Our Team
250+ Years of Combined Tech, Academic, and Industry Investment Expertise
Abishek Agrwal
Partner
Abhishek Agrawal (Abi) is a versatile professional, excelling as a commercialization expert, technologist, entrepreneur, educator, advisor, and investor. With extensive experience in healthcare and management consulting, he played key roles in launching new molecular entities at GSK and Novartis. Abi advises various entities, including Gates Ventures and NYU's tech incubator, and is active in AI/ML companies in life sciences. He brings commercial expertise in oncology, immunology, and neurology, with a focus on the US, Japan, and China. Experienced in entrepreneurship, he has founded companies addressing health challenges and promoting conscious consumerism
Mirza Ahmed
Partner
Mirza Ahmed is a Partner at Bridge-ME, a firm focused on bridging foreign start-ups to the Middle East and North Africa. Previously, he was a Senior Director at Hikma Pharmaceuticals where he led the company's HealthTech-related portfolio growth efforts, including their Corporate Venture Capital team. Mirza successfully expanded Hikma Ventures' portfolio of companies with a focus on digital therapeutics including partnerships in the MENA region. Prior to Hikma, he was a technology strategy leader for Syneos Health's commercial businesses and a management consultant with PwC. Mirza currently also serves as a HealthTech advisor to OCA Ventures, and has past experiences with the United Nations and Council on Foreign Relations.
Avi Rosenbaum
Partner
Avi is the founder of advisors.bio where he helps founders and investors build the next generation of life sciences companies. He is also COO of Peak B Bio and involved in company formation at both Great Point Ventures and Cornucopian Capital. Previously, he launched over ten products for Ion Torrent Systems (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific). Avi is a mentor at Endless Frontier Labs, Nucleate (NY chapter), and the NY Stage Biodefense Commercialization Fund. He received a Ph.D. in Genetics from the lab of George Church at Harvard University and a B.A. from Yeshiva University in NYC.Most notable investments: Mammoth Biosciences, Shape Therapeutics, Mission Barns
David Fenyo
Partner
David holds a PhD in Physics from Uppsala University, Sweden. Transitioning to computational biology, he completed a postdoc at Rockefeller University, co-founded a bioinformatics company, and worked at GE Healthcare. With over 35 years of experience in biomedical data analysis, he has authored 200+ scientific publications. Currently a Professor at NYU School of Medicine, he directs programs in Systems and Computational Biomedicine and Biomedical Informatics. His research applies data science to model biological systems, particularly in cancer, integrating various technologies for biomarker and therapeutic target discovery.
Paul Horn
Partner
Professor Paul Horn is the Senior Vice Provost for Research and Senior Vice Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Entrepreneurship at the Tandon School of Engineering. Prior to his NYU position, he was senior vice president of the IBM Corporation and executive director of research. Under his leadership, IBM Research produced an unmatched string of technological breakthroughs, including the chess-playing supercomputer Deep Blue, the world’s first copper chip, the giant magneto-resistive head (GMR), strained silicon (a discovery that allows chips to run up to 35% faster), and BlueGene, the world’s fastest supercomputer that brought computing leadership back to the United States.
Jim Horowitz
Partner
In addition to founding Bacchus VC, in 2018 Jim co-founded Beresford Ventures, which has invested close to $10 million in 140 companies. Jim has made over 200 investments through these funds and his personal LLCs. He’s invested in another 130 on crowdfunding sites and over 300 through VC funds in which he’s an LP. Jim mentored startups at Endless Frontier Labs in NYC for 6 years and currently participates as a mentor at The Creative Destruction Lab in Toronto. Formerly a banker at UBS and Chase in NYC, he holds an MBA from NYU Stern, a BA from Yale, and attended Phillips Academy Andover.
Alessandro Piol
Partner
Alessandro Piol is the Managing Partner of AlphaPrime Ventures and President of Epistemic AI. Alessandro co-founded AT&T Ventures - the VC arm of AT&T, and was a General Partner at Invesco Private Capital where he headed the technology team. He is currently an advisor of Knightsbridge and of Sella Ventures, is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Visitors of Columbia’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science and he is also the co-author of Tech and the City: The Making of New York’s Startup Community. Alessandro holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Columbia University SEAS.
