Our People
Meet the team
David is a Managing Partner of Richmond Global Ventures, where 4 of the fund’s 10 investments have achieved unicorn status. David works extensively with Endeavor Global as a Global Mentor and is a founding Board member of Endeavor Catalyst.
In addition to having represented over 400 startups and venture funds, David has served as an executive of two technology start-ups — one of which was a unicorn he led through a US$128 million investment by GE and subsequent IPO.
David has a J.D. from the University of Michigan and an A.B. from Stanford University, where he was a teaching assistant in the Computer Science Department. David was one of the youngest nationally ranked soccer referees in the United States, captained the national and world championship university quiz team, and won on Jeopardy!
Dr. Salman Azhar
Salman has invested in over 200 startups and generated a positive return with his first 12 exits. He specializes in buying pre-IPO unicorns’ shares from early investors.
Salman is an Executive in Residence at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He is a Charter Life Member of OPEN Global and an advisor to several funds, including Quartus, Moment, and Regiment. His former business partners and clients include Toyota, Sony, SAP, and others.
Salman earned his MS and PhD in Computer Science from Duke as a James B. Duke Fellow and a BS in Math and Physics from Wake Forest University as a Carswell Scholar. He is an expert in Data Science, AI, and ML.
Willayna Banner
Willayna is a distinguished executive with 25 years of experience across product strategy, GenAI, Web3/blockchain and advisory within the financial services, Big Tech and retail industries. She is a Board Director for Permuto Capital, Board Advisor for RTSCALE.AI, Board Advisor for Fr0ntierX and has held executive roles at Fortune 100 companies like Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, American Express and Morgan Stanley.
Willayna served as a Limited Partner at the Morgan Stanley Next Level Fund representing Microsoft for several years, leveraging her experience to identify innovative opportunities, support portfolio companies and build impactful partnerships, particularly in emerging markets.
Willayna earned a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in Finance and International Business from Washington University in St. Louis, where she graduated in her concentrations Summa Cum Laude and was a John B. Ervin Scholar.