6:30 PM
1
PUBLIC INVESTMENTCORPORATION
Executive Brochure · 2026
Silicon Valley
Executive Immersion
Five days at the intersection of investment, technology, and institutional transformation.
5-Day ProgramOctober 5–9, 2026San Francisco · Silicon Valley
Program Overview
Where long-term capital meets frontier innovation
This executive immersion is designed for PIC leadership to examine how Silicon Valley’s leading investors, technology companies, and research institutions are shaping the next era of institutional investment.
Across five focused days, the delegation will explore enterprise AI, private-market infrastructure, deep technology, innovation culture, and the operating systems that turn ambitious ideas into durable value.
Key themes
- AI & Enterprise Transformation
Translate frontier AI into responsible, measurable impact across people, finance, workflows, and decisions.
- Institutional & Private Markets
Examine how data, technology, and AI are changing investment research, operations, and portfolio visibility.
- Frontier & Deep Tech Investing
Assess technical viability, defensibility, market timing, and long-term risk from earliest stage to commercial scale.
- Innovation Culture & Execution
Learn how leading organizations build agile teams, ownership systems, and pathways from research to market.
13Company, campus & research visits
29+Experts & leaders
5Days across the Bay Area
4Strategic learning themes
The Program
Five curated days across the Bay Area’s innovation economy
Five days of visits, sessions and conversations across San Francisco and the Peninsula.
Day 00
Sunday, October 4
Participating Organizations
Where we’re going
Hosts and partners spanning hyperscalers, frontier AI, fintech, academia and the venture ecosystem — opening their doors across the Bay Area.
Silicon Valley Innovation Center
Ecosystem
Adobe
Big Tech
SRI International
Research Institute
Plug and Play
Ecosystem
Andreessen Horowitz
Venture Capital
Plaid
Fintech
Carta
Fintech
Kindred Ventures
Venture Capital
Lux Capital
Venture Capital
Big Tech
Workday
Big Tech
NVIDIA
Big Tech
Stanford HAI
Academia
Celesta Capital
Venture Capital
Amazon Web Services
Big Tech
BlackRock
Institutional Investor
Speakers & Faculty
Voices of the week
Leading experts, researchers and executives hosting PIC within their organizations — each bringing a distinct perspective on how Silicon Valley invests, innovates and scales.
SVIC · Day 1Vlas Lezin
Chief Operating Officer
Vlas Lezin is COO of Silicon Valley Innovation Center, working across business, finance and technology to help executives shape strategy, build products and translate emerging technologies into practical growth.
SVIC · Day 1Vlas Lezin
Chief Operating Officer
Vlas Lezin is COO of Silicon Valley Innovation Center, working across business, finance and technology to help executives shape strategy, build products and translate emerging technologies into practical growth.
Vlas Lezin is COO of Silicon Valley Innovation Center, working across business, finance and technology to help executives shape strategy, build products and translate emerging technologies into practical growth.
Adobe · Day 1Chantal Cox
Director of Product Management, AI
Chantal Cox is Director of Product Management for AI at Adobe, leading AI and agent strategies for image and video editing after product leadership roles at Meta, Amazon, Credit Karma and eBay.
Adobe · Day 1Chantal Cox
Director of Product Management, AI
Chantal Cox is Director of Product Management for AI at Adobe, leading AI and agent strategies for image and video editing after product leadership roles at Meta, Amazon, Credit Karma and eBay.
Chantal Cox is Director of Product Management for AI at Adobe, leading AI and agent strategies for image and video editing after product leadership roles at Meta, Amazon, Credit Karma and eBay.
SRI International · Day 1Grit Denker
Senior Computer Scientist
Dr. Grit Denker is a Senior Computer Scientist in SRI International's Computer Science Laboratory, where she co-leads the bRIGHT human-machine interaction program and has led DARPA-funded research since joining SRI in 1997, with expertise spanning human-machine interfaces, formal methods and distributed systems security.
SRI International · Day 1Grit Denker
Senior Computer Scientist
Dr. Grit Denker is a Senior Computer Scientist in SRI International's Computer Science Laboratory, where she co-leads the bRIGHT human-machine interaction program and has led DARPA-funded research since joining SRI in 1997, with expertise spanning human-machine interfaces, formal methods and distributed systems security.
