizer at Obama for America. From there, he went on to the Montgomery County Board of Education before eventually founding FiscalNote. Hwang graduated from Harvard University with an MBA and from Princeton University with an undergraduate degree in public and international affairs.

 

3. Eric Poley
Senior Vice President of Sales, Opentrons
University of Notre Dame

Eric Poley is the Senior Vice President of Sales for Opentrons’ Pandemic Response Lab (PRL), entrusted with the largest COVID testing programs across the US including eldercare, back-to-school, and state/city government initiatives. Leveraging innovations in laboratory automation, PRL has processed 7M+ COVID tests through its nationwide lab footprint and provides critical variant sequencing for state/city governments to help properly combat this pandemic. PRL is expanding its menu to hundreds of new tests to deliver the same low-cost, speed, and scale benefits across the entire US Healthcare system. With Softbank’s recent $200M in funding, Opentrons’ valuation increased from $90M to $1.8B in 12 months.

Before joining Opentrons-PRL, Poley held sales/GTM leadership positions with a number of early-stage B2B tech firms that became leaders in their industries, from serving as the founding member of salesforce.com’s Enterprise Sales practice under Marc Benioff through the firm’s ‘04 IPO through SignalFX’s recent acquisition by Splunk ($1.05B) in ‘19. Poley earned an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA in entrepreneurship from Babson’s Olin Graduate School of Business.

 

7. Colin Walsh
Founder and CEO, Varo Bank
Cornell University

Colin Walsh is the Founder and CEO of Varo Bank. He founded the company in 2015. Walsh is a fintech visionary, who saw the opportunity for new technology and a better business model to transform banking and boost financial inclusion for millions of consumers. He designed the company from the ground up to put innovation, impact and trust at the core. Walsh intentionally integrated Varo’s social impact mission and customer-first ethos throughout the company. This embedded culture is what drives the Varo team to design, build and launch innovative financial products that address key pain points around the modern banking experience. Products like Varo Advance, a line of credit that provides customers a short term, small dollar advance within seconds - right from the Varo App; and Varo Believe, a credit building credit card that’s designed to build or repair credit safely without the risk of runaway debt. With Walsh’s trailblazing leadership, Varo became the first consumer fintech to obtain its own banking charter in 2020

Previously, Walsh was an EVP of proprietary card services for Europe at American Express and before that a managing director at Lloyds Banking Group. Earlier in his career he worked with Wells Fargo as an EVP. Walsh graduated from Cornell University.

 

10. Dan Rodrigues
CEO, Tebra
University of California - Los Angeles

Dan Rodrigues is the Co-Founder and CEO of Tebra, a digital healthcare technology company formed in 2021 with the merger of Kareo and PatientPop. Tebra combines leading technologies from both companies to deliver an all-in-one, cloud-based software platform purpose-built to drive the success of independent practices and modernize every step of the patient journey. Throughout his career, Rodrigues has consistently demonstrated this unique ability to recognize significant gaps in important markets and create technology products to fill them. He founded Kareo in 2004 to address the specific requirements and demands faced by the independent practices - improving operations efficiency and effectiveness, profitability and revenue collection, and enhancing patient care.

Prior to launching Kareo, he started creating technology for the healthcare industry by co-founding Skematix, a software consulting firm based in Southern California. Rodrigues designed and built a web-based medical billing software and healthcare information system for a national medical billing company, as well as an online auction service for industrial equipment, a self-service Internet kiosk for airports, and an online music service. In the late 1990s, he co-founded Scour, a popular search engine for music and video files online used by more than 10 million consumers. Rodrigues began his career as a software developer for RealNetworks and Visio. He also developed the first ad-insertion and pay-per-view technologies for streaming music and video on the Internet. As a developer with Visio, he developed Internet software enabling users to find and download shapes directly into Visio, which was the award-winning business diagramming software that was later acquired by Microsoft in 1999 and integrated with the Microsoft Office suite of business productivity software. Dan holds a B.S. in computer science from UCLA.

 

14. Michael Fertik
Executive Chairman and Founder, Reputation
Harvard University

Michael Fertik began his professional career over 23 years ago. Today, he is the Executive Chairman and Founder of Reputation. Fertik is an internet entrepreneur and privacy advocate known for pioneering the industry of online reputation management. Reputation is a Redwood City technology company that sends take-down requests to websites hosting embarrassing content, attempts to influence search results, and helps clients obtain positive reviews. He advocates that the internet be cautious to respect the privacy and reputations of people and businesses.

Fertik first got his start in 1999 with founding TruExchange where he served as the CEO and president before selling the software company. He later founded SightGlass Vision, Inc to deliver innovative, science-based treatments addressing the myopia pandemic to children around the world. In addition to his current roles, Fertik is the founder and managing partner of Heroic Ventures where he and his team invest in passionate and purposeful entrepreneurs solving real problems in huge markets. Fertik graduated from Harvard University with a JD and an undergraduate degree.

 

15. Candice Lu
Founder and Managing Director, OnPrem Solution
University of California - Los Angeles

Candice Lu is the Founder and Managing Director of OnPrem Solution. OnPrem Solution Partners is a consulting and technology innovation firm. Founded in 2013 by four consulting industry leaders in Southern California, they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world including major studios, large broadcasters, leading consumer product companies, distinguished technology companies, financial services firms, and non-profit organizations. Lu has over 20 years of media and entertainment consulting.

Previously, Lu was a senior manager of strategy and operations practice lead at Cognizant Technology Solutions and before that a senior consultant to the senior project manager at Strategic Vision Consulting. Earlier in her career she worked with Arthur Andersen Business Consulting as a consultant to senior consultants. Lu earned an MBA from the University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business and an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California - Los Angeles.

 

16. Joanna Riley
Co-Founder and CEO, Censia
University of Virginia

Joanna Riley the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Censia. Censia’s mission is to create a more just and efficient global economy, liberating the global talent pool from unconscious bias and privilege by enabling data-driven talent decisions. Their AI-powered talent intelligence technology allows companies to instantly find, evaluate, and hire passive talent. Their solution can be used directly in the cloud and can be quickly integrated into most applicant tracking systems. Riley is a seasoned tech entrepreneur, thought leader on the future of work, and a strong supporter of women in technology and female-led startups. Her mission at Censia is to unlock the full potential of the global workforce by giving companies access to sophisticated and ethical system intelligence and the most comprehensive and actionable people data available

Riley has been named to the Forbes Next 1000 list, received a 2021 Silver Stevie® Award for Female Entrepreneur of the Year, and was awarded the Most Powerful and Influential Women Award by the California Diversity Council. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for Young Presidents Organization (SF Bay Chapter) and is an active angel investor in early-stage companies. She sits on the Advisory Boards of CerraCap Ventures, Veterati, Perksy, DroneShield Ltd, and is a mentor at Singularity University and Founder. Riley has been featured in Forbes, Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Forbes, The Financial Times, Bloomberg, Huffington Post, NYSE, TechCrunch, Business Insider, and more. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

View the complete list of awardees.

