Upstate Capital Association of New York, the membership organization for private capital investors and transaction professionals across Upstate New York, has announced its 2024 Board of Directors. New this year, the organization has formed a President’s Council to recognize the ongoing contributions of past board members who continue to support the organization while supporting career development and succession for their colleagues.
Upstate Capital welcomes Dominic Mammarella (Hamilton Lane), Mike Shimazu (NYSERDA), Eric Choi (KeyBank), Chris Rodi (Woods, Oviatt Gilman), Heidi Knoblauch (NY Ventures), David Drahams (TechEngine Capital) and Holly Mergenhagen (Seneca Holdings) to the Board of Directors. This year’s inductees into the Upstate Capital President’s Council are David Helgerson, Managing Director, Hamilton Lane, Jennifer Tegan, Managing Director, NY Ventures, Sean Moskal, Senior Vice President, KeyBank and Jeff Lewis, Partner, The Bonadio Group.
Meet the new Upstate Capital Board Members
Dominic Mammarella, Private Equity Investor of Hamilton Lane will join the Executive Committee. Dom is a Principal on the Direct Equity team, he is responsible for leading the evaluation and due diligence of direct investment opportunities. Before joining Hamilton Lane in 2018, Dom was a Director with FS Investments, focused most recently on investment management related to private debt. Dom has previously held roles at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and T. Rowe Price and began his career as an analyst at Lehman Brothers.
Mike Shimazu, Senior Advisor for Business Growth and Innovation of NYSERDA: Mike has initiated and managed programs to promote the commercialization of clean energy and climate technology for the last 15 years. He started and grew a first-of-its-kind CleanTech Incubator program to support startup companies bringing such technologies to market, and created an Entrepreneurs-in-Residence program and other initiatives to bring executive talent into clean energy companies. Before NYSERDA, Mike was a co-founder of a venture-backed deep-tech startup and a senior university executive responsible for business development and technology commercialization.
Erica Choi, Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking at KeyBank: Erica is a commercial finance professional with experience across both the public and private sectors and is responsible for business development, portfolio management, and acting as a trusted advisor for Commercial Banking clients throughout the Capital Region and Northeast. Before joining KeyBank, Erica worked for Bank of America, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Beech-Nut Brand, and Kraft Foods.
Chris Rodi, Partner at Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP: Chris is a Business & Finance Department Partner. He focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and general corporate law & governance. Chris serves as Chair of the firm’s Cross Border Transactions practice group and is a member of the Management Committee which is responsible for general oversight and management of the firm.
Heidi Knoblauch, Senior Director, NY Ventures: At Empire State Development – New York State’s economic development arm – Heidi Knoblauch works with exceptional founders and fund managers to help create a thriving innovation ecosystem. In her current role, she helps manage a fund of funds that invests in accelerator managers who provide hands-on support to founders and supports start-up companies to access state-funded innovation assets.
David Drahms, Founder of TechEngine Capital and Venture Partner at Osage Venture Partners: David launched TechEngine Capital in 2023 to partner with technology entrepreneurs underserved by traditional venture capital and private equity firms. Before TechEngine Capital, he spent nearly 20 years investing in early-stage B2B software startups with Osage Venture Partners, where he currently serves as a Venture Partner. He joined Osage in 2005 to help form its first venture fund and played a lead or supporting role in funding over 50 startups across multiple funds.
Holly Mergenhagen, Director of Corporate Development of Seneca Holdings: Holly joined Seneca Holdings in 2021. As a member of the Corporate Development team, she is responsible for identifying and assessing new business opportunities for the company. Before joining Seneca Holdings, she provided investment advice to individuals and institutions at a large regional investment firm. She is also a licensed attorney in New York State and a descendant of the Seneca Nation.
Upstate Capital 2024 Board of Directors + President’s Council
Executive Committee
David Brown – Managing Partner, Impellent Ventures – Chair
Noa Conger Simons – President & CEO, Upstate Capital
Brian Model – Managing Partner, Topmark Partners
Randy Bianchi – Managing Partner, Lakelet Capital
Sam Ticknor – Principal, Union Hill Advisors
Ari David Kocen – Managing Member, Bluehenge Capital Partners – Treasurer
Michael Lasch – Managing Director, Pine Street Capital
Thomas Quinn – CEO, WNY Impact Investment Fund – Secretary
Dominic Mammarella, Principal, Private Equity Investor, Hamilton Lane
Board of Directors
Rami Katz – Chief Operating Officer, Excell Partners
Somak Chattopadhyay – Managing Partner, Armory Square Ventures
Vikram Agrawal – President & CEO, Levrx Technology Inc.
Nicholas Querques – Director of New Ventures, SUNY Research Foundation
David Dinolfo – Partner, The Bonadio Group
Pete Grum – Venture Partner, Advantage Capital
Kelsey Thomas – Senior Manager, Withum Holdings
Mike Shimazu – Senior Advisor for Business Growth and Innovation, NYSERDA
Erica Choi – Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking, KeyBank
Chris Rodi – Partner, Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP
Holly Mergenhagen – Director of Corporate Development, Seneca Holdings
President’s Council
David Helgerson – Managing Director, Hamilton Lane
Jennifer Tegan – Managing Director, NY Ventures
Sean Moskal – Senior Vice President, KeyBank
Jeff Lewis – Partner, The Bonadio Group