Dr. Grit Denker is a Senior Computer Scientist in SRI International's Computer Science Laboratory, where she co-leads the bRIGHT human-machine interaction program and has led DARPA-funded research since joining SRI in 1997, with expertise spanning human-machine interfaces, formal methods and distributed systems security.
SRI International · Day 1Anirban Roy
Associate Director
Anirban Roy is an AI researcher at SRI International working on advanced artificial intelligence, including neurosymbolic methods, large language models and multimodal vision-language systems.
SRI International · Day 1Anirban Roy
Associate Director
Anirban Roy is an AI researcher at SRI International working on advanced artificial intelligence, including neurosymbolic methods, large language models and multimodal vision-language systems.
Anirban Roy is an AI researcher at SRI International working on advanced artificial intelligence, including neurosymbolic methods, large language models and multimodal vision-language systems.
SRI International · Day 1Phil Porras
Program Director · SRI Fellow
Phillip Porras is an SRI Fellow and program director leading the Internet Security Group in SRI's Computer Science Laboratory, where he has directed DARPA- and DHS-sponsored cybersecurity research since 1996 — spanning malware analysis, intrusion detection and resilient network defense — and is known for his work analyzing the Conficker worm.
SRI International · Day 1Phil Porras
Program Director · SRI Fellow
Phillip Porras is an SRI Fellow and program director leading the Internet Security Group in SRI's Computer Science Laboratory, where he has directed DARPA- and DHS-sponsored cybersecurity research since 1996 — spanning malware analysis, intrusion detection and resilient network defense — and is known for his work analyzing the Conficker worm.
Phillip Porras is an SRI Fellow and program director leading the Internet Security Group in SRI's Computer Science Laboratory, where he has directed DARPA- and DHS-sponsored cybersecurity research since 1996 — spanning malware analysis, intrusion detection and resilient network defense — and is known for his work analyzing the Conficker worm.
a16z · Day 2Kevin Deeth
Partner · Capital Formation and Strategy
Kevin Deeth is a partner at Andreessen Horowitz focused on capital formation, global partnerships and firm strategy for one of Silicon Valley’s leading venture capital platforms.
a16z · Day 2Kevin Deeth
Partner · Capital Formation and Strategy
Kevin Deeth is a partner at Andreessen Horowitz focused on capital formation, global partnerships and firm strategy for one of Silicon Valley’s leading venture capital platforms.
Kevin Deeth is a partner at Andreessen Horowitz focused on capital formation, global partnerships and firm strategy for one of Silicon Valley’s leading venture capital platforms.
Alexander (Sasha) Kipkalov
Ex Blend · LendingClub · Bridge Bank
Alexander “Sasha” Kipkalov is a financial-services executive who has held senior finance and risk roles across fintech and banking, including VP of Finance at Blend, the digital lending platform, and earlier positions at LendingClub and Bridge Bank. His published research on mortgage default risk measurement and economic capital underpins a career spent at the intersection of credit risk, data and decision-making in financial institutions.
Alexander (Sasha) Kipkalov
Ex Blend · LendingClub · Bridge Bank
Alexander “Sasha” Kipkalov is a financial-services executive who has held senior finance and risk roles across fintech and banking, including VP of Finance at Blend, the digital lending platform, and earlier positions at LendingClub and Bridge Bank. His published research on mortgage default risk measurement and economic capital underpins a career spent at the intersection of credit risk, data and decision-making in financial institutions.
Alexander “Sasha” Kipkalov is a financial-services executive who has held senior finance and risk roles across fintech and banking, including VP of Finance at Blend, the digital lending platform, and earlier positions at LendingClub and Bridge Bank. His published research on mortgage default risk measurement and economic capital underpins a career spent at the intersection of credit risk, data and decision-making in financial institutions.
Carta · Day 2Rita Astoor
Senior Director, Funds Business Development & Product Advisor
Rita Astoor is Senior Director of Funds Business Development & Product Advisor at Carta, leading the venture capital and private equity business development team. A former investment funds attorney at Latham & Watkins, she also teaches venture funds at UC Berkeley School of Law and holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law.
