Ömer Er is the Founder and Managing Partner of MiddleBridgePartners, a boutique venture capital firm investing in early stage companies of the new economy in the US with a very diverse industry focus. He oversees more than 10 portfolio companies. Ömer started his career at the world's now largest law firm, Dentons, as a corporate attorney. He provided legal, public policy and corporate strategic advice to several multinational corporations such as LehmanBrothers, Newscorp (FOX, Myspace), Turner Broadcasting (CNN-TNT), Shell, and Nokia in complex cross-border M&A transactions and foreign direct investments in different jurisdictions. With a special interest in a global free market economy, Ömer has published articles and editorials on foreign direct investments.  

Sinem Saniye is an award-winning singer and songwriter from New York City. Born in Germany with Turkish family roots, her music channels a sound that skirts pop with hints of jazz. Sinem worked with Grammy-Award-winning producers Mark Plati, Philip A. Jimenez, Henri Scars Struck, and Greg Calbi on her debut album “When I Don’t Sleep..”, which was released to much critical acclaim. Delta Airlines featured a song from the album, “A Certain Kind Of Lovely” on their inflight music program and magazine, and in 2011, the same song was chosen for a compilation CD entitled “Songs of Love for Japan,” to raise funds for Japan earthquake relief, alongside notable female artists such as Tori Amos, Sarah Barreilles, Regina Spektor, Lady Gaga, and Ani DiFranco, to name a few.

Efe is a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded a number of start-ups including AraTurca, SanalAkce, Kannas Energy LLC and Starters Lab.  He currently serves as CEO of Derivative Technology LLC (www.derivativetech.com), an information security and risk management consultancy working with clients in Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the US. Established in 2002, Derivative Technology currently serves a range of companies in Silicon Valley from Fortune 500’s to start-ups. The company focuses on cybersecurity, information and risk management, information security architectures, and regulatory compliance.

Tolga Kurtoğlu is Vice President and Director of the System Sciences Lab (SSL) at PARC. Research in SSL focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning, control, planning, optimization, and high performance analytics for a variety of cyber-physical system applications serving Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), CAD/CAM,  Transportation, Energy, and Aerospace and Defense sectors.