Kellogg Startups | New York

Tara Newell is a partner in the Emerging Companies practice at Bryan Cave. She has represented equity investors, lenders, borrowers, vendors and lessees in connection with various financings. She has represented both strategic and financial acquirers, including private equity firms in strategic transactions. She also counsels clients in connection with joint ventures, strategic alliances, compliance and general corporate matters, including commercial contracts.

Tara is also a member of 85Broads, a global network of professionals whose mission it is to generate exceptional professional and social value for its members. Prior to joining Bryan Cave, she was an associate in the New York Office of Morgan Lewis Bockius. And before that, she was editor-in-chief of the Columbia Journal of European Law.

She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Washington & Lee University, a masters of science degree from the London School of Economics and a juris doctorate from Columbia University.

Elgin Thompson is a Managing Director at The Williams Capital Group, a boutique investment bank headquartered in New York.  He leads the firm’s mergers & acquisitions team and manages its practice in early-stage investments.  

Prior to joining Williams, Elgin was the Vice President of Corporate Development for GridNetworks, Inc., a venture-backed distributor of high definition video content online.  Prior to that, he was a Vice President at Bear Stearns, focusing on digital media.  His 15 year career in investment banking and legal services includes various positions at Merrill Lynch and law firms Wildman Harrold and DLA Piper. During this time, he has closed more than $12 billion in strategic or financing transactions for clients including Time Warner, Nielsen, Veoh, GridNetworks, Deluxe Entertainment, GateHouse Media and Level 3 Communications.

Elgin is a competitive marathoner and serves on the Board of Directors of the Central Park Track Club, a USA Track & Field Elite Development Club.  He received a bachelor of arts degree from Northern Illinois University, a juris doctorate degree from Temple University and masters degree from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Sunil is the founder of Pangea Investors, an early stage investment firm specializing in technology ventures. Among his most recent investments is SeatGeek, a DreamIT Ventures-backed startup. He is also a member the Information Technology Sector Network of the NYC Investment Fund. 

Prior to founding Pangea, he was the CEO of Creditex, the first e-trading platform for credit derivatives. He had founded the company in 1999 and served as the company’s CEO until it was sold in August 2008 for $625 million. For this achievement, he received a Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award, Before the founding of Creditex, Sunil worked at Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust where he developed their credit derivatives business in North America. Prior to that he worked for Lockheed as a software engineer designer, where he designed software for the NASA space program. 

Sunil holds a bachelors of science degree from Washington University and a masters degree from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Clarke Keough is the Managing Partner at Keough Capital, an investment and advisory firm which focuses on digital media. One of its most recent investments is the location based dating app Urban Signals. Clarke is also a partner at Marsys Digital which distributes digital content across a network and manages advertising content in real time.  

Before founding Keough Capital, Clarke was the CEO of Novus Communications, an aggregator and licensor of intellectual property in the emerging field networked digital advertising.  Prior to that he was a Managing Director of Allen & Company, the boutique investment bank founded by legendary media banker, Herb Allen. Over a 15-year career at Allen, Clarke worked in numerous areas, including new business generation, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and direct investments, where he managed the firm’s relationships with numerous money managers, both public and private.  His corporate relationships included McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Tri-Star Pictures, The Washington Post Company and, Corbis.  

Clarke earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and a masters degree from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Jennifer Hill is a venture attorney, business advisor and leader in the New York entrepreneurial community. She is the Chair of the Astia NYC Advisory Board, a venture accelerator that propels women’s full participation as entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies.

Having co-launched and led its East Coast operations, she is responsible for developing Astia’s position as a strong voice and a leading resource for women-led companies. She has also been instrumental in building a community of venture capitalists, angel investors, business professionals and start-ups across the technology, digital media, and life sciences sectors. She frequently appears as a business and legal commentator on MSNBC and serves a member of the AOL Small Business Board of Directors.

As an attorney, Jennifer represents technology and digital media companies startups through their lifecycle and venture capital investors. She counsels entrepreneurs on financing, M&A, commercial transactions, strategic partnerships, and IP licensing.

Jennifer began her career leading business and corporate development efforts are enterprise software companies such as Trilogy Software and Kewill E-Commerce. She has an AB in International Relations from Stanford University with Honors, a JD cum laude from the Northwestern University School of Law, and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Sunil is the founder of Pangea Investors, an early stage investment firm specializing in technology ventures. Among his most recent investments is SeatGeek, a DreamIT Ventures-backed startup. He is also a member the Information Technology Sector Network of the NYC Investment Fund. 

Prior to founding Pangea, he was the CEO of Creditex, the first e-trading platform for credit derivatives. He had founded the company in 1999 and served as the company’s CEO until it was sold in August 2008 for $625 million. For this achievement, he received a Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award, Before the founding of Creditex, Sunil worked at Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust where he developed their credit derivatives business in North America. Prior to that he worked for Lockheed as a software engineer designer, where he designed software for the NASA space program. 

Sunil holds a bachelors of science degree from Washington University and a masters degree from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Elgin Thompson is a Managing Director at The Williams Capital Group, a boutique investment bank headquartered in New York.  He leads the firm’s mergers & acquisitions team and manages its practice in early-stage investments.  

Prior to joining Williams, Elgin was the Vice President of Corporate Development for GridNetworks, Inc., a venture-backed distributor of high definition video content online.  Prior to that, he was a Vice President at Bear Stearns, focusing on digital media.  His 15 year career in investment banking and legal services includes various positions at Merrill Lynch and law firms Wildman Harrold and DLA Piper. During this time, he has closed more than $12 billion in strategic or financing transactions for clients including Time Warner, Nielsen, Veoh, GridNetworks, Deluxe Entertainment, GateHouse Media and Level 3 Communications.

Elgin is a competitive marathoner and serves on the Board of Directors of the Central Park Track Club, a USA Track & Field Elite Development Club.  He received a bachelor of arts degree from Northern Illinois University, a juris doctorate degree from Temple University and masters degree from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Clarke Keough is the Managing Partner at Keough Capital, an investment and advisory firm which focuses on digital media. One of its most recent investments is the location based dating app Urban Signals. Clarke is also a partner at Marsys Digital which distributes digital content across a network and manages advertising content in real time.  

Before founding Keough Capital, Clarke was the CEO of Novus Communications, an aggregator and licensor of intellectual property in the emerging field networked digital advertising.  Prior to that he was a Managing Director of Allen & Company, the boutique investment bank founded by legendary media banker, Herb Allen. Over a 15-year career at Allen, Clarke worked in numerous areas, including new business generation, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and direct investments, where he managed the firm’s relationships with numerous money managers, both public and private.  His corporate relationships included McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Tri-Star Pictures, The Washington Post Company and, Corbis.  

Clarke earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and a masters degree from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Jennifer Hill is a venture attorney at Gunderson Dettmer and a business advisor in the New York entrepreneurial community. She counsels entrepreneurs on financing structures, mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, strategic partnerships, and intellectual property licensing for technology and digital media companies.

She also serves on the Advisory Board of Astia.org, a non-profit organization that accelerates the participation of women in entrepreneurial ventures. Astia offers programs for high-growth start-ups looking to raise capital, refine strategies for sustainable growth and develop executive leadership.

Prior to launching Astia’s East Coast operations, Jen was an attorney specializing in venture capital law at Fenwick & West. Prior to that, she developed a foundation in business development while working at tech companies Kewill E-commerce and Trilogy Software. Jennifer holds a bachelor of arts degree from Stanford University, a juris doctorate from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern.