About

President, WestRiver Group, LLC

Erik has been President of WestRiver Management, LLC since 2002. WestRiver is a private investment company that provides integrated capital solutions for the global innovation economy. He is Executive Chairman of TopGolf, Inc. a global sports entertainment company.   Mr. Anderson received the 2014 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for his work at TopGolf.   In addition, Mr. Anderson is on the Board of Avista Corp (NYSE:AVA), an energy management company, and serves as Chairman of their Finance Committee. He is also the Executive Chairman of Clario Medical, Inc., a SAAS based radiology process management company. Mr. Anderson is the founder of America’s Foundation for Chess, which serves 150,000 children in the United States with its First Move curriculum. From 1998 – 2002, Mr. Anderson was CEO of Matthew G Norton Co., a private investment company. In addition, his experience includes tenures at the private equity firm of Frazier & Company, LP, and Vice President at Goldman, Sachs & Co. He holds a master’s and bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree (Cum Laude) in Management Engineering from Claremont McKenna College.

Chairman of the Board and President Thilo von Selchow GmbH; and Business Angel coinvesting with European Angel Fund

Thilo von Selchow is currently the Chairman of the Board and President Thilo von Selchow GmbH; and Business Angel coinvesting with European Angel Fund (EAF is part of European Investment Bank). He is also the Chairman of the Board of Johanniter GmbH, which has 14 hospitals, 100 homes for the elderly, 1 billion dollars in revenue and 10,000 employees. Johanniter GmbH is part of the Order of St. John, which has 80,000 employees, and Thilo von Selchow is also on the board of the Order of St. John. Prior to his current endeavors, Thilo von Selchow was the CEO and President of ZMD AG Dresden. He transformed the company into a global Analog Mixed Signal Design- and Manufacturing Group. ZMD AG Dresden was acquired by IDT in 2015 for $307 million. Until 1999 Thilo had been working in several management positions within the Heitkamp & Thumann Group and was CEO of the Product Group Battery Components with 550 employees and 170 million in sales revenue for several years. From 1990 to 1991 he was Investment Manager at the BFM AG Munich, a German private equity firm investing in SME’s. From 1983 to 1989, Thilo studied mechanical engineering and business economics at the University of Munich. He holds a degree in Economics of the University of Munich, and has completed a summer course at Harvard University in 1991. Thilo was also Chairman of the Dresden Chess Olympics 2008.

Wide Receiver, Arizona Cardinals, NFL

Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. is a wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Pittsburgh.

Larry is very passionate about his many philanthropic endeavors.

Larry Fitzgerald and The Larry Fitzgerald First Down Fund support education and recreation for youth, as well as supporting children and families experiencing health challenges. Larry recognizes and appreciates the support he received from his family and the community when he was growing up to enable him to reach his full potential and Larry works tirelessly to provide that support to youth through his charitable work.

Larry and The First Down Fund have received generous support from the Arizona Cardinals and numerous corporate partners. In addition, Larry is humbled and honored that literally thousands of individuals have provided financial support at whatever level they are able to support The First Down Fund.

Managing Partner, SVB Capital Funds

Aaron Gershenberg is a founder of Silicon Valley Bank’s fund of funds and direct investment group, SVB Capital. Aaron joined SVB in 1996. Under his leadership, the group has over $1.5 billion under management across funds of funds, direct funds and separate accounts. Aaron’s expertise is evaluating venture capital funds and growth funds globally. He has published numerous articles on the health and future of venture capital and is frequently invited to speak as well as participate on panels across the globe.

Prior to joining SVB, Aaron oversaw the opening of FirstCorp’s Northern California office, a venture leasing company focused on early stage companies. In this capacity, Aaron was responsible for providing venture financing to more than 50 startup technology companies. Previously, Aaron was part of the investment banking group for the Union Bank of California and the real estate consulting practice of Deloitee & Touche.

