Gamiel has a unique passion for helping drive corporate innovation and grow Mayfield’s early-stage portfolio. He runs the business development function for Mayfield and focuses specifically on accelerating product-market fit and early customer adoption for Mayfield’s investments.
He and his team have built a global network of CXOs, called the Mayfield Innovation Network, made up of CIOs, CTOs, CISOs and business leaders from across all industries, who need access to new ideas to compete in their own markets. This is a highly engaged global network whose members join CXO Insight forums, CXO of the Future Podcasts, and provide CXO Priorities in formal reports.
Gamiel brings more than 25 years of operational and venture capital experience to the Mayfield team. He previously served as Chief Strategy Officer for SOASTA (acquired by Akamai) and was responsible for ongoing operational improvements in sales, marketing, channels, plus strategic partnerships, corporate development, and investment support. Gamiel was also a partner at Sierra Ventures, responsible for leading the Sierra CIO Summit attended by over 150 Global CIOs for eight years. He has also held executive leadership roles at IBM, Oracle, BEA (acquired by Oracle), Appcelerator (acquired by Axway), and Cassatt (acquired by CA).
Gamiel is a California native, father of 3, and husband of more than 30 years. He loves to give back as a volunteer, with a focus on education. He is currently leading an effort as chair of the Career Services Advisory Council at Cal Poly.
Paul Kohli is responsible for execution of Mayfield’s global investment activities. Paul provides guidance to the Mayfield team on investments and exits, deal structuring, portfolio company matters, compliance, and legal matters. Paul has been active in venture capital for over 20 years and also advises Mayfield’s portfolio companies on financing and exit transactions and operational matters. Prior to joining Mayfield, Paul worked with Selby Venture Partners, a technology venture capital firm, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a leading Silicon Valley law firm.
Paul holds a BA from Santa Clara University. Paul is a competitive athlete, coaches youth sports teams, and enjoys running (mainly after his children).
“I partner with entrepreneurs to champion their pursuit of disruptive ideas. I invest in people who relentlessly seek out challenges, and opportunities to learn.”
Tejas Maniar serves as Operating Partner and also leads Mayfield’s talent function.
He is a proven operating executive. At Mayfield, he partners closely with companies on their strategies for leadership, hiring, and human capital. He serves as a board observer on SmartRecruiters, Skilljar and Mammoth Biosciences. Prior to Mayfield, he worked at Google where he led teams in strategy and analytics, as well as a special projects team for the CEO. He spent his early career in executive search, management consulting, and as part of the founding team of an IT consulting startup that was acquired.
Tejas holds an MBA in Finance and Strategy from Case Western Reserve’s Weatherhead School of Management, and a BS in Management Science from the University of California, San Diego.
Kamini Ramani’s mission is to deliver on the Mayfield brand promise to entrepreneurs and to provide a range of support to portfolio companies. She loves crafting memorable narratives that combine the magic of an entrepreneur’s bold vision, an unmet customer need, and a delightful product. She is a fangirl of entrepreneurs everywhere and amplifies the impact of the Mayfield portfolio directly or by matching companies with her ninja network of superb marketing professionals. Some highlights of her Mayfield experience include bringing improv comedians to run a messaging workshop for an enterprise company, taking the right story angle for a deeptech private start-up to a respected reporter at the Wall Street Journal, and working closely with the Mayfield team to unleash their POVs.
Prior to Mayfield, she was a messaging and corporate communications counselor to the leaders of emerging and established technology companies in Silicon Valley for three decades. These included companies from the client-server and internet waves, with a highlight of providing public relations counsel to Steve Jobs at NeXT in 1995.
She holds a Masters in Communications from Stanford University, a Masters in English Literature from Yale University, and a Bachelors in English Literature from Bombay University.
Vaneeta Varma is the Chief Financial Officer and her responsibilities include overseeing the operations of the firm, financial reporting, accounting, investor relations, information technology, human resources, facilities, and other administrative functions. Vaneeta has deep expertise in taxation and enjoys the challenges of working through difficult tax structures and managing teams across multiple geographies.
She has over 20 years of professional experience in financial services and the venture capital industry. Prior to Mayfield, she worked at Arthur Andersen in the Silicon Valley Tax group. Vaneeta is currently serving on the West Coast Chapter of the Private Equity Chief Financial Officer Association (PECFOA) board and was a Trustee for Keys School in Palo Alto, including four years as the Board Chair.
Vaneeta is a CPA and holds an MBA from Santa Clara University and a BS from the University of Minnesota. Vaneeta enjoys traveling and spending time with family.
