Marla Shapiro is the Managing Partner of the HERmesa angel syndicate in the UK. Marla launched HERmesa in early 2020 with two distinct missions: To give more women a seat at the table as angel investors To invest more money in women co-founded startups Marla has built HERmesa from a group of 5 women to a unique community of over 250 members (87% women, all operators and entrepreneurs, 55% new to angel investing, coming from 63 countries). They have collectively invested in 33 women led tech-enabled startups at pre/seed stage with a focus on climate & sustainability, future of work & AI and accessible healthcare. Based on the track record of the angel syndicate, Marla and her two partners are now raising an institutional HERmesa fund. Prior to launching HERmesa, Marla worked for nearly 20 years for media & technology companies in operational roles as a strategist, business development director, sales lead and COO. The companies ranged from large multi-nationals, such as the Financial Times & Zee TV, to small media tech start-ups in the U.K. & Europe (companies from pre-seed to Series A stage). Marla spent the early years of her career working on Wall Street & the City at firms Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and NatWest, in structured finance roles. Marla holds an MBA degree from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, and a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan. She is a thought leader and frequent public speaker on gender led investing, early stage investing and the UK start-up scene. Marla is a dual national, American & British citizen, and lives in London with her Spanish husband and very, very English children.