Carta · Day 2Rita Astoor
Senior Director, Funds Business Development & Product Advisor
Rita Astoor is Senior Director of Funds Business Development & Product Advisor at Carta, leading the venture capital and private equity business development team. A former investment funds attorney at Latham & Watkins, she also teaches venture funds at UC Berkeley School of Law and holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law.
Rita Astoor is Senior Director of Funds Business Development & Product Advisor at Carta, leading the venture capital and private equity business development team. A former investment funds attorney at Latham & Watkins, she also teaches venture funds at UC Berkeley School of Law and holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law.
Carta · Day 2Nicole Canas
EA Team Manager · Senior Executive Assistant
Nicole Canas is EA Team Manager and Senior Executive Assistant to the CRO at Carta, bringing two decades of administrative leadership across high-growth technology companies, including prior roles at Carta and DocuSign.
Carta · Day 2Nicole Canas
EA Team Manager · Senior Executive Assistant
Nicole Canas is EA Team Manager and Senior Executive Assistant to the CRO at Carta, bringing two decades of administrative leadership across high-growth technology companies, including prior roles at Carta and DocuSign.
Nicole Canas is EA Team Manager and Senior Executive Assistant to the CRO at Carta, bringing two decades of administrative leadership across high-growth technology companies, including prior roles at Carta and DocuSign.
Carta · Day 2Michael Aldridge
Senior Director of Sales
Michael Aldridge is Senior Director of Sales at Carta, driving the global commercial strategy for Carta’s LP Portfolio Analytics. He was previously co-founder, President and Chief Revenue Officer of Accelex, acquired by Carta.
Carta · Day 2Michael Aldridge
Senior Director of Sales
Michael Aldridge is Senior Director of Sales at Carta, driving the global commercial strategy for Carta’s LP Portfolio Analytics. He was previously co-founder, President and Chief Revenue Officer of Accelex, acquired by Carta.
Michael Aldridge is Senior Director of Sales at Carta, driving the global commercial strategy for Carta’s LP Portfolio Analytics. He was previously co-founder, President and Chief Revenue Officer of Accelex, acquired by Carta.
Kindred Ventures · Day 2Kanyi Maqubela
Managing Partner
Kanyi Maqubela is Managing Partner at Kindred Ventures, investing across frontier technology, digital health and financial technology — with early involvement in companies like Upstart and Reddit. He is also co-founder of Heartbeat Health and a former Partner at Collaborative Fund.
Kindred Ventures · Day 2Kanyi Maqubela
Managing Partner
Kanyi Maqubela is Managing Partner at Kindred Ventures, investing across frontier technology, digital health and financial technology — with early involvement in companies like Upstart and Reddit. He is also co-founder of Heartbeat Health and a former Partner at Collaborative Fund.
Kanyi Maqubela is Managing Partner at Kindred Ventures, investing across frontier technology, digital health and financial technology — with early involvement in companies like Upstart and Reddit. He is also co-founder of Heartbeat Health and a former Partner at Collaborative Fund.
Kindred Ventures · Day 2Steve Jang
Founder & Managing Partner
Steve Jang is founder and managing partner of Kindred Ventures and a three-time Forbes Midas List investor. He was an early advisor and angel investor in Uber and has backed Coinbase, Poshmark, Postmates, Perplexity AI and more, after co-founding startups including imeem and SoundTracking.
Kindred Ventures · Day 2Steve Jang
Founder & Managing Partner
Steve Jang is founder and managing partner of Kindred Ventures and a three-time Forbes Midas List investor. He was an early advisor and angel investor in Uber and has backed Coinbase, Poshmark, Postmates, Perplexity AI and more, after co-founding startups including imeem and SoundTracking.
Steve Jang is founder and managing partner of Kindred Ventures and a three-time Forbes Midas List investor. He was an early advisor and angel investor in Uber and has backed Coinbase, Poshmark, Postmates, Perplexity AI and more, after co-founding startups including imeem and SoundTracking.
Lux Capital · Day 3Peter Hebert
Partner & Co-Founder
Peter Hebert is co-founder and managing partner of Lux Capital, the firm he started in 2000 to back scientifically ambitious ventures across AI, robotics, healthcare and defense. He began his career in Lehman Brothers' top-ranked equity research group, and has led investments including Auris Health (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), Luxtera (acquired by Cisco) and Matterport (acquired by CoStar).