Scott Saxberg
Partner
Scott Saxberg is a leading figure in energy and technology, known for founding Cache Island Corp. and successful ventures like Crescent Point and Shelter Bay, which collectively amassed over $18 billion in market capitalization and distributed $7.5 billion in dividends. As CEO of Cache Island, Scott drives innovation in energy transition. He manages Icebook Investments Corp, overseeing a diverse portfolio of twenty-five tech startups, and co-founded federally regulated financial Trusts, Odyssey Trust and Tetra Trust. Scott's expertise fuels Disa Technologies Inc and IronSight, while he mentors at NYU Stern Business School and serves as a Fellow at the Creative Destruction Lab Rockies Energy and Paris Climate. Recognized as one of E&Y’s Top 40 Under 40, he's also been honored as the 2009 Producer of the Year in Oilweek magazine.
Doug Stern
Partner
Doug Stern has been an investor in Real Estate, private Equity, and startups for 30 years. Recently Doug was the lead investor and advisor to Official which was acquired by Bumble. Previously he was a partner at PlumTree ventures a private equity group and a principal at National Office Supply which was acquired by Staples. Doug received his MBA from NYU’s Stern School of business where he serves as a mentor. Additionally, he is on the advisory council for Villanova’s institute on innovation and entrepreneurship.
Arthur Klausner
Investor
Arthur Klausner, Executive Chairman of Concarlo Therapeutics, Inc., leads a preclinical oncology company targeting the protein p27. Previously, he served as CEO of Goldilocks Therapeutics, focusing on kidney-targeted therapeutics, and helmed Gem Pharmaceuticals, later acquired by Monopar Therapeutics. With 18 years in life sciences venture capital at Domain Associates and Pappas Ventures, Klausner nurtured various biotech, pharma, and medical device firms. Notable board roles include Santarus, X-Ceptor, Orexigen, and Syndax Pharmaceuticals. He currently directs Monopar Therapeutics and advises NYU Innovation Venture Fund and NYU Langone Health. Klausner mentors at NYU’s Endless Frontier Labs, holding an MBA from Stanford University and a Biology degree from Princeton University.
Jeff Enslin
Investor
Jeff Enslin is a seasoned investor with 23 years of experience as a Global Macro/EM portfolio manager and Senior Partner at Caxton Associates LP. During his tenure, he managed over $1.25 billion in capital across various asset classes, achieving a 1.5 Sharpe Ratio while maintaining a negative beta to the S&P 500 index. Jeff has also served on Investment Committees for institutions such as Lehigh University and the Peddie School, overseeing significant endowments. In recent years, he has diversified his portfolio with over 80 private investments as an active angel investor. Jeff's involvement in mentoring programs like the Creative Destruction Lab and Endless Frontier Labs has expanded his network in both capital markets and the VC space. He holds a B.S. in Finance from Lehigh University and an MBA in Finance and International Business from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Jim Harris
Investor
Jim Harris is an attorney in private practice and real estate developer for his own account. Jim served on the Board of a LREI, a prominent independent school in New York City, from 2008-2023 and was Chair from 2018-2023. Jim served on the board of Flywheel Sports and is currently on the board of Pantheon Group Holdings, a real estate investment firm, in Chicago. Jim also currently serves on the board of the COPD Foundation. Jim is the former Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of GFA Brands, Inc., the company that developed and marketed a number of food brands including the Smart Balance family of functional foods. The Smart Balance Brand was spun off into a publicly traded company in 2007 at which time Jim and his family exited the business. Jim received a B.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and his J.D. from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.
Chance Hartman
Associate
Chance has worked in the venture capital space since late 2018 when he joined Beresford Ventures, and has continued that path by joining the Bacchus team in 2023. He graduated with honors from Florida Atlantic University in 2019 with a BBA in Finance. After graduation he joined Amazon Logistics as an Operations Manager until the end of 2023. He plans on continuing his education and career aspirations by attending law school in 2025.
Ashleigh Falanga
Executive Assistant
Ashleigh Falanga graduated from Central Connecticut State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and a minor in Psychology. In addition to her duties as Executive Assistant, Ashleigh is also active in her community. She runs a free back to school clothing event every summer for families that are unable to afford clothing for school. She also prepares meals for local residents that are in need of hot meals. Ashleigh homeschools her four year old son and runs various homeschool groups throughout Connecticut. Ashleigh has two older children that are competitive athletes whom she accompanies to events around the US throughout the year
