Investor · Educator · Founder
Six years deploying capital into the technologies shaping the next decade — biotech, AI, defense, energy. Now building Rivendell, a venture helping ambitious people forge careers built for the AI age.
Investor by training. Educator by instinct. Building Rivendell because someone has to teach the next generation how to actually navigate this.
I’ve spent the last six years at Actium Group leading hard-tech investments across biotech, semiconductors, defense, and energy — deploying 8-figure checks and building a commercialization partnership with UT Southwestern, the #2 academic medical center in Texas.
Before that, I designed the Character & Leadership Program at St. Mark’s School of Texas, where I learned how to build frameworks that actually help ambitious people grow. I studied Management Science & Engineering at Stanford, ran a sub-3-hour marathon in New York, finished three Ironman 70.3s, and host the Learning from Leaders podcast for the Southwestern Medical Foundation.
Rivendell is what happens when those three threads — a capital allocator’s eye, an educator’s instinct, and working knowledge of where the world is actually going — get pointed at helping ambitious people build the careers they actually want in the AI age.
Currently Building
A Career Strategy venture for the AI age. We help ambitious people build the skill stacks, strategic plans, and proof-of-work portfolios that earn them a seat at the frontier — instead of being commoditized by it.
Explore with purpose.
Grow with intention.
Connect with trust.
Lead with vitality.
Six Years at the Frontier
As Vice President at Actium Group — a Dallas-based VC/PE firm focused on biotech and frontier technology — I led the full investment lifecycle from sourcing to active portfolio support across the sectors actually shaping the next decade.
Next-generation sequencing & multi-omics platform. Pre-IPO lead across multiple rounds.
RNA therapeutics & drug delivery platform. Series A lead.
Neuro monoclonal antibody development platform for MS & ALS indications. Seed lead.
Also active in the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub and built sourcing relationships across SMU, UT Dallas, UT Austin, Texas A&M, and Rice. Continuing-education work at Harvard Medical School (Cancer Genomics & Precision Oncology), Harvard Business School (Disruptive Strategy), and MIT (AI: Business Strategy).
Domains
Years of investment due diligence and partnership work have built a substantive, hands-on understanding of the sectors reshaping the global economy.
Drug development pipelines, genomics, clinical-stage companies, and the regulatory landscape of modern medicine.
Foundation models, semiconductor infrastructure, and the enterprise software layer driving the AI build-out.
Dual-use technologies, national security applications, and the growing commercial–defense intersection.
Clean energy infrastructure, grid modernization, and next-generation power solutions for a decarbonizing economy.
As a Teaching Fellow at St. Mark’s — consistently ranked among the top all-boys private schools in the U.S. — I helped to design and to build the school’s signature Character & Leadership Program: curriculum, digital platform, and the cross-faculty buy-in to deploy it across Lower, Middle, and High schools. I also coached the swimming and water polo teams (and an affiliated club team outside school), and TA’d across English, History, and Computer Science.
Built the C&L Program from the ground up — frameworks for values, integrity, and leadership habits.
Shipped a digital platform to support student use across grade levels.
Drove adoption across teachers, administrators, and students. Still engaged today as a volunteer Class Agent.
I sit down with scientists pushing the frontier, biotech founders building companies that turn research into therapies, and veteran leaders whose stories are worth preserving. The format is unhurried; the goal is the stuff behind the polished bio.
Frontier-level conversations with leading scientists pushing the limits of human knowledge.
Candid talks on company building, fundraising, and the grit required to bring therapies to market.
Service, sacrifice, and the timeless principles that define leadership under pressure.
Creative Pursuits
The camera and the keyboard are how I think out loud. Two blogs, long-form essays on X, and an adventure-photography practice that started as a way to make sense of mountains and ended up paying for itself.
Two blogs — 8th Summit and Dear Everybody — plus long-form essays on X. Topics: business, leadership, health and wellness, adventure, and personal growth.
Worked professionally as an event photographer and still shoot adventure photography in the mountains. Another lens for making sense of the world.
Wired for Endurance
The discipline required to finish a race translates directly to how I approach everything else. Below: the receipts.
Top 5% of marathon finishers worldwide.
Twice under 5 hours. USA Triathlon Nationals Qualifier.
Consistent competitor across a variety of disciplines.
When the Work is Done
A life worth living shows up in the texture, not the title line. A few of the things I make space for.
Every year I organize and host a 20+ person ski trip — every logistical detail handled so friends just show up and experience the trip. The best memories are still made in the mountains.
When the slopes close, I run the kitchen. Multi-course meals for large groups, with the same focus and attention I bring to the day job.
Community
I serve on the Steering Committee of The Cary Council, a UT Southwestern initiative that brings together Dallas leaders to fund early-career scientists — the next generation of medical breakthroughs.
Bringing together Dallas leaders and philanthropists around a shared mission of scientific advancement.
Generating critical resources that give early-career scientists runway to pursue bold, high-impact research.
Serving in a leadership capacity to shape the direction, strategy, and growth of the Council’s programming.
Let’s Talk
Whether you’re a founder building something ambitious, an investor exploring the frontier of biotech and technology, or someone who wants to sharpen the next decade of their career — I’m always open to a great conversation.