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Alpha Summit Americas by Allocator One - Speakers

David Glynn
Managing Partner, Glynn Capital
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David Glynn joined Glynn Capital in 2007 and is currently Managing Partner.

In this capacity, David serves as an investment partner and also manages firm operations and investment strategy and execution. David focuses on investments in growth-stage technology companies across enterprise software, marketplaces, fintech and insuretech.

Prior to Glynn Capital, David was a Manager at Eric Godtland Management and a software Analyst at Robertson Stephens.

David earned a BA from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. David serves on the College of Arts and Letters Advisory Council and the Wall Street Leadership Council at Notre Dame.

Leah Solivan
GP at Fuel Capital, MD of Precedent.vc, and founder of TaskRabbit
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Leah Solivan is a General Partner at Fuel Capital and Managing Director of Precedent.vc, managing three top-quartile funds with a portfolio of over 150 companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, and marketplaces. She brings a founder’s perspective to her investing, having created TaskRabbit in 2008, the on-demand marketplace that helped define the gig economy. As CEO for eight years, she scaled the company to 44 cities before overseeing its acquisition by IKEA in 2017.

A sought-after speaker on entrepreneurship and the future of work, Leah has appeared at the World Economic Forum in Davos and her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Wired, and Fast Company, which named her one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business.” She is committed to advancing diversity in tech and serves on the boards of PetMeds (NASDAQ: PETS) and the San Francisco Ballet.

Jens Hilgers
Founding General Partner at BITKRAFT Ventures
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Jens Hilgers is a pioneer in the gaming and esports industry, currently serving as the Founding General Partner at BITKRAFT Ventures, a global investment platform with $830 million in assets under management, focusing on gaming, esports, and Web3 technologies. He co-founded ESL (Electronic Sports League), G2 Esports, and Bayes, and is known for his role in leading the first unicorn exit in Germany’s gaming industry, with ESL’s acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s SAVVY Games Group for $1.05 billion. Through BITKRAFT, Hilgers continues to invest in and shape the future of gaming and interactive entertainment.

Iliana Oris Valiente
Managing Director and North America Innovation Hubs Lead at Accenture
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IIliana Oris Valiente is the Managing Director and North America Innovation Hubs Lead at Accenture. A seasoned CPA and strategist, Iliana has built a reputation as a global thought leader in emerging technologies, particularly in AI and Web3. She is an active startup advisor and investor, lending her expertise to support innovative ventures. Iliana is also a frequent speaker and published author, and serves on several boards of directors including at Sunnybrook Hospital. Iliana advocates for the future of work, and for the integration of cutting-edge technologies in business — ensuring companies stay competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Bradley Horowitz
GP at Wisdom Ventures
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Bradley Horowitz is a co-founder of Wisdom Ventures, a seed venture fund focused on tech-enabled wellness, and whose investments include OpenAI, Anthropic and Function Health. Over the past two decades he has served as an executive at both Google and Yahoo, where he led product for some of the industry’s most-loved and widest-used products including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Photos, Google News and Flickr. Previously he co-founded Virage, and served as CTO from their founding until their IPO on NASDAQ.

In 2025, he was named the number #5 best Seed Investor by Business Insider, and his track record of over 170 angel investments includes Slack, Scale AI, Ramp, Miro, Upstart, NerdWallet, Mercury, and Applied Intuition. He currently serves on the board of the financial services company Circle, and formerly served on the boards of Singtel, Issuu, and Lyst.

Nicola Sinclair
Founder and General Partner | Twin Track Ventures
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Nicola Sinclair is currently focused on establishing Twin Track Ventures, a venture capital initiative aimed at fostering innovation and supporting early-stage startups. With a background in entrepreneurship and venture development, Nicola brings a wealth of experience to the table, working on creating opportunities for high-growth companies. She is passionate about building the next generation of ventures that balance both financial and social impact, leveraging her deep expertise in the startup ecosystem.

Dr. Ben Miles
co-founder of Empirical Ventures
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Dr Ben Miles is a physicist turned deep-tech investor, entrepreneur and science communicator focused on helping scientific breakthroughs move from discovery to deployment. He is Co-Founder and General Partner at Empirical Ventures, an early-stage investment fund and venture studio backing UK and European deep-tech startups across areas including quantum, advanced materials, energy and biotechnology.

Ben completed his PhD in Nanophysics at the University of Bristol before joining university spin-out Ziylo, later acquired by Novo Nordisk. In 2018 he founded Spin Up Science, which has supported over 200 spin-outs across 25 UK universities and trained more than 4,500 PhD researchers in entrepreneurship.

Alongside his investing work, Dr Ben runs one of the world’s largest online platforms explaining cutting-edge science and engineering. Across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and other platforms he reaches an audience of over 3 million followers, explaining the technologies shaping the future.

