Blackbird Foundry

Leads the Foundry program and is the main contact for applicant questions.

Michael Tolo applies a law-to-finance, Italian immigrant family perspective and long-term mindset to back category-creating deep-tech companies like quantum computing, acting as an early-stage investor and anchor for global bets.

Niki Scevak built his career by persistently meeting hundreds of investors to raise his fund and specializes in backing wild‑heart founders at the zero‑to‑one stage with strange, ambitious ideas.

James Palmer takes a hands-on approach with Australia and New Zealand founders—publishing guides and hosting invite-only early-stage events—and brings corporate banking, strategy and fund-of-funds experience, viewing naivety as an advantage.

Max Meyer seeks founders with unconstrained ambition in contrarian domains—enterprise SaaS, space, robotics and AI—and commits long-term support, writing public Investment Notes that explain product and founder stories in depth.

Alex Gifford is Head of Investment Programs at Blackbird, an investment firm focused on early-stage founders in Australia and New Zealand.

Anthoney Duong is Head of Investment Legal at Blackbird Ventures, where he oversees venture capital investments and exits across the US, Australia, and New Zealand. He brings over 12 years of experience in private equity and venture capital law, spanning fund formation, investments, portfolio management, and exits. His background includes roles at Mallesons' private equity practice in Sydney, an Australian pension fund managing over A$70 billion in assets, and a global investment bank in London.

Becca Kennedy is an Executive Assistant at Blackbird Ventures' Aotearoa office in Auckland, supporting two Partners and managing the office experience for the local team. Before joining Blackbird, she worked as a critical care veterinary nurse at a referral and specialty hospital before transitioning into executive support.

Carlene Kemp is Chief People Officer and Head of Building Blackbird at Blackbird, an Australian venture capital firm. She previously spent five years at Coca-Cola Amatil, where she led a $300 million transformation program and established the company's internal people and culture consulting team. Her background includes nearly a decade in management consulting at PwC, where she managed complex programs across FMCG, retail, infrastructure, government and not-for-profit sectors, complemented by formal training in organizational psychology and neuroleadership coaching.

Jasmin Jenkins is Head of Investor Relations at Blackbird, where she manages relationships with limited partners. She has developed and launched investment funds across private markets, hedge funds, equities, and fixed income. Jenkins is also a cofounder of Thirsty Turtl, a skincare company based on First Nations knowledge.

Josephine Tay is a Program Manager at Blackbird's Giants Lead program, where she focuses on climate and agriculture technology initiatives. Her career spans Treasury work at Westpac, data integrity roles at Cecil Earth, and community building through Farmers2Founders, with experience across financial services, carbon projects, and agricultural innovation.

Justine Nangle is General Counsel at Blackbird Ventures. She holds an LLB in Law and a BA in International Studies with a focus on Japanese from the University of Technology, Sydney, and was admitted as a Solicitor in New South Wales in 2001.

Operating Principal at Blackbird and co-founder of Applied; previously worked at NESTA.

Author of the post writing on behalf of Blackbird, involved in the Superstat investment.

Mahalia Lum is an Executive Assistant to Alex Apoifis and Tom Humphrey at Blackbird Ventures. She previously served as Executive Assistant to a CEO and Operations Specialist, a role that included business development, sales, customer service, finance, HR, and marketing responsibilities, as well as setting up and managing a team in the Philippines from Sydney. Lum holds a Bachelor of International Studies, which included a semester in Lyon, France, and has worked as an Assistant Trade Advisor for the French Embassy Trade Commission and volunteered with the Cambodian Organisation for Children and Development in Phnom Penh.

Nick Erzetic is a Data & Product Manager at Blackbird Ventures. He focuses on data and product development within the venture capital firm.

Authored the post on behalf of Blackbird about the Tracksuit acquisition of Hall; involved with Blackbird's investment in Hall.