Capital Outlook 2025

Discover the key trends and strategies shaping the capital markets in 2025.

Join our distinguished panel of experts in Venture Capital, Private Equity, M&A, and Finance as we navigate the evolving financial landscape. Explore the priorities and trends that will define strategies in 2025 and beyond in an interactive session designed to provide actionable insights.

What you’ll gain:
✔ Insights into shifts in monetary and fiscal policy and their implications.
✔ Strategies leveraging technology to minimize risks and capitalize on opportunities.
✔ Analysis of the 2024 rate-cutting cycle: Will lower interest rates spark a surge in M&A activity?
✔ Perspectives on the U.S. post-election rally and “Trumponomics”: Can these tailwinds sustain growth?
✔ A deep dive into AI’s transformative shift from generalized tools to enterprise-specific solutions in 2025.

Don’t miss this opportunity to ask questions and gain diverse viewpoints on the factors shaping financing decisions for the future.

Speakers

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David Gerster, Investment Partner @ Fusion Fund

David Gerster is an Investment Partner at Fusion Fund, an early-stage venture fund based in Palo Alto. Prior to Fusion, he was an investor at the JLL Spark Global Venture Fund, a $100M early stage proptech fund. At JLL, he led the fund’s efforts to invest in the Series A of OpenSpace, which later raised a Series D at a valuation of more than $900M. He has also invested as an angel, most notably in the first rounds of Cloudera and Alation.

Prior to JLL, he was the Vice President of Data Science at BigML, where he promoted the idea that data science is easy by speaking at conferences and teaching workshops. During his time at BigML, he gave talks at CERN, the Predict Conference, ML Prague, Big Data Spain, Papis.io, DataLead (UC Berkeley), DataBeat (VentureBeat), and more than a dozen other venues.

At Groupon, he built an elite data science team that trained the first machine-learned models for mobile deal relevance. At Yahoo, he led the project to collect billions of URL clickstreams in Hadoop and use them to improve Yahoo’s main web search algorithm. He holds an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

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Sean Randolph, Senior Director @ Bay Area Council Economic Institute

Sean is the Senior Director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, a public-private partnership of business, labor, government and higher education that works to foster a competitive economy in California and the San Francisco Bay Area, including San Francisco, Oakland and Silicon Valley. The Economic Institute produces authoritative analyses on economic policy issues affecting the region and the state, including infrastructure, globalization, energy, science, and governance, and mobilizes California and Bay Area leaders around targeted policy initiatives.

Dr. Randolph previously served as President & CEO of the Bay Area Economic Forum, which merged with the Bay Area Council in January 2008, and as director of international trade for the State of California, where he developed trade strategy and directed international business programs to stimulate exports and introduce California companies to overseas markets. Before service with the state, he was Managing Director of the RSR Pacific Group, an international business consulting firm specializing in Asia and Latin America, and before that served as International Director General of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, a 15-nation international organization of leading U.S., Asian and Latin American corporations. His professional career includes extensive experience in the U.S. Government, including the U.S. Congress staff, and the White House staff.

Dr. Randolph holds a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center, a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts and Harvard Universities), a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and studied at the London School of Economics. He currently serves on the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), which he chaired from 2005–2012, and on the State of California’s Public Infrastructure Advisory Commission (PIAC). He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy, and serves on the Advisory Board of the University of San Francisco Center for the Pacific Rim, and the President’s Advisory Council of Excelsior College (New York). Dr. Randolph speaks frequently before business, government and university audiences, and writes for U.S. and international media on global, national, state and regional economic and policy issues.

Moderator

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Josephine (Joey) Ha, Senior Director @ BNY Mellon Wealth Management, San Francisco

Josephine "Joey" Ha is a seasoned wealth management executive with over 17 years of leadership, innovation, and client-focused experience in the financial services industry. Currently serving as a Senior Director at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Joey works directly with individuals and families to develop and implement tailored wealth strategies designed to meet their unique financial goals. She also oversees the wealth management team in San Francisco, fostering excellence and collaboration.

Prior to her role at BNY Mellon, Joey held key leadership positions at Northern Trust Corporation, including Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, where she played a pivotal role in designing and implementing best practices for the National Investment Practice. Her efforts enhanced client experiences and increased operational efficiency through innovative software solutions.

Joey’s career began at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Public Accountant, where she honed her expertise in financial analysis and strategy. She later transitioned to roles at Waterline Partners and True Link Financial, consistently demonstrating her ability to create value for high-net-worth individuals, families, and organizations.

A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Joey is recognized for her outstanding communication, talent management, and client advisory skills. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Seattle University and is passionate about delivering personalized financial solutions that empower her clients.