Mindshift Capital

Marcia Dawood is an early-stage investor who chairs the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee. She is a venture partner with Mindshift Capital, a member of Golden Seeds, and Chair Emeritus of the Angel Capital Association, where she also chairs the Growing Women's Capital Group. Dawood authored the books "Do Good While Doing Well" (2024) and "Unapologetic Wealth" (2026), hosts The Angel Next Door Podcast, spoke at TEDx Charlotte in 2022, and was an associate producer on the 2023 documentary "Show Her the Money."

Rebecca Hall is an independent advisor working with private equity firms, family offices, conglomerates and boards across the GCC and Australia on investment strategy, transactions, portfolio value creation, governance and technology deployment, with a focus on developing family capital into long-term investment platforms. She previously served as CEO of Kanoo Ventures, the direct equity and joint venture investment platform of the YBA Kanoo Group. Her earlier career includes roles at Kearney and Macquarie, as well as operating leadership positions in Saudi Arabia.

Barbara Baumgartner is the Managing Director of FAI rent-a-jet GmbH's DMCC branch in Dubai, a German private jet operator whose services include VIP charter, air ambulance operations, aircraft management, long-term lease, aircraft refurbishment, and special missions. She previously served as head of family office for a Saudi business conglomerate and has experience in venture capital. She sits on the Investment Committee of Mindshift Capital and serves as an angel investor and advisor with the Woman Angel Investor Network (WAIN) in Dubai.

Daphne Kis is President of WorldQuant University, an accredited institution offering free online education in data science and quantitative skills to students in over 140 countries. She has worked as an entrepreneur, product lead, and investor in educational technology, and participates in the World Economic Forum's Future Skills Alliance. Kis serves on the Executive Board, Audit Committee, and as chair of the Strategic Planning Committee of Young Audiences: Arts for Learning, and is a member of the Grameen Foundation's Leadership Advisory Council.

Najla Al-Midfa is the Vice Chairperson of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa), where she previously served as Founding CEO, and Vice Chairperson of the Emirates Growth Fund. During her involvement, Sheraa has incubated over 200 ventures that have raised more than $270 million in investment and launched the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival in 2017. She also holds board positions across several organizations, including publicly listed companies, in sectors such as banking, energy, and education.

Shelly Porges is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Beyond The Billion, initially launched as The Billion Dollar Fund for Women, a global consortium of venture funds committed to investing in women-founded companies; in its first two years, the consortium's fund partners invested over $638 million in nearly 800 such companies. Her board and advisory roles include over a decade as President of the North American Jury for the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards, board membership at the Financial Alliance for Women, and advisory positions with Mindshift Capital, Different Funds, and Global InvestHer. She has also served as a Senior Advisor to Secretary Hillary Clinton and was named to the Forbes 50>50 list in Investment.