THE TEAM
Join us on this journey to solve the world's greatest challenges
ANDREW D IVE
Andrew is the most active seed investor in food with 50+ investments globally.
Andrew is a Board Member at Tufts Nutrition Council, is Procter & Gamble Brand Management trained, and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.
DR. DALAL ALGHAWAS
Dr.Dalal is part of BIV's technical team. She is a scientific Advisor to Swiss Vanquest AG in Switzerland, and conducted research and development for The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.
She has a PhD in Food Science and Technology from University of Hong Kong, a Master of Science in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, The Manchester Metropolitan University and a BSc, Biological and Biomedical Science, The University of Manchester
DR. MATTHEW ZHAO
Dr. Matthew is part of BIV's technical team.
He is a food technologist at Food Innovation Resource Centre and a Project Engineer at Essential Engineering & Construction focused on designing process/packaging for food/chemical plants.
Microbiology laboratory at SATS
He has a PhD in Food Technology at Massey University and a BA with honours in Food Technology at Massey University
TOM MASTROBUONI
Tom is the Chief Investment Officer for Big Idea Ventures (“BIV”), a New York and Singapore-based venture capital firm focused on solving the world’s greatest challenges by backing the world’s best entrepreneurs.
Prior to joining BIV, Tom was a Founding Partner and Chief Financial Officer of Tyson Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Tyson Foods. While at Tyson, Tom led investments in Beyond Meat, Clear Labs, FoodLogiQ, Future Meat Technologies, Memphis Meats, MycoTechnology, New Wave Foods, Tovala and BIV’s New Protein Fund.
Tom has nearly 20 years of experience in alternative asset management and finance. Prior to joining Tyson, he held several CFO positions at investment firms and began his career in public accounting. Tom received a BS in Accountancy from Villanova University, is a Certified Public Accountant (NY) and holds the Chartered Global Management Accountant designation from the AICPA. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and their four children.
KITTY LIANG
Kitty Liang is the Program Associate at BIV's New York office. Previously, she worked at Quake Capital's New York & LA offices, where she organized events, was in charge of design, university programs, and helped with accelerator operations.
She has a B.S in Management and Sustainable Business and a minor in Studio Art from New York University's Stern School of Business
Fun Facts: Reformed golfer. Fan of mixology and good design.
Greatest Weaknesses: Bubble tea. Nice people.
Find Kitty on LinkedIn
ABBY LYALL
Abby Lyall is the Program Director for Big Idea Ventures' NYC accelerator, where she focuses on identifying top plant-based and alternative protein companies for investment and helping founders grow and scale their businesses. Prior to joining the BIV team, Abby was a Senior Associate and founding team member at Quake Capital, an industry agnostic VC and accelerator program with four locations across the US. She has previously founded a company in the edtech space and holds a degree in Finance and Data Science from NYU's Stern School of Business.
MIA MEDICUS
Mia Medicus is the Program Manager at Big Idea Ventures.
She previously worked as an analyst for an NYC-based family office where she assisted in research and strategy as well as operations for several internally managed direct investments. She holds a degree in Economics from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and is a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the International Honor Society for Economics.
Fun Facts: Wannabe DJ. Once-avid figure skater.
Greatest Weaknesses: Matcha lattes. Corgis. Black Mirror.
