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Lindsay Bayuk

CMO
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Affinity

Lindsay Bayuk is the Chief Marketing Officer at Affinity, where she spearheads global marketing strategy. With a strong background in B2B marketing and product management, she has a proven track record of enhancing customer experience and driving business growth.

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David Hefter

AI Champion for Investments - Private and Public
BlackRock

David Hefter

AI Champion for Investments - Private and Public
BlackRock

David Hefter leads BlackRock’s internal AI strategy and adoption for investments, working across public and private markets. He chairs the AI governance committee and produces a weekly internal AI Newsletter. With over two decades experience at BlackRock, David has been driving AI initiatives for the past 5 years, having studied computer science and AI at Columbia University.

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Keshia Theobald-Van Gent

Partner
BDev Ventures

Keshia Theobald-Van Gent

Partner
BDev Ventures

Keshia is one of BDev Ventures' Partners. Previously, she served as the VP of Investment, leading BDev Ventures in backing more than 50 startups globally, including high-growth Silicon Valley companies such as Pinata Rent, MGT Insurance, and Pipo Health. Under her leadership, 25% of the firm’s portfolio companies achieved markups. Her strategic vision and hands-on support have helped founders scale quickly and responsibly.

Keshia was recently named a 2025 Woman of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. This annual award honors women who demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation, and community impact across Silicon Valley.

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Jason Baibokas

Managing Director
BDC

Jason Baibokas

Managing Director
BDC

Jason Baibokas is a managing director at BDC, currently managing the firm's $100-million Black Entrepreneurs Fund. Prior to BDC, Baibokas has over 25 years of experience in capital markets and entrepreneurial growth, including serving as a principal at investment and advisory firm KASCorp and chief financial officer at Toronto-based digital mortgage platform 8Twelve Financial Technologies.

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Nuno Gonçalves Pedro

Managing Partner, Founder
Chamaeleon

Nuno Gonçalves Pedro

Managing Partner, Founder
Chamaeleon

Nuno Goncalves Pedro is the founder and managing partner of Chamaeleon, a VC firm with a unique disruptive operating model and an AI, quantitative & technology platform - Mantis - developed and maintained fully in-house to augment its deal sourcing, due diligence, risk, portfolio management and liquidation activities, among others. While based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Firm also has offices in Europe, as well, and it focuses on series Seed and Series A investing. Nuno is particularly focused on consumer and consumer-like start-ups, e.g. gaming and social, as well as horizontal SaaS, e.g. consumerized Enterprise and bottom-up SaaS.

Before this, Nuno founded and was the managing partner of Strive Capital, the first quant VC firm in the US and in the San Francisco Bay area. The firm focused on consumer and enterprise software, with investments in DraftKings (IPO), Robinhood (IPO), Ohmconnect (Merger Google), Rubrik (IPO), Gusto, App Annie (Sold), Enish (IPO), Virta Health, among others.

He is the co-founder and co-host of decipheredshow.com, a top 2.5% podcast, globally, across all verticals, and the creator of the “Rejection & Adversity as a path to Growth” methodology. Nuno has served and continues to serve as a board member, advisor and coach to various start-ups, corporations and nonprofits in the US, Europe and Asia.

Nuno was a Senior Expert and member of APAC Technology, Media & Telecom leadership team for McKinsey, where he created impact for Fortune 500 clients, including consumer electronics, network equipment, carriers/operators, Internet players, sovereign wealth funds and private equity funds. Nuno was previously the Head of Strategy, Product, Corporate & Business Development for the GSM Association, where he created and executed, at its inception, the blueprint that led to the GSM Association becoming the leading non-profit for Mobile, as well as the top trade association, globally.

Nuno is a guest lecturer on product management and growth at Stanford GSB, and Haas School of Business and School of Engineering, University of California Berkeley. He is also a guest lecturer on Venture Capital and innovation topics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the College of Engineering of the University of California Berkeley. Nuno is an alumnus of Stanford, London Business School, and other world-renowned organizations.

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