Lux Capital · Day 3Peter Hebert
Partner & Co-Founder
Peter Hebert is co-founder and managing partner of Lux Capital, the firm he started in 2000 to back scientifically ambitious ventures across AI, robotics, healthcare and defense. He began his career in Lehman Brothers' top-ranked equity research group, and has led investments including Auris Health (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), Luxtera (acquired by Cisco) and Matterport (acquired by CoStar).
Peter Hebert is co-founder and managing partner of Lux Capital, the firm he started in 2000 to back scientifically ambitious ventures across AI, robotics, healthcare and defense. He began his career in Lehman Brothers' top-ranked equity research group, and has led investments including Auris Health (acquired by Johnson & Johnson), Luxtera (acquired by Cisco) and Matterport (acquired by CoStar).
Google · Day 3Aprajita Jain
Chief Brand & Creative Marketing Evangelist
Aprajita Jain is Google's Chief Brand & Creative Marketing Evangelist, working with global advertising partners and some of the world's most sophisticated CMOs to elevate their digital brand strategies. Across her 22-year career at Google she has expanded her work to thought leadership on creative strategy, brandformance and creativity in the age of AI.
Google · Day 3Aprajita Jain
Chief Brand & Creative Marketing Evangelist
Aprajita Jain is Google's Chief Brand & Creative Marketing Evangelist, working with global advertising partners and some of the world's most sophisticated CMOs to elevate their digital brand strategies. Across her 22-year career at Google she has expanded her work to thought leadership on creative strategy, brandformance and creativity in the age of AI.
Aprajita Jain is Google's Chief Brand & Creative Marketing Evangelist, working with global advertising partners and some of the world's most sophisticated CMOs to elevate their digital brand strategies. Across her 22-year career at Google she has expanded her work to thought leadership on creative strategy, brandformance and creativity in the age of AI.
Workday · Day 3Sophie Sharp
SVP, Strategic Operations
Sophie Sharp is SVP of Strategic Operations at Workday, leading a unified team spanning corporate strategy, innovation launch and the enterprise AI task force accelerating Workday's AI momentum for customers. In 21+ years she has held senior go-to-market and transformation roles at Workday, including SVP of Global Industries & Value Management.
Workday · Day 3Sophie Sharp
SVP, Strategic Operations
Sophie Sharp is SVP of Strategic Operations at Workday, leading a unified team spanning corporate strategy, innovation launch and the enterprise AI task force accelerating Workday's AI momentum for customers. In 21+ years she has held senior go-to-market and transformation roles at Workday, including SVP of Global Industries & Value Management.
Sophie Sharp is SVP of Strategic Operations at Workday, leading a unified team spanning corporate strategy, innovation launch and the enterprise AI task force accelerating Workday's AI momentum for customers. In 21+ years she has held senior go-to-market and transformation roles at Workday, including SVP of Global Industries & Value Management.
Workday · Day 3Max Wessel
SVP, Product
Max Wessel is SVP of Product at Workday, responsible for product vision, strategy and execution across Workday's applications portfolio. Previously CEO of Degreed and an Executive Vice President at SAP, he spent eight years on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Workday · Day 3Max Wessel
SVP, Product
Max Wessel is SVP of Product at Workday, responsible for product vision, strategy and execution across Workday's applications portfolio. Previously CEO of Degreed and an Executive Vice President at SAP, he spent eight years on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Max Wessel is SVP of Product at Workday, responsible for product vision, strategy and execution across Workday's applications portfolio. Previously CEO of Degreed and an Executive Vice President at SAP, he spent eight years on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Workday · Day 3Jennifer Serrato
CTO, Platform
Jennifer Serrato is Workday's Chief Technology Officer for Platform, leading large product and engineering teams including Workday Extend and Talent Product Engineering since joining in 2014. Before Workday she spent 13 years as a computer scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and holds an MBA in Technology Management and Strategy from UC Davis.
Workday · Day 3Jennifer Serrato
CTO, Platform
Jennifer Serrato is Workday's Chief Technology Officer for Platform, leading large product and engineering teams including Workday Extend and Talent Product Engineering since joining in 2014. Before Workday she spent 13 years as a computer scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and holds an MBA in Technology Management and Strategy from UC Davis.
