Ventures - HEARST

Kenneth A. Bronfin is senior managing director of Hearst Ventures, the corporate venture capital unit of Hearst.  

Bronfin joined Hearst in 1996 and has held a number of leadership positions at the company. He previously served as president of Hearst Interactive Media and Technology Group, which led Hearst’s efforts in digital media alongside the company’s media operating groups.

Under Bronfin’s leadership, Hearst Ventures has grown to become one of the most active and successful corporate venture funds in the world with more than $1 billion invested to date. Hearst Ventures currently operates in the United States, China, Europe and Israel. In addition to Bronfin’s role driving the growth and success of Hearst Ventures, he acts as a strategic resource to Hearst businesses as they pursue their own digital operational and M&A strategies.

Previously, Bronfin was with NBC for over 10 years, where he served as general manager of NBC’s digital television group, a founder of the Interactive Media Group and vice president of NBC Cable and Business Development. Bronfin began his career as an engineering manager at an early-stage marine technology business in New Orleans.  

In addition to his responsibilities serving on the boards of Hearst Ventures’ portfolio businesses, Bronfin also serves on the board of directors of Hasbro Corporation, as well as a broad array of civic, educational and not-for-profit social services boards.  

Bronfin holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in business from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Scott English is a senior managing director and co-head of Hearst Ventures and pursues strategic investments and acquisitions for Hearst in digital media. English has invested in, and served as a board director or observer of, over 16 companies. Most recently, English led the investments in portfolio companies BuzzFeed, Pandora, Relationship Science, Brightcove, Sling Media and WideOrbit. His primary focus is on Hearst’s investments in the United States.

English joined Hearst in 1995 and has had a variety of operational and investment responsibilities during his tenure. Aside from his Ventures activities, he has helped oversee two of Hearst’s digital businesses and acted as interim CEO of UGO Networks. In his first position at Hearst, English ran business development and strategy for Hearst’s HomeArts.com network of magazine websites, culminating in the merger of HomeArts.com and Women.com (iVillage). Prior to Hearst, he worked for Details magazine at Conde Nast.

English graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College and earned his master’s degree in business from Columbia Business School.

Katie Hu is a managing director of Hearst Ventures and the general manager at Hearst Ventures Asia Pacific, where she sources, executes and manages Hearst’s early stage TMT investments in Asia Pacific. Since joining in 2014, Hu has been involved in many investments in early stage companies, including LingoChamp and Kujiale. Prior to joining the Ventures team, Hu was a strategy and investments associate at Hearst China, where she managed Hearst’s various businesses and assets across China.

Prior to Hearst, Hu served as an investment banker at Credit Suisse Hong Kong, where she was mainly responsible for the origination and execution of deals in the consumer, retail and healthcare industries. Her deal experience spans across a variety of financial products including IPOs, M&As, debt and derivatives offerings.

Hu graduated from the University of Auckland with a first-class-honors bachelor’s degree in commerce and received her master’s degree in finance and economics from the London School of Economics.

David Famolari is managing director of Hearst Ventures. Previously, David was a director with Verizon Ventures, where he led investments in Beamr, FanDuel, Playsight, PrecisionHawk, Skyward and Swiftmile. He also oversaw investments and participation in the Techstars IoT and Mobility programs as well as the creation of the Verizon Media Tech Venture Studio.

Famolari began his career in advanced technology R&D at Bell Labs. He is the author of more than 50 technical publications and an inventor of more than 70 granted and pending patents.

Famolari has served on the advisory board for the National Venture Capital Association, the board of the Small UAV Coalition, the strategic advisory board for Grand Central Tech, the investment advisory committee for Ben Franklin Technology Partners and the Wharton employer advisory board.

Famolari earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in business from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Shaneel Parekh is a principal at Hearst Ventures, based in London. He is responsible for sourcing and executing investments across Europe and Israel.

Parekh previously worked at Seligman Private Equity Select, where he was responsible for the screening of investment opportunities, financial analysis, structuring, due diligence and portfolio management. Prior to that, he worked at a venture debt fund Columbia Lake Partners where he focused on enterprise software and consumer internet investments across Western Europe. Parekh started his career at PwC as a management consultant working on buy-side and vendor due diligence, synergy assessments and integrations.

Parekh holds a Master of Science in finance and private equity from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in economics from Queen Mary University of London.

Grace Dhanraj is a principal at Hearst Ventures, based in New York. She is responsible for sourcing and executing investments based in North America, with a specialization in healthcare technology. She is responsible for Hearst Ventures’ investments in PowerToFly, RxLightning and Basil Systems.

Prior to joining Hearst, Dhanraj was an investment associate at Overton Venture Capital in New York and at Investible in Sydney, Australia. She also focused on venture and growth-stage impact investments, helping launch the first impact investment fund at Harvard Business School. Dhanraj founded Bloom Bakery, a sustainable seafood bakery, to raise awareness about the dangers of the overpopulation of jellyfish to marine ecosystems.

Dhanraj began her career as a portfolio manager within the Multi-Asset Solutions group at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. She earned a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Harvard College.
 

Isabel Lo is an associate at Hearst Ventures, responsible for sourcing and executing investments in Asia Pacific. She is based in Shanghai.

Previously, she worked as a senior investment associate at Amphora Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm managing local government funds across China. She was mainly responsible for deals in advanced manufacturing, business-to-business services and agricultural technology sectors. She began her career as a corporate development analyst and assistant to the managing director at Hearst China. In this position, her deal experience involved early-stage technology, media and telecommunications investments, mergers and acquisitions, and joint venture establishment.

Isabel earned her bachelor’s degree in international journalism from the Communication University of China. She specialized in journalism and mass media.