MANAGEMENT TEAM

Mark joined Heartland in 2017 as a Principal. In January 2019, Mark was named Partner.

In his current role at Heartland, Mark leads deal sourcing, due diligence and investment execution activities as well as the internal fund administration.

Prior to joining Heartland, Mark was a full-time graduate student and an active investor working with several established venture firms around the country. Before graduate school, Mark was Vice President at Sceptre, where he was the General Manager leading all sales, finance and operational functions. At Sceptre, Mark led a team dispersed around the US and internationally building and selling high-end, custom vacation packages. This included negotiating vendor contracts in Europe as well as building and managing strategic national accounts with groups like American Express. After four years, Mark led the sale of Sceptre and took on the Chairman role of the acquiring holding company.  Additionally, Mark spent time working in Hospitality Management for Ritz Carlton in Ireland, in logistics for Worldwide Express in New York and in Marketing for Tyson Foods in Chicago.

Mark received a B.A. in Business Administration from Muhlenberg College, an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and is an active Board Member of TravelSmart, a United Kingdom based travel corporation.

Max is the Managing Director of Heartland Ventures, which he founded in 2016. 

Heartland was formed to do what no other venture capital fund has done: connect established Midwest companies with coastal startups, giving business leaders a voice in the tech transformation happening in their industries. 

Leveraging a network of strategic investors composed of private, often rural, and mostly multi-generational business owners and operators, Max has effectively formed the largest network of mid-market tech buyers in the Midwest. Heartland has over $100 million under management and has invested in 14 high-performing portfolio companies. Fund I has been fully invested and Heartland is actively investing from a larger Fund II.

Max is a forward-thinking venture capitalist with a passion for expanding technological innovation into smaller, underrepresented Heartland communities. Max closely follows and analyzes Midwestern business trends to gain insights into pain points, tech needs, and operational opportunities. He manages the fund’s relationships with other venture capital partners and oversees key investment decisions with the Heartland team.

Max has been entrepreneurial from a young age. At 14, he purchased his first investment property, a rundown duplex in northern Wisconsin, using money from a small landscaping company he had started. Over the years, he grew the single property into a 450 residential unit portfolio. In college, Max won an Edison Award for a patented academic software product. 

Max received a B.S. in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2022, an Executive of the Year by Columbus Business First, and a Future 50 Member by Columbus CEO.

Mary joined Heartland in 2022 as an Associate on the Investing team. In this role at Heartland, Mary manages deal sourcing, due diligence, and co-investor relations. 

Prior to joining Heartland, Mary worked in non-profit fundraising, technology, and strategy consulting, managed customer success at an AI startup, and led strategic initiatives at an Ivy League university. She leverages these varied experiences in operational and strategic analysis, team building, and collaborative problem-solving to foster meaningful partnerships with and amongst founders and investors in the Heartland community.

Mary loves making connections and is invigorated by finding the perfect match between innovative founders and early adopter customers in the Heartland. Having moved back and forth from the East Coast to the Midwest a total of six times, she is thrilled to have landed in Columbus, OH. Mary received her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame where she studied American Studies, Business Economics, and the Irish Language.

Ryan joined Heartland in 2023 as an Associate on the Investment team.

In this role at Heartland, Ryan manages deal sourcing, due diligence, and co-investor relations. 

Prior to joining Heartland, Ryan was a venture capital investor focused on InsurTech, PropTech, and FinTech. His previous experience allowed him to build expertise in deal sourcing, diligence, execution, and portfolio support.

Ryan is passionate about bridging the gap between best-in-class technology startups and Heartland’s roster of midwest business partners. 

An Ohio native, Ryan received a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from The Ohio State University. He was selected by faculty to participate in a highly competitive investment banking program in which Ryan was exposed to the intricacies of financial modeling, forecasting, and business valuation. 

Conor joined Heartland in 2019 as a Principal and now serves as Partner, overseeing the firm’s Platform function.

In this role, Conor leads engagement with LPs and Midwest industry leaders to ensure the Heartland’s portfolio aligns with their strategic and financial needs.

Conor leverages his knowledge of the challenges facing Midwestern businesses, gleaned from his experience as a Consultant to many such firms.  His history of overseeing the development and growth of new technology products and delivering them to legacy firms, as well as in-house legal experience at a Fortune 500 company, is similarly advantageous.

A transplant to the Midwest, now going on 10 years, Conor is passionate about connecting the region’s unique businesses with technology being developed on the coasts.  Conor is a graduate of Loyola University Maryland and the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Cali joined Heartland in 2022 as an Operations Associate.

In this role at Heartland, Cali supports the firm’s managing director while working alongside the entire team on firm-level initiatives.

Prior to joining Heartland, Cali focused on constituent giving, corporate partnerships, event management, business relationships, and project management.

Cali is passionate about supporting firm-wide goals and acting as a partner and project manager for Heartland’s Founder and Managing Partner. 

She graduated from the Ohio State University with a B.A. in Strategic Communication and a minor in Marketing.

Austin joined Heartland in 2021 as an Associate on the Platform team.

In his role at Heartland, Austin leads engagement with LPs and Midwest industry leaders to ensure Heartland’s portfolio aligns with their strategic needs.

Prior to joining Heartland, Austin spent his entire career helping both tech and non-tech companies with the design, development, and marketing of their digital products. These companies have spanned from early-stage startups to the Fortune 500.

Austin leverages this experience to uncover critical pain points business leaders are experiencing. These pain points help inform the Heartland Ventures’ team on the investments they make.

Born and raised in Indiana, Austin is passionate about connecting the Heartland’s underserved communities with technologies that will help shape the future of their local economies. Austin received his B.A. from Depauw University.

Hannah joined Heartland in 2021 as an Associate Director of Community Development.

In her role at Heartland, Hannah leads initiatives in collaboration with public sector leaders and community members to support local and regional growth and vitality.

Prior to joining Heartland, Hannah served as a management consultant for local governments in disaster relief, economic development, and democratic innovation. Additionally, she has conducted research in public health, environment, and sustainable development for the Bloomberg Foundation Cities RISE Initiative, the Pew Research Center, the Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Environmental Defense Fund.

Born and raised in Ohio, Hannah is passionate about fostering a collaborative environment for innovation and creating more sustainable and efficient systems that serve all members of our communities. Hannah received a B.A. from Harvard College and an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Tom joined Heartland in 2022 as a Principal on the Platform team.

In his role at Heartland, Tom connects with Midwest business owners/operators to better understand their business challenges and surface technologies that can solve these problems.

Prior to joining Heartland, Tom was at Forge Global doing secondary market transactions for equity in venture backed private companies. He has also worked in Commercial Banking and FinTech.

Tom is passionate about the economic and societal health of the Midwest. He is focused on helping local industry innovate and adopt technology. Tom is a native of Cincinnati and attended the University of Chicago, where he played basketball and received a B.A. in Political Science.