Jennifer Serrato is Workday's Chief Technology Officer for Platform, leading large product and engineering teams including Workday Extend and Talent Product Engineering since joining in 2014. Before Workday she spent 13 years as a computer scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and holds an MBA in Technology Management and Strategy from UC Davis.
Workday · Day 3Aidan Mitchell
VP, Product Management
Aidan Mitchell is VP of Product Management at Workday, leading the product managers behind the reporting and analytics tools at the core of Workday's HCM and Financial Management suite, and building a next-generation platform for analytic applications. A 31-year technology veteran, he earlier led the team that built and launched Workday Planning.
Workday · Day 3Aidan Mitchell
VP, Product Management
Aidan Mitchell is VP of Product Management at Workday, leading the product managers behind the reporting and analytics tools at the core of Workday's HCM and Financial Management suite, and building a next-generation platform for analytic applications. A 31-year technology veteran, he earlier led the team that built and launched Workday Planning.
Aidan Mitchell is VP of Product Management at Workday, leading the product managers behind the reporting and analytics tools at the core of Workday's HCM and Financial Management suite, and building a next-generation platform for analytic applications. A 31-year technology veteran, he earlier led the team that built and launched Workday Planning.
Workday · Day 3Chris Schott
Sr Principal, Solution Consultant
Chris Schott is a Senior Principal Platform Strategist at Workday, partnering with global prospects and customers to demonstrate the value of the Workday platform through the lens of employee experience. Over a decade at Workday he has worked most frequently with hyper-growth startups and technology companies in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.
Workday · Day 3Chris Schott
Sr Principal, Solution Consultant
Chris Schott is a Senior Principal Platform Strategist at Workday, partnering with global prospects and customers to demonstrate the value of the Workday platform through the lens of employee experience. Over a decade at Workday he has worked most frequently with hyper-growth startups and technology companies in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.
Chris Schott is a Senior Principal Platform Strategist at Workday, partnering with global prospects and customers to demonstrate the value of the Workday platform through the lens of employee experience. Over a decade at Workday he has worked most frequently with hyper-growth startups and technology companies in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area.
NVIDIA · Day 3Wei Xiao
Director of Developer Relations
Wei Xiao is Director of Developer Relations at NVIDIA, leading the programs that help developers and enterprises build on NVIDIA's accelerated computing platform. His career spans deep-tech engineering and developer ecosystems, with prior work in high-performance computing and data-centric AI infrastructure.
NVIDIA · Day 3Wei Xiao
Director of Developer Relations
Wei Xiao is Director of Developer Relations at NVIDIA, leading the programs that help developers and enterprises build on NVIDIA's accelerated computing platform. His career spans deep-tech engineering and developer ecosystems, with prior work in high-performance computing and data-centric AI infrastructure.
Wei Xiao is Director of Developer Relations at NVIDIA, leading the programs that help developers and enterprises build on NVIDIA's accelerated computing platform. His career spans deep-tech engineering and developer ecosystems, with prior work in high-performance computing and data-centric AI infrastructure.
Google · Day 4Alan Stapelberg
Group Product Manager
Alan Stapelberg is a Group Product Manager at Google, where he leads product work on digital payments and financial experiences — focusing on seamless user journeys, digital identity and the trust and safety foundations that make modern digital finance work at scale.
Google · Day 4Alan Stapelberg
Group Product Manager
Alan Stapelberg is a Group Product Manager at Google, where he leads product work on digital payments and financial experiences — focusing on seamless user journeys, digital identity and the trust and safety foundations that make modern digital finance work at scale.
Alan Stapelberg is a Group Product Manager at Google, where he leads product work on digital payments and financial experiences — focusing on seamless user journeys, digital identity and the trust and safety foundations that make modern digital finance work at scale.
Deepanker Saxena
Head of Document Verification, Socure
Deepanker Saxena is Head of Document Verification at Socure, where he leads products that verify identity documents for banks, fintechs and public-sector programs — working at the intersection of digital identity, machine learning and fraud prevention.
