Patrick Zalupski, founder and CEO of Dream Finders Homes, built one of the fastest-growing homebuilders in the United States by focusing on asset-light land strategies and disciplined capital allocation. After founding the company in 2008, Zalupski emphasized lot optioning, regional market expertise, and operational efficiency, allowing Dream Finders to scale rapidly while maintaining strong margins. The company went public in 2021, cementing its position as a major player in residential construction across high-growth Sun Belt markets. Zalupski’s approach blends entrepreneurial speed with conservative balance-sheet management in a cyclical industry.

Patrick Soon-Shiong, physician, biotech entrepreneur, and investor, built one of the most consequential careers at the intersection of medicine, science, and capital. After developing the cancer drug Abraxane, which he sold to Celgene in a multibillion-dollar deal, Soon-Shiong went on to found and back numerous life-sciences companies focused on immunotherapy, data-driven medicine, and personalized healthcare. Beyond biotech, he is the owner of the Los Angeles Times and has invested heavily in medical research, AI-enabled health systems, and pandemic preparedness. His work reflects a long-term ambition to reengineer healthcare around biology, data, and scalable innovation.

Patrick Ryan, founder and CEO of Ryan Specialty Group, built a global specialty insurance powerhouse by focusing on complex, hard-to-place risks underserved by traditional carriers. A veteran of the industry who previously founded Aon, Ryan launched Ryan Specialty in 2010 to create a wholesale brokerage and underwriting platform centered on expertise, analytics, and specialty distribution. Under his leadership, the firm scaled rapidly through organic growth and acquisitions, went public, and became a key intermediary for insurers and brokers worldwide. Ryan’s career reflects decades of industry shaping, disciplined execution, and category creation in specialty insurance.

Patrick Hanrahan is a pioneering computer graphics researcher and Stanford professor whose work helped define modern real-time rendering and GPU-driven visual computing. Best known as a co-creator of Pixar’s RenderMan rendering system, he laid the technical foundations for photorealistic computer animation used across film and media for decades. In academia and industry, Hanrahan’s research bridged graphics hardware and software, influencing the evolution of programmable GPUs and real-time graphics pipelines. Widely respected for translating deep theory into practical systems, he remains one of the most influential figures in computer graphics and visual computing.

Patrick Collison, cofounder and CEO of Stripe, built one of the world’s most important financial infrastructure companies by making online payments programmable, global, and developer-friendly. Launching Stripe in 2010 with his brother John, Collison focused on simplifying complex banking rails into clean APIs, enabling millions of businesses—from startups to global enterprises—to transact online. Under his leadership, Stripe expanded into billing, fraud prevention, payouts, and financial tooling that power a large share of the internet economy. Known for intellectual rigor and long-term thinking, Collison has become a defining architect of modern fintech.

Parker Conrad, founder and CEO of Rippling, is a serial entrepreneur who built one of the fastest-growing workforce management platforms by unifying HR, IT, and finance into a single system of record. After early ventures including Zenefits, Conrad launched Rippling in 2016 with a focus on deep integration, automation, and global scalability, helping companies manage employees’ devices, payroll, benefits, and access from one platform. Known for product intensity and operational rigor, he has positioned Rippling as a category-defining company in modern enterprise software.

Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus and Anduril Industries, is a technologist and defense entrepreneur who has reshaped both virtual reality and modern defense technology. After creating Oculus VR as a teenager and selling it to Facebook, Luckey launched Anduril to apply Silicon Valley software principles to national security, building autonomous systems, AI-driven surveillance, and advanced defense platforms for governments. Known for bold ideas and rapid execution, he has become a polarizing but highly influential figure at the intersection of technology, defense, and geopolitics.

Pablo Legorreta, founder and CEO of Royalty Pharma, built a category-defining firm by pioneering royalty-based investing in biopharmaceutical innovation. After founding the company in 1996, Legorreta created a model that provides non-dilutive capital to drug developers in exchange for royalty streams on approved medicines, helping finance breakthroughs while managing risk through diversified cash flows. Under his leadership, Royalty Pharma scaled into a multibillion-dollar, publicly traded platform that partners with leading biotech companies and academic institutions worldwide, reshaping how life-science innovation is funded.

P. J. Hyett, cofounder of GitHub, helped create the platform that became the default home for modern software collaboration, reshaping how developers build, review, and ship code at global scale. As GitHub evolved from a developer tool into a foundational layer of the internet’s software stack, Hyett played a key role in its early product DNA and community-first growth, helping turn open-source momentum into a dominant enterprise platform. GitHub’s rise culminated in its landmark acquisition by Microsoft, cementing Hyett’s place among the entrepreneurs who defined the modern developer economy.

Osman Kibar, founder and CEO of Samara, is a biotech entrepreneur focused on regenerative medicine, aiming to restore organ function rather than manage disease. Trained as a materials scientist, Kibar launched Samara to develop therapies that activate the body’s innate repair mechanisms, starting with severe osteoarthritis. By combining developmental biology with advanced drug discovery, he has positioned the company at the frontier of tissue regeneration. Kibar’s work reflects a long-horizon approach to biotech innovation centered on curative science.

