UC Berkeley Skydeck

DEI Committee Chair; CEO of Founder Pitch Week.

Caroline Winnett is the Executive Director of UC Berkeley SkyDeck, the university's startup accelerator and incubator operated as a partnership between the Haas School of Business, the College of Engineering, and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. SkyDeck invests $200,000 in each cohort company and provides mentorship, resources, and access to UC Berkeley's network of over 700 advisors and accredited investors. The program has supported more than 140 startups in residence and maintains a Gold Tier rating from the Seed Rankings Project.

Strategy Council member; co-founder of Blue Goji.

Managing Partner of the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund.

Faculty advisor; professor of bioengineering and co-founder of 4D Molecular and Axent Biosciences.

Faculty advisor; EECS professor and co-founder of Oasis Labs.

Strategy Council member; co-founder of Flash Bike.

Faculty advisor; EECS professor and co-founder of Ambidextrous Labs.

Strategy Council member; two-time founder and Venture Partner at Gold House.

Faculty advisor; EECS professor and founding co-director of Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research and Berkeley Deep Drive.

Partner at the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund.

Alec Opdyke is a Business Development Manager at Berkeley SkyDeck with over four years of experience in B2B and government sales. His work spans the full sales cycle, including prospecting, proposal development, contract negotiation, and close, along with managing a pipeline exceeding $10 million and overseeing the company's Salesforce CRM. He has contributed to year-over-year revenue growth through pipeline management, proposal development for competitive procurements, and enterprise and government customer relationships.

Aleksander Kuczek is an entrepreneur based in Barcelona who was born in Poland and spent time in the United States. He has founded and sold two software startups, taught entrepreneurship, and led the growth of Contabo from a local server provider into a tier 1 cloud company. He is an HBS alumnus and serves as a UC Berkeley SkyDeck Ambassador.

Faculty advisor; professor of bioengineering and Faculty Director of the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub.

Balu Masti is a technology strategist and ecosystem builder with over three decades of experience across the United States, Silicon Valley, and India, currently serving as India Ambassador and Advisor at UC Berkeley SkyDeck and Director of International Collaborations at RV University, Bangalore. He advises accelerators including CMU's Schwartz Center, AI @ Wharton, and Rutgers–Camden, and through HUM Consulting Services provides fractional CTO and advisory support to DeepTech ventures in areas such as AI/ML, data platforms, IoT, embedded systems, and SaaS. His earlier career included nearly two decades at Qualcomm and Intel and the co-founding of a DeepTech startup focused on energy optimization; he is also a Carnatic Veena artist and certified yoga teacher.

Ben Fong is Head of Business Development at Berkeley SkyDeck, with prior roles at Deloitte, Ford Motor Company, and venture-backed startups. As an early employee at Spin, which was acquired by Ford, he launched the first electric-scooter charging stations in the United States and expanded operations to dozens of cities. He is a former diplomat and a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Bhavika Patel is a Program Coordinator at Berkeley SkyDeck. She studied Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing at the University of California, Riverside, with a focus on social media, outreach, digital communication, and data analytics.

Ciaran Quinn is the founder of VEO2 and serves as an advisor and seed investor. He works as a Key Advisor to Ochy through Berkeley SkyDeck, and has held roles including chairman, board member, mentor, and angel investor. His areas of focus include strategy, business development, digital media, SaaS, and distribution, with experience spanning sports and OTT sectors.

Cole Harry is the Japan Program Manager at Berkeley SkyDeck, where the work involves connecting Japanese founders to Silicon Valley. Harry has experience in university partnerships, business development, and research and industry collaborations, with a focus on US-UK academic and economic relations.

Ekin Günaysu is Senior Manager of Program at Berkeley SkyDeck, UC Berkeley's startup accelerator, where the role involves supporting early-stage startups and managing operations with cross-functional teams. Günaysu has over eight years of experience in project management, holds a PMP certification, and has an academic background in Political Science, Business Administration, and European Studies. Prior experience includes work in international development and a 17-year career as a professional tennis player.

Strategy Council member and SkyDeck advisor.

Managing Partner and Founder of Raisewell with over 20 years of deep tech and investment experience, leading her fourth fund. She teaches at UC Berkeley Haas, is a former World Bank economist, and is recognized among the Top 25 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley.

Karén Gyulbudaghyan is the Founding Partner of Strategic Value Ventures, a San Francisco-based strategic advisory firm serving global partners and startups. His career spans over 25 years across government, Big Four consulting, multinational technology companies, and World Bank and EU projects, including a role at Yahoo! where he led data center strategy and structured business incentive deals. He serves as an Ambassador, advisor, and selection committee member at UC Berkeley SkyDeck, and holds degrees in economics, mathematics, and accounting, along with a California CPA license.

Kelly Lindberg is Senior Manager of the Innovation Partner Program at Berkeley SkyDeck, where she connects international founders with the Bay Area venture ecosystem. Her background includes roles with Start2/German Accelerator, TechWomen, and the Fulbright Program, managing programs for entrepreneurs and scholars. Her work spans academia, government, and technology innovation, with a focus on helping startups access Silicon Valley resources, mentoring, and investment.

DEI Committee member; Partner at Bee Partners.

Strategy Council member; seed-stage investor and advisor.

Faculty advisor; HHMI Investigator and professor of cell and developmental biology.

DEI Committee member; Managing Partner of GWP Impact at Growing Well Partners.

Sibyl Chen is General Manager and Head of Program at Berkeley SkyDeck, UC Berkeley's startup accelerator. In this role, she advises and supports founders across stages of company development, from initial pitch through scaling. The accelerator works with approximately 250 startups per year.

Founder partner of GAA (Ganhando a América) with a background in economics (FAAP) and extensive entrepreneurial experience in sales, business development and marketing, known for networking and connecting people and businesses.