Gayle Jennings-O'Byrne (born August 3, 1969) is a venture capitalist and founder of the Wocstar Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in women of color ("WOC") and diverse inclusive teams in the tech sector. She is best known for her work to empower women of color startups and help build wealth in communities of color and diversity. Her management and consulting company managed the iNTENT Manifesto campaign to mobilize women startups and allies across the globe.
Gayle Jennings-O'Byrne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 3, 1969 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, BS, Economics University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business MBA, Finance |
| Occupation | Venture Capitalist |
| Website | wocstar.com |
A major funder included JPMorgan Chase and was kicked off with an OpEd in Axios by Jamie Dimon, CEO JPMorgan and Steve Case, CEO Case Foundation.[1]
She has spoken at such summits and forums as United Nations, Aspen Ideas Festival,[2] SXSW, Roadmap to Billions: Black Women Talk Tech, 5th Element Group[3] and has appeared on Sirius XM radio and the NASDAQ TV[4] network discussing the financial markets and the global economic outlook.
Early life and education
editBorn Gayle Jennings to John Jennings and Thelma (née' Walls) Bataille in St. Louis, Missouri, Jennings-O'Byrne grew up in the Bay Area during the early days of Silicon Valley. Her mother was a trailblazer in computing, beginning with her work on The McDonnell Douglas F-15 fighter jet and the DC-10 and F15 fighter planes as the only female Fortran programmer on the IBM mainframe in the department.[citation needed]
Jennings-O'Byrne attended Justin-Siena High School in Napa, California and subsequently attended The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania,[5] to study finance and graduated with a B.S. in economics. Later she studied at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and received her M.B.A in finance.[citation needed]
Career
editSoon after her graduation from Wharton in 1991, Jennings-O'Byrne joined Sun Microsystems as a media relations manager. She introduced and launched a successful initiative that showcased chief information officers and the end-users of the firm's products. Notable projects included Pixar Animation Studios rendering of the movie Toy Story,[6] 1994 World Cup Men's Soccer, global Java rollout and SPARCstation.[7] Upon graduating from Ross School of Business, Jennings-O'Byrne joined JPMorgan Chase's investment bank. She rose to one of only a few female vice presidents in the firm's Mergers and Acquisitions Group. Senior roles in government relations as an international lobbyist and in JPMorgan's Global Philanthropy group followed.[citation needed]
She left JP Morgan Chase[8][9][10] and founded Harriet Capital to launch the Harriet Fund, an investment management firm and fund aimed to invest in startups led by Black and Latinx women. In 2018, she pivoted and expanded her vision to include all women of color and relaunched with the iNTENT Manifesto campaign and the Wocstar Fund. Wocstar Capital,[11][12] is an entrepreneurial advisory, storytelling and investment management firm that educates and trains entrepreneurs and small businesses to build successful/sustainable companies and to access the right capital at the right time.
The Wocstar Fund[13][14][15] is an early stage investment fund focused on women of color and inclusive tech founders who are redefining how we will consume, work, play, dwell and socialize in the future. She launched Wocstar Media in 2024.[16]
Personal life
editJennings-O'Byrne married David A O'Byrne, from Dublin, Ireland at Kinnitty Castle in 2004. They have no children.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ Dimon, James; Case, Steve. "Talent is distributed equally. Opportunity is not". Axios.
- ^ "Aspen Ideas Speakers".
- ^ Sadovnick, Mark. "Mark Sadovnick Interviews Gayle Jennings O'Byrne". 5th Element Group.
- ^ Jane, King. "1st Quarter 2019: Will the Bounceback Last?". Innovators with Jane King. NASDQ.
- ^ "How To Drive $1 Billion to Women of Color Tech Entrepreneurs". Wharton Social Impact Initiative.
- ^ Jeff Ubois (1995). "Sun goes Hollywood, 117 SPARCstations render "Toy Story," the first feature-length computer-animated film". SUNWORLD.
- ^ "SMCC Introduces hyperSPARC SPARCstation".
- ^ Dimon, James; Case, Steve. "Talent is distributed equally. Opportunity is not". Axios.
- ^ Mazzoni, Mary. "This Change-Maker Left Wall Street To Support Female". Conscious Company Media.
- ^ Pilska, Jessica. "How To Find The Fastest Growing Segment of Startups That Everyone Is Missing". Forbes. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ Powell, Rashida. "iNTENT Manifesto receives $500,000 to support women entrepreneurs of color in tech". The Atlanta Voice.
- ^ Hill, Selena. "JPMORGAN CHASE TO INVEST $1 MILLION IN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS OF COLOR". Black Enterprise.
- ^ Stengel, Geri. "New York City Is Opening Doors With $35 Million For Women Entrepreneurs And Makers". Forbes. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ Cortese, Amy. "Fixing the funding gap: City invests in women private investors overlook". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ Gumila, Jeriann. "The Ultimate Guide for Female Founders in NYC". Medium. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Wocstar Capital Launches Wocstar Media 2024 Fellows Wocstar Capital Announces Wocstar Media and Wocstar 2024 Fellows". KRQE. EIN Presswire. 2024-02-20. Retrieved 2024-05-22.