Orlando Bravo, cofounder and managing partner of Thoma Bravo, built one of the most powerful private equity franchises in software by applying a disciplined, repeatable playbook to mission-critical technology businesses. After early success investing in cybersecurity and enterprise software, Bravo scaled Thoma Bravo into a dominant global platform known for operational improvement, buy-and-build strategies, and long-term value creation. His focus on recurring revenue models and founder-aligned execution has reshaped how private equity approaches software at scale.

Orion Hindawi, cofounder and CEO of Tanium, built one of the most influential private cybersecurity companies by redefining how large organizations manage and secure their endpoints in real time. Partnering with his father, computer scientist David Hindawi, he helped develop Tanium’s peer-to-peer architecture, enabling unprecedented visibility and control across massive enterprise networks. Under his leadership, Tanium became a trusted platform for governments and Fortune 500 companies, earning a reputation for technical rigor, security credibility, and disciplined growth while remaining privately held.

Oren Zeev, founder of Zeev Ventures, is a contrarian growth investor known for backing category-defining technology companies at pivotal moments. After early success in private equity and distressed investing, Zeev shifted to long-term minority investments, helping scale businesses such as Chegg, Audible, and TripActions. His hands-on, founder-aligned approach emphasizes durable unit economics, product leadership, and patient capital. Operating largely outside traditional venture cycles, Zeev has built a reputation for high-conviction bets that compound over time.

Olivier Pomel, cofounder and CEO of Datadog, built one of the most important cloud observability platforms by anticipating the shift to distributed, containerized infrastructure. After early engineering roles and time at Wireless Generation, Pomel launched Datadog in 2010 to unify monitoring across servers, applications, logs, and security in a single, developer-friendly platform. Under his leadership, Datadog scaled rapidly with the rise of cloud-native architectures, serving enterprises and high-growth startups alike, and went public in 2019. Known for product focus and technical clarity, Pomel has helped define how modern software is built, observed, and secured at scale.

Noubar Afeyan, founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, is a leading biotech entrepreneur and venture creator known for inventing companies at the intersection of science and breakthrough innovation. Through Flagship, he has co-founded and incubated dozens of life-sciences companies, most notably Moderna, helping pioneer the mRNA platform that reshaped vaccine development and global public health. Trained as a chemical engineer, Afeyan combines deep scientific rigor with venture discipline, backing long-horizon technologies across biology, health, and sustainability. His work has made Flagship a cornerstone of modern biotech company creation.

Norman Braman, founder and chairman of Braman Automotive Group, built one of the largest luxury auto dealership empires in the United States by focusing on premium brands, prime real estate, and disciplined operations. Starting in the 1970s, Braman expanded aggressively in South Florida, assembling a portfolio that includes top marques such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Rolls-Royce. Beyond automotive retail, he is a prominent civic figure and philanthropist, investing heavily in healthcare, education, and urban development in Miami. Braman’s career blends entrepreneurial scale with sustained local impact.

Noam Gottesman, cofounder and managing partner of GLG Partners, built one of Europe’s most successful hedge funds by combining global macro insight with disciplined risk management. After cofounding GLG in 1995, he helped grow the firm into a multibillion-dollar asset manager before selling it to Man Group in a landmark deal. Beyond finance, Gottesman has become a prominent investor and philanthropist, with significant interests in art, media, and education, reflecting a career that spans markets, culture, and long-term capital stewardship.

Niraj Shah, cofounder and CEO of Wayfair, helped build one of the world’s largest online home-goods retailers by reimagining how furniture and décor are discovered, sold, and delivered at scale. Starting the business in 2002 as a collection of niche e-commerce sites, Shah guided Wayfair’s evolution into a vertically integrated platform spanning logistics, private labels, and global sourcing. Known for data-driven execution and long-term conviction, he has steered the company through rapid growth, a public listing, and the complexities of last-mile fulfillment in bulky goods, reshaping e-commerce for the home category.

Nikil Viswanathan, cofounder and CEO of Alchemy, has built one of the most critical infrastructure companies in the Web3 ecosystem, providing the backend platform that powers thousands of blockchain applications. After graduating from Stanford, Viswanathan partnered with Joe Lau to launch Alchemy in 2017, positioning it as the developer layer for Ethereum and other major blockchains. Under his leadership, Alchemy scaled rapidly by focusing on reliability, tooling, and enterprise-grade infrastructure, earning adoption from leading crypto startups, Fortune 500 companies, and global institutions. Known for his product-driven mindset and ability to translate complex systems into usable platforms, Viswanathan has become a central figure in the maturation of blockchain technology.

Nicolas Berggruen, investor and philanthropist, built a global reputation as a contrarian thinker blending capital, policy, and long-term societal vision. Founder of Berggruen Holdings and the Berggruen Institute, he has invested across real estate, finance, and special situations while championing ideas around governance reform, technology, and globalization. Known for his unconventional lifestyle and intellectual focus, Berggruen has positioned himself less as a traditional financier and more as a patron of cross-disciplinary thought, convening global leaders to address structural challenges facing modern societies.