Register now to join Hive

The Hive team comes from Harvard, Stanford, and Northwestern and has worked for the United Nations, Ashoka, Operation Smile, Amnesty International, and the InterAmerican Development Bank. We are deeply committed to building a global community of leaders and innovators working together on creating a better world.

The Hive Global Leaders Program Team

Sam Lazarus | Chief Executive Officer

Sam is the Chief Executive Officer of Hive Global. Sam was previously the Co-Chair of the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference and worked in program management for Operation Smile where he organized and managed teams of medical volunteers that provided free facial reconstructive surgery to patients. He is humbled by the amazing Hivers he met during Hive GLP 7 in Boston and is eager to share the experience and lifelong community with as many people as he can reach. His life purpose is to help others realize their own potential and take the necessary steps to act on it. He holds a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese and Geography from Middlebury College.

Paola Cordovez Cereceda | Events Director

Paola is an explorer who is passionate about international development and humanitarian aid. Prior to joining the Hive team, she was the Co-Chair of the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference, worked at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC, and interned at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva, the Organization of American States in Washington DC, and at Yspaniola Inc., an community development nonprofit based in the Dominican Republic. She is fluent in Spanish, English and French. Paola has a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a B.A. in International Affairs from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM).

Aldi Kaza | Community Director

Aldi works at the intersection of creative problem solving, pragmatic decision making and a stellar sense of humor. He is eager to step into his new role as Hive’s Community Director: working with the alumni community to build support systems and structures to maximize the impact of Hive around the world. His previous work includes time at high-level talent management and production company Anonymous Content in Los Angeles and freelance television commercial production in Chicago. Originally from Boston, Aldi studied Radio/Television/Film at Northwestern University, where he served as Director of Productions for the largest event production student groups: A&O Productions and Mayfest. Aldi has been with the Hive team since 2013 and served as Hive’s Operations Director.

Nadia Mufti | Experience Designer

Before helping to launch FactoryX, Hive and Kuli Kuli, Nadia worked at Ashoka in Washington D.C, where she was Founding Director of Ashoka’s A*Year Program, a start-up within the organization designed to recruit social entrepreneurs to work at Ashoka. She is passionate about life design, experience design, mindfulness/meditation, and helping others discover and pursue what makes them come alive. In addition to working on Hive, Nadia is currently launching the FactoryX Fellowship to engage inspired entrepreneurs, makers, and innovators in experimenting with new ways of launching companies with FactoryX. She attended Stanford University where she majored in International Relations and explored the intersection of design thinking and social entrepreneurship through coursework at the Stanford GSB and the d.school.

Victoria Moore | Hive Women’s Retreats

Victoria is an author, educator, and explorer with a passion for helping women come alive. Her adventurous spirit has led her to circumnavigate the globe three times, shoot a documentary film series on international aid effectiveness in eight countries, and embark on multiple expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctica as a polar photographer. She has spent time on every continent and in more than eighty-five countries. Victoria is best known for her work as a pioneering advocate to improve the field of international aid. She started her own social enterprise at age twenty-four and later authored a best selling book on the subject of aid effectiveness called Beyond Good Intentions: A Journey Into the Realities of International Aid. Her work has been featured in O! The Oprah Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and on NPR. Victoria received her B.A. from Duke University, served as a Fulbright Scholar in Egypt, and obtained an M.Ed degree from Harvard University. These days her greatest joy comes from working with young women and helping them uncover what truly lights them up.

The Hive Ventures Team

Hive Ventures is an impact investment fund that invests in companies dedicated to creating a better world (including SpaceX, Kuli Kuli, Change.org, Off-Grid Electric, Cor, NeuroHacker Collective, Lumera and 30 other firms) and provides operating capital to set up new Hive operating units. Learn more about Hive Ventures here.

