The SoCal Deep Tech Symposium

Daniel’s practice involves representing founders, serial entrepreneurs, emerging companies, family offices and other sophisticated investors on a variety of corporate and financing matters, including venture capital financings, SAFE & convertible debt financings, and other investment and corporate transactions. In his emerging company practice, Daniel navigates clients through all growth milestones, from basic formation to equity administration and founder arrangements, to fundraisings and exits. Additionally, Daniel acts as trusted legal advisor to middle-market clients and venture-backed and private equity fund portfolio companies in a mix of corporate matters, ranging from leading traditional M&A transactions and later-stage financings, strategic combinations and restructurings, to advising on corporate governance, intellectual property, and commercial matters.

Gadi Navon’s practice focuses on counseling clients with respect to the commercialization of their intellectual property, technologies, content, brands, and other assets. His expertise includes structuring and negotiating complex transactions involving the development, licensing, distribution or transfer of technologies and intellectual property assets; negotiating commercial agreements and service agreements; advising on e-commerce matters; counseling on IP protection strategies; and assisting in M&A transactions involving intellectual property assets.
In over thirty years of practice, Gadi has represented clients in various industries, including software, semiconductor, hardware, medical device, biotechnology, mobile and e-commerce, video game, industrial goods and materials, electric utility, food and beverage, supplements, space ventures, data collection, tactical training products, and clean energy.

Delilah Panio is passionate about helping entrepreneurs access the aligned capital they need to create and grow great companies. As the VP of Capital Formation for Toronto Stock Exchange, I work with US companies to consider listing and financing in the Canadian capital markets. As the founder of Fortuna Funding (a consulting firm), she works with early-stage companies on their business and funding strategy and on getting investor-ready. As a capital markets expert, she has advised many companies on the going public process and can provide an understanding of private and public financing options in Canada and the United States.

Dave brings a unique blend of entrepreneurial, investment, and leadership experience to the Alliance. He currently serves as Chairman of the TCA Venture Group and formerly held the same position at the Pasadena Angels. Both organizations are dedicated to mentoring and investing in early-stage companies, with over 500 members offering deep, cross-industry expertise throughout Southern California.

Dave is a serial entrepreneur and has spent the last decade as a lead investor and consultant at BioCorRx Inc., a publicly traded healthcare solutions company focused on treatments for alcohol and opioid addiction. Earlier in his career, he was a founding member and owner of Veritas Realty Investments, where he led design, project management, and sales for a portfolio of residential projects across Greater Los Angeles.

Dave also brings media and communications expertise from leadership roles at Discovery Networks, Turner Entertainment, and ESPN, and is passionate about education—he currently serves as an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.

As COO of DTI, Drew leads initiatives at the intersection of government, startups, and venture capital architecting programs like I2A that help dual-use companies scale from concept to capability. In just over a year, I2A-backed startups have secured $1.62B in government contracts, $693M in venture capital, and $125M in commercial deals, making it one of the most impactful defense innovation efforts to date.

Over the past decade, Drew advised early-stage companies and venture firms on how to navigate the federal funding landscape, resulting in $500M+ in non-dilutive capital raised across portfolios. He has helped build founding frameworks for government innovation orgs like SpaceWERX and SSC Front Door, secured CRADAs to bridge venture and DoD priorities, and served as a Defense Ventures Fellow.

Mayor Chris Pimentel is a risk management executive and a former Marine Corps infantry officer. Chris was elected Mayor on December 17, 2024 by his fellow Councilmembers and has served on El Segundo City Council since 2018. He has served on several committees focused on interaction with other cities and the state. Chris focuses much of his effort on preserving and sustaining the elements of El Segundo that make it the unique and thriving engine of the region.
Chris is active with little league, softball, soccer, the Military Officers Association and joins his wife and children in their volunteer groups.

Inspired by Knight Rider and Star Trek, Shahin grew up passionate about using engineering to give humanity “superpowers,” from coding on an IBM PC XT clone in grade school to taking apart engines at his uncle’s shop. After founding his own startup based on his PhD research in brain–computer interfaces, he joined Lux Capital in 2006, where he has since co-founded and led investments in companies that became public (AEVA, PL) or were acquired by Amazon, Intel, and others.

Ashutosh Shukla is an experienced engineer and leader in the world of developing mass scale hardware and currently serves as VP of Engineering at Anduril Industries in Costa Mesa. Prior to joining Anduril, Ashutosh has been a part of product design teams at Apple, Bose, Rivian, Snap, and Meta leading teams and architecting category defining products spanning from EVs to smartphones to AR/VR devices, and more. Ashutosh holds over 25 patents in electronics design and manufacturing technologies and earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. Beyond hardware engineering, he is a limited partner at Everywhere Ventures and advises emerging startups.

Scott Stanford is a co-founder of ACME Capital and has spent over 25 years as an investor, operator, and advisor in technology. Previously, he co-founded Sherpa Capital and co-headed Goldman Sachs’s Global Internet Investment Banking team, advising and investing in companies such as Facebook, Uber, LinkedIn, Palantir, and Square.

