Advisory Boards
San Francisco Advisory Board
Marc McMorris
Marc McMorris
Advisory Board Chair
Managing Director and Co-Founder,
Carrick Capital Partners
Marc is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Carrick Capital Partners, a growth equity firm based in San Francisco. Prior to Carrick Capital Partners, Marc was a Managing Director at General Atlantic, a $15 billion global private equity firm, where he led investments in enterprise services and software and was head of the Palo Alto office. Prior, Marc was a Vice President in the high-tech mergers and acquisitions group of Goldman Sachs, Inc. and was an Associate at Morgan Stanley, where he worked in the telecom/media M&A group.
Marc is a trustee at the University of Pennsylvania and a board member of Classroom, Inc., an NYC-based nonprofit dedicated to improving language arts and math skills in elementary and middle school children from economically disadvantaged areas.
Marc has a B.S. degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business.
Marc lives in Marin with his wife, Marjorie, and their two sons.
Adam R. Karr*
Adam R. Karr*
Founder, SEO Scholars, San Francisco
Head of Orbis US,
Orbis Investments
Adam is head of Orbis US and a Director of its parent company, Orbis Investment Management Limited. Prior to joining Orbis in 2002, Adam was a partner at Palladium Equity Partners, a private equity firm in New York. He started his career as a financial analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (“DLJ”).
Adam graduated with honors from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Economics and earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. In 1992, Adam was recruited by SEO and placed in a summer internship at DLJ. In 2005, he was elected to the SEO Board of Directors Adam has been an essential supporter, both individually and through Orbis Investment Management, of The Campaign for SEO and SEO Scholars. Currently, Orbis Investment Management underwrote the launch of SEO Scholars Program San Francisco.
Adam and his wife, Tonia, have created and endowed several scholarships focused on providing support to students of color interested in teaching at inner-city schools. In 2010, Adam was elected a Trustee of the Northwestern University Board of Trustees. He also serves as a director of Allan Gray Limited in South Africa as well as a trustee of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Endowment.
Adam lives in California with his wife and their three children.
David A. Breach
David A. Breach
President and Chief Operating Officer
Vista Equity Partners
David Breach is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Vista Equity Partners (Vista), a leading global investment firm. David serves on Vista’s Executive Committee, as well as the firm’s Private Equity Management and Private Equity Funds’ Investment Committees. Before taking the role of President at Vista, he served as the firm’s Chief Legal Officer.
David previously worked as a Senior Corporate Partner with the law firm Kirkland & Ellis. He was a founding partner of the law firm’s San Francisco office and grew its Northern California practice to over 250 employees.
David and his wife, Emily, established the David A. and Emily A. Breach Law School Scholarship Fund at the University of Michigan Law School. David also committed $5 million to the University of Michigan Law School to permanently endow the David A. Breach Deanship.
David graduated with a B.B.A. in marketing from Eastern Michigan University and received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
Stuart Casillas
Stuart Casillas
Partner,
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Stuart Casillas is a merger and acquisition Partner with Kirkland & Ellis LLP focusing his practice on the representation of private equity funds and their portfolio companies. Prior to joining Kirkland, Stuart was corporate associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Stuart also serves on the Board of Governors of The University Foundation, California State University Chico and was a past Chair of the Board. Stuart is a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Law and was a Visiting Student at Berkeley Law. He is also a graduate of California State University, Chico where he received a BA in Economics and a BS in Strategic Management.
Ian Chiu*
Ian Chiu*
Managing Director,
Owl Ventures
Across his career, Ian has been an investor, entrepreneur, and advisor to education and technology companies. He brings a wealth of education investing and board experience to the Owl Ventures team. Prior to joining Owl Ventures, Ian led the education sector at Warburg Pincus and served on the Board of Directors of Stratford Schools, Liaison International, Dude Solutions, and Civitas Learning. Before Warburg Pincus, Ian was a technology investor at Silver Lake Partners and a consultant at Bain & Company. He also helped launch BigMachines (acquired by Oracle), a leading configure, price, quote (CPQ) SaaS vendor, where he focused on business development.
Prior to his professional career, Ian was the lead author of Caution: Watch for Scholarships Ahead, a practical guide for students to navigate the complex scholarship application process, which was endorsed by Stanford University’s Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid. Ian is a graduate of Stanford University, where he earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, with Distinction, and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering, with a concentration in technology management and entrepreneurship. He also received his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar and Arbuckle Leadership Fellow.
