Astia Honors Leadership Award Winners at 20th Anniversary Community Celebration

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Astia, the global organization that is leveling the investment playing field for startups that include women leaders, announced the winners of its Community Leadership Awards and Sustaining Leadership Awards at last night's Astia 20th Anniversary celebration, A Community Celebration of Innovation, Inclusion & Investment, at the San Francisco Exploratorium. Sponsored by Mastercard, Astia's 20th Anniversary event honored and celebrated all the Astia Community has done to connect female entrepreneurs to capital, networks and expertise over the last two decades.

As the embodiment of Astia's mission to normalize inclusion and remove bias in the investment process, these award recipients are being honored for their profound and enduring impact on the Astia Community.

Astia presented the Community Leadership Award to Barbara Tallent, CEO and founder of The @ Company, Johan and Kristin Odfjell of Planet 9 Capital, Shanna Tellerman, CEO and Founder of Modsy, and Terence Craig, Managing Director, Astia, and Acting CTO, Talamus Health, Inc. These five recipients were recognized for their leadership and continuous generosity of time, networks and expertise to the benefit of Astia.

Astia also presented the Sustaining Leadership Award to Astia Founder, Catherine Muther, President of Three Guineas Fund and Greg Becker, Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Valley Bank. Both organizations were recognized for providing the sustaining funding that has ignited twenty years of impact.

"As an Astia partner since its founding 20 years ago, Silicon Valley Bank is proud to contribute to the work this community is doing to increase women's access to leadership positions of influence and to create funding equity around the world," said Greg Becker, CEO of Silicon Valley Bank. "As SVB strives to expand opportunities for underrepresented people across the global innovation economy, Astia is a critical partner in this effort." 

"We are honored to have a long standing partnership with Astia, collaborating to support and invest in women-led businesses to ensure this segment can amplify their impact on their communities, as well as on the economy more broadly," said Sherri Haymond, EVP of Digital Partnerships for Mastercard. "Over the past twenty years, Astia has made tremendous strides in closing the gap and leveling the playing field for startups that include women leaders and we look forward to continuing to support those efforts collaboratively."

"We are grateful for the commitment of these individuals and organizations over the past 20 years," said Sharon Vosmek, Astia CEO. "It is because of their deep and enduring engagement in our work that we have achieved this position of leadership. We look forward to an exciting era ahead as we continue to value, and therefore, invest in companies that include women leaders - a unique position, even today, in the venture community."

Since 2013, when Astia launched investment activity, members of Astia Angels and Astia have invested over $24 million into 54 businesses; attracting an additional $420 million in syndicate investment. All Astia investments are sourced and screened via the proprietary process designed to eliminate bias in the investment process, the Astia Expert Sift™. The portfolio includes four substantial exits and other prominent U.S. venture-backed companies like Ellevest, Zenflow, Modsy, CNote, Tivic Health and more http://astia.org/astia-angels-portfolio/.

To learn more about how Astia is changing the way the investment ecosystem looks and how it evaluates high potential organizations, visit www.astia.org.

About Astia
Astia levels the investment playing field for startups that include women leaders by eliminating bias in the investment process. Unlike most VC's, investment firms, or accelerators, Astia provides a creative, proven approach via the Astia Expert Sift™ process, contributing to the success of female entrepreneurs and their ventures. With Astia Angels and the Astia Fund, Astia further extends its thesis that investing in women entrepreneurs is an exceptional investment strategy. For more information, visit www.astia.org.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Lyle
Barokas Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE Astia

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