Introducing: Class 27 Kauffman Fellows

5 min readJun 13, 2022

Meet the investors joining Class 27 of the Kauffman Fellows Program!

Today we are honored to introduce the 59 newest members of the Kauffman Fellows global network of innovation investors. Class 27 is a group of highly successful investors fueling entrepreneurs everywhere and supporting entrepreneurship as a catalyst for economic growth and social change.

Hailing from top firms, including Bessemer Venture Partners, 500 Global, Intel Capital, SoftBank, Naspers, Redpoint, Monashees, and Legend Capital, among others, these Fellows have big funds to deploy:

$50B+ in total AUM
46% of the firms: AUM of $200M+
83% are direct VC investors
80% are in senior positions
42% are founding members of their firms
76% hold board seats

Globally Diverse Trailblazers in VC

Class 27 joins a network of 765 Fellows spanning 6 continents and representing over 670 VC firms around the globe. These Fellows have started hundreds of funds, raised and deployed hundreds of billions of dollars in capital, and helped found and pave the way for some of the world’s most groundbreaking companies.

Akin to a United Nations of venture investing, the Kauffman Fellows network sees representation from 65 countries globally — and is 9x more diverse than the industry average. Each year, we intentionally recruit, build, and design the incoming cohort with diversity as our north star and driving force.

Kauffman Fellows Class 27 is a truly phenomenal group of global innovation investors who are incredibly diverse across sector, stage, geography, gender, ethnicity, and age.

Representation from 18 countries
Our first Fellow from Portugal!
47% women, 2.7x the industry average of 15%
51% people of color
56% U.S. domestic; 44% international

Committed to Diversity, Today and Always

While much has changed in the last 27 years, our mission to create a more equitable venture ecosystem and connect people of all backgrounds hasn’t. We’ve long believed in the need for inclusive VC and startups, not only because it’s the right thing to do but also because it drives better returns.

Each Fellow signs the KF Stewardship Pledge, a public commitment key to the fabric and mission of our organization that speaks to the privileged role of the innovation investor with our expectation in society that “to whom much is given, much is expected.”

The KF Stewardship Pledge is about changing mindsets and behaviors. It’s a promise not only to promote a culture of inclusion and seek out diversity of all types but also to push this agenda of sustainable, inclusive prosperity in our work with ecosystem stakeholders — from LPs to entrepreneurs.

“It’s incredible to see venture capital becoming a force for good in more places around the world and witness Kauffman Fellows from over 65 countries continue to lead this movement,” says Allen Taylor (Class 16), KF Board Member, and Managing Director of Endeavor Catalyst. “Collectively, we share similar world-view commonalities: that venture capital is more than just a big payday. It’s an opportunity to magnify your impact on the world and accelerate the change you wish to see.”

A Note to the Members of Class 27

From the Kauffman Fellows Framework to the structured curriculum, individual development plans, thought leadership projects, executive coaching, peer learning, and annual global summits — our mission is to support you in becoming the best versions of yourselves, so that you can best serve the entrepreneurs changing the world.

Meet Kauffman Fellows Class 27!

Click the links below to learn more about each investor

Ainhoa (“Noa”) Maiz ● Alexander Chee ●Alexandria Lafci ● Alicia Lenis ● Alison Rapaport Stillman ● Allan Boruchowicz ● Amal Dokhan ● Ashley Mayer ● Brett Morris ● Caio Bolognesi ● Camila Noordeloos ● Conrad Shang ● Dan Kimerling ● Dario Villena ● David Guérin ● Ebony Brown ● Erica Duignan Minnihan ● Gita Sjahrir ● Gyan Kapur ● Haley Zollo ● Han Shen ● Hernan Fernandez ● Huiting Koh ● Ita Ekpoudom ● Jesse Draper ● Jonathan Bradford ● Joon Sung Park ● Judah Taub ● Julia Klein ● Julian Eison ● Karen Page ● Laura Gaviria Halaby ● Leticia Jauregui Casanueva ● Lomax Ward ● Lucanus Polagnoli ● Marell Evans ● Maria Buitron ● Mario Ruiz ● Mary D’Onofrio ● Matt Auxier ● Meera Clark ● Michael Fanfant ● Michael Soerijadji ● Misbah Naqvi ● Muneeb Syed ● Nathan Harroch ● Patrick Arippol ● Roi Bar-Kat ● Ross Strike ● Samantha Lewis ● Sandeep Bakshi ● Sara Rywe ● Sarah AlSaleh ● Sasha McKenzie ● Seth Corder ● Susan Spears ● Tomer Strikovsky ● Wes Panek ● Zoë Chambers

Kauffman Fellows Class 27 kicks off the two-year program together in Santa Cruz, CA mountains

Thanks to Our Partners

Kauffman Fellows would like to thank our partner, the Business Development Bank of Canada, who generously provided scholarships for select Fellows from Canada. BDC Capital’s support of the venture industry is unmatched, and we’re delighted to partner with them.