John has been a professional investor for 30 years. John co-founded Rizvi Traverse Management (RTM) in 2005 and continues to serve as COO and on the investment committee. John has served on the board of directors of numerous portfolio companies owned by prior RTM funds including SESAC, an RTM portfolio company sold to Blackstone. RTM has made multiple investments in control and non-control ventures since 2005 with equity capital commitments in excess of $2 billion. Prior to founding RTM, John was at major Wall Street firms, most recently Morgan Stanley. John earned a BA from Michigan State University and serves on the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees at Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, MI. John is a co-founder and Managing Director of VSV and serves on the investment committee.

Matthew previously served as Chief of Stuff at New York technology startup Shape Matrix.  In this role, Matthew focused on corporate strategy, including market research, and identifying and developing strategic partnerships.  Additionally, Matthew partnered in raising Special Purpose Vehicles in the tech industry. Matthew earned a B.A. in History from Duke University. Matthew is a co-founder and Managing Director of VSV and serves on the investment committee.

Kass is a serial entrepreneur, investor, company builder and mentor. As Co-Founder and COO of Buddy Media, Kass built and managed all day-to-day operations of the company, including finance, HR, marketing and communications. Kass was named #1 on the Silicon Alley 100 and was the recipient of the Leader of the Future Award by the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute alongside legendary CEOs Alan Mulally (Ford, Boeing) and AG Lafley (Procter & Gamble). Before Buddy Media, Kass founded and ran GOLF.com, which was purchased by Time Warner, and built the digital arm of a marketing and consulting firm from the ground up. Kass earned a B.A. in Economics from Dartmouth College. Kass is a co-founder and Managing Director of VSV and serves on the investment committee.

Michael is a serial entrepreneur and investor whose last company, social software company Buddy Media, sold for $745 million to Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), where he served as chief strategy officer and chief marketing officer, Marketing Cloud. Michael has 60+ early-stage investments under his belt, including Eaze, Scopely, Map Anything, Buzzfeed, Domo, Namely, Tumblr and Dash Radio. Michael was the recipient of Ernst & Young’s coveted Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2011. Additional honors include Fortune Magazine’s 40 Under 40, Crain’s New York 40 Under 40, #1 on the Silicon Alley 100 and the Ad Age Digital A-List. Michael earned a BS and MS in Journalism from Northwestern University. Michael is a co-founder and Managing Director of VSV and serves on the investment committee.

Kathy has more than 20 years of experience in the venture capital and private equity markets as an investor, portfolio manager and business builder. Kathy was most recently the Global Head of Alternative Investments for the J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Previously, Kathy was a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager in J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Private Equity Group where she served on the Global Investment, Allocation and Management Committees. In that role, she was a senior global investor, oversaw portfolio management for funds and separately managed accounts, led business development and product strategy and served on Asset Management’s Sustainable Investment Leadership Team. Kathy serves as Chairperson of the Leadership Council and on the Board of Trustees at Franklin & Marshall College, on the Board of Trustees of The Pennington School, and on the Finance Committee of The Pablove Foundation.  Kathy is a Managing Director of VSV and serves on the investment committee. 

Karen serves as VSV’s Vice President of Operations.  Karen has over 35 years of experience in the financial services industry. She is responsible for all administrative functions of the firm, including human resources, investor communications, and managing banking, legal, IT and other service provider relationships, and also assists with compliance.

Prior to joining VSV, Karen served as Vice President of Operations and Chief Compliance Officer of RTM since its inception, and prior to RTM she was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley. During that time, Karen oversaw all compliance, legal, system and operational issues for a 15 person team that specialized in Institutional Advisory and Alternative Investment Products with client assets in excess of $8 billion. In addition, Karen was responsible for all reporting and for trading equities and fixed income securities for pension clients with assets in excess of $6 billion.

Audrey serves as VSV’s General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer.  Audrey has over 25 years of legal experience in private equity, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, and securities law compliance. She is responsible for all compliance and legal functions of the firm and also assists with transaction structuring and investor relations matters. 

Prior to joining VSV, Audrey served as Principal and General Counsel of RTM since 2014, and prior to RTM she was a partner at Honigman LLP in Ann Arbor, Michigan and an associate at Ropes & Gray LLP in Boston, Massachusetts. Audrey holds a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and a JD from Harvard Law School.

Todd serves as VSV’s Chief Financial Officer, with over 30 years of experience (20+ years within the venture capital and private equity industry). He is responsible for the financial statement reporting, accounting, tax compliance, and investor reporting functions of the firm. He also assists with compliance and transaction structuring. 

Prior to joining VSV, Todd served as the CFO of RTM since 2008; an SVP at Citi Private Equity Services for seven years, where he managed all aspects of client relationships and focused primarily on the accounting, reporting, and administrative service offerings for venture capital and middle-market private equity funds and their related entities; a controller for a venture capital-backed international technology company; and a manager at a New York regional CPA firm. Todd holds a BS in Accounting and Finance from the University of Buffalo.