These Bay Area residents use their personal and professional insight to change lives, improve business and alter our communities.
Monifa Porter of Mach49
Monifa Porter
Managing Partner, Venture Building, SVP Shift AI
Mach49
“I stay ahead by doing,” says Monifa Porter, the managing partner of venture building and SVP of Shift AI at Mach49. “At Mach49, our founding ambition was to help the world’s largest companies tackle the world’s biggest problems. So when we think about measuring success, we’re asking, ‘What’s our impact on the world?’”
As a managing partner, Porter empowers global businesses to launch new ventures with startup agility. At the same time, as the head of Shift AI—Mach49’s innovative generative AI platform—Porter accelerates growth on demand for innovators worldwide. “Another core value at Mach49 is to ‘place small bets,’ creating a portfolio of experiments and iterating based on what works,” says Porter.
How does Porter foster innovation on her team? “We operate like a classic software development team: daily stand-ups, weekly sprints and clear objectives and key results drive our work,” she says. “This cadence ensures we’re in continual communication, tracking what’s done, identifying blockers and aligning on the day’s priorities.”
Porter says she also embeds innovation into her team by approaching every challenge as an experiment. “When we first took on AI work, we had an ambitious roadmap of tools to support democratizing our venture-building methodology. But when ChatGPT emerged, we pivoted. We carved out a quick two-week sprint to explore how AI could impact venture building. The results were immediate and informative. We revamped our roadmap entirely and began to focus on AI.”
The next venture that excites Porter involves partnering with sports teams, players, leagues, player unions, stadium owners and team owners to transform the industry and drive sustainable, community-focused growth.
“The sports business is changing rapidly,” says Porter. “Communities are also rethinking their relationship with stadiums, especially regarding funding. How can a stadium be developed in a way that adds real value? How can it become an economic engine? We’re exploring how to build ownership models that include athletes and engage fans and how to move beyond the traditional sports business model to build an ecosystem of ventures around a sports franchise.”
Katrina Stevens is the president and CEO of The Tech Interactive.
Katrina Stevens
President & CEO
The Tech Interactive
A significant part of Katrina Stevens’ job is to inspire. As president and CEO of San Jose’s The Tech Interactive, she oversees the experiential science and technology center dedicated to inspiring the next generation of problem-solvers, leaders and innovators.
“Innovation is critical for science centers and museums, and The Tech Interactive feels that responsibility intensely, given our location in Silicon Valley,” says Stevens, previously the director of learning science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. She managed a $200 million portfolio encompassing 67 grants in this role. “Originally named the Tech Museum of Innovation, our goal has always been to inspire the innovator in everyone, regardless of their background.”
Stevens says Tech Interactive consistently rethinks and updates its content to remain relevant. “For example, our BioTinkering Lab invites visitors to explore biotech concepts hands-on. This first-of-its-kind lab is now being used as a model for other museums throughout the country. We also feature innovative tools like the Anatomage Table, which lets users digitally dissect 3D models in an engaging, real-time format, the same way medical students do. And we are excited to open a new AI Playground this winter, featuring innovative exhibits that are fun, educational and unlike anything seen before.”
Fostering a culture of innovation comes naturally in the space by embedding creativity and problem-solving into the team’s daily work. “During our all-hands meetings, we frequently do design challenges that encourage staff to think creatively and experience the processes and activities we teach,” says Stevens. “We also prioritize experimentation, allowing our staff to try new ideas, explore new technologies and reimagine how we engage our audiences.”
The visionary also wants to establish an AI Center for Learning at the Tech to support educators, families and young people eager to expand their understanding of AI and develop the skills needed to thrive in an AI-driven world. “I look forward to building on the Tech’s legacy with initiatives that will inspire the innovator in everyone,” she says.
Christine O’Sullivan and Jim Bean at their forward-thinking winery, Brand Napa Valley
Christine O’Sullivan and Jim Bean
Proprietors, Brand Napa Valley
How do winemakers stay innovative? Christine O’Sullivan says it comes down to data and analytics.