 

17. Todd Marks
Founder, President and CEO, Mindgrub
Loyola University Maryland

Todd Marks is the Founder, President and CEO of Mindgrub Technologies. Mindgrub, a member of the Inc. 5000 for eight years running, is a technical agency and creative consultancy that specializes in award-winning mobile, web, and marketing solutions. Marks founded Mindgrub in 2002 and has since overseen projects for clients such as Exelon, Wendy’s, DELL, Under Armour, Yamaha, Crayola, Geico, The Economist, University of Maryland, and NASA.

Marks began his professional career teaching math and computer science in
Maryland. He is chair of the Maryland Tech Council and has provided strategic direction for many public and private initiatives including the Maryland Business Relief Wizard, an online tool released in early 2020 to help businesses better understand how to navigate federal, state, and local aid programming. He also serves as a member of the Northeastern Maryland Technology Council Board of Directors, the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore, the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Connected DMV Regional Economic Development Strategy Steering Committee, the Young Presidents’ Organization, and the Loyola University MBA Program advisory board. Marks graduated from Loyola University Maryland with an undergraduate degree in mathematics.

 

19. David Politis
Founder and CEO, BetterCloud
Emory University

David Politis is the Founder and CEO of BetterCloud, the leading SaaS Management Platform (SMP) for discovering, managing and securing the growing stack of SaaS applications in the digital workplace. With 300+ employees in Atlanta, New York City, and San Francisco, BetterCloud has raised $187 million to date from investors including Warburg Pincus, Bain Capital Ventures, Accel, Greycroft Partners, and Flybridge Capital Partners.

Politis’s entire career has been dedicated to improving the modern workplace through innovative, next-generation cloud (SaaS) technology. Before founding BetterCloud, Politis was an executive at Cloud Sherpas (acquired by Accenture), a leader in cloud advisory and technology services. Prior to Cloud Sherpas, Politis was the founding employee and general manager of Vocalocity (acquired by Vonage), which he grew into one of the top providers of cloud PBX technology. These companies have served thousands of businesses of all sizes and across multiple industries around the world. Politis graduated with an undergraduate degree in economics from Emory University.

 

22. Tom Montgomery
Co-Founder, Chubbies Shorts
Stanford University

Tom Montgomery began his professional career over 14 years ago. Today, he is the Co-Founder of Chubbies Shorts. Chubbies Shorts is a San Francisco-based online clothing brand that focuses primarily on men's short shorts and swim trucks. The clothing company has released a large number of new patterns and products after the original batch of shorts. All Chubbies Shorts are made in America, using cotton produced in Georgia and construction of the shorts themselves in 19 different locations in California.

In addition to his roles with Chubbies, Montgomery is the chief digital officer for Solo Brands, a platform that exists to empower beloved and unique brands, that have thriving and passionate communities, with best-in-class DTC expertise to build the next generation of customer experiences in digital commerce. Montgomery first got his start in 2008 as a team member at Cooliris. From there, he went on to IDG Ventures USA as an associate. Montgomery graduated from Stanford University with an undergraduate degree in management science and engineering.

 

24. Samuel Hwang
Founder & CEO, NPX Capital / Founder & CEO, NPX TeraArk
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Samuel Hwang is the Founder and CEO of NPX Capital, an investment firm founded in 2016 with offices in Hong Kong, Seoul, and Los Angeles. NPX invests globally in both early and growth stage companies with a focus on education services and technology. They believe in lifelong learning without borders. NPX helps their portfolio companies expand overseas, across countries within the APAC region and within the US. Additionally, Hwang is the Founder and CEO of NPX TeraArk, a venture studio founded by NPX Group. With their platform software, they build new solutions and consult companies on how to manage their businesses more effectively.

Previously, Hwang founded edtech startup New Pathway Education in Shanghai, China in 2009, which was acquired by global private equity firm CVC Capital Partners in December 2014. New Pathway Education was merged with EIC Education and subsequently, Hwang served as CTO and board member of EIC, one of China's leading international education companies with 3500+ employees and operations in 27 cities. Hwang is actively involved as a director of the Hong Kong MIT Innovation Node and serves as a board member of the MIT Sandbox Funding Board. Hwang received an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering with a dual concentration in bioengineering and entrepreneurial management, and a master’s in materials science and engineering, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 

26. Gary Beasley
CEO and Co-Founder,Roofstock
Northwestern University

Gary is Co-Founder and CEO of Roofstock, an award-winning technology-enabled marketplace for the $4 trillion Single-Family Rental (SFR) sector. Their marketplace and transaction platform is designed to dramatically improve liquidity and lower transaction costs in the $2 trillion single-family rental sector. The marketplace features leased, cash-flowing investment homes that have been certified and can be purchased on-line, with professional management in place.

Previously, Beasley was Co-CEO of Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust and the CEO of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, and a solar technology start-up called Greenvolts. Beasley was also CFO of ZipRealty before eventually rising to President of the company. Beasley also spent six years with KKR-backed KSL Resorts. Earlier in his career, he worked for leading real estate industry firms LaSalle Partners and Security Capital Group. Beasley earned a BA in economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

 

28. Frida Polli
CEO & Co-Founder, pymetrics
Dartmouth College

Frida Polli is the Co-Founder and CEO of pymetrics, a company leveraging behavioral science and AI to make workforce decisions more accurate and fair. pymetrics’ global clients include BCG, Blackstone and Kraft Heinz and they are a World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer, Global Innovator, and Global Future Council member, an Inc 5000’s Fastest Growing company, and Forbes AI 50 company.

Prior to pymetrics, Polli was a cognitive neuroscientist at Harvard and MIT. Her work focused on multimodal imaging of health and disease and won the MIT 100K, a BBRF Young Investigator Award, numerous NIH grants and an HBS Life Science Award. With pymetrics, she belongs to Institute for Workplace Equality Technical Advisory Committee, IEEE’s Organizational Governance of AI, WEF’s Human-Centered AI in HR, and the MIT Work of the Future Task Force. Her research has been presented and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Journal of Neuroscience, Brain, the President’s Circle of the National Academy of Sciences, ACM FaccT, and academic forums at Harvard Kennedy and Business Schools, Stanford University, Columbia University, Insead, and others. Polli graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA, from Suffolk University with a PhD and from Dartmouth College with an undergraduate degree in English.

 

30. Naveen Krishnamurthy
CEO & Founder, RIVA Solutions
University of Maryland

Naveen Krishnamurthy began his professional career over 22 years ago. Today, he is the CEO and Founder of RIVA Solutions. RIVA Solutions is a new kind of government contractor providing digital transformation to the public sector. They specialize in DevSecOps, cloud, data and analytics, and cybersecurity for the Federal Civilian, DOD, National Security, and Federal Health markets. Its Innovation Solutions Center (ISC) brings subject matter experts together to recommend new technologies or business processes to produce greater efficiency, cost savings and innovation.

