Experts

A serial entrepreneur with more than 20 years of management experience, Co-Founder of MTC Global and Rest® Yong Zhou has successfully introduced dozens of international businesses and teams from across the world to China by helping them localize their business for the Chinese market. With the firm belief that digital transformation is the future of manufacturing and recognizing a trend of the globalization of Chinese enterprises, Zhou continues to utilize his international management experience, working closely with top manufacturers to help them build brands for overseas markets.Graduating from the University of Birmingham with an undergraduate degree and an MBA, Zhou utilized his entrepreneurial skills to found his first company. Eventually acquired by American education group, KAPLAN, he then received tens of millions in investment from a leading venture capital institution for his next venture.Zhou’s mission is to use digital means to transform traditional manufacturers and help connect them with consumers to better understand and quickly respond to their needs. He aims to continue bringing positive changes to stagnant industries and build modern solutions empowered by new science and technology advancements for current demands.Zhou grew up in Shanghai and currently resides in Hangzhou, China. When not helping to build brands he enjoys time traveling with his family.

Shirley Leigh-Wood Oakes is the Founding Partner and CEO of Mezcal Campante, an independent spirits brand alongside her partners Luca Longobardi and José Luis Bustamante. With a rich background in brand development across various premium and luxury sectors, including technology, automotive, hospitality, and spirits, Leigh-Wood Oakes brings a wealth of expertise to the table. Driven by her passion for craft beverages and a profound interest in the intricacies of their production, Leigh-Wood Oakes was captivated by the world of agave spirits after delving into its techniques, history, and her family's affinity for Mexico. Collaborating with her partners, Campante emerged as a culmination of years of research, embodying the timeless qualities of traditional artisanal mezcal. Leigh-Wood Oakes set two fundamental goals for Campante: it had to deliver exceptional smoothness and unparalleled drinkability. As a leading female partner, Leigh-Wood Oakes is paving the way for female consumers and empowering women within the spirits industry.

Shirley Leigh-Wood Oakes is the Founding Partner and CEO of Mezcal Campante, an independent spirits brand alongside her partners Luca Longobardi and José Luis Bustamante. With a rich background in brand development across various premium and luxury sectors, including technology, automotive, hospitality, and spirits, Leigh-Wood Oakes brings a wealth of expertise to the table. Driven by her passion for craft beverages and a profound interest in the intricacies of their production, Leigh-Wood Oakes was captivated by the world of agave spirits after delving into its techniques, history, and her family's affinity for Mexico. Collaborating with her partners, Campante emerged as a culmination of years of research, embodying the timeless qualities of traditional artisanal mezcal. Leigh-Wood Oakes set two fundamental goals for Campante: it had to deliver exceptional smoothness and unparalleled drinkability. As a leading female partner, Leigh-Wood Oakes is paving the way for female consumers and empowering women within the spirits industry.

Nate is currently building Revv - the first marketplace for consumers to auction their cars directly to car dealerships.Prior to Revv, he spent 6 years leading & scaling sales teams at BuildingConnected. He was the first non-engineering hire and helped launch multiple product lines within the company, taking them from pre-revenue to multiple millions. He helped grow the team to over 250 people prior to the acquisition by Autodesk in 2019 for $275M.Prior to BuildingConnected, Nate started a company in social commerce for action sports. He also worked in data center acquisitions and development at Digital Realty.Nate lives in New York with his wife, Ellen, and son, Irving. Outside of work he is an avid tennis player, surfer, foodie, and traveler.

Mitchella Gilbert is a startup founder, innovator, and creative visionary. As the CEO and Founder of Oya Femtech Apparel, a groundbreaking technical apparel brand addressing feminine health issues, Mitchella quickly grew Oya into a 2023 Fast Company Innovative Company Of The Year.Born in Philadelphia, PA, Mitchella graduated from the University of Chicago, where they earned a B.A. in Public Policy, and later pursued an MBA with a concentration in entrepreneurship at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.Their journey towards founding Oya was preceded by a remarkable trajectory in public speaking, beginning in high school as a spokesperson of their competitive robotics team, and later as the founder of a NASA and Google endorsed robotics team. These early engagements laid the groundwork for Mitchella's dynamic presence on prestigious innovation stages, from Ivy League universities to renowned business competitions and SoFi Stadium.Mitchella's distinction as one of the first 200 black women to secure over $1,000,000 in venture capital speaks volumes about their impact and credibility in the business world. With endorsements from esteemed investors like Techstars, the 76ers Innovation Lab, and R.E.I., as well as features in leading publications such as Forbes, Essence, and Bustle, Mitchella's influence continues to resonate far and wide.Their commitment to innovation and women's health has not gone unnoticed, earning them prestigious accolades like the John Wooden International Leadership Award and, most recently, the honor of serving as a 2024 diplomatic delegate to Japan on behalf of the City of Los Angeles.

Kelly Ann Winget is an accomplished alternative investments expert and the founder of Alternative Wealth Partners (AWP), the first private equity firm founded and led by a millennial, openly LGBTQ+ woman. Kelly Ann has raised close to $1 billion in capital for startups, energy companies, manufacturing ventures, real estate, and other key emerging markets, including initiatives in Opportunity Zone Funds (OZF), aligning social impact investing through creative tax strategies. She is also the author of Pitch the Bitch: Grab Your Financial Future by the Bags (May 2023) and a sought-after keynote speaker and panelist who has shared her expertise in finance, entrepreneurship, and diversity topics at events like  New York Tech Week’s InvestHer Roundtables: Women Writing Checks hosted by LiveNation Women, Alts Expo, 1640 Society Family Office Forum, Women’s Venture Summit, and Wealthy Women Summits. Kelly Ann possesses a keen understanding of how to navigate transitioning markets, with pragmatic insights to achieve a more sustainable and inclusive financial future. In 2020, after a decade-long track record of building other firms’ reputations and raising 700 million in capital, Kelly Ann decided to create her own firm, Alternative Wealth Partners.  AWP excels in managing diversified funds, combining smart tax strategies with community empowerment. Their ethos, "Good Deals, Good People, Great Returns," reflects a fusion of investment savvy and dedication to societal upliftment. With an extensive background allowing her to relate to a wide range of investors and advocate for their goals, Kelly Ann knew she was the right woman to offer diverse, high net worth/income clients the very best of what the private market has to offer. Through AWP, her clients have exclusive access to private assets – ranging from completely diversified private equity to tax-advantaged and high-yielding energy and real estate funds – through a single investment.Kelly Ann is a passionate advocate for empowering others and creating positive change through various philanthropic and commercial ventures. Alongside her thought leadership in investment equity and inclusion, she also spearheads fundraising efforts for charities that support children and families, such as Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer, and causes aiding survivors of domestic violence. Her private investments also help transform communities to improve lives, from creating vital transportation and agricultural infrastructure in Jamaica to becoming a private equity investor for a lesbian-owned gender-and-body-inclusive clothing company in San Diego, highlighted in the award-winning documentary “Show Her The Money.” She is also a partner and speaker with Diversity Crew, an organization focused on providing corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion training and consulting while improving bottom-line results. A nationally recognized trailblazer and visionary, Kelly Ann has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, CBS Moneywatch, Business Insider, Yahoo! Finance, and NASDAQ, among many other media outlets. When not working, Kelly Ann enjoys traveling with her wife, spending time with family, and cuddling with her three big dogs.Kelly Ann Winget Social Media Kelly Ann Winget Website  | LinkedIn | TikTok | Instagram HIGHLIGHTSFeminist Investment Book AuthorKelly Ann’s book, Pitch the Bitch: Grab Your Financial Future by the Bags (May 2023), helps women, marginalized communities, and their allies understand why investment wealth gaps exist and how to close them. "Don't pitch the bitch” is a derogatory expression popularized by the movie Boiler Room (2000), advising stockbrokers to avoid women as clients. Pitch the Bitch highlights the female experience in the investment world on both sides of the transaction, with crucial strategies to empower success.Documentary Guest Star InvestorKelly Ann is featured as a pivotal investor in the award-winning documentary (Show Her The Money: The Power of Funding Female Founders), which documents the problem of women-led businesses only receiving 2% of capital and how to create gender equity through supportive networks of women championing diverse women founders.Financial Expert Keynote SpeakerKelly Ann is a keynote presenter at the ‘Women Working in Wealth Summit’ (2023), by the American College Center for Women in Financial Services, alongside other notables from J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, Diversity Crew, and the Wall Street Journal. She also headlines the ‘WE Global Studios Rev-Up Summits,’ a full-stack startup platform made by and for women entrepreneurs, New York Tech Week’s InvestHer Roundtables: Women Writing Checks hosted by LiveNation Women, and the alternative investments ‘Alts Expo’ hosted by the Wealth Channel, among other notable speaking engagements. Fast Company ContributorKelly Ann is a contributor to the publication Fast Company, where she shares her insights about private equity, venture capital, and alternative investing. 

Keith brings financial growth and management experience as a Wall Street veteran who spent two decades as a Partner, Board Member and Treasurer with Barclay Investments. He later moved to California to manage large-scale commercial real estate projects and launch Sunderstorm with Clarke, whom he met as fellow students at Stanford. Cich earned his MBA at New York University and Master's at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he also served as Chairman of the Board. Cich, who balances business with creative pursuits like DJing, traveled extensively throughout Asia where he studied Buddhism and Taoism, experienced native cultures, and experimented with plant medicines. These travels inform his passion for cannabinoids and their potential to disrupt the pharmaceutical industry as natural medicines that improve health and wellness.

David Fattal is the CEO and founder at Leia Inc., the leading provider of glasses-free 3D display hardware and software solutions. He previously spent nine years at HP Labs working on various aspects of quantum computing and photonics, and specializing in the manipulation of light at the nanoscale. He holds a PhD in Physics from Stanford University and a BS in theoretical physics from Ecole Polytechnique, France.Fattal holds over 100 granted patents and was featured on the 2013 list of 35 Innovator under 35 by the MIT technology Review. He co-authored the text-book “Single Photon Devices and Applications” and was awarded the French National Order of Merit in 2014 for developing the “Diffractive Lightfield Backlighting” concept.

Christiane Lemieux is a designer, entrepreneur, investor, artist and author. Christiane introduced her European lifestyle brand LEMIEUX et CIE into the United States in late summer 2020, coinciding with the publication of her first business book “Frictionless: Why the Future of Everything Will Be Fast, Fluid, and Made Just for You" (Harper Collins Business), a 2020 Porchlight Business Book Awards Longlist title. Prior to starting her newest ventures, Christiane was the Founder/CEO of THE INSIDE, (acquired by Havenly in 2022), her direct-to-consumer (D2C) home furnishings brand. She was the Co-Founder of Cloth & Company and the Founder of DwellStudio, which was purchase by Wayfair, the world’s largest online home furnishings retailer, in 2013. Christiane served as the Executive Creative Director of Wayfair until 2016. Lemieux is an active investor in the Consumer and Tech Sectors. Christiane is a frequent contributor to Architectural Digest, Apartment Therapy, Editor At Large, Wired and other Media outlets. Lemieux authored her first book, “Undecorated” (Random House/Clarkson Potter) to critical acclaim in 2011; her second best-selling book (still #1 in Interior Decoration & Ornament on Amazon) “The Finer Things” also was published by Random House/Clarkson Potter in 2016. Christiane entered the television space as co-host and judge on “Ellen’s Design Challenge” - a furniture design competition show on HGTV. Lemieux was highlighted as one of Fortune’s 2012 "Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs”, Received House Beautiful’s Visionary award in 2020, Fast Company’s Most Innovative in 2020 and the House and Home 100 in 2024.  Christiane is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and Queen’s University in Canada. Christiane sits on the board of “Every Mother Counts,” the non-governmental organization (NGO) started by Christy Turlington Burns to fight maternal mortality and support women, babies and health care providers. Looking ahead, Christiane's third book and fourth books, “Provenance” and “The Everything Home,” are slated for publication in 2025.  

Camilla Sievers, a German-Austrian entrepreneur, has started building communities since her early twenties. She founded, scaled, and sold her food-tech startup "treats" after university and mentored and advised various startup founders along the way. She is driven by bringing the right people together to make magic happen: she is a founding member of the Entrepreneurship Avenue, Europe's largest startup event series for students, which has produced some of the most prominent startups in Austria. She is a Venture Partner at Female Founders, the largest and fastest-growing community and a €20M venture capital fund for female entrepreneurs in Europe, and a partner at Point Ann Advisory, an Australian consulting firm listing European and North American startups on the Australian stock exchange. She also sits on the board of Europe 101, an organization that aims to foster the next generation of European leaders as well as the global board of Columbia University's Venture Community where she oversees events, networking and content strategy serving over 16.000 entrepreneurs and investors across 50 cities around the globe. Camilla has made the Forbes 30 Under 30 List in 2019 while working for a Bertelsmann company where she ran the Business Development Unit, investing in and helping startups scale across Europe via TV advertisement. After taking a sabbatical to study finance and business administration at Columbia University in 2021, she founded Qi Health, a digital tele-health and herbal medicine fulfillment platform for Traditional Chinese Medicine to heal women of their various female health-related issues.

Alicia Tulsee is a native New Yorker and Harvard alum, based in Boston, MA and is the founder of the first direct to consumer medical apparel brand for nurses, Moxie Scrubs.In awe of all of the amazing nurses who cared for her loved ones, Alicia felt a calling to do something meaningful for the nursing profession and founded Moxie Scrubs out of Harvard University’s Innovation Lab with the passion to create a brand dedicated to giving nurses the sense of fashion, professionalism, and respect that they want and deserve.“I founded Moxie Scrubs in 2019 with the passion to create a brand dedicated to giving nurses the sense of fashion, professionalism, and respect that they want and deserve. There couldn’t be a more pressing time for a brand and mission like ours” ~ Alicia Tulsee, Founder & CEOMoxie Scrubs is disrupting the medical apparel market as the first direct-to-consumer brand for nurses. To propel their mission further, Moxie Scrubs has partnered with nursing organizations across the country including the American Nurses Association (ANA) who have worked to advance the nursing profession for over a century. “This partnership gives us access to over two million nurses across the U.S., almost half of the nursing population,” Tulsee says. “It’s a huge validation… We want to support the people who come through for us in times of great need: our nurses.” Through these partnerships, Moxie Scrubs is fostering a strong community among nurses, to inspire, support, and empower them and their life-saving work. The Moxie team prides itself in maintaining an authentic connection to their customer, from involving nurses in how they approach designing products and in every aspect of their brand to making sure that values like empathy and care (hallmarks of the nursing profession) come through in their company culture. In effect, Tulsee says, most people are surprised to learn that Moxie is still a startup in a 12 billion dollar medical apparel industry.Just reaching their 2 year mark, Moxie Scrubs has already gained significant traction with placements in publications such as USA Today, Medium, Forbes Next 1000, and others, with over 14 thousand email subscribers and already generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue after only 6 months of sales. Moxie Scrubs aspires to become the number one direct to consumer lifestyle brand for nurses and healthcare professionals alike.