“In the wine industry, people often assume the key trends are sales and consumption—important metrics. But one of the most important trends we pay attention to is climate change,” says O’Sullivan, who grew up in Ireland before a storied career in software engineering and managing the release of Apple’s Mac OS X. “Imagine an industry where your product is not promised every year. Mother Nature is in control, and we must invest our resources heavily in this area. Through empirical learning, we’ve garnered a wealth of knowledge. For instance, data from our weather stations prompted significant investment in installing misting systems, which reduce the temperatures in our vineyards by 10-15 degrees during extreme heat—a true game-changer.”
Jim Bean, O’Sullivan’s partner in life and business, says innovation also comes from being good stewards of the land. “We’re a certified organic wine grower, adopting biodynamic practices in our vineyards. We’ve completed extensive defensible space clearing to protect our estate from wildfires, and we run on 100% renewable energy,” says Bean, who grew up in Pennsylvania and eventually landed at Apple, where he managed international retail operations.
“We give more electricity to the grid than we consume. But perhaps most of all, the demand for our wine will soon outstrip the supply from our vineyards, and much of our future focus will be on vineyard development.”
Following an extensive four-year application process with Napa County, the winery is finally increasing its vineyard acreage. The team will expand one of its vineyard sites and break ground on a new one. “We already have three diverse vineyards, with different soil types and elevations that create unique microclimates,” says Bean. “The result is a diverse palette of consistently high-quality cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc grapes for making distinctively beautiful wines.”
Dr. Sean White, CEO of Inflection AI, believes the tech will drive healthcare solutions for patients.
Dr. Sean White
CEO, Inflection AI
“Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation—it’s built on knowledge, collaboration and experimentation,” says Dr. Sean White, CEO of Inflection AI, a Stanford and Columbia alum. He also co-founded Braingel. org, focusing on neurotech innovations, and was the chief R&D officer at Mozilla. “I stay curious about emerging technologies across industries. Whether it’s neuroscience, mixed reality, robotics, materials or bioengineering, understanding the potential intersections between these fields allows me to anticipate the next big breakthroughs.”
Inflection AI began by developing Pi, a personal AI with advanced emotional and conversational intelligence. Building on this technology, the company is now at the forefront of Enterprise AI, enabling organizations to achieve new levels of insight and drive meaningful impact.
“We’ve found that AI can be good at helping you use language to talk to and get insight from data,” says White. “This means that we can dialog with data or any other complex system like the car or a planet by giving them a voice.” White believes we’ll continue discovering more places where AI can augment human activities and performance, including human-AI collaboration.
“AI will become truly conversational and contextually aware, showing up in various devices, including robots,” he says. “It will also enable massive personalization. We’ll likely see AI-driven personalized education systems that adapt to how individuals learn best and provide real-time feedback and support. In healthcare, AI-powered personalized medicine could predict individual health risks and create tailored treatment plans using data from genetics, environment and personal habits.”
Vivian Cheng, a partner at Next47, a $2 billion Palo Alto-based venture capital firm for enterprise founders
Vivian Cheng
Partner, Next47
“The best part of my job is the constant learning from the best and brightest in tech,” says Vivian Cheng, a partner at Next47, a $2 billion Palo Alto-based venture capital firm for enterprise founders. “I could be spending one day digging deep into AI infrastructure and software digitizing the construction industry the next. The common thread is people finding the best minds and builders to stay ahead of the curve and figure out what they know that the rest of the world doesn’t. It makes every day different and very intellectually fulfilling.”
Staying innovative in her business is critical. “This includes building our brand—sharing playbooks and podcasts—doing events to make sure we’re engaging the thought leaders in our field, and always staying hungry,” says Cheng. “This is an industry where you can never rest because missing out on the next big opportunity is not something you can turn back the clock on. There will only be a few companies that matter.”