Krishnamurthy first got his start in 1999 as a senior consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton. From there, he went on to Commerce One, before eventually rising to become a partner at PCI Investments, his most recent position prior to founding RIVA Solutions. Krishnamurthy graduated from the University of Maryland with an MBA and an undergraduate degree in finance and economics.

View the complete list of awardees.

 

33. Juve Vela
CEO & Founder, DABS, Inc. & Understanding Behavior, Inc.
Penn State University

Juve Vela is presently the CEO of DeWitt & Associates Behavior Services, Inc and Understanding Behavior, Inc. He was the co-founder of CBEM, LLC; Diversified Behavioral Services, Inc.; Precious Minds, LLC; as well several other entities across the field of psychology. While simultaneously pursuing his interests in the greater field of psychology, Vela has been a serial entrepreneur since his youth, with nearly 35 years of founding start-ups.

Apart from the aforementioned, he was formerly the CEO at OW Socks, LLC, founder of JuJuBee Productions and a host of other business endeavors. Vela thrives on building upon something from nothing, utilizing his background in psychology to guide his business interests and day to day corporate leadership. He has built companies at both state and national levels with valuations of upwards of $20 million. He has lectured both locally, nationally and internationally about community-based mental health consultation. Vela worked closely under the supervision of Dr. Meji Singh, Ph.D. and with his mentor Gerald Caplan, MD., both formerly from the Community Mental Health Program at The Harvard University School of Public Health. He attended St. John’s College, U.C. Berkeley, The Wright Institute in Berkeley and Penn State University. Vela has a doctorate in Clinical Psychology and formal post-doctoral training in Applied Behavior Analysis.

 

35. Haven Allen
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, mHUB Chicago
University of Illinois Chicago

Haven Allen is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of mHUB and Managing Partner of the mHUB Product Impact Fund. mHUB is a leading independent hardtech and manufacturing innovation center that exists to convene the entrepreneurial ecosystem around physical product innovation to ensure that the manufacturing industry continues to accelerate, grow and thrive. The mHUB community includes over 428 active and alumni startups and small businesses supported by a deep talent pool of product designers and developers, entrepreneurs, engineers and manufacturers, corporate leaders, industry experts, mentors and investors.

Prior to launching mHUB, Allen was an economic development strategist at World Business Chicago where he directed the Advisory Council for Chicagoland Manufacturing and led an economic development agenda to support growth and job creation in the manufacturing sector. During his graduate education, Allen served as a mayoral fellow at the City of Chicago and as a graduate student instructor where he taught public management reform. In order to give back to his country, Allen joined the Peace Corps and served as a community economic development volunteer in Panama where he worked to strengthen the management and leadership capacities of rural cooperatives and local organizations in order to increase economic opportunities. Allen has earned a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Illinois Chicago. He is currently pursuing an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

 

38. Jonathan Levine
Founder, GLO Science
Cornell University

Dr. Levine is an aesthetic dentist, a specialist in prosthodontics, oral health expert, author, social entrepreneur, and visionary inventor. He has practiced in NYC for nearly 30 years and is the founder of JBL NYC and GLO Science, bringing patients and providers advances in oral care and modernizing the way people whiten their teeth and improve their oral health. Dr. Levine was an Associate Professor at NYU School of Dentistry, a member of the American Academy of Prosthodontics, and a board advisor for the Boston University Goldman School of Dentistry. He is also the co-founder of the GLO GOOD Foundation with his wife Stacey in partnership with Lenny Kravitz in the Bahamas where they bring medical and dental professionals to people who don’t have access to care. He has also contributed his professional services to humanitarian efforts and organization being on the board of Foundation Rwanda, which helps the children of the 1994 genocide.

GLO Science was founded in 2012 and revolutionizes oral care by providing the most efficient, safe, and painless teeth whitening systems. As the leader in at-home and professional teeth whitening, GLO Science designs products where science meets soul by pairing innovation with patient comfort. They combine cutting-edge technology with easy-to-use devices that simplify the whitening process, reduce chair time, and enhance the overall patient experience.

 

39. Arun Manoharan
Founder and CSO, Prime Discoveries
Anna University, University of Michigan

Arun Manoharan's scientific career began 16 years ago. He is currently the Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of Prime Discoveries. Prime Discoveries is venture-funded company based in New York City that uses artificial intelligence and next generation technologies for developing rapid (< 30 minutes) and cost-effective diagnostics for various pathogenic microbes including COVID, Influenza, STIs, Hepatitis, HPV and those with antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Prime Discoveries' diagnostics platform allows rapid pandemic response and reduces bottlenecks and enables high throughput population level testing with minimal infrastructure and technical expertise. Prime Discoveries is backed by well-known investors including New York University, Charles Zegar (co-founder of Bloomberg), Esther Dyson of 23&Me, BoxGroup, Unshackled Ventures, Cooley, and others.

Manoharan received two engineering degrees in electronics and information technology from Anna University and a PhD in bioinformatics from University of Michigan. His work is published in prestigious journals including Science, Nature, PNAS, and others, and holds multiple patents in Fertility, Diagnostics and Machine Learning. Manoharan is an expert at developing next generation high throughput assays and has worked in notable R&D departments including Genentech, NYU, Dow Agrosciences, Recombine and Cooper Genomics and is also an invited reviewer at the NIH.

 

40. Pankaj Gupta
Co Founder, CEO, USAssurances
Colgate University

Pankaj Gupta began his professional career as a Geriatrician and managed care Medical Director over 21 years ago. While the COVID pandemic began to impact families, health, employment, he started USAssurances to assist the unemployed with their healthcare. His focus and mission are to ensure that the healthcare needs of the unemployed are assured.

Gupta got his first start as a geriatric fellow from Harvard Medical School. From there, he received his MBA from Cornell University. Over the last 20 years, he has held positions as Senior Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer and has a passion for making sure seniors receive the right care, at the right time, at the right place.

 

42. Garyn Angel
Founder, Magical Brands
Florida State University

Garyn Angel is the CEO and Founder of Magical Brands, formerly known as MagicalButter.com, Angel created the first self-contained herbal extraction device for at-home use, MagicalButter, a machine that takes cannabis from flower to high-quality infusions with consistency, allowing patients of medical cannabis simple, safe and smoke-free alternatives.

Angel is an award-winning designer and philanthropist. His work with politicians has guided international cannabis law reform, and his contributions to legal marijuana landed him a spot on the exclusive CNBC NEXT List of global business visionaries. His leadership extends beyond business. Angel founded the Magical Creative Center, an educational program for engineers and also is a writer for Entrepreneur. Angel graduated from Florida State University with a degree in financial planning.

