Vanessa is the VP of SAP.iO, a global organization responsible for building an ecosystem
of startups around SAP. In her role, she is overseeing SAP.iO’s North American
Foundries in New York and San Francisco, including programs devoted to women and
diverse-led B2B enterprise tech companies.
Vanessa was most recently the Chief Operating Officer at Trigger Media Group, a
$22MM digital media incubator. In her role, she co-founded, incubated and oversaw
business operations and strategic initiatives of Trigger’s portfolio companies: InsideHook
(the essential digital lifestyle guide for adventurous and discerning men) and Fevo (SaaS
technology bringing friends and networks together for group experiences at live events).
Vanessa currently serves as a Non-Executive director of Appen Ltd. (ASX: APX). She is
also a board observer of Fevo and is an advisor or investor in start-ups including Bounce
Exchange, Grata Data, GroundSignal, Knotel and Narrativ.
Previously, Vanessa was an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company’s Media and
Entertainment Practice, based in Amsterdam, London and New York. In this role, Vanessa
was responsible for serving clients in a variety of media and high tech sectors including
online advertising, magazine and newspaper publishing, television, video content
production, and information services, particularly on issues of digital media strategy,
emerging market strategy, growth and innovation.
Vanessa graduated magna cum laude with an AB in psychology from Harvard University
and cum laude with a JD from Harvard Law School. She was a Fulbright Scholar at
Universiteit Utrecht in the Netherlands where she conducted independent research on the
International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Court
of Justice. She serves as First Vice President of the Harvard Alumni Association.
