Ben Carson Jr. is Co-Founder and Partner at FVLCRUM, where he is responsible for the overall guidance of the company and the portfolio. Previously, Mr. Carson served as Executive Vice President at The Warner Companies, where he led TWC Capital, a division that advised companies on mergers and acquisitions, capital structuring, capital raises, investments, insurance, and strategic planning. Ben is actively involved in the community and serves on several boards, including Tufts University (Derby Entrepreneurial Center and the President’s Council), YPO (Young President’s Organization), the Minority Wealth Commission, Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital Foundation Board, and Carson Scholars Fund. Mr. Carson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership from Tufts University. He is a recipient of Baltimore’s 35 Under 35 award, the Envest Foundation’s 40 Under 40 award, Washington Life’s 40 Under 40, and DCA Live’s Rising Stars of GovCon.

Vanessa Gabela joined WM Partners in 2016 and serves as Managing Director. She leads fundraising and investor relations as well as strategic initiatives of the firm. Ms. Gabela is a member of the ESG Committee and collaborates on ESG efforts. Ms. Gabela has more than 18 years of finance and private equity experience. Previously, she was Director of Investor Relations at Palladium Equity Partners, a middle-market private equity firm in New York, where she led the firm’s fundraising efforts, managed relationships with investors and led the firm’s marketing strategy. Before joining Palladium, Ms. Gabela was Director of Product Management at Fidelity Investments after completing Fidelity’s two-year post MBA General Management Leadership program, rotating across four different divisions of the company. Prior to Fidelity, Ms. Gabela was an investment officer at Root Capital, where she was responsible for lending operations to small and medium-size companies in Latin America. Ms. Gabela began her career at Monument Group, a private equity placement firm, where she participated in all capital raising efforts and evaluated new prospects. Ms. Gabela is a member of the Private Equity Women’s Investor Network (PEWIN) and a member of Chief. She is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Southeast Chapter of Women’s Association of Venture & Equity (WAVE), and a Committee member of ACG South Florida Women Connect. Ms. Gabela earned a B.A. from Wellesley College and an M.B.A. from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Chris is the Managing Partner of Catalyst Partners and a Managing Director at Moelis Asset Management. Catalyst is a private equity seeding strategy focused on investing in and supporting new and emerging private equity firms. He has a long history of investing in first-time private equity funds. He is co-Portfolio Manager for Archean Capital which seeded 6 first-time funds. Prior to Moelis, he was at Summit Strategies Group, an institutional investment consultant, where he was a Managing Director, Head of Research and Head of Private Markets. In his previous role, Chris committed over $10 billion across 200 private equity funds, including more than 50 first-time funds and emerging managers. He was also an active member on dozens of fund advisory boards. Chris is a Kauffman Fellow, a CFA® charter holder and received an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology from The University of Colorado.

David Fann is a Senior Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Apogem Capital, a subsidiary of New York Life. He has held senior leadership roles in organizations that have invested over $50 billion in private equity, private credit, real assets, and real estate for institutional clients. Previously, he was a Partner and Vice Chairman of Aksia LLC. He was also a co-founder, President and CEO of TorreyCove Capital Partners LLC and President and CEO of PCG Asset Management. David also was a Managing Director of US Trust and started his career at Citibank, where he was a Vice President of Citicorp Venture Capital Ltd. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree in Industrial Engineering and Economics from Stanford University. David also serves on the advisory board for the Robert Toigo Foundation and the Association of Asian American Investment Managers.

Mrinalini Lhila is a Managing Director at Thomas Capital Group, based in New York, where she has advised and raised capital for several private equity and venture capital funds, co-investments and direct deals. Previously Mrinalini served as a Vice President at StepStone Group. Prior to that, she was a member of the Strategy, Planning & Analysis team at Neuberger Berman and its former parent Lehman Brothers, and before that at Citi Alternative Investments. Mrinalini holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and earned her bachelor’s degree, with honors, from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College.