David Zhou
Founder of Superclusters
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David Zhou is the Host of Superclusters, a podcast dedicated to unlocking the secrets, stories and tactics about the money behind the money. He is also the co-founder of The Side Letter, a tech platform turning investing in venture managers into a multiplayer and collaborative practice. Prior to both, he was the Head of Investor Relations at Alchemist Accelerator, as well as ran operations and programs for On Deck Angels. He’s an active angel investor and LP in emerging managers. On the side, he writes a personal blog, Cup of Zhou, charting his weekly journey on this planet.

Marcus Chin
Chief Investment Officer at Ares Holdings
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Marcus Chin is the Chief Investment Officer at Ares Holdings. Ares Holdings is a Dubai-based single-family office dedicated to the long-term preservation and growth of wealth across generations. The firm takes a holistic approach to financial stewardship, spanning investment management, strategic wealth planning, estate administration, and philanthropic initiatives, with a strong emphasis on trust, discretion, and legacy.

Jeremiah Owyang
GP at Blitzscaling Ventures
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Jeremiah Owyang is a General Partner at Blitzscaling Ventures, spearheading AI investment in early-stage companies. In addition to being an LP in Blitzscaling Fund I, he has been an active angel investor since 2017. His longstanding friendship with Chris Yeh spans over two decades, during which he served on the board of Ustream, leading to a sale of $130 million to IBM. Jeremiah manages the SF Bay Area deal flow for the firm and organizes the popular Llama Lounge event series, focusing on AI startups. A renowned global speaker at conferences, he boasts a substantial social media following across platforms like TwitterX, LinkedIn, Slack, and through his newsletters.

Jennifer Kan, PhD
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Juniper
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Dr. Jennifer Kan is a trailblazer at the intersection of synthetic biology and venture capital. A former Caltech postdoc, her enzyme engineering research is lauded in Science, Nature, and the 2018 Nobel Prize lecture. As co-founder of Juniper Fund, Jennifer backs pioneering pre-seed startups decarbonizing industrial sectors—bridging the crucial gap ignored by traditional biotech and mainstream climate VCs. Recognized by Forbes and holding 6 patents, she is a trusted expert championing the next wave of industrial biotech transformation.

Michael Ströck
Founding Partner at Allocator One
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Michael Ströck is the co-founder and managing partner of Allocator One, a firm focused on supporting first-time venture capital fund managers globally. With extensive experience in tech and entrepreneurship, Michael has co-founded multiple companies and venture funds, including Candidately (YC S17), First Circle Capital and Calm/Storm Ventures.

Erica Wenger
Founding GP at Park Rangers Capital
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Erica Wenger is the Founding General Partner at Park Rangers Capital, an early-stage venture firm backing “elephant companies” — startups that turn customers into members and build enduring, community-driven value. Her viral essay Elephants, Not Unicorns reached millions and established her as a leading voice rethinking venture capital.

A 3x founder and early operator (employee #2 twice), she brings a rare blend of operating depth, investing acumen, and platform reach. She hosts the Trailblazers podcast and has built an audience of 100K+ across platforms, where she shares perspectives on startups, venture, and storytelling.

Park Rangers Capital is backed by leading impact investors, GPs, and operators from companies like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. Erica’s work has been featured in major publications including Fortune, Forbes, and The New York Times, and founders consistently describe her as one of the most thoughtful VCs.

Mark Trevitt
Founder & Managing Partner, Defined
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Mark Trevitt is the Founder and Managing Partner of Defined, a thesis-first venture firm investing at the AI Frontier™. With over a decade in AI/ML investing, he’s backed multiple $1B+ outcomes including D-Wave (NYSE: QBTS), Bit Stew Systems (acq. GE), and GaN Systems (acq. Infineon). A former engineer and operator, Mark is a Kauffman Fellow and Venture Partner at Tribe Capital, known for his hands-on approach to scaling world-class AI companies.

Katie Shea
Founding GP at Divergent Capital
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Katie Shea is a Founding General Partner at Divergent Capital, a pre-seed fund based in NYC. Katie has spent her entire career in the early-stage tech ecosystem as a founder, operator, angel investor & VC. Passionate about connecting great people, building great companies, and finding the best dance parties.

Felix Staeritz
Founding Partner at Allocator One
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Allocator One backs the top 3% of emerging fund managers globally. Felix has successfully built and exited several companies and is passionate about supporting new fund talent and high-potential ventures. His extensive network and experience in scaling businesses make him a valuable contributor to the investment community.

Ben Topor
Managing Partner of Titan Capital Partners
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Ben Topor is a software industry strategist and growth equity investor focused on technology and secondary investments. He is the founder and Managing Partner of Titan Capital Partners, where he partners with founders and long-term operators across the technology ecosystem.

His perspective is shaped in part by an early career in Israeli counterintelligence, which developed a disciplined approach to analyzing patterns, incentives, and competitive behaviour. He applies this framework to evaluating market structure, category formation, and strategic positioning in software businesses.

Ben is the author of Decoding the Software Landscape, which presents a field-tested framework for understanding modern software markets and how companies compete and scale. He has invested across Israel, Europe, and the U.S., with experience in high-growth private technology companies, including through secondary transactions.

More speakers to come