 

43. Tracy Price
Founder, CEO and Chairman, Qmerit
University of California - Los Angeles

Tracy Price is the Chairman, CEO and Founder of Qmerit and a pioneer in electrification and energy efficiency in homes and buildings. Under Price’s leadership, Qmerit has become the leader in EV charger installations and other electrification projects in homes and multi-family properties throughout North America.

Price has been a very successful serial entrepreneur. Before launching Qmerit, Price was co-owner and CEO of Mesa Energy Systems Inc, which sold to EMCOR Group. He co-founded FieldCentrix, a leading field service automation software platform, which was sold to Enron and eventually to ASTEA. Following Enron’s bankruptcy, Price successfully led a management buyout of Enron’s Electrical, HVAC and facility management divisions to form The Linc Group (TLG). After seven years of incredible growth, he sold TLG to ABM Industries. After five successful years with ABM, Price spun off a core team and TLG’s workforce management software to form Qmerit in 2016. Price received an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California - Los Angeles and completed the Executive Mergers & Acquisitions Program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

 

45. John Hui
CEO & Co-Founder, Twiage / Co-Founder, Rendr
Cornell University

John Hui is the CEO and Co-Founder of Twiage, a New York City Digital Health 100 company that provides novel communication technology solutions enabling hospitals and ambulances to accelerate emergency care and improve efficiency for non-emergency care. Hui is also a Co-Founder of Rendr, the largest integrated multi-specialty Chinese physician group dedicated to serving the medically underserved Asian patient population in New York City.

Hui is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor with almost 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. His professional track records in entrepreneurship, business development, sales, marketing and operations cover a wide range of healthcare industry sectors, such as digital health, physician group management, clinical diagnostics, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. In addition to Hui’s entrepreneurial ventures, he is an active angel investor and founding member of Red Bear Angels, a Cornell alumni run angel investor group. Hui holds an MBA from Cornell University and Queen’s University in Canada. He received his BBA from Baruch College / CUNY.

View the complete list of awardees.

 

48. Craig Cummings
Co-Founder and General Partner, Moonshots Capital
United States Military Academy at West Point

Craig Cummings is a General Partner and Co-Founder of Moonshots Capital. Moonshots Capital is a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests in extraordinary leadership. They believe the best ones are military-trained or trial-by-fire entrepreneurs who have the ability to motivate others to action, inspire trust, and plan heuristically. They invest with conviction when those attributes are present.

In addition to his roles with Moonshots, Cummings is the Co-Founder and former Chief Operating Officer of RideScout, a mobile app that showed users how to get from point A to point B by providing real-time ground transportation information. RideScout was acquired by Daimler (maker of Mercedes-Benz) in September 2014. Before he became an entrepreneur, Cummings spent 17 years in the Army, most of that time as an Intelligence Officer serving in support of the National Security Agency. Cummings deployed to Afghanistan with the Joint Special Operations Command where he earned the Bronze Star. He also served as an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point, NY. He was previously selected by HillVets as one of the 100 most influential and impactful veterans in the United States and Inc. Magazine named him as one of the Top 20 Military Veteran Entrepreneurs in the US. Cummings received an undergraduate degree in political science from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and he received a PhD in political science from Columbia University.

 

51. Russell Fadel
CEO & Co-Founder, Augmentir
Duke University

Russ Fadel is CEO and Co-Founder of Augmentir, the world’s only AI-powered Connected Worker platform. Connected Worker software is designed to close the rapidly expanding skills gap in the industrial frontline workforce. Augmentir uses Artificial Intelligence to provide personalized guidance and support to manufacturing and service workers to enable them to perform complex operational and maintenance tasks at their personal best.
Prior to founding Augmentir, Russ founded four other successful manufacturing software companies, the most recent include: ThingWorx (acquired by PTC) and Lighthammer (acquired by SAP). Russ graduated from Duke University with an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering.

 

53. Peter Bonney
CEO and Co-Founder, Vendorful
Harvard University

Peter Bonney is the CEO and Co-Founder of Vendorful. Vendorful has reimagined eSourcing and vendor management software, marrying a modern user experience with a robust set of APIs to transform the way organizations manage their supply base. Its ever-growing suite of tools includes RFP/RFI/RFQ automation, reverse auctions, contracts administration and lifecycle management, vendor management and scorecarding, and security/due diligence questionnaires. Bonney has over 23 years of experience. He began his career in 1999.

Before founding Vendorful, Bonney was an angel investor at My90 and before that a partner at QVT Financial LP. Earlier in his career he worked with Oliver Wyman as a consultant. Bonney graduated from Harvard University with an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics.

 

55. Cesar Hernandez
Founder, Managing Director and CEO, Omni Public
University of South Florida

Cesar Hernandez is the Founder and Managing Director of Omni Public ©, The Firm of the Future. Hernandez is a rising star in the emerging markets of Florida and beyond. He has built a name for himself in areas of strategy, public affairs, and government relations, most recently serving on the City of Tampa's Mayor's Transportation Policy Advisory Committee and Task Force on Racial Justice. He has advised various government agencies, universities, public officials, and political candidates. His work has been featured in Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, Disrupt, and he is published in the University of Oxford's, Oxford Strategy Review. Omni Public has worked with companies such as Tesla Motors, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Ford Motors, Bird Rides, and has advised various entrepreneurial support organizations such as the Tampa Bay Wave, Synapse Florida, RevTechLAbs, and Level39 in London. He is also an investor in the US based Tampa Bay Ventures and UK-based Minerva Ventures as well as seed-stage startups across the US.

Hernandez graduated with an undergraduate degree in biomedical science and political science along with economics from the University of South Florida. After finishing his education at USF Hernandez was admitted to the Hesselbein Global Academy founded by Frances Hesselbein. In 2017 he attended the MBA program at Brown University but left the program early to found Omni Public. In 2020 he enrolled in Oxford's Saïd Business School to finish his MBA with a focus on global strategy.

 

56. Heidi Messer
Co-Founder and Chairperson, Collective[i]
Brown University

Heidi Messer currently serves as co-Founder and Chairperson of Collective[i]™. Collective[i] (short for Collective Intelligence) helps companies around the world forecast, manage and grow revenue leveraging data, human talent, and social connections. Collective[i]’s global network and application uses artificial intelligence to enable sales and other supporting functions to leverage their professional networks and intelligence to optimize all of their sales activities and processes. Messer has been an active entrepreneur and investor in the digital economy since the commercialization of the Internet.

Prior to Collective[i], Messer co-founded LinkShare Corporation (now known as Rakuten Marketing), host to one of the world’s first and largest online affiliate networks. The company is considered to be a pioneer in the world of SaaS, digital advertising and the sharing economy. Under her leadership, LinkShare was recognized by Deloitte and Touche for two consecutive years as the fastest growing technology company in the New York Region. Messer served as a board member, president and COO of LinkShare until its sale to Rakuten (4755:JASDAQ) for $425 million. Messer also serves on the boards of Aperture Investors, the Partnership for NYC, the Partnership Fund for NYC and the Board of Trustees for New York-Presbyterian Hospital as well as the advisory board for the Johns Hopkins University Department of Physics and Astronomy. Messer received an undergraduate degree from Brown University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. She received her juris doctorate from Harvard Law School graduating cum laude.

