Ryan LeBlanc

Solution architect able to distill business requirements into technical specifications and sustainable technology strategies.

Technology leader with over 25 years of experience in engineering, innovation, and product development. My experiences range from hands on software engineering in a Fortune 50 environment to new product development in a scrappy startup setting. I’m currently the CTO and Technical Co-Founder at hampr.

Robert Randolph

Finance, Operations and Project Management

As Executive Vice President of Finance and Operations, Rob partners with portfolio company executive leadership teams on all finance-related activities and strategic operational improvement initiatives to drive best-in-class performance. Rob is passionate about instilling operational discipline across organizations and leading a continuous improvement culture both within the Firm and across Transom’s portfolio companies. Rob brings diverse experience across industries and sectors with expertise in finance, accounting, and operations.

Rob was a senior leader at Transom Capital for many years and rejoined the firm in 2024. For the past several years, he established C-level operating experience at a middle-market distribution business in the automotive aftermarket. In addition to day-to-day leadership responsibilities, Rob focused on strategy development and business transformation projects to modernize systems and processes to scale the business.

Rob began his career at EY where he rose to Senior Manager in the Strategy and Transactions practice in Los Angeles. Rob has diverse experience in M&A consulting across the transaction lifecycle, ranging from financial due diligence to operational separation workstreams. At EY, Rob specialized in advising clients engaged in large-scale divestitures and helped launch and grow EY’s divestiture practice in the West. Rob also led EY’s Veterans Network in the West Region and remains actively involved in various organizations supporting veterans.

Rob is a CPA (inactive) and graduated with honors from the University of Missouri with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accounting.

Rachael Sparks

Biotech, Pharma, & Medical Device B2B Marketing, Go-To-Market Methods, ROI and Pricing Strategies, Branding, Content Strategies

Rachael Sparks is a marketing executive with over 20 years’
experience in transplants, medical devices, and pharma. She has scaled brand awareness for early-growth startups to market leadership through research, full-stack marketing, and sales enablement. As a past technical director, corporate spokesperson, and product development advisor, she brings expertise in market research and strategy, digital marketing, brand development, pricing analysis, and sales training. Rachael is driven to improve patient outcomes by helping clients create compelling product value propositions and clear brand promise. Rachael grew up in Waco, Texas, and attended Texas A&M University where she earned a Microbiology degree. She has since lived in Austin, San Antonio, and Asheville, North Carolina before settling in Raleigh where she lives with her husband, daughter, and 2 dogs. She is the author of one science fiction novel that unfortunately predicted the pandemic, and thus indefinitely paused her writing career. She loves to cook, sew, garden, and battle to the death in violent family Scrabble matches.

Priyanka Sanghvi

0-1 product development, Product-market fit, Product strategy, Hardware/Software development, SaaS, User interviews and developing insights for MVP and Commercialization.

With over 12 years in product leadership, I excel at turning ideas into successful products, both in hardware and software. My experience at both top companies like Microsoft and startups has taught me how to lead teams and bring products to life. I love using customer feedback and market trends to create innovative products that make a real impact.

Missy Rogers

Design for Manufacturing (DFM), plastics, manufacturing costs, product features/patentability strategy for product lifecycle/planned obsolescence.

Missy Rogers is the President and Founder of Noble Plastics in Grand Coteau. Missy and her husband Scott started Noble in 2000 with a single vertical press, and have grown Noble to include 2 facilities, 21 manufacturing cells, 24 robotic systems in-house, and more than a dozen Fanuc robotic systems in other factories tending presses, inspecting parts, packaging products, and palletizing cases. Missy is a registered Professional Mechanical Engineer whose role is centered on the professional and financial development of the Noble team. Prior to Noble, she was a senior engineer at Texaco and the Engineering Manager for a petrochemical engineering consulting company. She currently serves on advisory boards to the LSU Mechanical Engineering department, the UL Lafayette Dean of Engineering, and the District 6 Federal Reserve Bank at the New Orleans branch. Missy is an experienced mentor who believes in servant leadership and collaboration for win-win outcomes, tries to manage 3 rescue kittens, and can cook a mean pot of gumbo.

Chris Kimmel

Technical leadership in product strategy and roadmap development. Experience in building and scaling technical teams, developing strategic partnerships, and leveraging data and technology to drive growth.

Operational leader and proven expert in leading and effectively executing enterprise-wide implementations, transforming organizational performance, and driving value through operational efficiencies, financial results, and successful business outcomes. Multi-faceted, highly analytical, and results-driven professional with demonstrated capabilities to think critically and assess opportunities effectively, while leveraging technology to solve highly complex problems. A trusted, respected, and inclusive business leader with a forward-thinking and innovative approach, and the ability to engage employees at all levels of the organization from individual contributor to C-suite executives.

William Zhang

Software development and IT.

William “G.K.” Zhang is a veteran software developer, working in different industries ranging from fintech, food delivery, healthcare to aviation. He has a keen sense of distilling business ideas into deliverable technology and developing 0-1 solutions. G.K. is also a one-time entrepreneur having exited his company in 2024.