Deepanker Saxena
Head of Document Verification, Socure
Deepanker Saxena is Head of Document Verification at Socure, where he leads products that verify identity documents for banks, fintechs and public-sector programs — working at the intersection of digital identity, machine learning and fraud prevention.
Deepanker Saxena is Head of Document Verification at Socure, where he leads products that verify identity documents for banks, fintechs and public-sector programs — working at the intersection of digital identity, machine learning and fraud prevention.
Google · Day 4Gal Afgon
Product Manager, Google Payments Platform
Gal Afgon is a Product Manager on Google's Payments Platform, working on the payments infrastructure behind Google's products and helping partners deliver seamless, trusted payment experiences at global scale.
Google · Day 4Gal Afgon
Product Manager, Google Payments Platform
Gal Afgon is a Product Manager on Google's Payments Platform, working on the payments infrastructure behind Google's products and helping partners deliver seamless, trusted payment experiences at global scale.
Gal Afgon is a Product Manager on Google's Payments Platform, working on the payments infrastructure behind Google's products and helping partners deliver seamless, trusted payment experiences at global scale.
Tawab Fakhri
Senior Program Manager · Innovation Evangelist
A San Francisco Bay Area native, Tawab Fakhri is a senior program manager and innovation evangelist at Silicon Valley Innovation Center, where he has spent over a decade working across technology companies and startups — leading executive immersion programs and helping global organizations engage Silicon Valley’s innovation ecosystem.
Tawab Fakhri
Senior Program Manager · Innovation Evangelist
A San Francisco Bay Area native, Tawab Fakhri is a senior program manager and innovation evangelist at Silicon Valley Innovation Center, where he has spent over a decade working across technology companies and startups — leading executive immersion programs and helping global organizations engage Silicon Valley’s innovation ecosystem.
A San Francisco Bay Area native, Tawab Fakhri is a senior program manager and innovation evangelist at Silicon Valley Innovation Center, where he has spent over a decade working across technology companies and startups — leading executive immersion programs and helping global organizations engage Silicon Valley’s innovation ecosystem.
Stanford HAI · Day 4Ahmad Rushdi
Director of Industry Research Programs
Ahmad Rushdi, PhD, directs industry research programs at Stanford HAI, building collaborations between academia and industry around applied, human-centered artificial intelligence.
Stanford HAI · Day 4Ahmad Rushdi
Director of Industry Research Programs
Ahmad Rushdi, PhD, directs industry research programs at Stanford HAI, building collaborations between academia and industry around applied, human-centered artificial intelligence.
Ahmad Rushdi, PhD, directs industry research programs at Stanford HAI, building collaborations between academia and industry around applied, human-centered artificial intelligence.
Celesta Capital · Day 4Robin Clewley
Partner
Robin Clewley is a partner at Celesta Capital focused on investor relations and go-to-market strategy, drawing on more than two decades of leadership experience.
Celesta Capital · Day 4Robin Clewley
Partner
Robin Clewley is a partner at Celesta Capital focused on investor relations and go-to-market strategy, drawing on more than two decades of leadership experience.
Robin Clewley is a partner at Celesta Capital focused on investor relations and go-to-market strategy, drawing on more than two decades of leadership experience.
Celesta Capital · Day 4Anand Chandrasekaran
Managing Partner
Anand Chandrasekaran is a managing partner at Celesta Capital. He previously co-founded and led Crescendo, an AI-first contact center company backed by General Catalyst, where he was also a partner, after two decades as a product leader at Meta (Messenger), Five9, Bharti Airtel and Snapdeal, and as founder of Aeroprise, acquired by BMC Software. He has backed more than 80 seed-stage companies and was named the top India–US corridor seed investor by HURUN three years running, with an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford.
Celesta Capital · Day 4Anand Chandrasekaran
Managing Partner
Anand Chandrasekaran is a managing partner at Celesta Capital. He previously co-founded and led Crescendo, an AI-first contact center company backed by General Catalyst, where he was also a partner, after two decades as a product leader at Meta (Messenger), Five9, Bharti Airtel and Snapdeal, and as founder of Aeroprise, acquired by BMC Software. He has backed more than 80 seed-stage companies and was named the top India–US corridor seed investor by HURUN three years running, with an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford.