 

58. Joe Ottinger
Co-Founder, OKR Advisors
Cornell University

Joe Ottinger is the Co-Founder of OKR Advisors. They are a community of expert advisors and practitioners on a mission to help entrepreneurial leaders and their organizations achieve superior strategy execution through the effective use of OKRs and related methodologie. They believe there is a better way to build and connect mastery of practice in OKRs with the strategy execution needs of leaders and organizations via a community of certified practitioners and independent expert advisors. Ottinger has over 30 years of experience as an operator with P&L responsibility, and as a management consultant, strategic advisor, and executive coach.

Ottinger has 18 years of operating company experience culminating as a president and EVP of a public company. He is also a co-founder of a management consulting firm with Harvard Professor John Kotter advising Fortune 500 companies on leading strategic change and successfully helping them increase financial value and market share. He is a strategic advisor to dozens of VC and PE backed companies that have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in investor capital, and many of whom have achieved positive exits. He is the author of Beyond Success: Building a personal, financial, and philanthropic legacy, and iInnovate: An entrepreneur’s guide for engaging in the innovation economy. He is currently writing a book titled, Leveling Up: A business leadership guide for scaling venture capital and private equity backed companies. Ottinger earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in psychology from Cornell University.

 

59. Joy Bhosai
Founder and CEO, Pluto Health
University of California - San Francisco

Joy Bhosai is inspired by innovations that address gaps in access to high-quality care. As an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Duke, she is the co-founder/CEO of Pluto Health, a company focused on improving patient access and care through a health platform that bridges siloed real world data (RWD).

Bhosai previously served as Chief of Digital Health and Strategy for the Duke Clinical Research Institute. Through previous public health work in Africa and Asia, she developed innovations focused on improving access to health services that were used for clinical trials, which then led to her founding ChatrHealth, a health tech organization dedicated to developing patient safety and communication tools deployed across both academic and private health system settings. She has also worked with Health 2.0, directing a program that paired large industry leaders with health tech startups. Bhosai is an alumnus of Pomona College, where she studied anthropology and neuroscience, and a previous Fulbright Scholar. She received a Master of Public Health from Yale, focusing on global health management, an MD with distinction from UCSF, where she completed the global health pathways concentration, and completed the management and leadership residency program at Duke.

View the complete list of awardees.

 

61. Michael Heinrich
Founder & CEO, Garten
University of California - Berkeley

Michael Heinrich is the Founder & CEO of Garten, a health and wellness startup. Garten, formerly Oh My Green, is a health food company that delivers food directly to a company’s doors. Offering healthy office snacks including vegan, gluten-free, organic, and non-GMO options, the company aims to empower the workplace and lead people to make healthier, smarter choices across nutrition, exercise, rest, detox, and overall wellbeing. Heinrich has over 22 years of experience. He began his career in 2000.

Before founding Garten, Heinrich was an advisor, global head of partnerships, co-curator in NYC at Startup Digest and before that a management and strategy consultant at Bain & Company. Earlier in his career he worked with SAP Labs as a product manager & app developer. In addition to his roles with Garten, he also takes on the role of an instructor and advisor at Stanford University. Heinrich graduated from Stanford University with an MS and from the University of California - Berkeley with an undergraduate degree in political economy.

 

64. Andre McGregor
Founder, ForceMetrics
Brown University

Andre McGregor is Founder of ForceMetrics, a data analytics software platform seeking to transform the way law enforcement engages with community by improving data infrastructure and streamlining insights to help everyone make better decision, in the moment, faster. The ForceMetrics flagship product is a digital co-responder for connecting people in crisis with social service agencies and behavioral health professionals

Before starting ForceMetrics, McGregor co-founded ShiftState Security, a cybersecurity firm, was chief security officer for Namely Inc, and head of cybersecurity at Tanium Inc. Most notably, McGregor served as an FBI Cyber Special Agent in New York City working threats against nation-states and cyber criminals, before being promoted to Supervisory Special Agent at FBI Headquarters in Washington DC. Additionally, McGregor was the FBI Cyber Representative to the United Nations. Before entering the FBI Academy at Quantico, McGregor started his career at Goldman Sachs and Cardinal Health. He is on the Boards of Directors for the City of Denver Parks and Recreation, Community First Foundation, the National Cybersecurity Center and Space ISAC. Additionally, he has served his local community as a volunteer firefighter/medic. McGregor earned an undergraduate degree from Brown University.

 

65. David Ronick
Co-Founder and CEO, Minded
Brown University

David is a Co-founder and CEO of Minded, a consumer telehealth company that makes getting mental health medication easy and affordable. Ronick is also the Co-founder and CEO of StashInvest, a personal finance app that helped over 6 million people start investing and saving. Ronick has over 33 years of experience. He began his career in 1989.

Prior to Minded and Stash, Ronick was Founder and CEO of WinWin and CreatorBox. He served as a chief operating officer at Move Collective LLC and Moby Entertainment. Ronick earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelors in English and history from Brown University.

 

66. Hudson Garrett
President and CEO, Infection Prevention Institute
Columbus State University

Dr. Hudson Garrett Jr. is the President and CEO of Community Health Associates in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Project Management and a Senior Fellow and Ambassador of the Management and Strategy Institute. He is a Distinguished Fellow and Practitioner in the National Academies of Practices, is an Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Patient Safety Fellow and is a graduate of the IHI Patient Safety Executive Development Program.

Dr. Garrett was awarded the Fellowship Designations by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Infectious Diseases Society of America in recognition of his work in infectious diseases. He holds graduate certificates in healthcare leadership from both Cornell and the University of Notre Dame. He frequently lectures in the areas of infectious diseases, healthcare-associated infections, outbreak response and prevention, and infection prevention and control. He holds Board Certifications in Patient Safety, Healthcare Quality, Patient Experience, Vascular Access, Antibiotic Stewardship, Prehospital Emergency Medicine, Tactical Medicine, as a Designated Infection Control Officer, in Flexible Endoscope Reprocessing, Critical Care Fundamentals, and Healthcare Value Analysis.

 

68. Sasha Bakhru
Founder & CEO, Perosphere Technologies
Columbia University in the City of New York

Sasha Bakhru is the Founder and CEO of Perosphere Technologies, a private medical technologies company focused on developing next-generation coagulation diagnostics for the hospital setting. Their point-of-care (PoC) coagulometer technology platform provides an unprecedented view of a patient's overall coagulation status and enables physicians to rapidly measure a patient's whole blood clotting time in the ER at a patient's bedside, and also in the outpatient setting. Perosphere received a first regulatory clearance for their PoC coagulometer in the EU and will be applying for their US clearance this year.

