Dayna Grayson is an engineer and product designer investing in digital platforms for consumer services and products. She has led many of the firms’ investments in industrial software, systems and additive manufacturing, including Desktop Metal, Formlabs, Onshape, Tulip and Upskill. Occasionally, she invests in vertically integrated consumer brands that leverage industrial or operations tech, such as Framebridge, Curalate and Glamsquad.
Prior to joining NEA, Dayna was an investor at North Bridge Venture Partners where she championed companies including Camiant (acquired by Tekelec) and Tapjoy. As an engineer, Dayna started her career at Eye Response Technologies, a startup spun out of the University of Virginia that commercialized eye gaze tracking technology and was later acquired by Dynavox Mayer-Johnson. As an operator and product designer, Dayna led product design of financial accounting products at Blackbaud (BLKB), the leading global provider of software to nonprofit organizations.
Dayna serves as a Harvard Business School Venture Partner, and is on the investment committee of the University of Virginia’s Seed Fund. She is a founding member of AllRaise, an organization dedicated to increasing the number of female investors and founders, leading the organizations’ east coast initiatives. Dayna has a BS from the University of Virginia in Systems Engineering and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Byron Knight is Managing Director of Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), which focuses on partnering with high-growth companies that disrupt current market alternatives with demonstrated technology. KDT looks for opportunities to create mutual benefit by working with principled entreprenuers who can receive significant value from interacting with Koch companies and whose technology has the potential to transform Koch's core capabilities, create new capabilities, or expand Koch into new platforms.
Troy Jensen is a managing director and senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, specializing in high growth technology stocks. Mr. Jensen's coverage universe includes 3D printing, robotics and optical technologies. Mr. Jensen has been publishing research on the 3D printing space for 15 years and currently follows 3D Systems, Materialise, Proto Labs, Stratasys, Voxeljet and keeps close tabs on most of the private companies in this space. Prior to joining Piper Jaffray in 2005, Jensen spent seven years in equity research at ThinkEquity Partners and RBC Capital Markets. Jensen received a bachelor's degree in management science with an emphasis in finance from the University of Minnesota. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Lalit Gurnani is a Vice President in Goldman’s technology investment banking team based in San Francisco. Lalit joined Goldman Sachs in 2011 in Firmwide Strategy, working with senior leaders to evaluate new business initiatives, organic build plans and acquisition opportunities. He then spent a year as the Chief of Staff to Goldman’s President & COO, before joining the technology banking team in 2014. He advises public and private companies across the industrial technology, internet, software and mobility landscape on private placements, initial public offerings, and M&A. Lalit earned a B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior from Columbia University.
Thomas Cole was a co-founder, President and first employee of Atlantis Components which pioneered the field of mass-customization of dental implant products. Started in 1997 in Cambridge, MA, Atlantis fused the concepts of 3D scanning, advanced parametric design, precision milling, factory automation and the science of dental anatomy to create the most widely used patient-specific product for the rehabilitation of patients (2.2 million globally and growing) treated with dental implants.
After Atlantis was acquired in 2007, Tom stayed on to develop the factory in Waltham, MA, grow sales and lead global expansion activities. Due to the combination of ultra-short lead times, the required high level of service and the difficulty of importing medical devices, local Atlantis factories are required in many markets. Tom had a key role in the building and/or integration of advanced digital manufacturing facilities in Sweden, Belgium, Japan and China.
Tom received both his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and MBA from MIT. At the start of his career, he worked in various roles at General Electric where he made satellites, light bulbs and large power generation equipment. When not making things at work or home, he mentors startup companies and is active in funding and awarding scholarships in various communities.
Robert Bodor, Ph.D. is Vice President & General Manager, Americas, at Protolabs, a leading online and technology-enabled quick-turn manufacturer of custom parts for prototyping and low-volume production. Bodor has also held roles as Chief Technology Officer and Director of Business Development during his time at Protolabs. Bodor held leadership roles at Honeywell and McKinsey & Co. as well, and has been on the executive team of two early-stage software companies in the Twin Cities. Bodor holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Engineering and Computer Science.
