Hercules Capital, Inc.

Cristy Barnes is a Managing Director in Hercules Capital's Life Sciences Group with over 26 years of investing experience across private and public equity markets. She previously served as Managing Director at Lighthouse Capital Partners, where she led the venture debt firm's healthcare efforts focused on VC-backed biotech and medical device deals, structuring 70 loan transactions totaling $455 million. Earlier in her career she was a Senior Associate at Highland Capital Partners working on west coast technology venture investments and spent five years in the Technology Research Group at Robertson Stephens and Company. She holds a BA in Psychology with a minor in Business from UCLA.

Ella-Tamar Adhanan is a Managing Director at Hercules Capital in New York, leading technology origination and business development. She previously ran business development for Technology Banking and Investor Coverage at Silicon Valley Bank with a focus on the U.S.–Israel market, and led SVB's international expansion in India and MENA. Earlier in her career she was a sales analyst at Morgan Stanley and Chief of Staff at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. She holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Maryland.

James Downing is Managing Director for Europe at Hercules Capital, where he established the firm's London office and leads origination and venture relationships across the continent, focusing on European technology companies since joining in November 2021. He was previously a Director at Silicon Valley Bank working on venture capital relationships and venture lending across multiple sectors, and earlier a Relationship Director at Barclays Bank managing mid-market tech and media companies. He holds an LLB in Law from De Montfort University.

Joshua Coleman is a Managing Director of Credit at Hercules Capital, based in the New York City office, where he oversees underwriting and portfolio management. He previously worked on the Capital Solutions team at Barings, handling origination, underwriting, and management of transactions across the capital structure and helping build its Fund Finance business, and earlier served as a Principal at Medley Capital focused on portfolio management and workouts. He earned BA degrees in mathematics and economics from Canisius University.

Mike Dutra is a Senior Managing Director and Senior Investment Officer in the Life Sciences Group at Hercules Capital, working from the Boston office and focusing on transactions with private and public healthcare companies across biotechnology, specialty pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare services at various stages. He joined Hercules in June 2014 and was promoted to Managing Director in January 2021. Before Hercules, he worked at Goldman Sachs as an Operations Analyst and at DePuy Synthes as a Quality Engineer, and he earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering with honors from Northeastern University.

Mike Willard is a Managing Director on Hercules Capital's Sponsor Finance team, where he works on debt financing execution to support private equity investment in enterprise software and technology companies. He previously spent seventeen years at Silicon Valley Bank as a founding member of its Sponsor Finance group, and before that held underwriting and portfolio management roles at Wells Fargo Capital Finance. He holds an MBA from Clarkson University and a B.S. in business administration from Saint Michael's College.

Paul Sohn is a Managing Director of Credit at Hercules Capital, where he oversees underwriting and portfolio management. He was previously a Principal at Medley Management, a credit asset manager, and spent over six years at LStar Capital, the credit affiliate of Lone Star Funds, working on opportunistic credit strategies. Earlier in his career he held roles in credit restructuring at CIT Group and investment banking at Cowen and Company, and he holds a BS in business administration from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

Head of Life Sciences Venture Lending at Hercules Capital with over 32 years of financial and credit structuring experience. Before joining Hercules in 2005, he held VP roles in the Life Sciences and Software groups at Silicon Valley Bank, worked in corporate banking at BNP, and served as an assistant economist at the US Department of Treasury.

Ruslan Sergeyev is a Managing Director at Hercules Capital, leading technology origination from New York City and handling sourcing and execution of investment opportunities. He previously served as a Managing Director on Stifel's Venture Lending team and spent five years at PacWest running the credit team for its east coast venture banking portfolio. Earlier in his career he worked on the Direct Lending team at Golub Capital and in the Leveraged Finance Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and he holds a BS in Finance from Pennsylvania State University.

Tom Hertzberg is a Managing Director at Hercules Capital focused on business development in life sciences and broader healthcare, including sourcing and executing investment opportunities. Before Hercules, he spent 15 years at Silicon Valley Bank in sales and portfolio leadership roles, most recently leading a team in SVB's Life Sciences and Healthcare practice covering 24 states and 700 client relationships. He holds a BSBA from the University of Denver.

R. Bryan Jadot leads Life Sciences Venture Lending at Hercules Capital, which he joined in 2005, and has over 32 years of experience in finance and credit structuring. He previously held vice president roles at Silicon Valley Bank in both the Life Sciences Group (Newton, MA) and the Software Group (Palo Alto, CA), and earlier worked in corporate banking at Banque Nationale de Paris and as an assistant economist at the U.S. Department of Treasury. He holds a B.A. in economics and government from California State University at Sacramento.

Roy Y. Liu is a Managing Director in Hercules' Technology Group and a co-founder of the firm, with over 30 years of operating and finance experience at technology companies. He previously worked at GrandBanks Capital, VantagePoint Structured Investments, and Imperial Bank, and began his career at IBM in R&D.

Steve Kuo leads the Technology Group at Hercules Capital, bringing over 19 years of operational and structured finance experience and having overseen more than $1.2 billion in capital investments. Before Hercules he led product management at silicon photonics startup Lightcross and was a principal at Comdisco Ventures.

Senior Managing Director in Hercules' Technology Group with over 27 years of financing, syndications, and technology investment banking experience. Previously led over $4 billion in syndicated facilities at Silicon Valley Bank, worked in investment banking at BofA Merrill Lynch, and in high yield origination at TD Securities; holds an MBA from Columbia and a BS from NYU Stern.

Ron Daniel has spent the past 15 years founding and running subscription-based companies. He founded PlanetSoho, The Karaoke Channel, and Individual TV, and served as a general manager at Kenshoo Local. He also worked with companies including WalkMe and MYT to help scale them.

Luke McGuire is a Managing Director in Life Sciences at Hercules Capital, focusing on venture debt lending to VC-backed and publicly-traded life sciences companies. He maintains relationships across leading venture capital firms, corporate executives, and board members in the sector.

Dawn Trautman is Director of Corporate Innovation at SVG Ventures | THRIVE, where she leads open innovation initiatives connecting global agrifood corporates with startups. She previously served as Manager of Agriculture & Food Innovation at Alberta Innovates and held research commercialization roles at the University of Alberta. Her background covers venture formation, partnership development, and startup evaluation across the agri-food sector.

Oren Avidan is a Senior Associate at Mars Growth Capital, where he evaluates and structures venture debt and private credit facilities for technology companies across Asia-Pacific. He has more than six years of experience across investment banking, venture debt, and growth equity, with a focus on credit analysis, due diligence, and portfolio management. Before Mars Growth Capital, he worked at Liquidity Capital in Israel and at Mars Equity in Singapore, and he holds a MSc in Data Science & Machine Learning from Reichman University and a BA in Accounting & Economics from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Andrew Olson was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Hercules Capital in May 2026, bringing more than 19 years of experience in leadership roles at private and public investment companies. He previously served as Partner, CFO, and COO at Revelation Partners, CFO at SVB Capital, and CFO at TriplePoint Capital and TriplePoint Venture Growth, and earlier held finance roles at Hercules Capital from 2014 to 2017 and at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He holds a BA in Business Economics from UC Santa Barbara and is a Certified Public Accountant in California.

Christian Follmann is Chief Operating Officer of Hercules Capital, responsible for the firm's day-to-day operations and strategic initiatives. He joined Hercules in 2006 as an analyst intern in the Palo Alto office and advanced through roles including Associate, Director of Investment Analysis and Strategy, and Senior Director of Operations and Strategic Projects before being appointed COO in February 2022. He holds Bachelor of Science degrees in International Business from Northeastern University and Reutlingen University in Germany.

Jasmine Saadati is Director of Corporate Development for Hercules Capital and Hercules Adviser LLC, where she oversees institutional fundraising, LP relationships, and capital formation across the firm's private fund platform. She previously spent over a decade at SVB Capital in credit investments, product development, and investor relations, most recently as Principal of Investor Relations, and was a founding member of SVB's Mezzanine/Strategic Capital team. She holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Kate Kinlin joined Hercules Capital in April 2022 as Vice President of Human Resources, bringing more than 19 years of HR experience. She previously served as Senior Vice President and Director of Human Resources at Capital Crossing Servicing Company, where she oversaw HR for the firm and two subsidiaries, and earlier worked as HR Manager at F-Squared Investments. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Leadership & Economics from the University of Delaware.

Kiersten Zaza Botelho is the Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Hercules Capital, where she manages the legal and compliance team and advises the board and management. She joined Hercules in 2022 after serving as associate general counsel at Bain Capital Credit and as a vice president at BlackRock, where she worked on closed-end funds and business development companies. Earlier she was an associate in the investment management group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. She holds a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and a B.A. from Boston University.

