Ivan Chen

Background - Hi I'm Ivan, I grew up in various places in Taiwan, Canada, and even spent 6 months in Naperville not too far from Gleacher. I currently lead PBM Product for Series C startup Rightway Healthcare where I oversee member experience, technology, and strategic partnerships - I led the industry's first PBM partnership with the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Pharmacy. I have a passion for building healthcare products including CVS Health's Diabetes program, Optum's clinical trials platform and started out my career at The Advisory Board Company doing healthcare corporate strategy. I grew up in the Nobel Laureate lab of Dr. Gregg Semenza where I am peer-reviewed published on triple-negative breast cancer. I launched here at Booth in Summer 2023 and hold a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the Johns Hopkins University.

Ask Me About - Healthcare innovation, health systems, product management, clinical trials, entrepreneurship, gene therapy, corporate strategy, eSports, basketball

Involvement in Entrepreneurship/VC - I started my first company out of Johns Hopkins called Forte Health where we wanted to incentivize healthy behaviors by building a mobile game and were seed-funded by the Baltimore entrepreneurial ecosystem. Since then I've worked on several projects and most recently I founded Ark Health, a clinical trials platform that was selected to 2024 NVC.

Fun Fact - Every city in the US I've spent more than a year in one a national sports championship: Baltimore Ravens in 2014, DC Nationals in 2019 and DC Capitals 2018, and Michigan Wolverines (Go Blue!) Football in 2023. Someone's going to pay me the big bucks one day to move!

Favorite recent books or podcast - Relentless Healthcare Value, Invest Like the Best, Dune by Frank Herbert.

Shai Basys

Background - Hi! I'm Shai. I'm grew up here in Chicago but spent the last few years in the Washington, D.C. area and overseas. My background is in climate and sustainability. I'm currently a a MBA Investment Fellow at Cisco supporting their Climate Commitment. I help the team invest in pre-seed to series A climate startups and early stage climate funds. I completed my undergrad at Georgetown University and have a Master's Degree from Duke University. I launched in Fall 2023!

"Ask me About" - Venture Capital, impact investing, climate tech, VC happy hours in Chicago

Involvement in Entrepreneurship/VC - I was a Chicago:Blend venture fellow in Fall 2023 and currently angel invest with a syndicate. I'm also the Chicago co-chair for VC Unleashed, a community of active and aspiring VCs.

Fun Fact - I've travelled to over 50 countries but have never been to Canada. I'm hoping to in 2024.

Favorite recent books or podcast - Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang

Luke Greenfield

Background - I grew up on a farm about an hour South of Chicago and always was curious about how things worked. This led me to pursue a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I decided to minor in food science and focus on the consumer products and food industries leading me to work for Clorox, PepsiCo, and now Mars in manufacturing and R&D roles. I have a passion for working to provide solutions for unmet consumer's needs. My experience at Booth has led me to focus on broadening my skillset into entrepreneurship, finance, and strategy. In my free time I enjoy tennis, snowboarding, spontaneously traveling, and everything involving physical activity or being outside.

"Ask me About" - Consumer products and the food industry, SPITC/PE lab, NVC, identifying consumer needs, and Chicago from a local's perspective!

Involvement in Entrepreneurship/VC - My initial exposure to entrepreneurship was independently working for neighbors on odd jobs throughout high school to provide an extra source of income. This independence and ownership piqued my interest and since then I have participated in SPITC/PE lab and NVC. In my current role at Mars, I work in R&D and work to launch new products and brands within the business.

Fun Fact - Each of the last three years I have started a new hobby. My first new hobby is snowboarding (see you on the Booth Ski trip!), followed by beach volleyball, and most recently golfing because apparently golf and business school go hand-in-hand.

Favorite recent books or podcast - My current favorite podcast is the Y Combinator podcast because it overlaps with a lot of concepts I have been exposed to at Booth and also provides different perspectives.

Qixin Chen

Background - I was born in China and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2014 from University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. I moved to Chicago in 2015 to pursue a master's degree of public administration from University of Illinois - Chicago. I have served as a budget/financial analyst for the Illinois Governor's Office of Management Budget and the University of Chicago Budget Office. Currently, I am the Senior Investment Operations Analyst at the University of Chicago Investment Office. I launched here at Booth in Fall 2022.

"Ask me About" - Endowment, Investment Operations, Capital Budgeting, VCIC, Dog Park & Play

Involvement in Entrepreneurship/VC - My entrepreneurship may have been passed down to me from my family, since my father, uncle, and cousin have all committed their lives to running a family business. In my current role, I've had the opportunity to work with talents (also fellow Boothies) who underwrite investments in VC funds, co-investments, and UChicago start-ups.

Fun Fact - As a kid, I earned first place in several local Youth Chinese Chess competitions. In fifth grade, I represented the city and won a bronze medal in the National Youth Chinese Chess competition in my age group. One last thing, the phonetic spelling of my first name Qixin will be [chee-sheen].

Favorite recent books or podcast - Acquired, Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy