
Meet our Team
Partners
Advisors
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Mike Snyder, PhD– Chair of Genetics, Stanford
During Mike’s 15+ year tenure as the Chair of Genetics at Stanford so far, the department has consistently ranked #1 in the world in genomics and proteomics (US News and World Reports).
His lab was the first to perform a large-scale functional genomics project in any organism, and he is famous as a pioneer of the use of multi-omic longitudinal profiling to monitor health. Prior to Stanford, he served as the director of the Yale Center for genomics and proteomics. Throughout his career, he has founded 20+ companies and invented foundational sequencing techniques. He serves as an unpaid advisor for Arben.
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Peter Gray– Emeritus Managing Partner and former CEO at Wellcome Trust
As the CEO of Wellcome Trust Investments, Peter managed roughly $50 billion worth of assets and led one of the strongest long-term investment track records of the firm’s class in the world– Wellcome’s assets grew from £13.5 billion in 2009 to £35 billion in 2021, with annualized investment returns of over 10% per annum over 20 years; and 16.4% per annum over five years.
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Dave McClure– Co-founder of Practical Venture Capital and CEO of '500 Startups'
Dave McClure is an engineer, entrepreneur and investor in Silicon Valley. He has over 30+ years of experience investing, working at Founders Fund and at PayPal, and as the founder and CEO of 500 Startups– a VC firm with over $2B AUM that has invested in 3,000 companies and 5,000 founders across 80 countries.
Alongside Aman, he is now a Co-founder at Practical Venture Capital. His investing track record includes 40+ unicorns and 10+ IPOs. In 2016 and 2017, he made the Forbes Midas List of top 100 VCs in the world. From 2008-10, when Dave was a VC at Founders Fund with Peter Thiel and Sean Parker, the $3M portfolio he managed returned >$180M (~60X, fully realized).
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Aman Verjee– Former CFO of eBay, PayPal and Sonos; Co-founder of Practical VC
Aman has served as a C-suite officer at PayPal, eBay, and Sonos, and led their executive management teams in creating billions of dollars in shareholder value. Aman is passionate about helping startups navigate the entire lifecycle of mergers, acquisitions, and integrations; has served as the COO of 500 Startups, the world’s most active VC firm at the time by number of investments made; and has co-founded Practical Ventures.
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Sophia Platt– Founding Partner at Bridge Funding Global
Sophia Platt is the founding partner of Bridge Funding Global (BFG), a Silicon Valley based top investment platform and marketplace for emerging managers.
BFG has built the name for discovering top talent in venture capital - coming from the most diverse backgrounds. They pride themselves in the meter-based selection process that they developed and mastered alongside their Selection Committee Board of the industry experts (including Hilton Foundation, Pivotal Venture, YMCA, Babson Endowment). Their LP - GP matching program has already resulted in 60+ LP commitments into women led funds. Each year BFG hosts one of the hardest to get in venture capital summits with LPs and GPs coming from 5 different continents to be “matched for investments.”
Sophia is also a mentor at Forster Nation, a CA-based nonprofit focused on supporting youth from foster care through mentorship and education.
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Walter Greenleaf– Neuroscientist, VR and Digital Health Expert at Stanford University Virtual Human Interaction Lab
Walter Greenleaf is a neuroscientist and a medical technology developer working at Stanford University. With over three decades of research and development experience, Walter is considered a leading authority in the field of digital medicine and medical virtual reality technology. Walter’s current research focus is on developing computer supported clinical products, with a specific emphasis on applying virtual reality and digital health technology to address difficult problems in behavioral and physical medicine such as Post-traumatic Stress, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Traumatic Brain Injury and Stroke, Addictions, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Walter is the Co-founder and Board Chair for the International Virtual Reality Health Association (IVRHA). He helped establish the California State University Center for Disability Solutions and the International Society of Virtual Rehabilitation (ISVR). He’s also a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, and previously served as the Director of the Mind Division, Stanford Center on Longevity, where his focus was on age-related changes in cognition.
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Aloe Blacc– Founder, Grammy-Nominated Artist
Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum, singer/songwriter, Aloe Blacc, who is known for major hits such as “I Need A Dollar”, “The Man”, and “Wake Me Up”, pledged early in his career to use his music for positive social transformation.
A recipient of RIAA diamond certification, his mega-hit with Avicii, “WAKE ME UP,” has achieved more than 4 billion streams across multiple platforms. Aloe is currently working on his next musical project, Stand Together, with a focus on amplifying the mission of non-profit organizations.
In addition to music, Aloe is the founder of Major Inc, a biotech company with a drug development platform focused on cancer treatments with chief scientist, Dr. Gomika Udugamasooriya,
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Sylvia Benito– CEO of Justice Partners, Family Office Investor
Sylvia has 20+ years of portfolio management experience, with a focus on retirement assets for individuals with over $1 billion. She holds a CFA and is known for her mentorship and advocacy in conscious capitalism– which emphasizes ethical practices, health, and sustainability alongside profit.
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Sophia Mahfooz– Founder of NeuroX Health
Sophia Mahfooz is an executive and humanitarian activist who has brought over a thousand women and families out of Afghanistan, and helped them navigate international relations and job placements. Sophia is a founder of the startup NeuroX Health, and former COO of Girls in Tech. She is an unpaid advisor for Arben.