Investment Team
Jonathan Beda
Managing Partner
Jonathan Beda
Managing Partner
Jonathan is responsible for sourcing investment opportunities, executing new transactions, and supporting portfolio companies. Previously, Jonathan led AB Investment Group, a venture capital syndicate that generated top quartile returns with investments such as Home Chef (sold to Kroger) and Halo Cars (sold to Lyft). Jonathan also served as CEO and now serves as Board Director at Zumbini, an early childhood education company spun out of Zumba Fitness offering music and movement classes for babies and toddlers. Jonathan received a B.B.A. from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.
Experience: AB Investment Group, Zumbini, Zumba
Pauline Chan
Principal
Pauline Chan
Principal
Pauline is a Vice President at Connexa, primarily focused on sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities, and providing operating support to portfolio companies. Previously, Pauline worked as an investment banker in the TMT group at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley's M&A practice. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Pauline served as a Sales Associate at Blackrock. Pauline holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and an MSc in Marketing Science from Columbia Business School. She graduated with honors with a BBA in International Business and Global Management from the University of Hong Kong and is a CFA holder.
Experience: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock
Taha Siddiki
Associate
Taha Siddiki
Associate
Taha is an Associate at Connexa, primarily focused on sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities, and providing operating support to portfolio companies. Before joining Connexa, Taha was an analyst in the healthcare investment banking group at Barclays. Prior to Barclays, Taha spent time at BuildGroup and Houlihan Lokey. Taha graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor's Degree in Finance. On campus, he founded the Philanthropy Investment Team, a program that allocates capital to 501(c)(3) organizations with the highest social impact.
Experience: Barclays, BuildGroup, Houlihan Lokey
Executive Partners & Advisors
Thomas Andruskevich
Tiffany & Co.
Thomas Andruskevich
Chairman & CEO, TAA Consulting
Tom is currently Chairman & CEO of TAA Consulting and an Executive Partner at Comvest Partners. Previously, Tom served as CFO and International EVP of Tiffany & Co., CEO of Birks & Mayors, CEO of Mondi, and Operating Partner at Marvin Traub Associates. Tom has served on the boards of Robbins Brothers Jewelry, Dominion Diamond Corporation, Jewelers of America, VEREIT, Cole Real Estate Investments, and CancerCare. Tom earned a B.S. in Business and Economics from Lehigh University.
Experience: Tiffany & Co., Birks Group (NYSE: BGI), Mondi
Sahand Dilmaghani
Terra Kaffe
Sahand Dilmaghani
Founder & CEO, Terra Kaffe
Sahand is currently the Founder & CEO of Terra Kaffe, a venture-backed manufacturer of smart home coffee machines that raised a $5M Series A in 2021. Previously, Sahand was Head of Corporate Development for Unu, a German-manufacturer of electronic scooters, and an investment banker at DC Advisory. Sahand received his M.B.A. from The Wharton School and B.S.C. in Finance and IT from The University of Virginia.
Experience: Terra Kaffe, Unu, DC Advisory
Daniel Fetner
Alpaca
Daniel Fetner
General Partner, Alpaca VC
Daniel currently serves as a General Partner at Alpaca, a multi-stage VC firm focused on consumer technology, PropTech and FinTech. Previously, Daniel served as the Chief of Staff at Corigin, and as the Co-Founder and COO of Instrument Capital. Daniel also spent several years at JP Morgan’s private banking division. Daniel sits on the boards of Trade Hounds, Acelab, Doorkee, Prevu, Diamond Age, and The Guild, and serves as an advisor to Soil Connect. Daniel received his B.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Michigan and M.B.A. from The Wharton School.
Experience: Alpaca, Soil Connect, Corigin, JP Morgan
Saeju Jeong
Noom
Saeju Jeong
Executive Partner
Saeju is responsible for sourcing and evaluating investments and supporting portfolio companies for Connexa Capital. Saeju is the co-founder and Chairman of Noom, a globally recognized behavioral change and weight loss platform boasting millions of active users. Saeju’s work at Noom has earned him several awards, including EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year and Harvard Business School Alumnae Association of Northern California’s Entrepreneurial Company of the Year. Saeju also leads Noom’s Associate Partnership with the World Economic Forum and is a regular attendee at its Annual Meeting at Davos.
Experience: Noom
Alberto Perlman
Zumba Fitness
Alberto Perlman
Co-Founder & CEO, Zumba Fitness
Alberto is the Co-Founder & CEO of Zumba Fitness, which is the largest branded fitness program in the world with classes offered in over 200,000 locations in over 180 countries, serving over 15 million customers every week. In 2012, Zumba sold a minority stake to Insight Venture Partners and the Raine Group. Alberto received his B.A. in Finance and Information Systems from Babson College.
Experience: Zumba Fitness
Chuck Runyon
Self Esteem Brands
Chuck Runyon
Executive Partner
Chuck is responsible for evaluating investments and supporting portfolio companies for Connexa Capital. Chuck is the co-founder and CEO at Self Esteem Brands, parent company of globally recognized franchise brands such as Anytime Fitness, The Bar Method, and Waxing the City. Under Chuck’s leadership, Self Esteem Brands has scaled its footprint to over 4,000 locations worldwide. Anytime Fitness has earned numerous industry accolades, including Entrepreneur’s #1 Franchise on the Planet, while Waxing the City has been named in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Top New Franchise” list.
Experience: Self Esteem Brands
Robert Sami
Apple, Google
Robert Sami
Software Engineer, Yugabyte DB
Robert is currently a Software Engineer at YugabyteDB, a high-performance transactional distributed SQL database for cloud-native applications that raised a $188M Series C in October 2021. Robert previously founded Betty Labs, the makers of Locker Room, a live sports-focused social audio app that was acquired by Spotify in March 2021. Previously, Robert was a Software Engineer at Apple, Benchling, and Google. Robert received his B.S.E. in Computer Science with Honors from Princeton University.
Experience: Apple, Google, Yugabyte DB, Benchling
Mike Shalom
Inctomex, IFX
Mike Shalom
Co-Founder & CEO, Inctomex
Mike is the Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Intcomex, a leading software and IT products distributor in Latin America. Mike previously served as the CEO of IFX Corp., a telecommunications software and services provider based in Miami serving customers in over 17 countries. Mike also serves on the investment committee of Marathon Ventures, a leading LATAM seed-stage venture capital firm.
Experience: Inctomex, IFX
Matthew Shore
StevenDouglas
Matthew Shore
CEO, StevenDouglas
Matt is CEO of StevenDouglas, one of the nation’s leading boutique Search and Interim Resources firms. Matt has been an industry leader in Executive Search for over 25 years, previously leading StevenDouglas’ highly successful CFO Search practice while directing the broader Executive Search practice company wide. Matt received his B.S. in Accounting and Master of Accounting from the University of Florida.
Experience: StevenDouglas
Philip Solomon
Palladio Beauty
Philip Solomon
Chairman & CEO, Palladio Beauty Group
Philip is currently the Executive Chairman & CEO of Palladio Beauty Group. Philip is also the Founder of Solomon Capital Management, his family office focused on real estate, private equity, and venture capital. He also serves on the boards of Zumba Fitness, Elion Partners, and Palladio Beauty Group. Philip received a degree in Economics from Brandeis University.
Experience: Palladio Beauty, Solomon Capital, Zumba Fitness
Bruce Taragin
Blumberg Capital
Bruce Taragin
Managing Director, Blumberg Capital
Bruce is currently a Managing Director at Blumberg Capital, a technology-focused venture capital firm with over $1B in assets under management. Previously, Bruce co-founded and held several senior management positions within technology companies, including Charles River Computers. Bruce serves as a member or observer on the board of directors of BioCatch, Braze, Databand, FundGuard, Joshu, Katapult, Medigate, Nexla, NYSHEX, SAM, SeaLights, Solomoto, WorkJam, and Yotpo. Bruce received his B.A. in finance and communications from Yeshiva University and M.B.A. and J.D. from Fordham University.
Experience: Blumberg Capital, Braze, Yotpo
Pat Vihtelic
Home Chef
Pat Vihtelic
Founder & Former CEO, Home Chef
Pat is the Founder and former CEO of Home Chef, a direct-to-consumer meal kit company that he successfully scaled and sold to Kroger for $700M. Previously, Pat was an Associate at William Blair, a technology-focused investment bank. Pat received his B.S. in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
Experience: Home Chef, William Blair
Javier Villamizar
Softbank, GoPuff
Javier Villamizar
Operating Partner, Softbank
Javier is currently an Operating Partner at SoftBank’s Vision Fund, where he has invested in several category-defining companies such as MasterClass, Payflow, and Fair. Previously, Javier was the President of Global Distribution at Brightstar and played a key role in its eventual sale to SoftBank. Javier also led Motorola Ventures as Managing Director. Javier currently serves as a Board Member of GoPuff, Fair, Clutter, and DigitalReef. Javier received his B.S. in Electronics Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá and M.B.A. from The University of Miami Herbert Business School.
Experience: Softbank, GoPuff, Brightstar, Motorola Ventures
Jorge Woldenberg
Corpac Group
Jorge Woldenberg
President & CEO, Corpac Group
Jorge is currently the President & CEO of Corpac Group, a vertically integrated steel production, distribution, and trading platform operating in four continents. Jorge also serves as the Managing Director of W International Finance Company, his family office that oversees investments in real estate, public equities, and private companies. Jorge received his B.A. in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin.
Experience: Corpac Group, W International Finance Company