Leadership
Corey Patton
Co-founder / CEO
For the past decade, Corey's mission has been to drive advancements in natural language processing (NLP) to help organizations solve their toughest business challenges.
Prior to founding Pramana Labs, Inc. in 2018, Corey was the Director of Marketing for Saffron Technology – a pioneer in the NLP space. While at Saffron, Corey created the brand positioning and assisted with business development, which led to the company being acquired by Intel in 2015. At Intel, Corey took on the role of Director of Sports Development and was responsible for bringing NLP AI to sports teams and leagues. From evangelizing and implementing an associative memories approach in MLB drafting to ingraining the virtues of Intel Edge Computing inside the connected stadium; Corey has had his finger on the pulse of a holistic sports technology viewpoint for years.
Chet Patel
Co-founder / CTO
Before co-founding Pramana, Chet lead the development of Intel Saffron's AI platform and products. Working with customers, creating new technology, driving innovation and deploying products in multiple verticals including Financial Services Industry, Aerospace, Manufacturing and Government sector.
At Saffron, Chet helped architect the creation of several new technologies including a proprietary platform built on associative memories. In addition, he developed several applications that helped customers run AI workloads to solve problems such as Similarity, Classification, Novelty, Recommendation and Personalization.
Advisors
Bill Squadron
Senior Advisor
Bill Squadron has been an executive, government official and attorney in the sports media, technology and data fields for more than 25 years, and is currently Special Counsel to Genius Sports, a global leader in data, analytics and betting services. Prior to his role at Genius Sports, he served as President of Bloomberg Sports, which created groundbreaking data and analytics products for multiple sports, both in the U.S. and internationally. Bloomberg Sports was named by SportsPro Magazine in 2014 as one of the “Top 50 Companies Shaping Sports” globally, and by Fast Company Magazine in 2011 as one of the “Most Innovative Companies in Sports.” The Bloomberg Sports business was sold to Vista Equity Partners in 2015.
Previously, Mr. Squadron was co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Sportvision, Inc., which pioneered the creation of technologies that enrich sports telecasts. Sportvision’s inventions under Mr. Squadron’s leadership included the company’s Emmy-winning 1st and Ten® yellow first down line, the “K Zone” baseball tracking technology, and the NASCAR Race F/X system. In 2001, Ernst & Young named Mr. Squadron New York City Entrepreneur of the Year in the media category, and in 2014 he received the Executive of the Year Award from the NYU Sports Business Society. In 2019 he was honored with Coro New York’s Lewis Rudin Civic Leadership Award.
Mr. Squadron has also headed advanced media and technology in North America for IMG, launching and managing digital products and services for sports clients such as Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova and Jeff Gordon, and has served as Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning, at News Corporation. From 1990-93, he was Commissioner of the New York City Department of Telecommunications and Energy in the Dinkins Administration, overseeing cable franchising and regulation, and representing the nation’s municipalities on federal cable policy as President of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). Prior to that role, he was a partner in the law firm of Morrison & Foerster.
Mr. Squadron is currently a visiting professor in Elon University’s undergraduate Sport Management program, where he teaches Sports Law, Leadership, and Analytics & Technology. He has also taught sports management at Columbia University and Washington University in St. Louis, and Administrative Law at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Mr. Squadron serves on the Boards of the Coro New York Leadership Center and the Our Energy Policy Foundation. He has a B.A. in English Literature from Swarthmore College, and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Jeff Wilpon
Advisor
Jeff Wilpon is a highly accomplished Founding Partner of Sterling Project Development, boasting an impressive track record of over four decades in overseeing major construction projects. Throughout his illustrious career, he has spearheaded the planning, design, and construction of notable landmarks such as 383 Madison Avenue, Citi Field, Radio City Music Hall, as well as undertaking renovations for the MLB and NHL headquarters. In addition, Mr. Wilpon is an esteemed Partner at UBS Arena and has collaborated with the Green Bay Packers on Titletown, a 45 acre mixed-use neighborhood adjacent to Lambeau Field that is focused on community building and regional economic development.
Since embarking on his real estate and construction journey in 1986, Jeff Wilpon has exhibited his exceptional expertise by supervising and advising on an impressive portfolio of commercial, residential, and sports-related development projects, collectively valued at over $10 billion.
Furthermore, Mr. Wilpon holds the esteemed positions of Chairman and CEO at Alta Vista Partners, a distinguished Real Estate Investment and Operating Platform. Prior to this, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of the New York Mets and Brooklyn Cyclones, contributing significantly to their success over an impressive tenure spanning more than 18 years.
In addition to his numerous professional accomplishments, Jeff Wilpon actively contributes to various organizations and community initiatives. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Association for a Better New York, while also holding board positions at esteemed institutions including the 92nd Street Y Board, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Harlem Village Academies, Michigan Medicine Advisory Group, the Michigan Sports Business Conference, and Titletown Tech. These engagements reflect his dedication to fostering positive change and promoting excellence across diverse sectors.
Jeff Wilpon's multifaceted expertise, vast experience, and unwavering commitment make him a highly respected figure within the realm of construction, real estate investment, and community development.
Steven Berkenfeld
Advisor
Steven Berkenfeld retired from a long career in Investment Banking to focus more directly on impact and sustainability. Steven is the founder and principal of Ecotopia Consulting LLC. and is primarily engaged in helping earlier stage, mission driven companies in the development of their business plan and growth strategy with the aim of improving their financeability, enhancing their market adoption and maximizing their environmental and social impact. In addition, Steven serves as Chief Strategy Officer of Brightcore Energy and currently sits on the Board of Directors or Advisory Boards of Svante Inc., Avina Clean Hydrogen and a number of other Climate Tech or other impact-focused companies.