Cheng says her firm invested heavily in its go-to-market function. “We have an incredible team that helps support founders by helping them close customers and deals, and it’s been majorly impactful,” she says. “This required a lot of thinking outside the box and understanding our founders’ needs and priorities.”
Adam Schoenberg, the creator of Automation: Concerto for Human and AI Cellists
Yves Dhar, the creator of Automation: Concerto for Human and AI Cellists
Adam Schoenberg & Yves Dhar Blumenthal
Creators, AUTOMATION: Concerto for Human and AI Cellists
adamschoenberg.com; yvesdhar.com
Adam Schoenberg and Yves Dhar have an elevator speech for their latest endeavor, Automation: Concerto for Human and AI Cellists. It involves questions such as: What happens when machines make music? Can they make music that moves us? Will they replace humans?
“Automation is an immersive symphonic experience that pits human versus holographic AI cellists to ask these burning questions about the AI revolution,” explains the Grammy-nominated Schoenberg, named among the top 10 most performed living composers in America, with his works played at the Kennedy Center, New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic, among others.
“Classical music is a traditional industry,” says cellist Dhar. “There tends to be a lag between modern, up-to-date trends. When Adam and I sought to produce a new musical work, we wanted to create something distinctly 21st-century and relevant to today’s everyday mainstream. That concept alone—while a must in just about any other industry—is in many ways innovative in classical music. So borrowing from film, using tech and AI, mixing analog and electronic sounds, and marrying it with a 3D-holographic immersive experience is way ahead of classical music trends. It brings the old concert hall experience closer to what people see and hear at a popular show today.”
Dhar and Schoenberg met in grad school at Juilliard and connected by dreaming big. “So when we set out to incorporate AI, holographics and electronics into a traditional symphonic setting, our vision was infectious,” says Dhar. “All the other members of our team—including data scientists and machine programmers, sound designers, audio engineers, cinematographers, motion graphics designers, conductors and orchestras—aligned with what we were trying to accomplish: a truly 21st-century concert hall experience.”
This winter, the duo will record Automation with 25-time Grammy-winning producer David Frost, star conductor Gemma New and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. “Once mastered in Dolby ATMOS, we’re looking to partner with animation studios to sync this heart-pumping cinematic score to an original digital short,” says Dhar. “We hope to bring the thrills and uncertainties of how AI and humans interact to everyday audiences—like if Pixar’s adorably cute WALL-E had a younger AI cousin on Earth. What adventures would it encounter among humans?”
Adam Draper is the co-founder and managing director of Boost VC, which invests in everything from robotics to cryptocurrency.
Adam Draper
Co-Founder, Managing Director
Boost VC
Adam Draper believes a company’s culture isn’t magic. It’s hard work. “Culture is about how to align consistent decision-making around an organization at scale, and you earn that decision-making over time when no one is watching,” says Draper, the co-founder and managing director of Boost VC, who has been an angel investor in companies like Coinbase, Bitcoin and Amplitude. He’s a fourth-generation venture capitalist.
“Boost VC is the most active deep tech investor on the planet. We average one deal per week,” says Draper, who invests in emerging and frontier categories like DeSci, ocean dynamism, robotics, crypto and space. “We lead pre-seed rounds with $500,000 checks and write $50,000 founder starter checks. We’ve been doing this for 12 years.”
Draper believes iteration is the foundation of learning in any business. “I have a saying, ‘Your experiment is not your strategy.’ As long as you have your core strategy playing, you should be doing a ton of experiments—many of which fail—and some of which succeed massively.”
The VC also has questions he asks himself: Am I proud of the team around me? Am I still taking more risks every year? Have I done everything I can to help early-stage founders day to day? “We invest in startups. It’s an obsession. What’s up next is finding more amazing people to give a shot,” he says.
Photography by: COURTESY OF MACH49; COURTESY OF THE TECH INTERACTIVE; ALEXANDER RUBIN; COURTESY OF INFLECTION AI; COURTESY OF NEXT47; SAM ZAUSCHER; LINDSAY ADLER; COURTESY OF BOOST VC
