Employers

Michael Chao – Council Chair

Chief Financial Officer, Synack

Michael Chao is an experienced Chief Financial Officer for private equity sponsored organizations across multiple industries. Mr. Chao has over 20 years of experience in both public and private companies leading financial management, strategic growth planning and all aspects of organizational financial operations. Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

John Ailanjian, CFA

General Partner and Head of Investments, Next Play Capital

John is a General Partner and Head of Investments for Next Play Capital overseeing the investment and diligence processes for both fund and co-investments. He also plays an integral role in the programming and education of Next Play Capital’s Fellowship program.  John is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in Economics.  John is also a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program and a Chartered Financial Analyst.  John currently serves as a Board Member at the CFA Society of San Francisco.

Dave Botkin

Dave Botkin Consulting, LLC

A former physicist turned data scientist, Dave Botkin built and ran analytics and data engineering teams in startups and Fortune 50 companies until “retiring” in 2018 to focus on Analytics Consulting and Advisory services as Dave Botkin Consulting, LLC.  DBC LLC has advised clients in ecommerce, mobile gaming, streaming audio, healthcare, and IoT on driving more value with their data.  Dave received his BA and Ph.D. (Physics) degrees from UC Berkeley and his MBA degree from the Haas School of Business.

James Chung

Senior DeFi Market Strategist, ConsenSys

James is a Senior DeFi Market Strategist focusing on investment strategy, research and token engineering design for Consensys, a market leading blockchain technology company.   He has 15+ years of experience in portfolio strategy, manager due diligence and performance reporting at private and public investment organizations, including Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, General Motors and University of California.

“I was motivated to join the advisory council to empower students and serve as a critical bridge for those seeking a career in the crypto industry. When entering this space myself, I’ve experienced a lack of mentors and precedence I could follow, so my goal is to serve as a critical bridge for those seeking a career in crypto. This industry is undergoing a time of exponential growth and leading companies need the brightest minds to solve some of the toughest problems of Web3. I hope my involvement in the advisory council can inspire future leaders in crypto to positively impact the future global economy.”

Ranit Jan Efron

Chief Product Officer, Lighter Capital

Ranit was born and raised in Israel, where she served as a lieutenant in the Israeli Defense Force and then studied Mathematics and Computer Science in Bar-Ilan University. She moved to Los Angeles in 2003, gaining immeasurable experience in the tech industry, specifically working at some of the top online media companies in Los Angeles and managing product development and agency relationships for multiple independent networks in the US. Ranit joined Lighter Capital as chief product officer in 2021 with the goal of developing and pushing out cutting-edge FinTech solutions.

“I joined the MQE Advisory Council to share years of product development, experience, and knowledge with new generations and future entrepreneurs.”

Gilbert FitzGerald

Data Analytics Executive, Google

Gilbert FitzGerald is an analytics executive at Google. Gilbert holds a BA in Mathematics, Mathematical Physics and Computer Science and a Master’s in Mathematical Sciences from the National University of Ireland and completed PhD coursework (A.B.D.) in Social Research Methodology at UCLA.

Steve Hartman

Chief Customer Officer, Rugs USA

Steve Hartman is an investor and advisor, and a seasoned executive with unique mix of extensive experience across ecommerce, marketing, analytics, and technology.  He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and dual MBAs from Columbia University and Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

Jack Kahler

Executive Director, Global Business Services, Ingram Micro

David Krein

Head of Central Pricing Research, CTO Office | Bloomberg

David has nearly 25 years’ experience in the financial markets, including electronic trading, algorithmic pricing, and indexing. Most recently, he had led a team of 20 quantitative research analysts to advance trading innovations in the global bond market. David holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

“The Advisory Council is a unique opportunity to invest in the next generation of quantitative leaders by sharing my own experience and domain insights.”

Bonnie Lemon

Vice President, Creative Production, Disney Television Animation

Bonnie Lemon is Vice President, Creative Production, at Disney Television Animation. She has deep experience leading large production efforts from inception to completion, allocating work among multiple studios around the world, and managing highly creative and technical talent.  Bonnie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UCLA.

