Mark Smith is an Executive Director at Verizon Ventures. Since joining Verizon Ventures in 2007, Mark has been involved in strategy formation, business development, deal negotiation and due diligence, investing in BlueKai (acquired by Oracle), Kiip and Payfone, among others. Mark’s investments span across industries, but all focus on moving Verizon’s mobile products forward, from advertising tech to infrastructure. Mark has over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, beginning his career as a CPA at Deloitte & Touche and later researched telecoms companies at Lehman Brothers before joining Verizon. Mark earned a BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from New York University. He is based in Palo Alto, CA.

Jeffrey Black joined Verizon Ventures in 2012. Prior to Verizon Ventures, Jeffrey joined Verizon in 2009 and was involved in numerous M&A and strategic investment transactions. Previously, he worked in investment banking at J.P. Morgan, structuring debt, equity, and M&A transactions. Prior to J.P. Morgan, he worked in the corporate finance department at Delta Air Lines. Jeffrey received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Roni Burrell is a Director at Verizon Ventures.  Prior to joining Verizon Ventures, she was an Investment Director at Nautilus, Aol’s early stage investment arm in Israel, which she co-founded in 2014.  Roni has over 20 years of experience in Product Management, User Experience and Design where she held roles and led projects for brands like Nokia Design UK, Phillips CE, Aol Video (formerly 5min media), and an array of successful video and social media companies. Roni’s an active member of the Israeli Product and Design community, helping to grow the next generation of professionals.

Roni earned her MDes from the University of Westminster, London, and her BFA from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design Jerusalem. She’s based in Tel Aviv.

Alex Khalin has over 18 years of professional experience investing in public and private companies across Digital Media, Financial Services and Energy sectors.

Alex came to Verizon in 2015 with a background in corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, and alliances. As part of corporate strategy and development team he worked on board-level strategy topics resulting in closing of several key M&A deals, including acquisitions of Fleetmatics (FLTX) and Telogis (privately held). Prior to joining Verizon Alex held leadership roles in strategy and corporate development at HP, the Boston Consulting Group, and Schlumberger.

Alex holds an MBA in Finance from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and attended Harvard Business School as part of his MBA. He is based in the San Francisco Bay area.

Michelle McCarthy evaluates, recommends, and closes strategic investments for Verizon’s venture capital group, in addition to overseeing the venture team’s operations, processes, and internal events. She was recognized as a Global Corporate Venturing Rising Star in 2016 and is a board observer for select portfolio companies in the areas of advertising technology and connected devices.  Before joining Verizon Ventures, Michelle headed acquisitions and asset management of a large portfolio of affordable housing tax credit investments at Verizon Capital and, prior to that, was involved in Verizon's corporate strategy formulation and domestic and international M&A. Michelle earned an MBA in finance from Georgetown University and a B.A. in International Studies from American University.

Merav Rotem Naaman is a Managing Director at Verizon Ventures and leads our investment activities in Israel.  She brings over 20 years of experience in the tech industry, where she served in both transactional and strategy roles.

Prior to joining, Merav was the Managing Director of Nautilus, Aol’s early stage investment arm in Israel, which she co-founded in 2014. Before joining Aol, Merav was Head of Strategy and Operations at Better Place where she helped shape the company’s strategy and alliances from its earliest days. She started her career as the Head of Regulatory Affairs for Israel’s leading Telco - Cellcom, and also spent several years working from the San Francisco offices of Bain & Co., advising companies on subjects like strategy, business development and M&A.

Merav received an MBA from Harvard Business School and holds a law degree from Tel Aviv University.  She’s based in Tel Aviv.

Kristina Serafim is a Director at Verizon Ventures. Kristina joined Verizon Ventures from Verizon’s Big Data and Artificial Intelligence product team. Prior to Verizon, Kristina was a Director at Intellectual Ventures, where she led investments in machine learning, media, advertising, and gaming technologies. Kristina’s entrepreneurial experience includes co-founding and leading two software companies, from their inception to acquisition. Kristina also spent several years on the strategy and corporate development teams at IBM and at NAGRA Innovations. She received an electrical and mechanical engineering degree from Kettering University and an MBA from Harvard University.

Tom joined Verizon Ventures in 2017. He most recently was part of Verizon’s Innovation Program focused on developing partnerships with IoT companies (and took particular interest in working with a cross functional Verizon group on UAS issues and controlled technical trials of UAS on the wireless network).  

Prior to the Verizon Innovation Program, Tom worked for Verizon Enterprise Solutions.  Among his responsibilities; he cultivated interconnection agreements between Verizon, Google and Netflix to better serve FiOS and Wireless customers.  Before joining Verizon, Tom held various sales, operations and business development positions with Xerox, Cobalt Networks, Narus and First American Title.  

Tom holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from National Louis University.

Samuel Chun joins Verizon Ventures from Verizon’s Corporate Strategy & Development group where he focused on a breadth of strategic initiatives and research topics that touched on connected cars, drones, logistics, e-commerce, and FinTech. Prior to Verizon, Sam was most recently at MUFG Union Bank, where he developed M&A strategies, executed acquisitions and divestitures, and advanced FinTech initiatives for the company. Prior to MUFG Union Bank, Sam was a research analyst at FactSet covering M&A and private equity activity in the U.S. Sam earned a BA from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business.

