Chida Khatua
Founder & CEO, EquBot
EquBot is democratizing access to sophisticated Investment technology. Equbot is leading in using Artificial Intelligence in finding investment opportunities and quantifying the influencers of opportunities. Equbot innovative approach redefines how big data and AI can be used to disrupt finance industry. EquBot launched first AI-powered ETF in NYSE and gathered more than $150M in 3months. EquBot is bringing customizable Portfolio at scale for millions of investors.
Chida holds several patents to his credit. Chida started his career in CPU design at Intel and was director of engineering at Intel. Chida has also co-founded Bumper Glass an innovative AI Ad tech company. Chida holds Master from Stanford and Indian Institute of Science and MBA from Haas School of Business.
Chida frequently speaks at industry events including The Startup Conference, Inside Smart Beta, The FinTech School, and Practically AI.
Daphne Luong
Director of Engineering, Google
Daphne Luong is a director of engineering at Google, where she leads efforts in natural language understanding and human computation. Her expertise is in building technologies from the ground up, with experience across a range of startups and established companies. Prior to Google, Daphne worked at Alphabet/Nest where she was responsible for non-device software functions, including IoT device and camera cloud platforms, data services, Work with Nest developer program, security, eCommerce platform and enterprise energy services. At Microsoft, she led the spin-out of the Tellme IVR business into [24]7. ai where she managed a global team responsible for building and delivering enterprise-grade predictive consumer experience platforms and products.
Daphne is an active community volunteer who advises social entrepreneurs across the globe through Santa Clara University’s Global Social Benefit Institute; works with high school girls for Computer Science & Entrepreneurship through Technovation Challenges; mentors first generation local high school seniors to attending college through the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program. In the past, she has taught k-6th grade art (Los Altos Art Docents) and music (Music for Minor) at local public schools; coached FIRST Lego teams; led Communication Leadership Workshops for high school students; advised non-profit organizations through Columbia University Pangea program and The Tech Awards Laureate Mentor program. She has served on the board of Los Altos Art Docent and El Camino Women Hospital. She is the recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award, the Microsoft Silicon Valley Women's Inspiration Award and currently a board member of World Pulse.
Cindy Padnos
Founder and Managing Partner, Illuminate Ventures
Cindy Padnos, Founder and Managing Partner of Illuminate Ventures, is an innovator, a stereotype-breaker and a fierce advocate for all things entrepreneurial. She is a founder (both of a VC-backed tech startup and a VC firm), with a passion for enabling experimentation that can lead to the discovery of new business models and unique points of leverage.
Cindy bleeds B2B/Enterprise Tech – gaining the moniker “Queen B2B” and a place at the table with the top institutional investors in the category. As the founder and Managing Partner of Illuminate Ventures, an early stage VC firm Cindy leads a team that focuses exclusively on companies leveraging new technologies such as AI, NLP, messaging and cloud-based solutions. She has served on more than a dozen startup and public boards, helping to build market leaders like Allocadia, CafeX Communications and BrightEdge – and gaining successful exits at companies like Xactly Corporation (IPO NYSE: XTLY then acquired by Vista Equity Partners, Sense Platform (acquired by Cloudera) and Opsmatic (now part of New Relic).
Previously, Cindy was founder & CEO of Vivant (now ORCL), CEO of Acumen and VP marketing at Scopus (IPO). She has been recognized as one of Most Influential Women in Silicon Valley by the New York Times and Wired Magazine and is an active advocate for women in Tech. As a graduate of both the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Padnos has had the honor of offering commencement addresses at both schools.
Christine A. Parlour
Professor in Finance and Accounting, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley
Christine A. Parlour is the Sylvan C. Coleman chair in Finance and Accounting at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley. She has been at Berkeley Haas for over ten years, after moving there from Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, she served as a visiting economist at the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the past, she has been on the Nasdaq Economic Advisory board and is currently on the Steering Committee for the New Special Study of Securities Markets.
She has published in major journals both in Finance and Economics and been on their editorial boards. Most of her work is in institutionally complex areas such as Market Microstructure and Banking. Her current focus is on technology-enabled changes in the payments system, and the effect this may have on bank balance sheets; the role of regulation in the rise of shadow banking, and new emerging asset classes such as cryptocurrencies.
Ildiko Duckor
Partner, Pillsbury Law
Ildiko Duckor is co-leader of Pillsbury’s award-winning Investment Funds & Investment Management practice, which has won multiple HFM Week’s “Best Onshore Law Firm” service awards and commendation. She oversees the Emerging Manager Program, which provides packaged launch solutions to hedge fund startups.
Ildiko, who formerly practiced at other major law firms and as in-house counsel at a global investment firm, provides hedge fund, private equity and venture managers, investment advisers and CPOs with strategic advice on fund formation, structuring, operations, and U.S. and offshore private fund activities. She prepares and negotiates managed account, funds-of-one and subadvisory agreements; side letters with institutional and sovereign investors; and seed capital arrangements. Ildiko also handles securities, commodities and broker-dealer regulatory compliance matters, including registrations and filings, and advises on trading practices and internal controls.
Her representative experience includes fund formation and maintenance for quantitative equity long-short, systematic active equity strategy, and quant multi-strategy (equity, fixed income) managers; cryptoasset (cryptocurrency and other digital assets) managers; and FinTech space participants such as automated (robo) advisers with hedged equity strategy.
Ms. Duckor’s prior investment management experience includes both private practice (Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP in New York) and in-house (Barclays Global Investors, N.A., now BlackRock). Previous industry engagements include Chair of the policy committee of the California Hedge Fund Association and membership on the steering committee of the Association of Women in Alternative Investing. She frequently sponsors and speaks at 100 Women in Finance events.
Ms. Duckor graduated magna cum laude from the New York Law School and is admitted in California and New York.