Ryan Allis Hive Ryan Allis | Chairman of Hive Global, CEO of Hive Ventures

Ryan is the Chairman of Hive Global and the Chief Executive Officer of Hive Ventures, an impact investing fund investing in companies creating a better world. He was previously CEO and Co-founder of iContact from 2003-2012 and led the company from 300 employees and a $170 million sale to Vocus. Ryan is a three-time INC 500 CEO (2009-2011), is an Emeritus Member of the UN Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council, served as National Co-Chairperson of Technology for Obama during the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election. Following the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Ryan worked with the U.S. Dept. of State teaching entrepreneurship in Cairo. Ryan is an angel investor via Hive Ventures with investments in 36 companies including SpaceX, Change.org, LendingClub, and Off-Grid Electric. Ryan is the author of the books Zero to One Million and The Startup Guide. He majored in economics at UNC-Chapel Hill and received an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was Co-President of the Social Enterprise Club and a Spring 2013 fellow of the Harvard Graduate School Leadership Institute.

Satya Kamdar| COO of Hive Ventures
Satya is the Chief Operating Officer of Hive Ventures, an impact investing fund investing in Hive Alumni Companies and providing the funding to grow Hive around the world. He was previously COO of Clean Program, the Community Manager at Simbi, Partnerships Director of FactoryX with GoogleX rapid prototyping pioneer Tom Chi. He has worked internationally in Panama and at the Mumbai Stock Exchange and spent time living in a Jain Ashram in Gujarati, India. I’m infatuated by people and ideas, especially ones that are oriented towards bettering the themselves and the world around them. One of his favorite things about San Francisco is learning the diverse array of how people choose to define ‘bettering themselves and the world around them.’ He loves being in conversation with someone when they realize that they’re about to say something that they haven’t ever said before.

Mike Gavela | Associate at Hive Ventures
Mike Gavela is an Associate for Hive Ventures, responsible for sourcing, due diligence, and asset allocation across a variety of asset classes. He is passionate about creating a happier, healthier, and exciting world through advancements in science, technology, and medical research. Mike is a proud alumn of Seton Hall University.

Brian Wreckler | Associate at Hive Ventures

Brian is a servant leader, dedicated to creating a world in which the needs of every person is met. Before joining the Hive team, he worked with Amnesty International, Impact Leadership 21, and The Dr, Martin Luther King, Leadership Program at Seton Hall University. He is fluent in Spanish and English. Brian has a Bachelor in International Relations, and a Minor in Economics from Seton Hall University.

Dana Chambers | Associate at Hive Ventures

Dana earned her Bachelor’s degree from Chapman University in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and Management. Since graduation she has found a great satisfaction in helping people achieve their goals and purpose as an executive assistant in the work force. She moved to San Francisco in 2010 and fell in love with the mission driven, innovative and fast paced startup environment. As an executive assistant in this startup mecca, she has transcended responsibilities of a conventional assistant in order to satisfy the needs of lean companies by filling in gaps in departments like human resources, operations, finance, event production and administration. She is honored to be part of the Hive team and is ready to conquer great obstacles to create a better world with a community that she is perpetually humbled by.

Miko | Chief Canine Officer at Hive Ventures

Miko is a true testament to self-learned and innate skillsets and successes. Coming from a background in security services, touch therapy, and morale management, her contributions at Hive lend to office safety and culture building, among other HR responsibilities. Although her presence has been sought after by bay area moguls large and small, she did not hesitate to join Hive and it’s team of mission driven individuals, as she was satisfied that this opportunity would be a main catalyst in creating a better world for all creatures on this planet.

The following bios will be added soon:

Tim Lipton, External CFO at Hive Ventures
Helga Kasperait, External Controller at Hive Ventures
Neil Bagchi, External Legal Counsel at Hive Ventures

Hive Contributors

Thank you to all those who have helped get Hive started.

Adam Pumm, Co-Founder
Asya Azar, Former Global Engagement Director
Smiley Poswolsky, Emcee
Cosmo Fujiyama, Emcee
Emily Pumm, Videographer
Olivia Wong, Social Media
Yasi Baiani, Finance
Max Marmer, Frameworks
Wes Mahler, Technology
Tim West, Food
Rebecca Jean, Catering
Caen Contee, Logistics
Galt Macdermot, Logistics
Jim Kleiber, Logistics
Emma Raimi-Zlatic, Logistics
Alex Ivker, Logistics
Ting Kelly, Doorstep Studios