Prior to his departure in 2019, Steven was a Managing Director in Investment Banking at Barclays. Steven’s roles included serving as senior sponsor of the Environmental and Social Impact Banking Initiative, co-heading the Firm’s Cleantech Initiative, and leading the banking effort for Emerging Industrial Technology companies. Steven also managed the Transaction Review Committee process and chaired the Reputational Risk Committee for Barclays International, and served as chair of the firm’s Equities Commitment Committee and Fairness Opinion Committee.
Prior to joining Barclays in September 2008, Steven had spent over 21 years at Lehman Brothers. At the time of the acquisition by Barclays, Steven’s roles at Lehman Brothers included serving as (i) Chair of all of the Transaction Approval Committees for Investment Banking, (ii) Global Head of Legal, Compliance and Audit, and (iii) Chief Investment Officer for all principal investing activities and Chair of the Investment Committee. Since 2001, Steven served as Chief Investment Officer of Lehman Brothers’ Private Equity Division, with responsibilities including serving as Chair of the firm’s Investment Committee, reviewing and approving all potential principal investment opportunities for Lehman Brothers’ Private Equity Funds and assisting in the execution of transactions for each of the Private Equity asset classes. Earlier in Steven’s career at Lehman Brothers, he had responsibility for all legal matters relating to Lehman Brothers’ Investment Banking and Private Equity activities, as well as many of its Fixed Income and Equities businesses.
Prior to joining Lehman Brothers in 1987, Steven was an associate at the law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson engaged primarily in advising on mergers & acquisitions and leveraged buyouts. Steven holds a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School and a B.S. degree from Cornell University.
Steven is former chair and member of the Board of Directors of the Sierra Club Foundation. Steven is also chair of the Board of Directors of Green City Force, a member of the Board of Directors of The Clean Fight, a member of the Board of Directors of Our Energy Policy, a former member of the Board of Directors of BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), and a member of the President’s Council of Ceres. In addition, Steven was the sponsor of the Employment Sustainability Initiative on Employment and Technology at the ILR School of Cornell University, and has been engaged in various projects relating to the “Future of Work.” Steven also was the sponsor of the Carbon Removal / New Carbon Economy initiative of the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University.
Danny Schultz
Advisor
Danny Schultz is a Co-Founder and Managing Director of Gotham Ventures and enjoys working closely with entrepreneurs to help them achieve their vision. Over the last two decades he has been actively involved with technology companies from startups to public companies in media, ecommerce, mobile and enterprise software.
Danny ran Lehman Brothers equity private placement business just prior to co-founding his own start-up, Atlantic Venture Partners, the predecessor to DFJ Gotham and now Gotham Ventures. He began investing as an angel and was fortunate to get very early exposure to the Israeli tech scene going back to the mid-1980s.
Danny is attracted to creative and energetic entrepreneurs that seek to disrupt the status quo and loves to see entrepreneurs succeed. His investing is focused on e-commerce, digital media, fintech, mobile and the enterprise. Currently, he is responsible for Gotham’s investments in Yipit and Pickie – e-commerce companies that also thrive on data, an area Danny loves.
Danny has led a number of Gotham’s successful investments including XOsoft, acquired by CA, and Pivot, acquired by the CME Group. He was also responsible for Gotham’s investment in Massive through its successful acquisition by Microsoft. His personal investments have included SMARTS, acquired by EMC; Insulair, acquired by Georgia Pacific; Active Impulse Systems, acquired by Phillips; and PassLogix, acquired by Oracle.
Danny also enjoys mentoring young VCs and entrepreneurs. He is active with the Kauffman Fellows Program and Endeavor Global and was Co-chair of INGENUITY 2012, New York’s premier startup venture conference.
Danny is a graduate of Columbia University with a degree in Economics. He and his family reside in Westchester, New York. In his spare time, he can frequently be found somewhere in Westchester playing hockey, or in nicer weather training for his next triathlon.
Gayle Sheppard
Advisor
Gayle Sheppard previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Bright Machines, Inc., a software-defined factory automation
company. Ms. Sheppard also previously served as Corporate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Microsoft Asia,
a division of Microsoft Corporation, a multinational technology company, where she was responsible for establishing the
vision, strategy and execution programs for customer and partner co-innovation and digital transformation.
Ms. Sheppard served as the Head of Global Expansion and Digital Transformation for Microsoft Cloud and AI, where she
was responsible for the vision, strategy, and long-range P&L for growing Microsoft’s global Cloud Services and working with
customers who are implementing multiyear digital innovation and modernization strategies and as the Corporate Vice
President of Azure Data at Microsoft.
Earlier in her career, she served as Vice President and General Manager of the Saffron
AI/ML Division, Intel Corporation, a multinational technology company, and held various leadership positions at Saffron
Technology, Inc., Ketera Technologies, Inc., and J.D. Edwards, Inc.
She has founded, created, or contributed to start-up and
Fortune 100 companies focused on AI platforms, solutions in business and consumer markets, and digitization of business
in a wide variety of industries.
Ms. Sheppard has served as a member of the board of directors of Nutanix, Inc, (NTNX)
the defacto platform for running applications in enterprise data centers and hybrid clouds, since January 2022, and on the board of directors of
Astroscale Holdings Inc.,an orbital debris removal company, since July 2023. Ms. Sheppard also previously served as a member of the board of
directors of Envista Holdings Corporation, a medical technology holding company, from July 2020 until November 2021.