Anand Chandrasekaran is a managing partner at Celesta Capital. He previously co-founded and led Crescendo, an AI-first contact center company backed by General Catalyst, where he was also a partner, after two decades as a product leader at Meta (Messenger), Five9, Bharti Airtel and Snapdeal, and as founder of Aeroprise, acquired by BMC Software. He has backed more than 80 seed-stage companies and was named the top India–US corridor seed investor by HURUN three years running, with an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford.
Celesta Capital · Day 4Arun Kumar
Managing Partner
Arun Kumar is a managing partner at Celesta Capital and former Chairman and CEO of KPMG in India, with senior experience in business leadership and public service.
Celesta Capital · Day 4Arun Kumar
Managing Partner
Arun Kumar is a managing partner at Celesta Capital and former Chairman and CEO of KPMG in India, with senior experience in business leadership and public service.
Arun Kumar is a managing partner at Celesta Capital and former Chairman and CEO of KPMG in India, with senior experience in business leadership and public service.
Celesta Capital · Day 4Michael Marks
Founding Managing Partner
Michael Marks is founding managing partner of Celesta Capital and has led and transformed technology companies for more than 40 years. He spent 13 years as CEO and then chairman of Flextronics, growing revenues from $150M to more than $25B, served as interim CEO at Tesla, was a founding partner of Riverwood Capital and a partner and senior advisor at KKR, and taught as an adjunct professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Celesta Capital · Day 4Michael Marks
Founding Managing Partner
Michael Marks is founding managing partner of Celesta Capital and has led and transformed technology companies for more than 40 years. He spent 13 years as CEO and then chairman of Flextronics, growing revenues from $150M to more than $25B, served as interim CEO at Tesla, was a founding partner of Riverwood Capital and a partner and senior advisor at KKR, and taught as an adjunct professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Michael Marks is founding managing partner of Celesta Capital and has led and transformed technology companies for more than 40 years. He spent 13 years as CEO and then chairman of Flextronics, growing revenues from $150M to more than $25B, served as interim CEO at Tesla, was a founding partner of Riverwood Capital and a partner and senior advisor at KKR, and taught as an adjunct professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Celesta Capital · Day 4Sriram Viswanathan
Founding Managing Partner
Sriram Viswanathan is founding managing partner at Celesta Capital, bringing more than 30 years of technology operations and venture capital experience. He spent nearly 20 years at Intel in senior roles including VP of the Intel Architecture Group, VP of Intel Capital and GM of Intel's Incubation and Innovation Group, and previously founded IndusAge Partners, a cross-border firm investing across the US–India technology corridor. He serves on the advisory board of the India Semiconductor Mission and holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson.
Celesta Capital · Day 4Sriram Viswanathan
Founding Managing Partner
Sriram Viswanathan is founding managing partner at Celesta Capital, bringing more than 30 years of technology operations and venture capital experience. He spent nearly 20 years at Intel in senior roles including VP of the Intel Architecture Group, VP of Intel Capital and GM of Intel's Incubation and Innovation Group, and previously founded IndusAge Partners, a cross-border firm investing across the US–India technology corridor. He serves on the advisory board of the India Semiconductor Mission and holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson.
Sriram Viswanathan is founding managing partner at Celesta Capital, bringing more than 30 years of technology operations and venture capital experience. He spent nearly 20 years at Intel in senior roles including VP of the Intel Architecture Group, VP of Intel Capital and GM of Intel's Incubation and Innovation Group, and previously founded IndusAge Partners, a cross-border firm investing across the US–India technology corridor. He serves on the advisory board of the India Semiconductor Mission and holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson.
Amazon Web Services · Day 5Raj Menon
Senior Leader, Enterprise Customer Solutions
Raj Menon is a Senior Leader of Enterprise Customer Solutions at AWS, where he helps enterprises move from AI experimentation to production-scale business impact. Across nearly 25 years in customer success and solutions leadership — including senior roles at AWS since 2020 and director positions at Actifio — he has focused on turning technology into measurable customer outcomes while growing people and teams.