Ellen Ma, ’17 MAE

Managing Director, UpHonest Capital

Ellen is a managing director at UpHonest Capital. Ellen also started Silicon Valley Race (硅兔赛跑), a Chinese editorial about innovation in Silicon Valley. Ellen holds a BA in mathematics and economics and a master’s in applied economics at UCLA.

Aneri Patel, ’22 MQE

Research Analyst, The Brattle Group

Aneri Patel is a Research Analyst at The Brattle Group in their Antitrust and Competition practice. Aneri holds a Masters of Quantitative Economics, and a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology, Sociology and Economics.

“As a recent graduate from the program, I wanted to continue being an active member in the MQE community and give back in whatever way I can.”

Jonathan Schmitz

Multi-Site Leader, Customer Fulfillment Operations, Amazon

Jonathan Schmitz manages the day-to-day operations of multiple Amazon Customer Fulfillment Centers in the US.  Prior to Amazon, he spent 23 years in uniform, as a Naval Officer. His military assignments include commanding a Destroyer, serving in the White House, leading our military-to-military relationship with the State of Israel, and managing the professional development for thousands of Naval Officers.  He is a graduate of the US Naval Academy and holds a Master’s Degree in National Security Affairs from the Naval Post Graduate School.

“Since moving from uniform to the private sector, I embrace every opportunity to support talented and purpose driven individuals, especially Veterans, find the best fit for their skill-sets.  The current industry landscape is complicated, but with value-added mentorship, the journey can be much less daunting and significantly more rewarding.”

Vivian Tu

Director, Competitive Intelligence, Amgen

Bernd Vindevogel

Chief Operating Officer, True Digital

Bernd started 20 years ago as an Academic Researcher at Ghent University (Belgium).  His research activities were focused on applying advanced econometrics on marketing problems and he also taught Machine Learning using MatLab to master’s students. He then moved to industry, and operated in 3 roles over a period of 7 years: Analytics Consultant at SAS Institute, Credit Risk at Private Equity and Credit Scoring Consultant at Dun & Bradstreet. He later joined McKinsey as Analytics Specialist and grew to Associate Partner over a period of 5 years.  At McKinsey he lead multiple projects across Europe, Africa and Asia driving digital transformations for their clients. Bernd joined CP Group in Thailand in 2017.  CP Group is Thailand’s largest conglomerate, active in Agriculture, Retail and Telecommunications.  He has had a diverse set of roles, amongst others he built a 150 FTE analytics team with a mission to develop software products to monetize our telco data and drive group-wide data sharing and led the international expansion of our retail business. Bernd currently serves as the COO of CP Group’s digital media business, overseeing Technology, Analytics, Sales, Ad Operations, HR and Finance. Bernd first became involved with UCLA’s MQE program as an applied project sponsor.

Yael Weinstock-Shemesh

Weinstock Consulting, Public Speaker, Investor

Yael Weinstock-Shemesh is a CPA with over 20 years of experience as a C-level executive in the Banking sector. Through her career, Yael has been committed to helping women unlock their potential and achieve their goals. As a public speaker and strategic consultant Yael supports female professionals in advancing their career. In her capacity as a Real Estate investor and entrepreneur, Yael is focused on helping women build their wealth by investing in Real Estate in the US. In collaboration with HSBC Bank, Yael developed the Networkship@HSBC program, designed to assist women 45 and older in exploring career opportunities in finance.

John Wilmarth

Principal, Technology Risk | KPMG

Josie Zhou

Associate Partner, McKinsey & Company (Shanghai)

Josie has over 5 years of consulting experience in Biopharma/biotech/Medtech serving clients in Asia and North America on ranges of topics including R&D and regulatory strategy, launch, growth strategy, commercial model innovation, analytics enabled solutions, digital partnership and post-merger management..  Josie holds a BS in Cell Bio from University of Science and Technology of China and a PhD in Diabetes from UCLA.