Aaron earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and African studies from Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in finance from John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Aaron combines his passion for philanthropy with his love of the outdoors. In 1984 he joined 50 students biking from Boston to Los Angeles raising money for Oxfam America. In 1993, Aaron was a founder of the Hearst Castle Best Buddies Ride, a 100 mile ride from Carmel to the Hearst Castle benefiting the intellectually and developmentally disabled. This year in his 9^th consecutive year of participation, his SVB team had 245 members and raised over $600,000. Aaron serves as a board member of Best Buddies International.

Aaron earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He speaks frequently at industry events, including recent appearances at SXSW Interactive, Strata, and GigaOm’s Structure: Data.

Senior Investment Manager, BMGI

Alan is a Senior Investment Manager at BMGI, a private investment organization where he provides oversight on a variety of direct private equity and real asset portfolio investments. He joined the organization in 1996.
Alan serves on the Board of Directors for Deere & Company and on the investment committee for the Seattle Foundation. He also serves as a vice chair of the Financial Economics Institute Board of Advisors at Claremont McKenna College.
Alan received a B.A. degree in Economics and Mathematics from Claremont McKenna College.
He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1999.

Director of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center Affiliate professor of biochemistry, University of Washington

Jim Roberts, M.D., Ph.D is a member and former Director of Basic Sciences at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and an affiliate professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington. He has published over one hundred papers in leading scientific journals and holds numerous patents in biotechnology and cancer biology. He has founded two biotechnology companies, and currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Matrix Genetics, which is pursuing the renewable production of fuels, chemicals and medicines by genetic engineering of photosynthetic microorganisms.

Author; Principal, Edison Elementary School

Salome Thomas-EL was born and raised in the inner city of Philadelphia and has been a teacher in the Philadelphia School District since 1987. He received national acclaim as a teacher and chess coach at Vaux Middle School, where his students have gone on to win world recognition as Eight-Time National Chess Champions. Armed with only a chess board and a profound belief in their potential, Thomas-EL’s faith and commitment has motivated hundreds of children in Philadelphia to attend magnet high schools, major colleges and universities.

Thomas-EL, a graduate of East Stroudsburg University and a doctoral student, has studied in Cambridge and London, England. He currently holds an Honorary Doctorate from Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. He received the Marcus A. Foster Award as the outstanding School District Administrator in Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania’s distinguished, Martin Luther King Award. Thomas-EL frequently appears on the FoxNews cable show, The O’Reilly Factor, C-SPAN, The Travis Smiley Show, CNN and NPR Radio. He was recently featured in Reader’s Digest and Black Enterprise Magazine.

Thomas-EL is married and lives in Delaware with his wife and two daughters. Currently, he is the Principal at the Edison School. He is the author of the best-selling book, I Choose to Stay, and The Immortality of Influence.

Partner, Simonsen Vogt Wiig

Espen Tøndel is a partner with one of the larger law firms in Norway, Simonsen Vogt Wiig in Oslo, since 1994. Simonsen Vogt Wiig is a leading business law firm with focus on industry sectors like technology and media, oil and gas, shipping, banking and finance in addition to capital markets and transactional matters. Espen Tøndel`s main field of expertise is within telecoms, media, e-commerce and IT, including M&A. Tøndel is consistently nominated as the leading lawyer within IT/telecoms in the commercial newspaper Finansavisen’s yearly nomination and a leading individual in Legal500 for IP/TMT. Espen serves on the Board of Directors for TeliaSonera Norway Nepal Holding AS (owned by the largest Nordic telecom operator TeliaSonera AB) and Zwipe AS (a company developing biometrical access- and payment cards).

World Chess Champion/Honorary Chair

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Innovative Partners - Principal & Managing Partner

Innovative Partners
Principal & Managing Partner

Tudor Investment Corporation - Chairman & CEO

Tudor Investment Corporation
Chairman & CEO

Broward County Public Schools - Cadre Director

Broward County Public Schools
Cadre Director