CEO of Drive by Draft Kings
Meredith McPherron is Drive by DraftKings’ CEO & Managing Partner, overseeing all investments, portfolio construction and operations. She has more than 25 years of investing, operating and executive experience driving early and growth stage ventures to scale and exit.
Prior to joining Drive by DraftKings, McPherron served as a Venture Partner with Glasswing Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm investing in the next generation of AI, cybersecurity and intelligent enterprise startups. Earlier in her career she was Director of the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship at the Harvard Business School, an active angel investor and entrepreneur in the Boston startup ecosystem, and a board member, investor and strategic advisor for BFY Brands, which sold to PepsiCo in February 2020.
An alumna of Harvard College ('89) and Harvard Business School ('93), McPherron currently serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at the Harvard Innovation Lab and on the Advisory Cabinet at the Harvard School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.
Senior Director of Sustainability @ Levi Strauss
As the Senior Director of Global Sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co., Jennifer is responsible for the company’s sustainability strategy and targets, leading the companies work on climate, water, nature, waste, sustainable chemistry and ESG metrics. In this role, she supports LS&Co.’s mission to deliver profits through principles to make an outsized impact on the world. Prior to her role at LS&Co. Jennifer worked for 15 years in the toy industry focused on social and environmental responsibility and public policy related to environment, product and chemical safety, brand protection, privacy, and education. Over the course of her career, she has held numerous board positions and currently serves on the Board for Institute for Safer Chemicals. She holds a Masters in Corporate Environmental Management from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a BS in Biology from California Polytechnic University. Jennifer lives in Connecticut with her partner and two children.
Director of Athletics, Yale University
Victoria (“Vicky”) Chun is the first woman and first Asian American to serve as director of athletics at Yale, with oversight of 35 varsity teams, over 50 club and intramural sports, as well as the portfolio of athletic facilities enjoyed by the Yale community.
As the first Asian-American woman athletics director in NCAA Division I history, Vicky has demonstrated a tireless commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives such as Yale Bulldogs for Change and the Asian American & Pacific Islander Athletics Alliance, a nonprofit association for the AAPI community working in sports and beyond. In 2021, the publication New Haven Biz honored her with its annual “Women in Business” award, which spotlights successful women in the New Haven community who contribute to the economic vitality and community health in the greater New Haven region. She has also been a long-time board member and past president of Women Leaders in Sports (WLS), an organization dedicated to increasing the presence of women in leadership positions in collegiate athletics.
In recognition of her outstanding contributions, WLSS selected her as the National Administrator of the Year (FCS Division) in 2010 and in 2022, she was named a “Trailblazer of Title IX.” Vicky previously served as Vice President and Director of Athletics at Colgate, where she was the women's volleyball head coach.
Chief Executive Officer, ReNetX Bio
Erika Smith is a recognized leader in the biotech industry with over 30 years of experience launching and advancing innovative life-science companies. As CEO of ReNetX Bio, she has raised $35 million to develop groundbreaking treatments for brain and eye diseases, successfully guiding the company into clinical trials. Erika has also helped fund and mentor many biotech startups through her leadership roles at Yale’s Blavatnik Fund and investment programs with Johnson & Johnson.
Her work has led to multiple successful medical innovations and earned her awards such as “Entrepreneur of the Year,” “Industry Superstar,” and the “Entrepreneurial Innovation & Leadership” award. She was also named to New Haven Biz’s Power 25 and Tech 25 lists, an invited TEDx speaker, and co-author of Empowering Women Entrepreneurs.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Vanderbilt University.
Chief Financial Officer, LVMH North America
Jill is North America CFO for LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, a $80B global luxury company. She is responsible for partnering with the North America CEO and leadership team on all financial and strategic objectives supporting the $20B region and serves as a main connection point to global headquarters.
William S. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Economics and Faculty Director for the Program on Social Enterprise, Innovation, and Impact at the Yale School of Management
Professor Chevalier is the chair of the American Economic Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, a former co-editor of the American Economic Review and of the Rand Journal of Economics and an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric Society.