In addition to his roles at Perosphere Technologies, Bakhru is an adjunct professor of medical science at Brown University, advisor to several biotech startups including Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Bakhru was previously CSO and co-founder of the specialty pharmaceutical company, Perosphere Inc. (acquired by AMAG Pharmaceuticals in 2019). Bakhru earned a PhD in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, where he was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year alumni prize in 2009, an MSE in materials science from Johns Hopkins University, and an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from Columbia University.

 

69. Stacy Blain
Co-Founder Concarlo Therapeutics
Princeton University

Stacy Blain is the Co-Founder of Concarlo Therapeutics, a preclinical oncology company, developing therapeutics for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Concarlo is an academic spin-out commercializing technology developed in Blain’s academic lab at the State University of New York, Downstate Health Sciences Center. Blain is an internationally recognized expert in the cell cycle and cancer biology and has been studying the targets that Concarlo is drugging for more than 25 years. Her work has been published in top tier journals; she has presented at numerous national and international meetings, is an ad-hoc reviewer for a dozen different journals and has been a reviewer for numerous NIH study sections. She has received research funding from the NIH, the American Cancer Society, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Fund and the METAvivor Foundation.

Blain is a decorated teacher, mentor and educational leader and now has successfully led Concarlo from its academic inception to a company with preclinical assets, currently in manufacturing, with the goal of FIH in 2024. Blain and Concarlo have been finalists in the AIM HI women’s venture competition, a Winner of the RESI Innovator award, and the recipient of an SBIR Phase 1 award. Blain received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University, her PhD from Columbia University in the laboratory of Dr. Steven Goff and did her postdoctoral work with Dr. Joan Massague at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

 

71. Bridget Williams
Founder, Medical Director and Life Coach, Green Harvest Health
University of Michigan

Dr. Bridget Williams is an established board-certified family physician, best-selling author and the CEO of Green Harvest Health, medical cannabis and integrative clinics located in Ohio. With nearly 20 years of experience in family medicine from The Cleveland Clinic, Williams combines her medical background with certifications in life and cannabis coaching to her practice. She provides valuable “medical motivational talks” on medical cannabis, CBD, life balance and confidence. In 2019, Williams branched out into developing her own line of CBD products and CBD product development for developing businesses.

When not seeing patients, Williams hosts podcast shows, creates educational videos for the Cannabis Hub and holds an advisory and curriculum development position with the Cleveland School of Cannabis. Williams is also the founder of the nonprofit GHH Community Foundation. The focal program of the nonprofit is “The Cannabis Can Project”, a gathering of cannabis businesses doing community service and networking to support the community. Williams is honored to be Top Female Business and Top Minority Business with the Ohio MBE Awards 2021 and a Women in Medicine Top Doctor for 2021. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

View the complete list of awardees.

 

73. Varun Kumar
Co-Founder, Roxie Health
Rice University

Varun Kumar is the Co-Founder of Roxie Health, a personalized, data-driven, scalable solution for preventing falls among seniors. As efforts continue to decrease mortality rates for chronic conditions like heart disease and cancer, mortality from falls has increased by 30% in the last 15 years. Roxie helps people maintain long, independent, and healthy lives by preventing falls. Kumar is dedicated to the pursuit of using digital health to transform value-based care organizations.

Previously, Kumar was a resident physician and clinical researcher at Baylor College of Medicine. He also spent time with Deviated Health as a medical director and board member for the Devoted Medical Group of Texas. Kumar earned an MD from Baylor College of Medicine and an undergraduate degree in biochemistry and cell biology from Rice University.

 

74. Nancy Capistran
Co-Founder, Crisis Coach and Advisor, Crisis Interception
Northeastern University

Nancy Capistran is the Co-Founder, Crisis Coach and Advisor of Crisis Interception, a firm that leads decisive change during extreme adversity. She and her colleagues provide mental toughness, sound counsel, insight, uncommon agility, sensitivity, and professionalism. Crisis Interception’s mission is to expertly guide an organization’s leadership to support the best interest of the brand and its stakeholders, both proactively and when in crisis. In addition to her work with Crisis Interception, Nancy is the Founder of Capistran Leadership, an executive coaching consultancy. Her award-winning skills, experience and talent enable her to quickly grasp the dynamics of her clients’ worlds; and provide immediate value through her proprietary assessments and proven strategies.

For the past three decades, Capistran has held a wide range of positions in the specialty areas of corporate risk, compliance, and ethics; strategic planning and implementation; global crisis management; international program management; business administration and operations management; talent management; organizational development; retail/wholesale management; sales, service, marketing, procurement, new product development, manufacturing, and finance. She is also a best-selling, internationally published author of Open Your Eyes and LEAD, a guide to becoming a positive force in the world and how to implement strategies to balance and manage omnipresent tensions while striving for leadership excellence. Capistran graduated from George Washington University with a Master’s in Project Management and from Northeastern University with an undergraduate degree in business management.

 

75. John Lert
Founder & Executive Chairman, Alert Innovation
University of Virginia

John Lert is an inventor and entrepreneur, a double-alumnus of the University of Virginia, the Founder and Executive Chairman of Alert Innovation, and a leading visionary in the area of robotics, supply-chain automation, and micro fulfillment centers (MFCs). Lert first established himself as an innovator in retail automation in 2007, when he founded CasePick Systems in partnership with C&S Wholesale Grocers to develop and commercialize his invention of an automated case-picking technology. Lert sold his ownership interest to C&S in 2009, and the company was subsequently renamed Symbotic. Its technology is not only used by C&S, it is now also being deployed at large scale by Walmart. Symbotic is currently estimated to have a $4 billion valuation.

In 2015, Lert and Alert Innovation co-founder Bill Fosnight invented a new mobile-robotic technology they called Alphabot as a breakthrough solution for automating e-grocery. In 2016, Alert partnered with Walmart to develop Alphabot for MFCs. Walmart is now preparing to scale MFCs as part of a major strategic initiative. Together, Alert Innovation and Symbotic, and the technologies they have brought to market, represent milestone entrepreneurial achievements that are propelling the extended grocery and retail supply chain forward and enhancing customer experiences.

 

76. Peter Schmidt
COO & Co-Founder, Transcend Air
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Peter Schmidt, Co-Founder and COO of Transcend Air, is an entrepreneur and executive with startup, turn-around, and large enterprise experience. Transcend Air is a group of experienced aerospace executives, engineers, and entrepreneurs who have designed a tilt wing VTOL aircraft, the Vy 400. Three times faster than helicopters, with half the operating costs, and enhanced safety, they expect it to grow to dominate the VIP transport helicopter segment. It will also enable a new city-center to city-center airline service, cheaper than current air travel options, and three to five times faster door to door.