Shaun Stuger is Vice President of Growth at Space Kinetic Corporation, a VC-backed startup advancing national security with next-generation capabilities for missile defense and space superiority. He previously held senior business development roles at Parsons, Peraton, GDMS, Braxton Technologies, and Raytheon, following a 25-year career as a U.S. Air Force Colonel leading satellite operations, engineering, and acquisition. Shaun holds an Executive MBA from NYU Stern, LSE, and HEC Paris, along with master’s degrees from Air War College and Pepperdine, and a BA in Computer Science from Boston University.

Andrew Couillard is an investor at Harpoon Ventures, where he focuses on dual-use defense technology from pre-seed to growth stages and has helped incubate and scale a defense tech startup. A former U.S. Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal Officer, he led global teams, managed a $50M unmanned undersea vehicle portfolio, and drove AI/ML adoption in defense operations. He is currently pursuing his MBA at Stanford GSB, holds a BS in Industrial & Systems Engineering from USC, and previously worked as an engineer at Northrop Grumman. Outside of work, Andrew is an avid endurance athlete, snowboarder, and skydiver with a passion for advancing innovation at the intersection of AI and defense.

Rupika Brito is a Principal at Alumni Ventures’ Deep Tech Fund, with experience spanning venture capital, private equity, and entrepreneurship. She previously led corporate ventures at Blockstream, executed multi-billion-dollar transactions at Bank of America, and co-founded a search fund, bringing a uniquely versatile perspective to investing in transformative technologies.

Lieutenant Colonel Vinny Pande is the Materiel Leader for SpaceWERX Ventures, where he oversees the U.S. Space Force’s $450 million annual venture portfolio encompassing all stages of SBIR investments. Previously, he has led strategic space and defense commercialization programs, ranging from proliferated LEO satellite communications to high-value procurement initiatives and international tech diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific region.

Z Holly is a seasoned innovation leader and venture capitalist with three decades of experience helping entrepreneurs and organizations turn cutting-edge ideas into global impact. Currently an Operating Partner at Good Growth Capital, she has a track record of pioneering innovation programs (including the first TEDx event), founding multiple successful ventures, advising the Obama Administration, and investing in transformative science and technology companies across sectors like aerospace, energy, and life sciences. She combines deep technical expertise (from MIT) with extensive business acumen, having helped founders raise over $1 billion in venture capital while maintaining her adventurous spirit through activities like skydiving, flying planes, and SCUBA instruction.

Phillip Weicker is the Co-Founder and CTO of Harbinger, leading innovation in electric vehicle powertrains and battery systems. With over 20 years of experience at Canoo, Faraday Future, QuantumScape, and CODA, he is a recognized expert in EV energy storage, high-voltage systems, and electrification technologies.

Aleksey Matyushev is the CEO and co-founder of San Diego-based aircraft manufacturer Natilus, the developer of a family of next-generation blended-wing-body aircraft delivering sustainable solutions to the commercial aviation industry. One of the foremost experts in commercializing aircraft, Aleksey has nearly two decades of experience in the aerospace and aviation industries, including at Piper Aircraft and Kratos Defense. Aleksey holds an Aerospace Engineering degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Karl Pawlik leads our Technology and Life Sciences practice at Escalon Services.  Karl has over 20 years of experience working in various leadership roles in finance, accounting, and strategy, with the last 10+ years being dedicated to the role of CFO of venture and pre-venture funded start-ups.  Earlier in his career, Karl held global finance, business development, and strategy roles with Fortune 500 companies including Applied Materials, and St. Jude Medical (now Abbott), where he was part of the team that acquired CardioMeMs and NanoStim.

Karl has a passion for setting up organizations for success and gives back to the community by coaching competitive youth water polo.

Karl received his B.S. degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Arizona and an M.B.A. from California State University at Northridge.

Jennifer Byrne is a General Partner at Grit Capital Partners investing in early-stage applied AI, with over 20 years of experience across fintech, insurtech, and telecom. She’s an entrepreneur who founded global accelerators for women-led startups (Female Founders in FinTech, InsurTech) and previously held executive roles at Fortune 100 companies including American Express and Verizon, where she led strategy, partnerships, and innovation programs.

Abhi Mukherjee is an Operating Partner at CerraCap Ventures with 25 years of experience spanning corporate leadership at major tech companies (Infosys, Wipro, UST), successful entrepreneurship (sold his AI startup Nirveda Cognition in 2021), and venture capital. He has managed over $1.2 billion in enterprise innovation engagements and now focuses on investing in and mentoring mission-driven entrepreneurs in AI, quantum computing, and frontier technologies.

Aaron Fyke has spent thirty years as an investor, engineer, and entrepreneur, having cofounded six companies, including two unicorns, in a number of technology areas including fuel cell, ocean power, concentrating solar, and grid-scale energy storage. He is currently Founder and Managing Partner of Thin Line Capital. Thin Line Capital is deploying their second fund to bring investment capital to extraordinary clean energy/climate change companies, participating in the biggest economic opportunity since the Industrial Revolution. Aaron earned his MBA and MSME as an LGO fellow at MIT, and his BEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Victoria, graduating at the top of his class.

Jed Leidheiser is a Partner at March Capital with two decades of enterprise experience across investing and operating roles. He leads cybersecurity investing at March and is involved in the firm’s investment activities and industry networks. Jed has board responsibilities at Expel, Immuta, and SpyCloud.

Jed graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management (MBA) and the University of Virginia (B.S., Computer Engineering; B.A., Economics). Having written his senior thesis at UVA on cybersecurity, Jed’s role at March continues a lasting interest in the field.

Before joining March, Jed invested throughout the startup lifecycle, from an early stage at Work-Bench Ventures in New York City, to public equities at Balyasny Asset Management in San Francisco. Earlier in his career, Jed spent a decade at Accenture, where he consulted Fortune 500 CxOs on strategy and technology. He credits this experience with teaching him how to sell 7-figure contracts, develop go-to-market partnerships, own a P&L, and manage distributed teams. Jed first learned of March Capital while volunteering at The Montgomery Summit in 2015; after March closed its first fund in 2016, Jed sought out the firm’s partners and became the first employee on the investment team.

Outside of the office, Jed is on the board of the UCLA Anderson Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and serves on the Advisory Council for the Alliance for Southern California Innovation. A lifelong outdoorsman, Jed also enjoys skiing, backcountry backpacking, and rooting for UVA basketball to win another national championship.

Eric is a seasoned economic development professional with experience spanning the private sector, federal and municipal government, and academia. He currently serves as the Managing Director at the Alliance for Southern California Innovation where he leads the Alliance’s Capital Access programs with VCs and founders as well as innovation community building efforts with startup communities, local government, and community partners.

Before joining the Alliance, Eric grew the Government Relations team at startup electric scooter rental company Bird and expanded operations domestically and internationally. Previously, Eric served as Director of International Trade for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. In this role, Eric worked to increase international business activity, facilitate the import and export of goods, and attract investment to Los Angeles. Eric also served in the U.S. federal government as an Advisor for Strategic Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State, where he collaborated with U.S.-based entrepreneurs, firms, and universities with interests in South and Central Asia. In a prior role, Eric represented the U.S. Small Business Administration with the startup community and improved the overall performance of a $2.6 billion federal program that funds early stage technology companies.

Eric holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Michigan, where his research focused on innovation ecosystems, industrial policy, and globalization.

Albert Cisquella Serra is a deep-tech entrepreneur and MEMS process engineer with a PhD and postdoctoral research in electrospray propulsion from the Electric Propulsion Laboratory at UC Irvine, where CISGAM’s core technology was developed. At Iridia, he co-developed a prototype DNA data writing chip for molecular storage. At Miltenyi Biotec, he contributed to the development of the fastest MEMS-based cell sorting device on the market. Co-inventor of CISGAM’s propulsion system, he brings extensive experience in microfabrication, system integration, and the transition of lab-scale technologies into scalable hardware platforms.

Patrick O’Brien is a U.S. Army veteran and former DoD Counterintelligence Special Agent, with a career dedicated to safeguarding national defense technologies. As a counterintelligence operative, he led operations and investigations protecting sensitive defense innovations in AI, machine learning, and aerospace.

Building on this deep-tech defense background, Patrick is now the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of NEXT Membranes, a cleantech venture pioneering advanced membrane technologies for water reuse and mineral recovery. He is currently pursuing his MBA at UCLA Anderson (Class of 2026), where he is focused on scaling breakthrough technologies that sit at the intersection of sustainability, security, and economic growth.

Justin Wheeler is a former DoD civilian engineer with applied experience in machine learning and RF systems. He develops AI for embedded edge environments under operational constraints and is the architect of NeuraScan, a real-time RF fingerprinting pipeline for drone detection and airspace security.

Zef Neemuchwala is a serial entrepreneur, business development expert, and startup advisor with over a decade of experience helping early-stage and scaling ventures refine product-market fit, secure strategic partnerships, and accelerate go-to-market execution. As CEO of Super Foam Corp., he leads a team developing patented, eco-friendly impact protection solutions, and as host of the Be A Maker podcast, he champions creative innovation through storytelling. Zef has successfully closed pre-seed funding rounds, built business development funnels from scratch, and guided startups through pitch competitions and grant evaluations. His collaborative leadership style, deep expertise in product strategy, and ability to forge partnerships with global brands like Google, BCG, and TechStars LA have helped over 100 startups reach critical growth milestones. A multilingual communicator, published researcher, and award-winning educator, Zef is driven by a mission to help founders align business strategy with authentic market needs, using humility, empathy, and a data-driven approach to achieve meaningful impact.