Lesya Kulchenko is a Managing Director at Hercules Capital, which she joined in 2012, and has over 17 years of experience in structured finance and investment. She previously worked at two early stage venture firms, Nourish Capital and Hopewell Ventures, and earlier held roles as a Corporate Credit Monitoring Manager at Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine and in product management at Rockwell Automation. She holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering with a Mathematics minor from Marquette University.

Michael Bowden is a Managing Director of Portfolio Management at Hercules Capital, working on debt and equity investments in the life science and technology sectors. He joined the firm as an analyst intern in 2007 and advanced through associate and vice president roles before becoming a managing director in 2019. He previously worked at Credit Suisse HOLT as an equity research analyst and at Bristol-Myers Squibb in global sourcing and supplier management, and holds a B.S. in finance from Northeastern University.

Michael Hara is Managing Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Hercules Capital, with a long career across the personal computer, computer graphics, and semiconductor industries. He was previously Vice President of Investor Relations and Business Development at Cortina Systems and served as Sr. Vice President of Investor Relations at NVIDIA from 2000 to 2011, having joined that company in 1994 as its first director of marketing. Earlier roles included sales and marketing positions at S3, Wyse Technology, Radius, Verticom Graphics, Vermont Microsystems, and GE Healthcare. He holds a B.S. in Electronics Engineering from DeVry University.

Naomi Cheng is the Corporate Controller at Hercules Capital, where she joined in April 2025 and oversees financial accounting, SEC reporting, valuations, and financial planning. She has over 15 years of finance and accounting experience, previously serving as Head of Fund Finance at Kleiner Perkins, Senior Director of Accounting & Controller at Norwest Venture Partners, and in technical accounting and SEC reporting roles at Salesforce and Netflix, after beginning her career at Deloitte in San Francisco. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and is a California CPA.

Senior Managing Director at Hercules Capital leading origination, venture relationships, and business development for the firm's Technology and Sustainable/Renewable groups. Previously held senior operational roles in startups, ran the data business at Cleantech Group, was Director of Sales at edo Interactive, and spent over five years on the executive team at Equilar; holds an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School and a BS from UC Davis.

Managing Director at Hercules Capital since 2016, responsible for business development and loan underwriting in the technology market, with over 16 years of financial services experience. Previously VP at East West Bank and Silicon Valley Bank, and an analyst at Bridge Bank. CFA charterholder with an economics degree from Cornell University.

Managing Director in Hercules Capital's Technology group, based in the DC office, focused on deal origination, underwriting, and portfolio monitoring of debt and equity investments across the mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Midwest. He joined Hercules as an associate in 2011 after working at venture lender MMV Financial and starting his career as an analyst at Comerica.

Managing Director leading business development across the life sciences and broader healthcare markets, with over 19 years of experience in middle-market and venture debt structuring financial transactions for life sciences and technology companies. Previously VP of Business Development at Comerica Bank over a 10-year tenure.

CEO and CIO of Hercules Capital, responsible for lending policies and risk management of the loan and investment portfolio. Joined Hercules in 2010 as Chief Credit Officer, bringing over 25 years of financial services, direct investment and credit experience. Previously founder/partner of Century Tree Capital Management, managing director at Laurus–Valens Capital Management, and part of the Financial Technology Coverage Group at UBS Investment Bank. Holds a B.B.A. in Finance from Emory University.

Seth Meyer was appointed President of Hercules Capital in May 2026, overseeing the scaling, growth and expansion of the platform. He joined in 2019 as CFO and Chief Accounting Officer, bringing over 35 years of financial services experience, and previously served as CFO of Swiss Re's Commercial Insurance business along with other senior roles at Swiss Re, PwC, Jackson National Life, KPMG Peat Marwick and Burke & Stegman.

Laura Parker is a Marketing and Events Associate at SVG Ventures | THRIVE, where she supports event planning, social media, design, and data analysis. She has more than ten years of marketing experience in agriculture and horticulture, including 12 years at Rambridge adapting international horticultural product brands for the North American market. More recently she worked with Controlled Environment Agriculture companies on business strategy, content, government liaison, and community integration as they expanded into North America.

Operating Partner who joined from Enterprise Singapore where he was Deputy Chief Executive. Currently chairman of Q&M Dental Group and a board member of several entities, with prior CEO roles at US and UK companies.