Schmidt’s aviation roles have included sUAS test pilot, with two first flights; president & COO of Linear Air, Eclipse 500 operator and Part 135 online charter marketplace; COO of Jet Advisors, a business aviation consultancy; and SVP of National Aviation Academy, the second largest Part 147 aviation mechanic school in the U.S. In his pre-aviation career, Schmidt led several networking and embedded systems companies, including as CTO North America for Ipanema Technologies, CEO of Echo Engineering, division manager of Teradyne, and co-founder and president of Midnight Networks. He currently serves as Chair of the Electric Flight Test Committee of the E-VTOL Flight Test Council. An aerobatic pilot, Schmidt did his undergrad in computer science and his master’s in management, both at MIT.

 

79. Samantha Dong
Founder & CEO, Ally Shoes
Cornell University

Samantha Dong is the Founder and CEO of Ally Shoes. She founded the company in 2017. Ally Shoes is a female-founded footwear brand, making comfortable but stylish heels for modern women who want it all. Their heels come in sizes 35-44, in narrow, medium, and wide widths. Ally provides modernized bespoke service for proprietary fit, helping women find their power heels to conquer the world in comfort.

In addition to her roles with Ally Shoes, Dong is the director of category management with Angi. She first got her start in 2011 as a business analyst with Deloitte Consulting. Dong graduated from Stanford University with an MBA and from Cornell University with an undergraduate degree in applied economics, management, and finance.

 

80. Jeff Mumford
Founder, JM Growth Partners
Auburn University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Jeff Mumford is the Founder and Owner of JM Growth Partners, an independent firm that invests in and operates small businesses. To date, the company has successfully acquired and/or started two companies and expects to purchase two more companies in 2022. JM Growth Partners buys established businesses and accelerates growth via capital investment, operational excellence, marketing/sales expertise and through enhancing the organization's culture.

Prior to founding JM Growth Partners, Mumford was an executive vice president at Red Ventures, an innovative digital growth company. While there, he focused on corporate development and starting and scaling 15 disruptive digital businesses across 8 industry categories. Before joining Red Ventures, Mumford worked with Sterling Capital Partners, a successful private equity company, in its Executive Development Program. Mumford graduated with a BS in finance and economics from Auburn University and a master’s in accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mumford lives in Charlotte, NC with his beautiful wife and their two children and is an avid guitar player.

 

81. Michael Tolentino
Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Aviceda Therapeutics
Brown University

Michael Tolentino is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Aviceda Therapeutics. Aviceda is a biotechnology platform and therapeutic company developing glycomimetic immune checkpoint modulators to treat macular degeneration, solid tumors, fibrosis, and alzheimers. Aviceda also designs glycoRNA to develop the next generation mRNA, anti-sense, gene editing and in vivo CAR-T therapies.

Previously, Tolentino invented Bevasiranib, the first siRNA therapeutic to enter the clinic developed by Acuity Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company he co-founded that eventually became OPKO health. At Harvard Medical School he pioneered anti-VEGF therapies for use in retinal disease. At the University of Pennsylvania, he worked on gene therapy, cellular therapeutics and RNA interference. Recently he co-founded and serves on the board of True Blue Protection, a lens technology company that protects macular degeneration patients and Panther Pharmaceuticals, a siRNA company. He also co-founded Vision Integrated Partners a private equity backed ophthalmic practice acquisition and management company and serves as a board member of Topology eyewear. Tolentino earned a degree in computer science and organizational behavior and management from Brown University and his MD from the University of Massachusetts.

View the complete list of awardees.

 

83. David Ehrich
Co-Founder and Executive Director, AIR
Cornell University

David Ehrich began his professional career over 22 years ago. Today, he is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of AIR. The Alliance for Innovative Regulation (AIR) is a nonprofit aiming to help transform financial regulation from manual, analog design to digitally-native design. The result will stabilize the financial system, protect consumers from harm, foster innovation, and enable financial inclusion. AIR was co-founded with Jo Ann Barefoot, a former Deputy Comptroller of the Currency and staff member at the US Senate Banking Committee.

Ehrich first got his start in 2000 as a consultant and manager at McKinsey & Company. From there, he went on to American Express, before eventually rising to become a senior strategy executive at JPMorgan Chase. Prior to founding AIR, Ehrich co-founded Petal, a NYC-based fintech credit card startup pioneering the use of cash flow underwriting for consumers who lack a history of credit. Ehrich graduated from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth with an MBA and from Cornell University with an undergraduate degree in biochemistry.

 

84. Ben Sever
CEO, Chairman & Founder, eRemede
Elon University

Ben Sever is a serial entrepreneur, enterprise technologist and renowned philanthropist. He holds the CEO, Chairman and Founder role for eRemede, Champa Bay Sports, Deal Closer Digital and MBP Ventures. Sever has spent most of his career empowering healthcare technology, new venture consulting, creative videography, and purpose-driven brands. He has held leadership roles in prominent community organizations such as AdventHealth Carrollwood Foundation, Project Transition USA (MacDill AFB), Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Tampa Bay Wave.

Sever’s biggest venture, eRemede, has raised more than $2MM in capital since its inception in 2019 and is poised to be a market leader in HIPAA-compliant mobile patient engagement. His portfolio of companies are headquartered in his hometown of Tampa, Florida but have national clientele. Sever earned an undergraduate degree in communication and media studies from Elon University and several certifications from Harvard University and Dartmouth College.

 

85. Alex Elsea
Founder & CEO, Ubiquitous Influencer Marketing
Duke University

Alex Elsea is the Founder and CEO of Ubiquitous Influencer Marketing. He founded the company in 2020. Ubiquitous unlocks influencer marketing for the biggest brands in the world with a heavy focus on TikTok. They are a full-service solution built with mature data infrastructure that utilizes predictive analytics and machine learning to optimize influencer marketing strategy on top of its world class strategy and execution team. Whether focused on brand awareness, improving social presence through creator-led organic content creation, or developing a direct growth strategy, Ubiquitous has the area covered.

Previously, Elsea was a VP of marketing at Bellhop. Earlier in his career he founded FlyLadyPlus. Elsea earned an undergraduate degree in computer science and entrepreneurship from Duke University.

 

86. Jasmine Lamb
Founder & CEO, Whut We Share
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Jasmine Lamb is the Founder and CEO of Whut We Share, LLC, a lifestyle and consulting platform designed specifically to support and inspire the multi-hyphenate creative and their unique experiences. As a brand and marketing expert with over a decade of experience, Lamb specializes in the unique connection between brand, purpose, community and culture, strategically bridging the gap between a brand's unique mission and the individuals they wish to connect to. Lamb’s marketing and brand work spans across many industries including tech, wellness, entertainment, and most recently, aerospace engineering.