JP Conte
JP Conte
Chairman & Managing Director,
Genstar Capital
Jean-Pierre L. Conte is the Chairman and Managing Director of Genstar Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm focused on investments in targeted segments of the healthcare, financial services, industrials, and software industries. A graduate of Colgate University and Harvard Business School, J-P joined Genstar Capital in 1995. Genstar currently has approximately $35 billion of assets under management and is investing out of its tenth fund, with approximately $12 billion of committed capital. He is a Director of Signant Health and ConnectiveRx. He grew up in the New York area and began his career at Chase Manhattan Bank. J-P earned an M.B.A. from Harvard University Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from Colgate University.
J-P serves on the board of several philanthropic organizations. J-P is a board Overseer for Hoover Institution and established a Hoover task force on comprehensive immigration reform. Also, he serves as board of trustees for CPMC Foundation, Pan American Development Fund, SEO and is the founder of the J-P Conte Family Foundation.
Jim Farris
Jim Farris
Chief Executive Officer,
Mosser Capital
As CEO of the investment management arm of Mosser, Jim Farris leads all facets of the investment management platform, including strategic vision, developing new capital partner relationships, acquisitions, recapitalizations, dispositions, geographic expansion, and asset management. Jim has more than 17 years of experience in real estate investment, finance, and property operations. He is an IREI Springboard Leader Alumni and an iREOC Board of Governors member as well as a UC Berkeley Fisher Center Advisory board member.
Jim earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Santa Clara University and a dual Masters of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School and the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.
Victor Hwang*
Victor Hwang*
Managing Director and Co-Head,
MSD Growth, MSD Partners
Mr. Hwang brings to MSD more than 25 years of experience focused on private technology investments and operations. Most recently, he was a Managing Director, General Partner and member of the Investment Committee for the secondary funds of Industry Ventures, a leading investment firm focused on the venture capital market, where he established a strong track record investing in enterprise, internet, and healthcare companies over more than a decade. Before joining Industry Ventures, he was an active angel investor and held investor and operating roles at Internet Capital Group and Goldman Sachs & Co.
Victor is an avid foodie and a hack sommelier who brings a keen passion for wine, Burgundy and Bordeaux in particular, and loves nothing more than to share a great bottle of wine from his cellar with friends. Despite his best efforts to improve, Victor brings more enthusiasm than skill to tennis, a sport he loves to play in his spare time. If he’s not playing tennis, he’s can frequently be found on a Peloton, road bike or in the gym. Victor and his wife live in Marin, where they have raised their three daughters. Victor is on the Advisory Board of SEO Scholars San Francisco, which educates and mentors underserved public high school students to and through college with a 90% college graduation rate.
Mr. Hwang received his B.A. from Stanford University and his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he graduated as an Arjay Miller Scholar.
Abtin Jalali
Abtin Jalali
Partner,
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Abtin Jalali is a partner in the San Francisco office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of Gibson Dunn’s Private Equity and Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Groups.
Mr. Jalali has extensive experience representing private equity firms and their portfolio companies in all aspects of their businesses, with a focus on acquisitions, divestitures, growth equity investments, and general corporate matters. Mr. Jalali has advised on transactions in various industries, including enterprise software, data and technology, healthcare, business services, consumer products, and industrials.
Mr. Jalali received his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. He received his Master of Business of Administration and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business.
Jennifer James
Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer & Head of Investor Relations and Marketing,
Thoma Bravo, LLC
Minh-Chau Le
Minh-Chau Le
Partner,
Ropes & Gray
Chau Le practices primarily in the firm’s private equity group, representing private equity funds, strategic investors, and public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and other strategic transactions. Chau regularly advises private equity firms and their portfolio companies on acquisitions, divestitures and general corporate governance matters.
Chau Le was named one of The Deal’s “Top 21 New M&A Law Partners” of 2019.
TPG and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in connection with their acquisition of Covetrus, an animal-health technology and services provider.
Genstar Capital in its acquisition of Advarra, a leading provider of compliance solutions critical to the drug development process, from Linden Capital Partners, various add-on acquisitions and sale of Advarra to Blackstone and CPP Investments.
Audax in its acquisition of Rensa Filtration, an operator of an investment holding company focused on commercial and industrial air filtration systems.
Audax in its acquisition of Monarch Landscape Companies, a provider of commercial landscaping services.
TPG Capital in a simultaneous carve-out of AT&T’s U.S. video business (DirecTV) and $1.8 billion investment in the newly carved out business.
TPG Capital in its acquisition of Nintex, a developer of integrated workflow automation software, and Nintex’s add-on acquisitions of Kryon Systems and Skuid.
Audax in its majority acquisition of S.J. Electro Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of control solutions for the water and wastewater industry.
TPG Capital in its acquisition of WellSky (previously Mediware Information Systems, Inc.), a leading health and community care technology company, from Thoma Bravo; WellSky’s add-on acquisitions of Kinnser Software, Inc., ClearCare, Inc. and Careport Health, a carve-out from Allscripts Healthcare Solutions; and TPG and WellSky in their partnership with Leonard Green & Partners.
