Erica Amatori | 29
SVP of platform
Left Lane Capital
Amatori, who was promoted from vice-president to SVP in 2024, heads Left Lane’s Accelerate platform and value-add team across New York and London. “Erica has driven measurable value and recognition for Left Lane and its portfolio companies, and I’m proud to put her forward for this award and to have her as a sparring partner,” says Left Lane managing partner Dan Ahrens. In the past year, Amatori led more than 50 global events, initiated Left Lane’s DE&I program, covered 14 fundraising press announcements and facilitated more than 100 strategic partner and adviser introductions to Left Lane’s portfolio companies.
Hannah-Mei Andrews | 32
Investment director
Climate Investment
Andrews is on the rise at Climate Investment, which provides early-stage to growth capital to companies focused on decarbonization solutions. She joined the firm in February 2018 as an investment associate, was promoted to investment principal in April 2022 and was named an investment director in April 2024. Andrews co-led two new primary deals and three follow-on deals for CI in the past 12 months. She is also a member of the firm’s DE&I committee, co-hosted its inaugural celebration of UK Black History Month and is a partner at The Table, a voluntary initiative focused on increasing funding access to female founders.
Ron Binder | 29
Demand generation manager
YL Ventures
Since joining YL in October 2023, Binder has quickly made an impact as its demand generation manager to support the firm’s portfolio companies. In 2024, he created and launched a new inbound lead generation program that attracted more than 200 early adopter members from the security community and facilitated more than 90 introductions with YL portfolio companies. “Ron’s strategy and programs contributed to over 20 (and counting) closed deals, translating to hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue, significantly accelerating the growth trajectories of the firm’s portfolio companies,” notes YL content manager Merav Ben Avi.
Andrew Cal | 33
Chief information security officer
WestCap
As chief information security officer, Cal spends his days countering cyber-threats against WestCap and its portfolio companies. He joined the growth equity investor as a vice-president in February 2022 and was promoted to CISO in August 2024. WestCap credits him with detecting and helping law enforcement take down “an international multimillion-dollar fraud scheme.” Cal oversees WestCap’s cyber-advisory board, which is made up of security leaders across the firm’s portfolio and CISOs of publicly traded companies. He is also involved in the firm’s investment process, leading discussions around new deal themes.
Gökçe Ceylan | 34
Principal
Oxx VC
After about three years as venture lead at Deloitte, Ceylan dove into dealmaking as an investment professional for Oxx in 2021. She completed six deals in just two and a half years, then was promoted to principal in April 2024. A month later, she led the firm’s participation in the $25.2 million Series B for cybersecurity company SOCRadar. “At the time of the deal, the company already had boots on the ground in the US, South America, MENA and APAC, marking it as one of the most international companies in the Oxx portfolio,” the firm says.
Vikram Chaudhery | 38
Partner
Genoa Ventures
Chaudhery, who has a PhD in electrical engineering and biomedical instrumentation, loves to multitask. He is a partner at early-stage firm Genoa Ventures and co-founder and president of venture studio General Inception. Chaudhery has helped Genoa portfolio companies achieve six FDA clearances for diagnostic and medical devices. At General Inception, he has helped founders launch 49 new companies since 2020. “His passion for advancing human health and improving lives is evident in every company he helps shape, making him a driving force in the future of life sciences and technology innovation,” says Genoa colleague Andrea Vuturo.
Anna Chen | 37
Principal
Frazier Life Sciences
Chen joined FLS in 2018, three years after getting her PhD in systems biology from Harvard. She has been promoted twice, most recently being elevated to principal in 2024. Chen’s new role has her leading deals, including sourcing and leading FLS’s investment in Alentis Therapeutics, a cancer therapy company. She also serves on the boards of BlueWater Biosciences and Eyconis. “As the most senior woman on the FLS investment team, Anna leads by example and is incredibly generous with her time mentoring the junior team at the firm,” says Lauren Mifflin, VP of company creation at FLS.
Prasanth Chilukuri | 39
Co-founder and managing partner
Soul Street Ventures
In the most challenging fundraising market in recent memory, Chilukuri co-founded Soul Street Ventures in Houston and was able to raise $22.5 million for its inaugural venture fund. He has already led investments in seven companies, including a $4.6 million Series A for Mallard Bay, a SaaS-enabled marketplace for hunting and fishing adventures. Chilukuri also serves as division chair for the DE&I committee at The Kinkaid School, which supports diversity and inclusion efforts in education, and founded Viriya Ventures, a single-family office supporting non-tech start-ups such as Juni, a sparkling tea maker.
Dominic Costanzo | 33
VP of portfolio and selection
43North
Costanzo leads the portfolio selection and management for 43North, a start-up accelerator program based in Buffalo, New York. Under his leadership, 43North has sought to address and diversify equality in funding. Almost half of the accelerator’s portfolio companies are led by founders of color and more than a quarter of the founders are women. Thanks to Costanzo’s efforts to reach and incentivize underrepresented founders to apply to 43North’s annual competition – in which 15 start-ups pitch for one of five spots and $1 million in funding – more than 77 percent of the 943 applicants were women or came from underrepresented backgrounds.
Amanda Eakin | 31
Principal
Sputnik ATX VC
Eakin was the first employee hired by Sputnik ATX VC upon its founding in 2017, serving as its marketing director. She was promoted to senior associate in 2019 and served in that role for about five years until she was elevated to principal in early 2024. In her new role, she has performed diligence and influenced decisions on nine investments and increased dealflow by 30 percent compared to 2023. Eakin is described as “a champion for funding often overlooked talent, with seven out of the nine start-ups Sputnik invested in throughout 2024 being woman and/or [people of color] led.”
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