AI and Investing for Social Good
Thursday, Sept. 17
Noon–1 p.m., Lunch and Learn
“Demystifying Venture: Funding, Growth and Leadership”
Presented by the Harvey Mudd College Annenberg Fellows, Joseph B. Platt Campus Center, Green Room
How do early stage ideas transform into venture-backed success stories? Join us for an interactive session hosted by the Annenberg Fellows that serves as the capstone to their six-week Venture Fluency for Emerging Founders seminar. Over lunch, the Fellows will unpack key insights on funding strategies and modern founder leadership. Bring your questions and walk away with real-world takeaways you can apply to your own entrepreneurial journey.
5–6 p.m. Meet the Experts Reception
Shanahan Center, Caryll Mudd and Norman F. Sprague Jr. Courtyard
Join us for a casual networking event with three industry leaders in venture capital, private equity and global asset management. Whether you are curious about breaking into tech investing, building your own startup or understanding how capital fuels modern innovation, this event is built for you. Enjoy appetizers and refreshments while networking directly with these prominent industry leaders:
- Heather Lord—Senior Vice President, Capital Group
- Kelly Graziadei—General Partner, f7 Ventures and Perplexity Fund
- Chris Lee—Senior Partner, FAA Investments
6–7 p.m., Heather Lord, Kelly Graziadei and Chris Lee in Conversation with President Harriet B. Nembhard
“Capital and Character: Steering AI Toward Societal Impact”
Wayne ’73 and Julie Drinkward Recital Hall
In an era where artificial intelligence is driving rapid transformation across global markets, investment leaders are actively recalibrating how they deploy capital. We invite you to an engaging panel discussion bringing together distinguished leaders from venture capital, private equity and institutional asset management. The conversation will center on the critical confluence of technical innovation, social responsibility and fiduciary trust. Drawing inspiration from Harvey Mudd College’s foundational ethos of STEM for a Better World, this panel will investigate the essential contributions of technical problem-solvers in reshaping modern finance.
The Annenberg Leadership Forum is managed by the Office of Signature Events. Direct inquiries to specialevents@hmc.edu, or call 909.607.4263.
Forum Panelists
Heather Lord
Heather Lord is Chief Innovation Officer at Capital Group, including responsibility for AI, Data and investment group capabilities. In addition she serves on the Capital Group Operating Committee and Capital Research and Management Committee Board of Directors. She has 20 years of industry experience and has been with Capital Group for ten years.
Prior to joining Capital, Heather was a Senior Vice President of Strategy & Client Experience at Charles Schwab. Before that, she worked as a Principal at Boston Consulting Group. She holds a PhD in applied statistics and psychology from Yale University and a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Cornell University.
She currently serves as a member of the California Science Center Board of Directors and Vice Chair of KIPP SoCal Board of Directors.
Kelly Graziadei
Kelly Graziadei is co-founder and general partner of Perplexity Fund, an early-stage venture firm investing in AI. Kelly has over 20 years of experience scaling technology companies—from three-person startups to companies of 200,000.
Notably, she spent over seven years at Meta (formally Facebook), where she built and led its first North American mid-market sales team from inception to $1 billion in revenue. She went on to lead global monetization product marketing for the direct response ads and commerce business scaling it to $15 billion in annual revenue. With the transition to venture, Kelly has raised over $100 million and made more than 75 investments in AI and technology startups.
She has served as a private and public company board director, most recently at Payfare (TSX: PAY). She holds a bachelor of science with honors from the University of Colorado.
Christopher F. Lee
Christopher F. Lee has more than 30 years of professional experience in investment banking and investment management. Currently, he is senior partner at FAA Investments (Farron, Augustine & Alexander LLC) and an executive mentor at The ExCo Leadership Group. Previously, he worked at large global financial institutions including Deutsche Bank AG, UBS Investment Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Lee is a board member for the Matthews Asia Funds in San Francisco and strategic advisor for various startups in Silicon Valley and has served on multiple corporate boards for public companies based in Australia and China. His charitable board appointments include the UC Berkeley Library System, Haas School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council and Smithsonian Libraries and Archives.
Lee is an associate professor of science practice in financial mathematics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he shares with his students his passion for applying engineering methods to solving financial markets problems and providing long-term societal benefits to our global community.
Lee received his bachelor of science in mechanical engineering and MBA in finance from the University of California, Berkeley. He completed the advanced management program (AMP178) at Harvard Business School and obtained an ALM Degree in international relations (U.S.-China economic relations) from Harvard Extension School.