2016 GES Steering Committee

The GES Steering Committee created in January 2016 has contributed valuable insights, resources, mentors, and more toward the production of the GES in an effort to encourage Silicon Valley investment in global entrepreneurship. We would like to thank the following individuals who have given their time, resources, and support toward sparking global entrepreneurship and increasing the impact of the GES.

David F. Demarest
Vice President of Public Affairs
Stanford University

As Vice President of Public Affairs of Stanford University, David oversees the university’s public relations and communications, government relations, and community affairs.

Mr. Demarest has enjoyed a distinguished career in communications in both the private and public sectors as; Executive Vice President for Global Corporate Relations - Visa International, Executive Vice President and Director of Corporate Communications - BankAmerica Corporation, White House Communications Director - George H.W. Bush, Communications Director - Vice President Bush 1988 Presidential Campaign, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Public, Intergovernmental, and Private Sector Affairs, and Assistant Secretary of Labor for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs.

He is past chairman of the Public Relations Seminar, Chair-elect of the Public Affairs Council, and a board member of the Arthur Page Society. He serves on the board of the George Bush Presidential Library Advisory Council. He is a native of Glen Ridge, New Jersey, an avid outdoorsman and is enduring the joy of two lovely daughters. 

SUZANA GREGO
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
SKOLL FOUNDATION

Suzana Grego directs the Foundation's Public Engagement program, guided by the Foundation’s core belief in communications as an important change agent. In this role, Ms. Grego is focused on helping to demonstrate and activate the impact of social entrepreneurs on the world’  s most pressing problems. Ms. Grego has more than 15 years of communications, marketing, and public relations experience. Prior to joining the Skoll Foundation, Ms. Grego directed communications and media relations for philanthropies like the Ford Foundation, NGOs like the International Center for Transitional Justice, and corporations like IBM/Lotus. In these wide-ranging contexts, she helped build and manage communications departments and brands, and design and implement marketing communications plans that advanced the organizations’ social change and business goals.

 
ELIZABETH GORE
ENTREPRENEUR IN RESIDENCE
DELL INC.
@ELIZABETHGORE

Elizabeth Gore is the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Dell, where Gore drives initiatives that support Dell’s goals around helping small and medium businesses scale and prosper, fueling the expansion of global entrepreneurship, thereby creating jobs that will drive the world economy. Ms. Gore is extending Dell’s global advocacy efforts to raise entrepreneurship to the public policy agenda, encouraging policies and practices that support and enable entrepreneurial growth globally. Elizabeth Gore is personally advising the growth of companies such as the women’s accelerator Circular Board, ride share commuting company Scoop, online and mobile fundraising platform Classy, and innovative water company SOMA. Ms. Gore is the Emeritus Chair of the United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council that builds global partnerships that positively affect the UN’s most pressing humanitarian issues. Through a Dell partnership, Elizabeth Gore works with the UN and the UN Foundation to support innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. Ms. Gore previously served as the first ever Entrepreneur in Residence for the UN Foundation as well as Vice President of Global Partnerships, and founded strategic grassroots efforts such as Nothing But Nets, Girl Up, and Shot@Life. Ms. Gore was named by People as one of the top 100 Extraordinary Women, is one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, and Entrepreneur Magazine’s Women to Watch.

VICTOR W. HWANG
VICE PRESIDENT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION

Victor W. Hwang is Vice President of Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s leading foundation for entrepreneurs.  The Foundation supports entrepreneurs starting and building businesses, leaders seeking guidance in the innovation economy, and cities and communities growing competitive jobs and sustained business creation. This work includes education for entrepreneurs; investing in entrepreneurial programs that can scale and create impact; and investing in metropolitan areas to create vibrant ecosystems that help companies start and grow. Prior to joining the Kauffman Foundation, Mr. Hwang was co-founder and CEO of Liquidity, a Silicon Valley venture-backed nanotech firm that makes filters for safe drinking water. He led the company through first product launch, early revenues, and winning the TechCrunch Disrupt startup competition. Mr. Hwang serves on the board of Silicon Valley Forum, the largest and oldest not-for-profit organization in Silicon Valley.

RENEE KAPLAN
CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER
SKOLL FOUNDATION

Renee Kaplan is Chief Strategy Officer and oversees the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the Skoll World Forum, Strategic Alliances, Communications, and Issue Intelligence programs at the Skoll Foundation. Ms. Kaplan has more than 20 years of business experience in corporate, entrepreneurial and foundation sectors. Her professional background includes eight years at Microsoft in corporate and international marketing – working directly with executive leadership and spending considerable time in India, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Following Microsoft, she was founder and CEO of an e-commerce start up, FutureWorkplace, Inc., which was eventually sold. As an entrepreneur, she was active in Young Entrepreneurs Organization (Y.E.O.) and was named to the “40 Under 40”  list by the Puget Sound Business Journal recognizing the region’s visionary business leaders. 

ASTRI KIMBALL
POLICY COUNSEL
GOOGLE

Astri Kimball is Senior Counsel at Google in Washington, D.C., focused on working with the U.S. government on Google’ s global policy challenges and opportunities. Prior to joining Google, Ms. Kimball served for six years in the Obama Administration, including the White House and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).  She is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Co-Chair of the Meridian Center Rising Leaders, and a board member of the Washington Foreign Law Society.  Passionate about girls’  education, Ms. Kimball is a member of the Board of Trustees of Kent Place School in Summit, N.J. and Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa (AGE) and has been a mentor with First Lady Michelle Obama’s mentorship program for girls.  

DANNY NAVARRO
BRAND MANAGER
GOOGLE FOR ENTREPRENEURS

Danny Navarro is on the Google for Entrepreneurs Marketing team, focusing on creating magic moments for startup organizations around the globe and elevating the team’s brand and reach. Mr. Navarro joined Google in 2010 and has worked in Google's Large Customer Sales organization, where he created marketing and advertising strategies for major cloud computing companies. Before Google, Mr. Navarro worked at The Boeing Company as part of the Business Development and Operations teams for various commercial and defense aerospace projects. Mr. Navarro graduated from Washington State University with a concentration in Business Operations. In his free time, he is a backpacker, winemaker, and avid Washington State sports fan.

JONATHAN ORTMANS
CHAIR, SPARKPRESIDENT
GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP NETWORK

In 2014, Jonathan Ortmans was tapped by President Barack Obama to chair the Spark initiative, a collection of private sector partners and U.S. government programs working to help entrepreneurs start and scale new businesses. Since it was announced at the 2014 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Morocco, Spark has helped generate more than $1 billion in private investment for emerging entrepreneurs around the world. Mr. Ortmans is president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), a platform of programs and initiatives helping people in 160 countries unleash their ideas and turn them into promising new ventures—creating jobs, driving innovation and strengthening economic stability around the world.  

KATE O’SULLIVAN
GENERAL MANAGER, CORPORATE, EXTERNAL AND LEGAL AFFAIRS
MICROSOFT CORPORATION

Kate O’Sullivan is the general manager of Industry Affairs within Microsoft’s Corporate, External and Legal Affairs Department. In this role, Ms. O’Sullivan leads global public policy campaigns and engagement with partners and other key stakeholders across legal and regulatory policy initiatives. Prior to working at Microsoft, Ms. O’Sullivan was managing director at the global communications and public affairs consultancy, Burson-Marsteller, heading up their Corporate Practice in San Francisco. Ms. O’Sullivan currently serves on the board of 826 National—a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced students ages six to eighteen with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. She is also a member of the U.S. Advisory Board of IESE Business School based in Europe and consistently ranked as one of the leading business schools in the world.

TONY TOLENTINO
VICE PRESIDENT  
BLACKSTONE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

Tony Tolentino is a Vice President in the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Tolentino has been involved in the implementation of the Foundation's Entrepreneurship Initiative and the development of Blackstone’s inaugural community service and volunteer program. He manages and oversees the programs of the Entrepreneurship Initiative portfolio. Prior to joining the Foundation, Mr. Tolentino distributed funding and managed programs in New York City with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. He oversaw and managed grants totaling over $242 million to 25 community and cultural non-profits and city agencies. Mr. Tolentino received a BA in Urban Studies and Geography from San Francisco State University and a MS in Urban Planning from Columbia University.