Corey Tisdale

Leadership, strategy, culture, sales, marketing, e-commerce, technology, growth

Corey Tisdale is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader, best known as the co-founder of BBQGuys, a premier e-commerce platform specializing in outdoor cooking and lifestyle products. With a strong foundation in operations, strategy, and startup development, Corey has played a pivotal role in scaling ventures and driving innovation across industries.
Today, Corey actively invests in and mentors the next generation of entrepreneurs, sharing his expertise to help emerging leaders build impactful and sustainable businesses. Based in New Orleans, he remains deeply engaged in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, raising money for children’s causes, championing growth, creativity, and community-driven success. He is also a half-way decent cook and should be better at jiu jitsu by now.

Julia Lang

Career Development & Workforce Readiness
Early-stage Venture Support
AI Enablement & Adoption
Learning Innovation & Curriculum Design
Organizational Transformation
Human-Centered Design

Julia S. Lang is an educator, AI strategist, and organizational transformation leader with 12+ years of experience guiding individuals and institutions through complex change. At Tulane University, she is the Associate Director for Career Education & Life Design at the Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking and a Professor of Practice. She has designed and scaled learning experiences that have reached 15,000+ learners across 45 institutions worldwide, including a global life design curriculum and two flagship Generative AI courses focused on ethical use, prompt strategy, and workforce upskilling.

Julia co-chairs Tulane’s AI & Career Readiness Task Force, consults with organizations internationally including Taipei Medical University, UMass Amherst, and Ablr, and has delivered 50+ workshops on AI adoption, leadership development, and design thinking. She also co-leads Krewe School, a year-long transformation program for nonprofits, and directs Tulane’s Changemaker Institute Accelerator, where she supports budding graduate social entrepreneurs.

Her passion lies in helping organizations integrate AI into their strategy, talent systems, and learning programs in ways that are ethical, human-centered, and future-focused. Julia is most energized by opportunities to blend AI enablement, design thinking, and systems-level change to prepare people and organizations for the future of work.

Laurel Hess

Marketing, Startup Fundraising, Scaling into New Markets

Laurel is a marketer by trade, entrepreneur by necessity. She founded hampr, an on-demand laundry platform, to aid in her quest to vanquish the mental load carried by families across the country – starting with the most hated chore. She has defied all female-founder stats by fundraising 7 figures to date and surpassed millions in revenue in less than 3 years. She has been described as “politely persistent” and “will literally run through a wall to make things work.” At hampr, she has grown her team to more than 20 team members and scaled into more than 12 states.

In her past life, she founded and ran a profitable digital marketing agency – double the team in size. She was previously the Sales and Marketing Manager at the Superdome and New Orleans Arena where she opened two new venues, Champions Square and club XLIV, overseeing event marketing and developing rental structures and proposals for corporate + convention events.

Alex Lanclos

App & Software Development / Engineering

Alex graduated from the University of Louisana at Lafayette with his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 2014, and has since had a wide variety of work experience. He worked on embedded systems at Johnson Space Center, developing fintech applications, developing mobile applications both natively and cross platform. At Waitr, he became a technical lead/manager for a small group of engineers and eventually wound up managing all front end developers there. He’s had the pleasure of working for the last 6 years at the startups Swimply, Wavelength, and Waitr.

He is currently a full stack software engineer at Skylight, and uses his experience as an ever growing engineer who will continue to grow both technically and as a leader to help mentor startup founders.

Vanessa Graham

Financial Executive / CFO / CPA

Vanessa Graham, owner of VGraham, LLC, began her practice in 2012 with an objective to serve and support local business owners in meeting their growth goals and overcoming challenges through business cycles. Vanessa has over 25+ years of experience as Chief Financial Officer and Controller for small to medium size businesses in the Baton Rouge area, working with business owners and private equity investors in their portfolio companies.
Vanessa began her career with KPMG in audit before joining APPRO Systems, Inc., a software development company providing auto decisioning software in the financial services industry. Vanessa played an integral role on the management team responsible for the turnaround and tremendous growth APPRO experienced from time of raising capital in 2000 through successful sale to Equifax, Inc. in 2005. She remained with Equifax for two years, successfully integrating new acquisitions into Equifax global systems and business practices. Vanessa then served as Chief Financial Officer for various businesses in the Baton Rouge area, before opening her own practice. Vanessa has been actively involved in the community for several years, including serving on the boards and committees of Louisiana Business & Industry Association, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Thrive Charter School, First United Methodist Church, Rotary Club International, and the Louisiana Tech Park. Vanessa is a CPA and member of the LCPA and AICPA. She lives in Baton Rouge with her husband, Brent, and twins, Bennett and Olivia.
Education:
Louisiana State University
• LSU Center for Internal Auditing, Alumna
• Bachelor of Science, Accounting

Professional Credentials and Affiliations:
• Certified Public Accountant, LA
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Member
• Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants, Business and Industry Committee and Member

Greg Palmer

Various revenue models and strategies. Sales, CRM, Process Improvement. Strategy, Organizational Structure & Leadership.