Amazon Web Services · Day 5Raj Menon
Senior Leader, Enterprise Customer Solutions
Raj Menon is a Senior Leader of Enterprise Customer Solutions at AWS, where he helps enterprises move from AI experimentation to production-scale business impact. Across nearly 25 years in customer success and solutions leadership — including senior roles at AWS since 2020 and director positions at Actifio — he has focused on turning technology into measurable customer outcomes while growing people and teams.
Raj Menon is a Senior Leader of Enterprise Customer Solutions at AWS, where he helps enterprises move from AI experimentation to production-scale business impact. Across nearly 25 years in customer success and solutions leadership — including senior roles at AWS since 2020 and director positions at Actifio — he has focused on turning technology into measurable customer outcomes while growing people and teams.
Amazon Web Services · Day 5Gagan Brahmi
Senior Specialist Solutions Architect, Analytics
Gagan Brahmi is a Senior Specialist Solutions Architect for Analytics at Amazon Web Services, focused on big data and analytics with over 16 years of experience in IT consulting. He helps customers design and build highly scalable, performant and secure cloud solutions on AWS, with deep expertise in data lakes, the Hadoop and Spark ecosystem, and MPP databases such as Amazon Redshift, and is a regular speaker at AWS and open-source data conferences.
Amazon Web Services · Day 5Gagan Brahmi
Senior Specialist Solutions Architect, Analytics
Gagan Brahmi is a Senior Specialist Solutions Architect for Analytics at Amazon Web Services, focused on big data and analytics with over 16 years of experience in IT consulting. He helps customers design and build highly scalable, performant and secure cloud solutions on AWS, with deep expertise in data lakes, the Hadoop and Spark ecosystem, and MPP databases such as Amazon Redshift, and is a regular speaker at AWS and open-source data conferences.
Gagan Brahmi is a Senior Specialist Solutions Architect for Analytics at Amazon Web Services, focused on big data and analytics with over 16 years of experience in IT consulting. He helps customers design and build highly scalable, performant and secure cloud solutions on AWS, with deep expertise in data lakes, the Hadoop and Spark ecosystem, and MPP databases such as Amazon Redshift, and is a regular speaker at AWS and open-source data conferences.
Plaid · Day 5Simran J. Singh
Head of Financial Institutions
Simran J. Singh is Head of Financial Institutions at Plaid, where he leads the commercial side of Plaid's work with banks and financial institutions. He brings 15+ years scaling fintech infrastructure, with prior leadership roles at PayPal, Green Dot and Pagaya, an MBA from Wharton and a computer science and maths degree from IIT Delhi.
Plaid · Day 5Simran J. Singh
Head of Financial Institutions
Simran J. Singh is Head of Financial Institutions at Plaid, where he leads the commercial side of Plaid's work with banks and financial institutions. He brings 15+ years scaling fintech infrastructure, with prior leadership roles at PayPal, Green Dot and Pagaya, an MBA from Wharton and a computer science and maths degree from IIT Delhi.
Simran J. Singh is Head of Financial Institutions at Plaid, where he leads the commercial side of Plaid's work with banks and financial institutions. He brings 15+ years scaling fintech infrastructure, with prior leadership roles at PayPal, Green Dot and Pagaya, an MBA from Wharton and a computer science and maths degree from IIT Delhi.
Accommodation
Where you'll stay
Hotel 1 · Palo Alto
Sheraton Palo Alto
Address625 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94301, United States
Hotel 2 · Palo Alto
The Westin Palo Alto
Address675 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA
At both hotels
- High-speed Wi-Fi
- Restaurant
- All-day café
- Fitness centre
"A Silicon Valley basecamp within easy reach of the campuses, funds and labs on the week's agenda."
Travel Essentials
Travel guidelines & contacts
Weather · October 5–9
San Francisco is usually mild at 18–23°C (64–74°F), while Palo Alto and Mountain View are warmer at 24–25°C (75–77°F). Mornings and evenings can be cool, so bring a light layer.
Time difference
Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−7 in October). 9 hours behind Johannesburg / Pretoria (SAST, UTC+2).
IDs & dress code
- Have your ID ready for all company visits
- Business casual throughout
- No ties required
- Comfortable walking shoes
Program Contact
In case of need, reach out
SVIC · On-site program lead
Tawab FakhriInnovation Evangelist, Silicon Valley Innovation Center
"What we notice becomes what we build."