Scott Wharton is the CEO of Tandem PV, a disruptive solar energy company based in Silicon Valley that advocates for innovation in cleantech. He is well-versed in navigating the “valley of death,” the period in a startup’s life when it struggles to find a sustainable business model and achieve profitability. His insights help startups understand multiple crucial practices for success, including methods to raise capital, build partnerships, and scale operations while still being able to bring complex technologies to market.

Ashley Zehnder is the CEO and co-founder of Fauna Bio, a biotech company that uses comparative genomics from the animal kingdom to discover new treatments for human disease and aging. Her work delves into the exploration of how hibernating and regenerative animals can inspire therapeutic innovations in human health. With a background in veterinary medicine and molecular biology, she helps drive the medical industry to unlock the secrets of longevity.

Mariette Wharton is the CEO of Nimble Mindset and Nimble Mindset Ventures, and is dedicated to guiding early-stage founders of startups through the complexities of business development, storytelling, and pitch refinement. She specializes in helping entrepreneurs communicate their vision clearly and compellingly, not only enabling them to secure funding to skyrocket growth, but also attract talent and proceed with novel impactful ventures from start to finish.

Jon Norris is a managing director at HSBC with an expertise in biotech finance and market strategy. He has spent over two decades advising life sciences companies on capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, and overall marketing positioning. His work provides a critical bridge between scientific innovation and financial execution, through assisting startups in their abilities to understand how to strategically grow within a competitive and changing environment.

Reddy Mallidi is the founder of AI Unleashed and is an expert in systems engineering and artificial intelligence, with a focus on longevity research. He is currently constructing platforms to help with the integration of machine learning, biomarker analysis, and clinical data to accelerate our understanding of aging and its effects on health. His work bridges the gap between AI and healthspan innovation, through the development of tools that greatly improve quality of life over time.

Brent Ahrens is a General Partner at Canaan Partners, a venture capital firm where he focuses on investments in biotech and healthcare technologies. Over the past couple of decades, he has helped in the launch and growth of companies from early stage research and development to steps much further down the line, including commercialization and IPO. His expertise lies in identifying high-impact scientific innovation and working closely with founders to turn such novel ideas into market-leading enterprises.

Christin Glorioso is the CEO of NeuroAge Therapeutics and a neuroscientist committed to extending brain health. Her company focuses on diagnostics and therapeutics that help in the preservation of cognitive function despite the impacts of aging. With a PhD in neuroscience and immense experience in startup innovation, she brings cutting-edge brain health solutions to the forefront of biotech.

Parnian Lak is the founder of Olfera Therapeutics, a biotech startup focusing on the development of nose-to-brain pathway therapies for neurological disorders. She seeks to revolutionize the delivery of medication to the brain in order to enable more effective treatment of long-term degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. With a background in neuroscience and biotech innovation, Parnian adapts the traditional approach to drug development, connecting novel research with a high patient impact.

Ed Gezin is the founder of ImperialArts and a veteran business leader with a background in marketing, enterprise partnership, and emerging technologies. He previously held senior roles at Mercedes-Benz and Cisco, during which he helped guide large-scale digital transformation efforts. Now, his focus is set on helping companies harness artificial intelligence and marketing automation to modernize their strategies, unlock growth, and stay competitive despite the rise of such drastic changes on the tech landscape as AI and other shifts.

Jeff Russako is the CEO of Bovine Ventures and a technology executive known for his success in elevating hardware and consumer technology businesses. His experience spans from high-growth startups to Fortune 500 companies, with prominent examples including his position as the CEO of Boosted Boards and his senior roles at Yahoo and Adobe. Now, he specializes in the guidance of hardware companies through the challenges of supply chain management, manufacturing, and customer engagement, in order to boost success and bring such companies to new heights.