Greg’s experience has been punctuated by executing highly-successful strategic initiatives and providing strong executive leadership which has led to explosive business growth at top-tier organizations. He has recently been focused on directing companywide transformation and improvement at Golfballs.com

Jaci Russo

Branding, Marketing, Entrepreneurship

With over 25 years of experience as a Brand Strategist, Jaci Russo, (P.C.M.), is the co-founder and CEO of brandRUSSO, a strategic branding agency based out of Lafayette, Louisiana, with national and international clients across multiple industries. Jaci is a published author and sought-after speaker on all things branding, helps businesses build successful brands through her affordable online learning platform, Brand State U, and founder of the University of Louisiana’s NIL management program called ULTRA. She also contributes to brandRUSSO’s Razor Branding blog and podcast to help companies grow and compete in today’s ever-changing marketplace.

Jaci is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, the proud mother of four, and an alumna of the University of Louisiana – dedicating much of her free time to helping civic organizations and nonprofits.

Ali Chapman

Marketing Strategy & Budget Optimization, Customer Acquisition & Retention, Brand Positioning & Growth Marketing, In-House Marketing Team Development, Agency Management & Performance Oversight, Growth Marketing & Analytics

Ali Chapman is a marketing leader with 16+ years of experience helping businesses make marketing make sense. As a Fractional CMO, she specializes in aligning marketing strategy with business goals, optimizing budgets, and building in-house marketing teams that drive long-term results.

Previously, as Growth Director at hampr, Ali led multi-channel marketing strategies to optimize lead generation, customer acquisition, and retention. She played a key role in increasing brand visibility, scaling marketing operations, and aligning strategy with product and customer support.

Amol Desai

Business Strategy, Strategic Finance, Customer Acquisition, Competitive Benchmarking

Amol has been an active investor in public and private markets for the past two decades. He has extensive experience in Internet, Software, and Consumer businesses. He has allocated capital for large institutions and public retirement programs for most of his career. Amol is currently executing a roll-up in Home Services.

Amol spends time with his family outside of work and coaches soccer and basketball.

Mike Eckert

Early Stage Investments, Angel Capital, Venture Capital

Mike Eckert is a seasoned business executive and investor with particular expertise in the early stage investment eco-system. Mike has been an angel investor for 27 Years. He was on the launch team of The Weather Channel/Weather.com and served as its President and CEO for 14 years. He also was Chairman and CEO of Pathfire, a leading digital video asset management and distribution company which was later acquired. He currently is Chairman of the Gulf South Angels a group of 130 high net-worth individuals. He also is Chairman the Investment Committee of The Pelican Angel Funds, is on the Investment Committee of the New Orleans Start-Up Fund, and on the Limited Partner Advisory Committee of the Louisiana Venture Capital Funds. He has extensive start up experiences as a member of the launch team of The Weather Channel/Weather and at Pathfire. Mike formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors of the national Angel Capital Association (ACA) serving as its Vice Chairman and Chair of ACA’s Public Policy and Strategic Planning Committees. Mike is past Chairman of the Atlanta Technology Angels and is a former fellow in Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center. He is a limited partner in a number of Venture Capital Funds and an active angel investor and is a Director on many company boards of directors.

Matthew Delcambre

Technical Sales Strategies, Building High Performance Teams

Matthew is an accomplished technology executive focused on driving organizational results. He has repeated success in forming and incubating technical teams aimed at leveraging technology solutions to solve business challenges and drive for competitive advantage.

Joshua Bendickson

Strategic Planning, Timing & Time Management

Josh Bendickson earned his Ph.D. in Strategic Management from Louisiana State University and is currently a Professor at the University of Louisiana. Josh’s research interests include entrepreneurship ecosystems as well as issues pertaining to strategic management. Josh teaches courses related to entrepreneurship, innovation, and strategic management to undergraduate and graduate students at the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration.

He also serves on the board of directors at Opportunity Machine, a locally based start-up incubator where he offers mentoring on strategic planning. Nationally, Josh remains active with the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Bob Miller

Innovation, Start-ups, Software Development, High Tech Operations, Patents

With 30 years at high technology companies including multiple startups, Bob who is a patented inventor, has served in senior positions throughout his career including Founder, Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Senior Vice President, and Chief Operating Officer. These industries included Software Development, Internet Service providers, Competitive Local Exchange Carrier, Engineering Geographic Information Systems, Aerospace Satellite, On-Demand Delivery, and Managed Security Service Providers. Bob has lived and worked in Chicago, Silicon Valley California, and Silicon Bayou Louisiana.

Tom Cox

Growth Strategy

Tom has been involved in launching and helping to start businesses for 25 years. He is the currently President, & CEO of Golfballs.com, a business he co-founded in 1995, and notably was one the first ecommerce businesses in golf. Golfballs.com has been named by Inc Magazine to the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in America eight (8) times. With years of firsthand experience & success as an entrepreneur himself, Tom considers himself an advocate, advisor, and fan of startups and their founders.