As a member of the venture development team, Marah Dudenhoeffer is responsible for sourcing new innovative solutions for Verizon Ventures, as well as strategic development of the Ventures portfolio. Marah joins the Verizon Ventures team from her role as technical lead for the Verizon Innovation Center in San Francisco, which is focused on fostering innovation in the IoT ecosystem. Prior to joining Verizon, Marah served as Junior Trade Commissioner for the Consulate General of Canada in Silicon Valley, where she was focused on finding venture capital and business development opportunities for Canadian technology companies. Marah has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz - Crown College of Science and Emerging Technology. Marah began working with Silicon Valley start-ups during her junior year at UCSC, and she has a real passion for helping cutting edge technology companies get their products to market.

Andrew Der joined Verizon Ventures in 2013 and focuses on strategic marketing and business development for the firm. Andrew has over 10 years of experience in innovation, strategy, digital marketing, and emerging technologies, focusing primarily on consumer products and web / mobile products. Before coming to Verizon Ventures, he was the Senior Manager of Digital Strategy & Innovation at American Express and worked at futurethink, Coty, EffectiveBrands, and Aon Hewitt.  Andrew received his BBA in Corporate Strategy & International Business from the University of Michigan. 

Leslie Epstein joined Verizon Ventures in 2017 and focuses on portfolio analysis and operations for the venture fund. She has been with Verizon since 2005 and was most recently part of the Wireless Marketing team where she worked on the development of a tech-savvy, millennial targeted wireless sub-brand product. Previously, she was part of the Investor Relations team and before that was an investment analyst at VIMCO managing Verizon’s pension and savings plan fund investments.  Leslie earned an MBA in finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a dual major B.S. degree in Management and EMAC (electronic, media, arts and communications) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

Paul joins Verizon Ventures with a track record of launching businesses and entering new markets for companies large and small in the technology, media and finance industries. He brings over 15 years of experience gained as an entrepreneur, product manager, strategy and technology consultant. Prior to joining Verizon Ventures, Paul was with Verizon Digital Media Services where he managed the launch of live streaming services supporting major Media & Entertainment clients such as ESPN and Verizon FiOS. He was also a lead negotiator on complex partner and vendor deals, and undertook due diligence on strategic acquisitions to enable Verizon to enter new markets and launch new products. Before Verizon, Paul founded and then sold a consumer-focused digital media company, worked for Citigroup, was a strategy consultant with Ernst & Young (then Cap Gemini) and IBM Global Services. A native of Australia, Paul has an MBA from Melbourne Business School and a Bachelor of Information Systems from Monash University.

Alden Mahabir joined Verizon Ventures in 2013 and supports its strategic marketing and venture development efforts, while also evaluating investment opportunities across industries. Alden brings over 12 years of experience in corporate venture capital, investment banking, and investment research, all focused on technology, media, and telecom. Prior to Verizon Ventures, he worked at Goodrich Capital, where he advised startups and private companies on their business strategies and helped them to raise growth equity capital. He has also held leadership positions at Utendahl Capital Partners, CIBC World Markets, Lehman Brothers, and C.E. Unterberg, Towbin. At a young age, Alden co-founded Vintage Research (age 25), an investment research & consulting firm, and Good Buy Realty (age 19). Alden received his B.A. in Economics at Rutgers University and his MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Ajay Patel joined Verizon Ventures in 2018 and brings ten years of financial valuation expertise across telecom, media, and healthcare industries. Prior to joining the team, he was a member of the Verizon M&A team. Ajay came to Verizon from Duff and Phelps, where he was a Vice President in the Valuation practice. He received a B.S. in Finance, cum laude, with minors in Political Science and Planning and Public Policy from Rutgers University.

Gal Ringel is an Investment Manager at Verizon Ventures. He brings over 12 years of experience as hands-on technologist, an entrepreneur, and an investment professional.

Prior to joining Verizon Ventures, Gal worked at Nautilus, AOL's early stage investment arm in Israel. He started his career as a cyber engineer-turned-captain and then a cyber team leader (with honors) in Israel’s prestigious 8200 cyber intelligence unit. He then founded his first startup and later joined “Nielsen Innovate” as a Technology Director where he served as an investment professional and in advisory roles to portfolio companies. In 2017, Gal was named to Forbes’ prestigious “30 Under 30” list, which recognizes the world’s brightest entrepreneurs and innovators under the age of 30 who are disrupting science and technology.

Gal holds a BSc. in Computer Science from IDC Herzliya and is based in Tel Aviv.

Charles Szrom joins Verizon Ventures following five years of experience focused primarily on investments in growth-oriented technology, media, and telecommunication companies for the asset management division of Rockefeller & Co., most recently as a Senior Equity Analyst. In his role, he identified, advised, and built relationships with Internet, software, and telecommunication infrastructure companies. At the beginning of his career, Charles managed an open-source intelligence team at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, conducted research on transformative geopolitical events, and founded two non-profit organizations. He received a B.A. in Political Science and History from Indiana University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude, and is a CFA® charterholder.