Rev1 Ventures CEO and leadership

Tom Walker is the founding CEO and President of Rev1 Ventures, Inc. in Columbus, OH. With a career spanning nearly 30 years in innovation and venture capital, Tom has broad expertise in supporting early stage entrepreneurs in the successful start and scaleup of new companies. He is a leader in driving innovation within large corporations, research institutions, and communities, especially where it aims to better lives and business outcomes. Tom has formed and managed multiple venture capital funds, from concept to seed to growth, that have achieved or maintained top quartile performance and have participated in more than 200 investments. Tom earned a B.S. in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering from University of Oklahoma and a master’s degree in Business Administration. He is a frequent industry speaker and has received numerous industry awards including a finalist in Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Tom is the author of The Entrepreneur’s Path: A Handbook for High-Growth Companies and contributing author to Biotechnology Entrepreneurship, First and Second Editions. He is a regular contributor to Entrepreneur.com and a Forbes Council member and contributor. A founder and board member of the national Angel Capital Association and has advised several regions of the United States and England on building entrepreneurial infrastructure and ecosystems. He has testified multiple times before the United States Congress on matters concerning entrepreneurs, venture capital, and the expansion of life sciences applied research and commercialization.Specialties: entrepreneurship, venture capital development, innovation and startup ecosystems, and angel investing.

I'm a financial professional with a proven track record of helping organizations build infrastructure and processes to support growth. I lead financial strategy at Rev1 Ventures, partnering with the CEO and senior management team to help scale the organization and ensure sound financial discipline. I reported to Divisional and Regional Presidents at Enterprise Holdings where I built, rebuilt and oversaw finance and operational departments during the company’s rapid growth phases. I am a licensed CPA and hold a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Montana.

Kristy leads operations for Rev1 Ventures, the investor startup studio providing strategic services and capital to help startups scale and corporates innovate. She supports cross-team delivery of client services - including talent programs, corporate partnerships, infrastructure (via Rev1 Labs’ innovation center), and access to investment capital. Kristy also leads Rev1’s Inclusive Entrepreneurship efforts, focused on reducing bias and improving access to resources and capital for women and minority inventors and entrepreneurs.

Prior to joining Rev1, Kristy spent her career working within multiple high-growth, venture-backed startups, helping to build their brands, organize effective teams, grow revenue and scale. She held leadership positions at Manta Media - where she helped to grow the company into one of the largest, most trafficked websites in the U.S. - and Saama Technologies, a global leader in Big Data and analytics.

Kristy serves on the advisory board for multiple non-profits - including i.c. stars | Columbus and Cultivate SMB. She is also an advisor to the START Fund, the Columbus region’s first entrepreneur giving fund, launched by Rev1 in 2016 to encourage entrepreneurs to give back to the community that supports them. She holds a BS in Journalism from Ohio University and an MBA from Ashland University. Kristy is a frequent speaker on startup, marketing and inclusion best practices and has been featured in Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, Axios, Venture Beat, Yahoo and other top entrepreneur media outlets.

Specialties: High-tech, software, mobile and SaaS products | Business operations, strategic planning and performance management | Organizational alignment | Customer acquisition and engagement | Media and analyst relations | Integrated marketing programs | Search engine and content marketing | Inclusion and diversity

Tom Walker is the founding CEO and President of Rev1 Ventures, Inc. in Columbus, OH. With a career spanning nearly 30 years in innovation and venture capital, Tom has broad expertise in supporting early stage entrepreneurs in the successful start and scaleup of new companies. He is a leader in driving innovation within large corporations, research institutions, and communities, especially where it aims to better lives and business outcomes. Tom has formed and managed multiple venture capital funds, from concept to seed to growth, that have achieved or maintained top quartile performance and have participated in more than 200 investments. Tom earned a B.S. in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering from University of Oklahoma and a master’s degree in Business Administration. He is a frequent industry speaker and has received numerous industry awards including a finalist in Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Tom is the author of The Entrepreneur’s Path: A Handbook for High-Growth Companies and contributing author to Biotechnology Entrepreneurship, First and Second Editions. He is a regular contributor to Entrepreneur.com and a Forbes Council member and contributor. A founder and board member of the national Angel Capital Association and has advised several regions of the United States and England on building entrepreneurial infrastructure and ecosystems. He has testified multiple times before the United States Congress on matters concerning entrepreneurs, venture capital, and the expansion of life sciences applied research and commercialization.Specialties: entrepreneurship, venture capital development, innovation and startup ecosystems, and angel investing.