Mr. Philips has been a general partner of Spark Capital since May 2014. From 2012 to 2014, Mr. Philips invested in private technology companies. From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Philips served as the Chief Executive Officer of Photon Group Limited, a holding company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. From 2004 to 2010, Mr. Philips held various roles of increasing responsibility with News Corporation, most recently as an Executive Vice President in the Office of the Chairman. Before joining News Corporation, he served in several roles, including co-founder and Vice-Chairman of ecorp, a publicly-traded Internet holding company. Mr. Philips has served on the board of directors of Angi Inc. since November 2021, and served on the board of Affirm Holdings from 2015 to 2021. He holds a B.A. and LL.B. from the University of New South Wales and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Ms. Bisesto has served as Chief of Staff to the Chief Financial Officer of OpenAI Group PBC (d/b/a “OpenAI”), an artificial intelligence research and deployment company, since August 2024. In this role, Ms. Bisesto leads finance strategy and operations and OpenAI’s AI-native finance transformation. Previously, Ms. Bisesto served as the Head of Policy and Privacy / Head of Corporate Counsel at Nextdoor Holdings, Inc., a hyperlocal social media platform, from September 2020 to August 2024. From January 2024 to August 2024, she also served as Chair of the Board of Directors of Internet Works, a middle-tech advocacy organization. Prior to that, Ms. Bisesto served as Director of Policy at Checkr, Inc., an AI-powered background check and screening company, from December 2019 to July 2020, and as Head of U.S. State Public Policy at Verizon Media Inc. (n/k/a Yahoo Inc.) from June 2018 to December 2019. Ms. Bisesto also previously held various public policy leadership roles at Lyft, Inc. from November 2015 to June 2018. Earlier in her career, she served as an Assistant District Attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office from July 2011 to October 2015. Ms. Bisesto earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a J.D. from the University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco (f/k/a University of California, Hastings College of the Law).
Ms. Shineman has served on the board of directors of SEMRush, an online visibility and content marketing SaaS business, since November 2020 where she serves as chair of its Nominations and Governance Committee; Twist Bioscience, a leader in synthetic biology, since 2025 where she serves on the Audit Committee; Captura since 2022 and Steer since 2024, two private vertically focused SaaS businesses. From March 2004 through February 2019, Ms. Shineman held positions of increasing responsibility with Cimpress N.V., most recently was the Chief Executive Officer of its Vistaprint business. Previously, she was a member of the board of Ally Financial, and UBM PLC. Ms. Shineman has an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and a B.A. in Psychology from Cornell University.
Mr. Cates is the founder and Managing Member of Value Acquisition Fund LLC, an acquisition, development and asset management firm he has led since 2005. He is also the Chief Executive Officer and General Partner of RVC Outdoor Destinations, a leading developer and owner of high quality outdoor resorts across the United States. Mr. Cates previously served on the boards of Pioneer Natural Resources Company from 2009 to October 2020 and PICO Holdings Inc. from 2016 to 2017, where he was a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees of each company. Earlier in his career, he was a Partner of Viceroy Investments, LLC, a Dallas based commercial real estate investment firm, and worked at Crow Family Holdings (formerly Crow Investment Trust) on partnership and loan workouts, acquisitions and asset management. Mr. Cates is also active in civic and nonprofit initiatives, including leading the development of the Soulsville Revitalization Project in Memphis, and serving as Board Chairman of Memphis Fourth Estate, Inc. and as a member of the Board of Advisors of Myelin Repair Foundation. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin.
Mr. Dichter has served as a senior advisor to KSL Capital Partners, a private equity firm specializing in hospitality and travel, since February 2025. He is also a senior advisor to SkyLink, an AI-driven corporate travel platform, a position he has held since May 2025. From September 1999 through January 2025, Mr. Dichter held several positions at McKinsey & Company, most recently as Senior Partner leading the Global Airline, Aviation & Travel Practice and the Asia-Pacific Travel, Transport & Logistics Practice. Since February 2024, Mr. Dichter has served as Chair of the Board of Hurtigruten Expeditions, the world’s oldest expedition cruise line, and a member of the Board of Tortuga Resorts, a KSL Capital Partners portfolio company. Mr. Dichter holds a bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an M.B.A. from The Tuck School of Business.
