Team

Vinny Beranek Vinny is a Principal at Engine Ventures. He was previously a consultant in the Private Equity Group at the London and Boston offices of Bain & Company. At Bain, he advised private equity and corporate clients on investments across industry sectors with a primary focus on healthcare. Vinny holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Biomedical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the Czech Technical University.

Richard Collins Richard Collins is the Director of Research & Analytics at Engine Ventures. Before joining The Engine, Richard was the North American Research Director for IDTechEx, a market intelligence firm focussed on emerging technologies. Richard holds a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Oxford, which was funded by and completed in collaboration with a multinational chemical company, and an MChem from the same institution.

Chloe Holzinger Chloe is Director of Strategic Partnerships at Engine Ventures. Before joining The Engine, Chloe held market research positions at IHS Markit and Lux Research, where she advised clients on the global Li-ion battery supply chain, the battery systems powering the e-mobility and energy transition, and the startups developing these next-generation technologies. Chloe holds a MEng in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University and a BS in Marine Chemistry from Eckerd College.

Ian Johnston Ian is a Senior Associate at Engine Ventures. From his previous position at Putnam Associates, Ian brings experience addressing key business and therapeutic development questions for biopharmaceutical and healthcare clients. Before this, Ian worked at the Penn Center for Innovation, assessing technologies for their patent and market potential. Ian holds a PhD in Pharmacology from University of Pennsylvania. Ian received his BS in Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University.

Lakshana Huddar Lakshana is a Senior Associate at Engine Ventures. Lakshana brings over a decade of experience in academic research and the commercialization of climate-focused technologies. Before joining The Engine, Lakshana helped build Activate Boston, an entrepreneurial fellowship program supporting science innovators from concept to first product. Lakshana holds a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California - Berkeley, and both a MEng and BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London.

Patrick Sarver Patrick Sarver is an Associate at Engine Ventures. Before joining the team, he was a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT where he developed materials for atmospheric water harvesting and catalytic processes. Patrick previously worked in research and development at Novartis, conducting medicinal chemistry research for oncology drug discovery. Patrick holds a PhD in Chemistry from Princeton University and a BA in Chemistry from Wesleyan University.

Alina Hachigian Alina is a Program Coordinator at Engine Ventures. Prior to joining the fund, she worked as a legal researcher at UC Law SF investigating the legislative intent behind pharmaceutical law and producing data drive recommendations to protect consumers. She holds a BA from Harvard University in Psychology and Economics. At Harvard, she completed an honors thesis in the Daniel Gilbert lab that looked to understand how people conceptualize shifts in public opinion.

Lizzie Raymer Lizzie Raymer is an Executive Assistant at Engine Ventures. Before joining, Lizzie worked in support and operational roles in a variety of industries, including startups, higher education, and media. Lizzie earned an MA in Intercultural Communication for Business and Professions from University of London and received her BA in Sociology at Northeastern.

Jennifer Lange Jennifer Lange is an Executive Assistant at Engine Ventures. Prior to The Engine, Jen supported the Chief Auditor and CHRO at Silicon Valley Bank. Before SVB, she worked at State Street Bank supporting the Chief Compliance Officer. Before her work in the finance sector, Jen spent 14 years at a non-profit energy services company where she held various roles focused on climate change and renewable energy certificate markets. She holds a BA in Environmental Science from Boston University.

Ashley Patrician Ashley Patrician is an Executive Assistant at Engine Ventures. Previously, Ashley was a Senior Leadership & Project Coordinator at IDEO. She was responsible for supporting the Global Technology leadership team including IDEO's CTO and Director of Enterprise Architecture. In addition, Ashley managed contracts for IDEO's Global Technology products and created Help Articles for the company's end user knowledge base. Ashley graduated from Westfield State University with a BA in Communications focused on Public Relations.

Gareth Ross Gareth Ross is an Executive-in-Residence at Engine Ventures. Gareth joins with a wealth of experience in finance, strategy, tech & operations, having spent the past 14 years in leadership roles at MassMutual. He will focus on translating his expertise to address solutions for climate change at The Engine. At MassMutual, Gareth ultimately joined the executive team and ran technology, cybersecurity and underwriting. Prior to this, Gareth worked at General Motors, Deloitte Consulting and the World Bank. He attended Washington University, UPenn (MA), and Wharton School of Business (MBA).

Jenette Ashtekar Jenette Ashtekar is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Engine Ventures. Previously, Jenette was Head of Product at CIBO Technologies where she led the creation of a world class SaaS platform for generating carbon offsets from farmland. Earlier in career, Jenette spent more than a decade studying natural science with a focus on soil. She co-founded AgSoil Analytics based on her PhD and post-doctoral research. Jenette earned a PhD in Soil Science from Purdue University as well as an MS in Soil Science and a BS in Environmental Science & Natural Resources from The Ohio State University.

Ed Freedman Ed Freedman is a Special Advisor at Engine Ventures. Ed has over 20 years of leadership experience directing finance, legal and operational activities in companies across multiple industries including biotechnology, clean technology and venture capital. He combines an entrepreneurial approach to company-building with the strong analytical and organizational skills needed to address the complex challenges of highly-innovative businesses. Ed earned his JD from Boston College Law School and his BSBA in Accounting from Boston University.

Jim Matheson Jim Matheson is a Special Partner at Engine Ventures. He also serves as a member of the Harvard Business School faculty. Jim was one of the four General Partners who launched Flagship Pioneering. Previously, Jim was a Navy F-14/18 pilot with significant combat experience and tours as a TOPGUN Instructor and Officer-in-Charge of the Navy’s Nevada-based Adversary Squadron before retiring in 2008 as Commander. He earned his BS at the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Fiona Murray Fiona Murray is a Fellow-in-Residence at Engine Ventures. Fiona is a Professor and Associate Dean at the MIT School of Management. She is an international policy expert on the transformation of investments in science and technology into deep-tech start-up ventures that solve significant global challenges and create national advantage – from defense and security to health, food and water security. Fiona received her BA and MA from the University of Oxford in Chemistry. She subsequently moved to the United States and earned an AM and PhD from Harvard University in Applied Sciences.