Genstar Capital in its investment in Lightspeed Systems, a provider of mobile device management and device monitoring enabling schools to make learning safe, managed and mobile.
Audax in its acquisition of Veterinary Practice Partners, a provider of practice management services intended for the veterinary industry.
GI Manager in its investment in Rectangle Health, a provider of healthcare financial technology and patient engagement solutions, in conjunction with existing investor TA Associates.
GI Partners in connection with the partial secondary sale of Daxko, a software and integrated payments provider for the health, fitness and wellness industries, to Genstar Capital.
Audax in its acquisition of GCX Corporation, a manufacturer of healthcare-focused equipment mounting and mobility products, from its founder.
Vista Equity Partners and DealerSocket, a provider of software for the automotive industry, in its $15 billion (in combination with other deals) sale to Solera.
Vista Equity Partners in its acquisition, alongside Harvest Partners, of Granicus, a provider of cloud-based citizen engagement technologies and services.
Vista Equity Partners in the recapitalization of Infoblox, a software company that offers core networking and cybersecurity solutions for businesses.
Genstar Capital in its acquisition of Signant Health.
GI Partners in its acquisition of Clinical Ink, a global clinical trial technology company, from NovaQuest.
Advent International in its public to private acquisition of Forescout Technologies, a cybersecurity company.
Neil Malik*
Neil Malik*
Chief Executive Officer,
K1 Investment Management, LLC
In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of K1, Neil is an active board member for the firm’s portfolio companies and advisor to its management teams.
Previously Neil worked for Kayne Anderson, Brentwood Associates, Olympus Partners and J.P. Morgan Securities. He has served as a director of numerous companies and also serves on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Southern California.
Neil is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, where he received an M.B.A., and of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a BS in Finance from the Wharton School and a B.A.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the school of Engineering and Applied Sciences, magna cum laude.
Michael Moon*
Michael Moon
Founder,
Owlswood Capital
Michael was Managing Director of Calera Capital, a leading private equity investment firm based in San Francisco. Before joining Calera Capital in 2005, Michael was a Principal with Berkshire Partners, LLC, a Boston-based middle-market private equity firm. Michael had significant involvement in a number of investments, including Crown Castle International and the privatization of the BBC transmission assets in the U.K. Michael was also a Co-Founder and Managing Director of an alternative asset management business focused on serving Asian institutional investors. Michael began his career in investment banking at Goldman, Sachs & Co., focused on communications, media, and technology businesses.
Michael graduated from Miami University (Ohio) as a Benjamin Harrison Scholar with a B.A. in Economics. Michael is an SEO Career alumnus, Class of 1993.
Michael lives in California with his wife, Clara, and their two sons.
Mark Olsen
Principal,
Ernst & Young
John Rogers
John Rogers
John Rogers
Partner & Education Sector Lead
The Rise Fund
John is a Partner and the global Education Sector Lead for TPG’s Rise Fund. In that role, John has developed the Rise Fund’s education sector investment strategy which focuses on personalized learning, career education and multi-site school operators in emerging markets. John joined the Rise Fund with nearly two decades of experience closing two dozen acquisitions while building nine platform companies in the education and healthcare sectors. John led the Rise Fund’s investments in DreamBox Learning, InStride and Digital House and assisted with investments in Renaissance Learning, EverFi, Allogene, Viewpoint Therapeutics and RefleXion.
Prior to joining Rise, John helped to build the field of social impact investing in the US as a founding partner of Bridges Ventures’ U.S. Sustainable Growth Fund. Prior to his work with Bridges, John was a Partner and Group Head for the Healthcare and Education Group at Gryphon Investors and a Vice President with DB Capital Partners. John began his career in the public sector, leading the development of innovative public health programs for the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency. John currently serves on the Boards of DreamBox Learning, InStride, Digital House and GradGuru. He holds a BA in political science from Yale University, an MBA from Stanford University and a Doctor of Education from the University of Pennsylvania.
Betty Schafer
Betty Schafer
Betty is the retired principal of New Futures, an organization coaching people in transition. After serving in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa with her husband and their three daughters, Betty worked as a journalist, editor, and advice columnist in Singapore, and as a certified professional coach.
Betty pursued her abiding interest in helping underserved students by joining the first cohort of sponsors for the ”I Have a Dream” Program, designed to help students achieve high school and college diplomas. She and six others adopted fifth-graders from Sheridan Elementary School and underwrote the college education for those who graduated from high school. Today, in addition to SEO Scholars San Francisco, she serves on the boards of The Coro Center for Civic Leadership, Brandeis Hillel School and Earthjustice.
Betty earned a B.A. from Radcliffe College and an M.A. in English Literature.
Nihir Shah*
Nihir Shah*
Global Equities
Citadel
Before moving to the Bay Area, Nihir worked at investment firms Serengeti Asset Management, Fortress Investment Group and Merrill Lynch. Prior to Merrill Lynch, he worked for various technology start-ups, including Bang Networks, in business development capacities. Nihir has international experience as well, having worked at Salomon Brothers in London.
Nihir serves as a trustee of the National School Climate Center.
Nihir graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in History from the College of Arts and Sciences and a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School. He received his M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Nihir is a 1993 alumnus of SEO Career.
Nihir lives in the Bay Area with his wife, Mona, and three children.
Phil Yau
Phil Yau
Managing Director,
GI Partners
Philip Yau is a Managing Director with GI Partners, private equity and real estate investment firm based in San Francisco, which has raised over $16 billion. Prior to joining GI Partners in 2017, Philip helped lead the Private Funds Group for 12 years at UBS Investment Bank and has over 25 years of investment banking and private equity experience. Philip is a graduate of Princeton University and has an M.B.A. from Northwestern University.
San Francisco Committee Advisors
Angela Zhang
Angela Zhang
Development Committee
Director,
GI Partners
Angela Zhang is a Director of GI Partners. Angela currently serves on the boards of Daxko, Togetherwork, and Rectangle Health. Prior to joining GI Partners, Angela was with Advent International in New York where she focused on private equity investments in the Technology, Media, and Telecom sectors. Earlier in her career, she was an investment banking analyst in the Financial Institutions group of Goldman Sachs in New York.
Angela has been recognized for her leadership and investing acumen, being named as one of the Top Female Deal Makers by the Wall Street Journal and in the Electronic Transactions Association’s (ETA) 2020 Forty Under 40. She has also been featured in Buyout’s Women in Private Equity class of 2022.
Angela holds a BA in Business Administration from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Sharada Tangirala
Sharada Tangirala
Finance Committee
Investment Analyst,
Orbis Investments
Sharada Tangirala is an investment analyst at Orbis Investments. Prior to joining Orbis in 2020, Sharada worked as an investment banking analyst at Bank of America. Sharada is a graduate of Baruch College and holds a B.A in Mathematics.
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San Francisco Leadership Council
Vanessa Carvajal
Co-Chair
Strategic Partner Development Manager
Google
Craig Huie*
Co-Chair
Investment Director,
University of California Regents
Ian Balmaseda*
Vice President,
H.I.G. Capital
Christina Campbell
Analyst,
Alpha FMC
Ari Levi
Partner,
Kirkland and Ellis
Jon Duarte*
Principal,
TriplePoint Capital
Mohamed Kamara
Principal,
Centerview Partners
Harshad Khurjekar
Partner / Principal
RSM US LLP
Gwen Li
Private Equity Associate
Blackstone
Wayne Lin
Vice President,
Lexington Partners
Trey Linke
Vice President,
Evercore
Mahek Mehta
Investor
TA Associates
Kojo Minta
Expert Solutions Consultant
Adobe
Sarah Nowland
Senior Manager - International Tax and Transaction Services, ,
EY
Gabriel Nunez*
Associate,
H.I.G. Capital
Rosalia Ramirez*
Associate,
TPG
Kate Rodgers
Senior Associate, ESG
Thoma Bravo
Cherry Than*
Data Strategist
Abbott
Carter Vilim
Associate,
Evergreen Coast Capital
Emma Whenham
Partner,
Kirkland & Ellis
Mae Zheng
Associate
TA Associates
Junior Leadership Board
Chhavi Aggarwal
Senior Associate,
Astira Capital Partners
Tamara Cockfield*
Associate,
J.P. Morgan
Jeffrey Cole*
Associate,
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Janelle Cordero*
Manager, Data Science,
American Express
Emma Garcia*
Chair
Personal Coach
Jeremiah Grant*
Programs Associate,
Bezos Family Foundation
Marcelo Guerra*
Julien Ham-Ying*
Co-Founder,
Mosaic ETA
Vincent Harrison
Researcher, Innovation Economy,
J.P. Morgan
Robert McCollister*
Vice President,
Davidson Kempner Capital Management
Natasha Mena
Associate Director, Corporate Strategy
DTCC
Paulina Muñoz
Vice President,
HSBC
Mallet Y. Njonkem*
Senior Associate,
Ariel Alternatives
Lorena Rodriguez*
Associate,
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Ihsan I. Saleem*
Principal,
Saleem & Company
Papa Yaw Sencherey*
Associate,
Summit Partners
Ray Temnewo
Associate,
New Mountain Capital
Joseph Vukel*
Senior Associate,
Owl Ventures
Malikah Williams*
Associate,
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Tomi Williams*
Associate,
Evercore
* SEO alumnus/a