Mr. Fonseca has served as Executive Chairman of Rent the Runway, Inc., an e commerce platform focused on designer apparel and accessories, since October 2025. He also advises private equity and growth companies, including TPG Global, LLC, GetPica Group S.p.A and Certares LP, where he was previously a Partner focused on travel, transportation, hospitality and payments investments. Mr. Fonseca was Chief Executive Officer and President of RentPath, Inc., an online residential rental marketplace, and served on its board of directors, and earlier spent nearly two decades at Expedia Group, Inc. in senior leadership roles including Chief Commercial Officer and Co President, Partner Services Group. He began his career at Microsoft Corporation, where he was part of the management team that launched Expedia.com. Mr. Fonseca has served on numerous public and private company boards across travel, technology and services, including Alaska Air Group, Inc., Rackspace Technology, Inc., Osiris Acquisition Corp, Wilbur Ellis, and DRF Logistics, LLC, among others. Mr. Fonseca has served on numerous public and private company boards across travel, technology and services, including Alaska Air Group, Inc., Rackspace Technology, Inc., Cynosure Inc., Osiris Acquisition Corp, Wilbur Ellis, DRF Logistics, LLC and others. Mr. Fonseca attended the University of Manitoba.
Mr. Goldberg has served as President and CEO of Tripadvisor, Inc. since July 2022. From February 2020 through June 2022, Mr. Goldberg held positions of increasing responsibility at The Trade Desk, a global technology company, including Executive Vice President, North America and Global Operations, before serving as founding director of Dataphilanthropy, a private foundation. Mr. Goldberg served as Global Head of M&A and Strategic Alliances and Head of India for News Corp from December 2016 through December 2019. Mr. Goldberg served as Senior Vice President, Global Market Development and Head of Corporate Development for Qurate, formerly known as QVC from October 2013 through November 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Goldberg was CEO of Lonely Planet, a global travel guide publisher for nearly five years. Mr. Goldberg served on the board of directors of Blue Ocean Acquisition Corp. from December 2021 through November 2024 and is active in philanthropy and nonprofit leadership, including The Burning Man Project, Lumina Foundation, and Jim Joseph Foundation. Mr. Goldberg holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University, an M.A. in International Studies from The University of Melbourne, and a B.A. in English from Cornell University.
Ms. Morgan is currently the co-founder of Magnet Companies, a private equity-backed company focused on media and commerce, and an associate professor at Columbia Business School and Columbia College. From February 2016 to July 2018, Ms. Morgan served as an Executive in Residence of LionTree, an advisory and merchant bank firm specializing in technology and media. From January 2011 to July 2015, Ms. Morgan was the CEO of TheBlaze, an early multi-platform and direct-to-consumer news and entertainment company. Prior to TheBlaze, Ms. Morgan was the CEO of The Huffington Post. Ms. Morgan currently serves on the board of directors of the following privately-held companies: Trusted Media Brands, Chartbeat and TheSkimm. Ms. Morgan has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Colby College, where she served as a member of the Board of Trustees for eight years. She is also a contributor to Riptide, an oral history of journalism and digital innovation created by Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy.
Mr. Sparks has served as Managing Partner at Interlock Partners, a venture capital firm, since 2020. Prior to joining Interlock Partners, Mr. Sparks served as Senior Advisor at Bain Capital from 2018 to 2019 and as Chief Executive Officer of Academic Partnerships from 2016 to 2017. Previously, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Travelocity Global from 2011 to 2014 and as President of Gilt Groupe from 2010 to 2011, after initially serving as its Chief Marketing Officer. Mr. Sparks also served in various roles of increasing responsibility at Expedia Group, Inc., including as General Manager at Hotels.com USA, Latin America & Canada from 2008 to 2009 and Chief Marketing Officer at Expedia.com from 2006 to 2007. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at Capital One Financial Corp., Diageo PLC, PepsiCo Inc., and Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Sparks currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Waste Connections, Inc. since March 2024, Cint Group AB since January 2022, and Copart, Inc. since September 2021. He previously served as a director of Avis Budget Group, Inc. from 2018 to 2021, Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc. from 2013 to 2020, and Vonage Holdings Corp. from 2011 to 2018. Mr. Sparks earned a B.S.E. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Robert Wiesenthal has served as Chairman of Strata Critical Medical, Inc. since August 2025. Prior to its name change from Blade Air Mobility, Inc. in August 2025, Mr. Wiesenthal served as Chief Executive Officer since July 2015. Mr. Wiesenthal continues to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Blade, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Joby Aviation. Mr. Wiesenthal has also served as one of our directors since June 2014. From January 2013 to July 2015, Mr. Wiesenthal served as Chief Operating Officer of Warner Music Group Corp., a global music conglomerate. From 2000 to 2012, Mr. Wiesenthal served in various senior executive capacities with Sony Corporation, most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Sony Corporation of America. Prior to joining Sony, from 1988 to 2000, Mr. Wiesenthal served in various capacities with Credit Suisse First Boston, most recently as Managing Director, Head of Digital Media and Entertainment. Mr. Wiesenthal previously served on the Board of Directors of Starz, a global media and entertainment company. Mr. Wiesenthal has a B.A. from the University of Rochester.