Erick is one of the co-organizers of Freedom: Celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride at the NYSE.

Erick Diaz joined the New York Stock Exchange in 2022 as the Head of EMEA Capital Markets, responsible for working with private and public companies across the region considering a US listing. Erick has a 20-year career in US and European equity capital markets, executing IPOs and public capital raises. Erick joined the NYSE from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW), a financials specialist bank, as a director of UK / European ECM. Prior to KBW, he worked in New York and London in various ECM roles at Morgan Stanley, Fox-Pitt Kelton and Macquarie. Erick is based in NYSE’s London office and is a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in the workplace.

Matan is one of the co-organizers of Freedom: Celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride at the NYSE.

Matan joined the New York Stock Exchange in 2023, responsible for working with high-growth private companies considering a public listing. Matan is a seasoned financial professional with a diverse background in banking, technology, and entrepreneurship. Most recently Matan was an independent advisor to small & medium-sized tech enterprises and Family Offices, helping them with their business development and fund-raising needs. Prior to that Matan worked as a banker at J.P. Morgan for a decade, in London, Amsterdam and New York, covering clients across all industry segments. Matan is an MBA graduate of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he was Chair of the school’s LGBTQ Business Club and holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Tel Aviv University. He has served in the Israeli Defense Forces, analyzing political and diplomatic intelligence, and is fluent in Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish and English.

Lule Demmissie is the US CEO of eToro, the trading and investing platform that empowers you to invest, share and learn. She helms the strategic business vision for all of eToro’s American operations while building a customer-centric platform. Prior to eToro, Lule served as the President of Ally Invest, as Managing Director of Investment Products & Digital Guidance at TD Ameritrade, and with leading investment firms such as Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and Merrill Lynch.

A fintech executive possessing intersectional identities including woman of color and LGBTQ , Lule offers needed and underrepresented perspectives on investment challenges facing a variety of communities. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Smith College, an M.B.A from Columbia Business School, a CIMA designation from the Investments & Wealth Institute and the 7, 66 and 24 securities licenses.

Brian Gumbel is a seasoned business and cybersecurity leader with a proven track record of driving transformative revenue growth. Recently appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Dataminr, a revolutionary real-time AI platform that delivers the earliest warnings on high impact events and critical information to cyber and physical security teams, Brian oversees the company’s next growth phase by spearheading their global enterprise strategy – across public and private sales, operations, customer success, marketing, and partnerships. He brings over 25 years of success in building high-performance teams, optimizing operations, and fueling go-to-market strategies. Most recently, Brian served as President and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Armis, transforming it from an early-stage cybersecurity startup into the #1 cyber asset management company. During this time, Armis achieved Unicorn status and a run-rate approaching $200M in revenue. Additionally, Brian was instrumental in driving cross-functional programs, establishing valuable customer and partner relationships, and led a 350-person team to success. Prior to joining Armis, Brian managed world-class sales functions at Forescout Technologies and helped take the company public, as well as held prior commercial and government sales leadership roles at Tanium, McAfee, and Cisco.

Extending beyond direct leadership roles, Brian has served on various boards, lending his strategic acumen to guide multiple companies both in the private and public sector. His contributions have demonstrably led to significant achievements, including navigating companies through strategic acquisitions and exits. Most notably, Brian is a recognized champion for diversity and inclusion. A passionate advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and a staunch supporter of women in business and technology, he brings a commitment tofostering a more equitable industry to all his endeavors.

Phil Schraeder is an executive and recognized thought leader in digital advertising and contextual technologies…who loves fashion and EDM music. As Chief Executive Officer of GumGum, the leading contextual intelligence company, Phil Schraeder believes that we don’t need to know who people are in order to deliver relevant, engaging and effective digital advertising. As the CEO, he is responsible for GumGum’s success in leading the industry in privacy-first, contextual intelligence technologies based on a consumer’s mindset, and not their personal data. Phil is passionate about making advertising experiences better for consumers by ushering the industry into mindset-first, privacy-forward solutions in an exciting and fast-moving digital ecosystem.

Schraeder, who joined GumGum in 2011, served previously as the company’s President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. In those roles, he developed the management, revenue, planning, accounting, controls and human resources infrastructures that supported the company’s rapid expansion and growth. Prior to joining GumGum, Schraeder wore a variety of finance and accounting based hats at companies like Verifi, RealD, New Regency Entertainment, and KPMG.

Phil regularly contributes to outlets like Advertising Week, Entrepreneur, and AdExchanger, and frequently speaks at engagements and industry events such as Cannes, AdExchanger Industry Preview, the IAB and the 4A’s. In 2022, Phil was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Greater LA program.

Schraeder is a fierce advocate for LGBTQIA+ equality and lives by the mantra, "Don't spend time with anyone or anywhere you can't be your authentic self."

Trinity Chavez is the Lead Anchor for the New York Stock Exchange where she reports across multiple platforms. On NYSE TV LIVE, Trinity provides live coverage around the opening bell, providing a play-by-play of IPO’s, business acquisitions and combinations as well as other milestone events in the financial sector. She also hosts Taking Stock with Trinity Chavez where she engages in dynamic conversations with industry leaders and dives deep into the world of finance, economy and how groundbreaking ideas and products will impact the business landscape. Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Trinity started her career reporting for local news outlets for both broadcast and digital media platforms and has since worked for some of the leading news networks in New York City, including CBS News, ABC News, and the BBC. Her work includes coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. presidential elections, foreign affairs, and humanitarian crises abroad.

George Arison has served as CEO of Grindr since October 2022, leading the company’s vision to make a world where the lives of its global community in over 190 countries are free, equal and just. George brings a wealth of entrepreneurial experience to his leadership role, including as founder and CEO of the car ecommerce platform Shift, which he took public in 2020; founder of Taxi Magic, now known as Curb, which invented the use of applications on mobile devices for meeting users’ on-demand ground transportation needs; and founder of Pulsar AI, creator of the auto industry’s most advanced conversational AI platform. George loves supporting other founders who are working on leveraging technology to solve modern problems, and is an investor in companies like Shipper, Carrot, and Fathom AI. Born in Georgia during the Soviet era, George came to the US on his own to attend high school and graduated from Middlebury College. He resides in the Bay Area with his husband and children.

Brandon Gomez is a segment producer at CNBC where his work reaches millions through daily dayside programming for ‘Squawk on the Street’. He also provides original reporting on-air covering the Spirits & Alcohol industry, Fitness & Wellness industry, as well as corporate culture and business backlash under CNBC’s Equity & Opportunity brand.

A native of East Haven, CT, Brandon received his Bachelor’s degree in English and Theatre from the College of the Holy Cross followed by his Masters in multimedia reporting from New York University.

Brandon was named a Cynopsis Media Rising Star in 2022. Two years prior in 2020, he was named to Honor41’s honoree list, which celebrates multi-industry leaders from the LGBTQ+ Latino community. Brandon is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists.

Fabrice Houdart is the founder and Executive Director of the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors, helping bring LGBTQ+ diversity to the most senior level of organizations, the boards of directors. He also has a consulting firm, FHConsulting, which supports Fortune 500 companies on LGBTQ+ issues. He is a L’Oréal Global Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board member and an advisor of the National Association of Corporate Directors Center for Inclusive Governance. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Canadian Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors and the Editorial Committee of the Women's Forum.

Fabrice previously worked for the United Nations and World Bank systems. Among other roles, he served as a Human Rights Officer at the United Nations in New York from 2016-2020. He worked on Free & Equal, an unprecedented United Nations campaign for LGBTQ+ equality. He co-authored and led the United Nations Global LGBTQ+ Standards of Conduct for Business, the largest corporate social responsibility initiative on LGBTQ+ issues globally. Previously he was a Senior Country Officer at the World Bank [2001-2016].

Fabrice volunteers on the Boards of Outright Action International, Housing Works, Fondation Emergence, and the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. He is an advisor to the Board of Open for Business, the oldest and largest coalition of companies working to improve LGBTQ+ equality globally.

However, Fabrice’s most crucial work is parenting his ten-year-old twins, Maxime and Eitan.

Myrna is the Founder and CEO of Apogee Executive Advisors, a boutique advisory and consulting firm that provides executive advisory and consulting services in the areas of corporate governance, technology risk management, cybersecurity, mergers and acquisitions, corporate development, public and private board service, and capital investments. Myrna has more than 25 years of senior technology executive experience in multiple industries, including hospitality, financial services, telecommunications, transportation, insurance, and energy.

