Simeon Iheagwam is the Founder & Managing Partner of NOEMIS Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund that invests in and advises founders using disruptive technology in the areas of Fintech, AI/Machine Learning, and Marketplaces to change the world. Simeon invested in 10 companies in his pilot fund and has achieved an TVPI of 4.3x and IRR of 37% in 4.5 years. Prior to NOEMIS Ventures, Simeon has 10 years of experience as an investment banking / corporate finance professional for JP Morgan and Wells Fargo. Simeon received his B.S. in Business Management & Finance from Brooklyn College and a MBA from Cornell University, where he was awarded the Roy H. Park Leadership Fellow full academic scholarship.

Jeff is Senior Vice President and Head of Synchrony Ventures. Jeff oversees the day to day operations of Synchrony Ventures and focuses on investments in payments, consumer finance, and financial infrastructure. Jeff joined Synchrony in 2019 to lead Synchrony’s M&A team prior to transitioning to Synchrony Ventures. Jeff has over 15 years of experience in financial services. Prior to joining Synchrony, Jeff was a Director at Credit Suisse, advising FinTechs and consumer lenders on M&A opportunities, IPOs and other strategic transactions. Jeff is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a B.S. in Finance and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.  He enjoys spending time with his wife and 3 kids, traveling internationally and watching college basketball.

Denisha Kuhlor is a vice president for Silicon Valley Bank’s Emerging Managers Practice. Based in New York City, she builds relationships with new and growing fund managers, providing them with the banking solutions, connections and insights they need to help them reach their next milestone faster. Denisha is passionate about supporting underrepresented emerging managers, and she thrives on seeing more first-time fund managers build and scale successful firms. She finds it particularly rewarding to be actively involved in creating a more inclusive venture ecosystem. This leads not only to more diversity within the ranks of fund managers, but ultimately to more diversity in the innovation-sector companies that these funds set in motion.

Earlier in her career, Denisha worked for SVB’s Early-Stage Technology Practice in New York, where she served pre-seed through Series A companies, helping them grow from inception. She also served early-stage technology companies at Grasshopper Bank. Before entering the banking world, she founded Plucked, a web application startup that matched high school students to more than 236 colleges offering free applications based on each student’s GPA, desired major and interests. Denisha holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and communication from the College of Mount Saint Vincent, Riverdale, New York.

In her spare time, Denisha serves on the advisory board for Village Capital, which finds, trains and invests in entrepreneurs solving real-world problems. In addition to her work in technology and banking, Denisha is a sought-after public speaker on a variety of STEM-related issues, including banking, technology and diversity and inclusion. Denisha is also an avid writer at the intersection of music and technology. She has been featured on The New York Times music podcast, and she runs a blog on music fandom called Stan — check it out at astan.substack.com.

Sophie McNaught is a Director for Silicon Valley Bank’s Corporate Relationship Management Group. Sophie is responsible for SVB’s relationships with the Venture Capital, Corporate Development and Innovation divisions of Fortune 500 financial services companies and has been instrumental in building SVB’s corporate venture capital advisory practice.

Sophie was formerly a Senior Fintech Strategist for SVB’s Payments Strategy team, working on strategic fintech initiatives across the bank -- leveraging the bank’s infrastructure and banking network to bring innovative solutions to market with emerging fintech companies. She was also responsible for SVB’s portfolio of early stage fintech investments through SVB’s accelerator program.

Prior to SVB, Sophie was a Corporate Attorney at King & Wood Mallesons in Hong Kong and Australia, specializing in Financial Services M&A and Financial Regulation.

Sophie graduated with honors from Bond University, Australia, where she earned a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce, with a major in Accounting.

Sophie is native to Australia and currently lives in San Francisco.