Lamb is also a passionate wellness advocate and practitioner. As a certified mindfulness meditation teacher and coach, her work expands to 1:1 and group coaching and mindfulness meditation for artists, creative entrepreneurs, and organizations, helping multi-hyphenate creators and founders fine tune their visions and turn them into reality. Ultimately, all of Lamb’s work is rooted in her belief that personal development and self-discovery are key to collective progression, liberation, and social change. Lamb is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

87. Bhuva Subram
FinTech Entrepreneur, Wallet Max
Columbia University in the City of New York

Bhuva Subram is a FinTech Entrepreneur at Wallet Max. Wallet Max is a real-time personal finance app that saves users money while they shop and helps retail shoppers to select the best purchases and investments, with intuitive technology controls and advanced analytics. Their fully integrated platform helps users to organize payments and rewards, and intelligently recommends best personalized offers/options for their daily needs.

Subram is a FinTech transformation entrepreneur, passionate about ESG inclusion and sustainable digital innovation. She has managed diverse global teams and launched several technology products as an executive with Capgemini in the investment banking and regulatory compliance industry. With an MBA from Columbia University, Subram leads Women in AI non-profit for North America, and is an early-stage investor in social impact startups with a mission to accelerate education and economic growth.

 

88. Alice Kim
Founder, PerfectDD
Dartmouth College

Alice Kim is the Founder of PerfectDD. PerfectDD designs sustainable tops for women with a large chest, creating options for when women don’t want their chest to be a distraction. Kim founded the company to target this overlooked demographic, creating flattering clothes for women who struggle to find styles that accommodate their DD+ cup chest size. PerfectDD focuses on comfort and fit without sacrificing style and is a voice of the underrepresented with a philanthropic donation with every purchase. Kim has over 20 years in the apparel and fashion industry. She began her career in 2002.

Before founding PerfectDD, Kim was a divisional merchandise manager at Shopbop | East Dane and before that a VP of merchandising, retail and wholesale at Diane von Furstenberg. After graduating from university, Kim started her career as an investment banker with Bear Stearns & Co. Kim graduated from Dartmouth College with an undergraduate degree in economics and Japanese.

 

89. Kimberly Gandy
Founder & CEO, Play-it Health
Northwestern University

Kimberly Gandy is the Founder and CEO of Play-it Health. She founded the company in 2013. Play-it Health is a virtual care management company based in rigorous clinical science and technology. Play-it Health provides personalized remote patient monitoring in a rich virtual care management platform. The platform interfaces with a wide range of biometric monitoring devices and provides actionable insights into care management.

Previously, Gandy was a member at Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship and before that a chair member for the Basic Science and Translational Research Council at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Earlier in her career she worked with Novartis as a research scientist. Gandy earned a PhD in immunology from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree in music performance in piano from Northwestern University.

View the complete list of awardees.

 

91. Kevin Phillipson
Co-Founder, Performance Rugby Analytics
Wilmington University

As a Professor Dr. Phillipson has taught marketing, entrepreneurship, management, strategy, and technology. He is currently Professor of Entrepreneurship and Marketing at McMurry University in Abilene, TX, since 2019. He has earned a Doctorate in Business Administration, an MBA, a Master of Science in Management - Sports Management, a Master of Science in Management – Marketing, and a Bachelor of Science. He has a published peer reviewed article entitled Creating Differentiation – Rugby for recruiting student athletes. He started working at the age of 12 and has remained mostly self-employed since. He has owned technology, advertising and marketing, and media companies, and currently has businesses in human performance, rugby analytics, investment, and business consulting. Currently, he works with businesses to create differentiation and develop a strategic plan to drive profitability and growth. He also specializes in concept development; helping take an idea from a dream to monetized, launched, and profitable.

Phillipson is the head coach for the West Texas Texans 7's and ACU men’s rugby programs. He is the founder of the West Texas Performance Academy in Abilene, TX. He has been involved in rugby for over 50 years, actively playing for 46 years, won a scholarship to go to England for advanced coaching development, and was Coach of the Month in April 2020. He married Angie in 2006, and they parent 7 kids: his 2, her 3, a nephew, and 1 of their 5 grandkids. They also have 3 Golden Retrievers, Cooper, Millicent, and Finley. They have many other kids that call them mom and dad all over the world. Kevin was born in South Africa, immigrated to the USA in 1992. He served in the South African Army receiving the Commanding Officer’s Commendation Award.

 

94. Jay Whitehead
CEO and Co-Founder, League Network PBC
University of California - Los Angeles

Jay Whitehead is the CEO and Co-Founder of League Network. League Network’s FundMyTeam raises funds for sport team clients of its affiliate partners including VICIS, NBC SportsEngine, Ballparks of America, and a growing number of the 40k youth team sport leaders who subscribe to League Network media and attend its TLC Sport Summits. FundMyTeam's unique affiliate and media partner model raised roughly $20M in 2019 for teams, on which FundMyTeam earned a 10% to 15% fee. Whitehead has led 17 launches with 5 exits in IT, media and fundraising, raising over $100M in capital.

In addition to his roles with League Network, Whitehead is a chairman and CTO of ReentryCenters.com, a partner at UCLA Ventures and a partner at media consultancy SOFICO LLC. Whitehead is a serial tech, fintech, media and social enterprise entrepreneur with his sixth exit pending. Whitehead’s first tech boss was Steve Jobs, where he helped Apple market the Lisa computer, predecessor to the Mac. Whitehead earned an undergraduate degree in history from University of California - Los Angeles and a strategic finance certificate from Harvard Business School.

 

95. Tommy Swanhaus
CEO & Founder, Tommy Swanhaus Co.
Duke University

Tommy Swanhaus began his professional career over 22 years ago. Today, he is the CEO & Founder of Tommy Swanhaus Co. Tommy Swanhaus Co. specializes in multi-platform marketing, branding, sales, and media production. He is an entrepreneur that applies his talents in intrapreneurial ways to a company environment and culture. He created and sold his first TV show when he was 25 years old to the TLC Network, which made him one of the youngest executive producers for his age in Hollywood and New York in history.

Swanhaus, ranked among the marketing and advertisers of the world, is a creative genius whose original content and amplification take companies to the top of their industries. Swanhaus, known throughout the business world as a bold, innovative thinker, is described as one of the Top 50 Best Content Creators for Marketing Campaigns on Instagram in the world. Swanhaus is also an international best-selling author of Amplify Your Marketing, Career, and Company which has reached an estimated 750M people worldwide. His thoughts on marketing, its changing methods, and its impact on business have also been published in The New York Times, Reuters, and USA Today. Swanhaus graduated from Duke University with an undergraduate degree in mass communication.

 

98. Jennifer Dalton
Founder and CEO, BrandMirror
Georgetown University

Jennifer Dalton is the Founder and CEO of BrandMirror. She founded the company in 2021. BrandMirror is focused on delivering timely, relevant, and value-add marketing strategy and brand development for individuals, start-ups, and existing businesses.

Previously, Dalton was a partner and VP at Educational Media Creations Company and before that a director in the project management office and chief of staff at Capital One. Earlier in her career she worked with ITAC as a senior operations manager. Dalton earned an EMBA and an undergraduate degree in human resources from Georgetown University.

View the complete list of awardees.