Myrna is a board member of a number of NYSE-listed companies including TriNet (NYSE: TNET), CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS) and Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE), as well as private companies Huntress, Delinea, Vectra and Headspace. She is also a venture capital investor and advisor, a former chief strategy and trust officer, a global chief information security officer emeritus, and a national association of corporate directors governance fellow. She is passionate about advancing women in tech, leadership in tech, governance, risk, and cybersecurity.

Mr. Cole founded and has been Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of The Jasco Group, LLC, a multidimensional investment management firm, since January 2017. He serves on the board of AIG (NYSE: AIG). He previously served at the U.S. Department of Education as Delegated Deputy Secretary of Education & General Counsel from January 2016 to January 2017; General Counsel, a U.S. Senate confirmed seat, from December 2014 to January 2017; and Senior Advisor to the Secretary from August 2014 to December 2014. As Deputy Secretary, Mr. Cole served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Department of Education and oversaw a broad range of operational, management, policy, legal and program functions. From November 2011 to August 2014, Mr. Cole served as Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Prior to joining the Department of Transportation, Mr. Cole was a corporate partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, with a primary focus on mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance. Mr. Cole began his career as a financial analyst at GE Capital Corporation.

Paul Grossinger is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Previously, Paul was the founder of L&M Media & Pervasive Group. In 2015, Paul and David Beatty founded Gaingels as an Angel group for the LGBTQ+ community. After investing ~$4M from 2015-2017, they changed Gaingels into a venture firm in January 2018; since, Gaingels has invested ~$800m+ AUM in 800+ companies, including 75+ unicorns to date.

Ben stands at the forefront of Chasing Rainbows, having established a remarkable career as a visionary entrepreneur and investor. His journey began with the successful creation and exit of SocialTable, setting the stage for his role as a beacon in the venture capital community.

As an Angel Investor and Advisor, Ben has influenced over 20 companies, demonstrating his acumen in identifying and nurturing potential. His expertise has led to two notable exits and securing six markups for invested companies, showcasing his ability to generate significant value for stakeholders.

Accolades and Recognition: VCJ Rising Stars (2023); Material Change Fellow (2022-2023); VCInclude Fellow (2023); 101 LGBTQ VC Leaders (2023); Pitchbook LGBTQ Investors to Know (2023); 40 Under 40 BEQ (2023); Top 100 Investors (2022); NVCA Top LGBTQ+ Investor (2022); Young Alumni of the Year - UTAS (2020).

Densil Porteous is the CEO of Pride Fund, an LGBTQ+ focused venture fund dedicated to fostering innovation and supporting diverse entrepreneurs within the LGBTQ+ community. With a career spanning over two decades, Densil has held significant roles in higher education, strategic marketing, communications, and development at prestigious institutions including Kenyon College, Stanford University, and UC San Diego.

Densil’s leadership extends beyond his professional endeavors. He has actively served on the boards of numerous organizations advocating for youth, LGBTQ+ rights, and community development, such as Advocates for Youth, the Human Rights Campaign, and Equitas Health. As a naturalized American citizen of Afro-Caribbean descent and a proud member of the Jewish faith, Densil brings a unique and inclusive perspective to his work, championing diversity and inclusion in every aspect of his professional and personal life.

In the tech and startup spaces, Densil has provided invaluable advice and support to a range of partners and ventures, including VarsityBooks.com/The Varsity Group, Zinch (acquired by Chegg), Vireo Labs, Ulyngo (acquired by Modo Labs), Acceptd, RaiseMe, Rev1 Ventures, Juggle, TicketFire, GetAccepted (acquired by The Princeton Review), InGenius Prep, and LEAP. His extensive experience and strategic insights have been instrumental in guiding these companies towards successful outcomes.

Julie Ruvolo serves as Head of Venture Capital Coverage on the Capital Markets team at NYSE, where she leads the exchange’s engagement with venture investors globally.

She previously served as Managing Director of Venture Capital at the Global Private Capital Association (GPCA) and LAVCA, the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America, where she ran a series of industry leading publications covering global tech investment trends.

Julie has worked as an editorial consultant to venture firms including AngelList and Quona Capital and as a freelance journalist for TechCrunch, Bloomberg CityLab, VICE News and others. She graduated with honors in Cultural and Social Anthropology from Stanford University.