SPEAKERS & DISTINGUISHED GUESTS
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TEXAS VENTURE FORUM DISTINGUISHED GUEST SPEAKER: The Honorable Texas State House of Representatives; Innovation & Technology Caucus Policy Committee Member, Representative Donna Howard
TEXAS VENTURE GALA DISTINGUISHED GUEST SPEAKER: The Honorable Mayor of Arlington, Jim Ross
DISTINGUISHED GUEST OF THE GALA: Deputy Consul General of Germany, Head of Economic, Science, and Cultural Development, Mr. Markus Hatzelmann
DISTINGUISHED GUEST OF THE GALA: The Honorable Jim Penniman-Morin, Mayor of Cedar Park
DISTINGUISHED GUEST OF THE GALA: The Honorable Shane Suam, Mayor of Lago Vista
DISTINGUISHED GUEST OF THE GALA: “The Capitol’s Ultimate Insider” by Texas Monthly Magazine: The Quorum Report Owner, Publisher, & Editor, Harvey Kronberg
MEDIA PARTNER (Podcast Contact):
SBIR Advisors; The Building Texas Show Host, Justin McKenzie
MEDIA PARTNER (Podcast Contact):
HoneyHive Capital Managing Partner & ChristianAlts Podcast Host / Author, Matt Johns
MEDIA PARTNER (Podcast Contact):
Tales From the Pantheon Podcast Host, Gabriel Rucker
ClutchVC General Partner, & “Texas Seed Report” Creator with Carta, Rajiv Bala
S3 Ventures’ General Partner, Aaron Perman
Tiger21 Austin Chair (invite-only UHNW network); Pawsitive Holdings; Former Virgin Group (New Ventures) & Goldman Sachs, Gabriel Baldinucci
Ballistic Ventures Cofounder & General Partner, Roger Thornton
Q-Branch CEO; a Global & Dual Use Accelerator w/ 15+ Delegations, Marcos Cervantes
Austin Technology Incubator CEO (University of Texas program); Texas McCombs School of Business Lecturer, Richard Amato
Texas A&M University System Director of Strategic Partnerships (Innovation), Chris Scotti
Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe’s Partner; Global Co-Head of Space and Defense, Montana Ware
Caveret Ventures Managing Partner, Joseph Yaker
COMMUNITY PARTNER:
TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Global Former Board of Trustees; TiE Austin President; US India Chamber of Commerce Austin; Avasant President, Anupam Govil
COMMUNITY PARTNER: Founder Institute Head of Public Affairs; ‘Startup Ecosystems, Understanding Why Startup Thrive & Ecosystems Fail’ Author, Paul O’Brien
SimpleEDO.ai Founder; Leading AI Economic Development Exec, IEDC Excellence Award Winner 2024 for Texas Venture Fest (Hill Country), Katie Milton Jordan
IA Global Ventures Managing Partner, Nikos Iatropoulos
Beyond Earth Ventures’ Venture Partner; Taiwan ITRI New Venture Association Texas Chapter Chairman; Global League Director, Jessie Chen
Invincible Spaces Founder & CEO, “Texas Venture Fest of the Year 2025” Texas Venture Fest Co-Host 2025 & 2026; Jesse Martinez
Princeton University Office of Innovation, Christine Galib
German Accelerator’s Global Project Leader, a Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Program, Annika Pierson
Texas State University Director of Venture Development, Matt Sorenson
The Founders Arena Founder & CEO; one of the most successful WealthTech accelerators, Pamela Cytron
STARTUP OF THE YEAR 2025 (Contact): harva. CEO, & Texas Venture Fest’s Texas Choice Award Winner “Startup of the Year”, William Steele
US Patent & Trademark Office Partner; Patent Trademark Resource Center Engineering Librarian at The University of Texas at Austin, Larayne Dallas
COMMUNITY PARTNER:
StayCurious Ventures; & Pitch and Run Austin Chapter Lead, Zeke Torres
COMMUNITY PARTNER:
F.I.E.S.T.A (Founders, Investors, Entrepreneurs, Startups, Techies, Austin Newcomers) Founder & Chief Empowerment Officer;Texas Venture Fest’s “Community Leader of the Year”, Cherie Werner
COMMUNITY PARTNER:
Founder Institute Texas Executive Director, Martin Martinez
Girls Into VC Director of Education, Forty Acres Scholar, Stamps Scholar, Annika Sawant
Endeavor Heartland’s 412 Angels Director,leading the growth of a high-impact angel network across the Heartland, Chris Erhadt
Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (state program w/ innovator offers)& Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, Lissa West
Geek Ventures Investment Team; Austin Under 40 Finalist; Texas Venture Gala & Forum, and Texas Venture Fest Chief of Staff, Sarah Romanko
Texas Venture Gala & Forum Curator, CS Freeland