GOVO Venture Partners

Brian D'Ambrosio is a General Partner at GOVO Venture Partners with roughly two decades of experience in investment, advisory, due diligence, strategy, and business development, along with healthcare system expertise. He serves as Managing Director, North Star and Vice President of Strategy & Business Development for the Managed Care Department at Northwell Health, and previously spent twelve years in alternative asset management, most recently as Principal and Director of Research at Arrow Capital Management. He began his career at Merrill Lynch & Co. and holds a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University, along with a CFA charter.

Jonathan Kilman is a General Partner at GOVO Venture Partners with nearly two decades of experience helping technology companies address government and regulatory matters. He serves as chairman and CEO of Converge Public Strategies, a Miami-based government relations and communications firm, and is Vice Chair of Marcman Solutions, a managed services company in the government sector. He was previously a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, co-chairing its Florida public policy practice, and holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.S. in finance from the University of Florida.

Rob Panepinto is Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of GOVO Venture Partners, with more than 25 years of experience as an executive, operator, investor, and mentor. He also serves as Director of Strategy and Partnerships for the UCF Innovation Districts and Business Incubation System and is CEO of Entrepreneurs in Action, a social venture fund investing in early-stage for-profit social impact companies. Earlier, he was part of the founding executive team of Connextions, an Orlando-based healthcare technology and services company that was recapitalized by New Mountain Capital and later acquired by Optum Health. He holds a BA in Political Science from New York University and an MA in Public Communications from Fordham University.

Tim Tebow is a former collegiate national champion quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner who was a first-round NFL draft pick and later played professional baseball. He is also a New York Times best-selling author, speaker, and football analyst, and founded the Tim Tebow Foundation, a charitable organization. Alongside his wife Demi, he operates The Tebow Group, which includes a talent management firm, creative agency, family office, and technology accelerator focused on investing.

Avani Desai is a Partner at GOVO Venture Partners and serves as CEO of Schellman, a CPA firm focused on technology and security assessments. She began her career at KPMG, where she spent over a decade leading IT risk management and privacy work across national service lines, with expertise spanning healthcare, blockchain, cloud computing, AI, and IoT. She also sits on the board of Cogent Bank, a Florida-based community bank, as a Director and head of its Technology Committee.

Deno Hicks is the North Florida Managing Partner of Converge Public Strategies of North Florida, with over 22 years of experience in government affairs and business development across Florida. He has represented clients in real estate, technology, energy, health care, maritime, transportation, telecommunications, and water utilities, and has worked privately as a real estate investor and in project development. A Jacksonville native, he holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Florida and has served on several City of Jacksonville commissions and committees.

George "Bud" Scholl is President and CEO of OneBlood, a large not-for-profit blood center, and previously led Community Blood Centers of Florida after a decade on its board. Before his work in the nonprofit sector, he spent over thirty years as an entrepreneur in real estate and distressed asset turnarounds, and co-founded and helped run Beach Bank until its sale. He also served as Mayor of Sunny Isles Beach until 2021 and holds a computer science engineering degree from the University of Florida.

Jason Hendren began his career as an industrial engineer in manufacturing before becoming operating partner and eventually acquiring a startup, which he grew into a national manufacturer of energy-efficient lighting. He sold the majority of his equity to a private equity group, stayed on as CEO, and was involved in subsequent M&A activity including further acquisitions and a second sale. He now works as an exit planning advisor and CEO coach, and authored a book on selling to private equity. He holds a BSIE and MBA from the University of Central Florida.

Jeff Brandes served in the Florida Legislature from 2010 to 2022, representing District 24 covering much of Pinellas County. He is an Army veteran who served as an officer in the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq, and has focused on policy areas including transportation technology, property insurance reform, and criminal justice. After leaving office he founded the Florida Policy Project, a non-partisan research organization addressing housing affordability, property insurance, criminal justice, and transportation.

Michael "Mike" Ward is Managing Director for 1858 Capital, where he oversees firm strategy, buyer outreach, client communication, negotiations, and transaction execution. He has more than 20 years of investment banking and M&A experience, previously serving as Managing Partner at Orchard MB and as President and Owner of International Assets Advisory, and he founded valuations.com. He holds a BS in Finance from Stetson University and an MBA in Accounting/Finance from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, and is a CFA charterholder and Certified Financial Planner.

Mitch Bierman is the Miami Office Managing Director of the law firm Weiss, Serota, Helfman, Cole and Bierman, where his work covers public contracts, public-private partnerships, infrastructure, affordable housing, and legislative advocacy. He began his career as an Assistant Dade County Attorney in the 1990s and currently serves as Town Attorney for Cutler Bay and Village Attorney for Pinecrest. He chairs the firm's Airports and Aviation Services Group and has over 20 years of experience in airport finance, airline negotiations, concessions, and land leasing, having previously served as counsel to Miami International Airport.

Patrick Erin Murphy is an Executive Vice President of Coastal Construction, where he oversees the company's diversification and growth across Florida and is developing an AI and machine-learning-based estimating technology along with a new building material. He began at the company in roles ranging from day laborer to accounting manager, and previously earned a CPA license while working at Deloitte after graduating from the University of Miami. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017 for Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast and was the 2016 U.S. Senate nominee.

Phil Monkress is President and CEO of All Points, which he joined in 1999 as Chief Operating Officer before assuming full ownership in 2009. He oversees business development and support operations serving U.S. government agencies including NASA, the Veterans Administration, the Missile Defense Agency, and the Department of Defense. Earlier in his career he worked at KPMG in information technology roles and served as a field engineer with NATO and a data systems technician in the U.S. Navy. He holds a bachelor's degree from Valdosta State University and an Executive MBA from the University of Alabama.

Shari Costantini is an entrepreneur and C-level executive with over 30 years of experience in strategic leadership, team building, and raising capital. She founded Avant Healthcare Professionals, a healthcare staffing company that reached $175M in revenues before her exit, and co-founded Kismet Technologies in 2022, where she serves as president. She now mentors and advises companies on scaling operations, building infrastructure, and raising capital.

Tom Harrington is Vice President at 1858 Capital, where he leads execution of M&A transactions across industries. He has around 15 years of experience in investment banking and private equity, previously working as an investment banker at PCE Investment Bankers and as Vice President at Penta Mezzanine, a $100M SBIC fund focused on mezzanine debt and preferred equity, where he also served as interim CFO for a durable medical equipment portfolio company; he began his career as an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He is a CFA charterholder, president of the CFA Society of Orlando, and holds a BA in International Business from Rollins College.

Tommy Martin is a Partner at GOVO Venture Partners and CEO of The Tebow Group, an organization founded by Tim and Demi Tebow that engages in purposeful investing through a talent management firm, creative agency, family office, and technology accelerator. Before this role, he founded, led, and exited multiple nationwide financial firms — including private funds, broker/dealers, RIAs, and insurance agencies — that collectively managed over $2 billion for high net-worth families. He previously served as Financial Planning Department Chair at Taylor University, holds numerous financial licenses, is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, and has authored several financial publications.

Tommy Mayes joined SunGate Capital in 2014, where he serves as Managing Director and Advisor to the Chair and has sat on the investment committee since 2015. Through his family-holding company Prosperity Venture Partners LLC, he and his wife hold interests in wealth and investment management businesses, and he co-founded CapInsights Partners LLC. He previously served as President and board member of Investors Preferred Life Insurance Company, has over 35 years in financial services and banking, and earned a business degree from Wake Forest University with additional financial planning certification and graduate studies at the London School of Economics.