The cue ball team
TONY TJAN
Managing Partner
TONY TJAN
Managing Partner
Tony Tjan, Cue Ball’s co-founder and leader, is an entrepreneur and counselor at heart. He has led multiple “ground-up to scale-up” ventures and served as a strategic advisor to several CEOs. Tony’s career started at McKinsey where he founded ZEFER, one of the earliest Internet advisory and development firms. He also co-founded MiniLuxe, an ethical nail care and beauty brand seeking to change an entire industry. For 15 years, Tony was Vice Chairman of The Parthenon Group and also served as a senior strategic advisor for Thomson Reuters, helping to lead its transformation into the largest media information company.
Tony has written over 100 articles for Harvard Business Reviewand is the author of Good People and the New York Times best-seller, Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck. He is a World Economic Forum Global Leader for Tomorrow and recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Tony holds AB and MBA degrees from Harvard and was a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He sits on the Advisory Council for the MIT Media Lab and the Board of the Tory Burch Foundation.
JOHN HAMEL
Partner
JOHN HAMEL
Partner
John is a co-founding General Partner of Cue Ball and brings an extensive track record of investing and operational experience to our firm. Prior to Cue Ball, John led his own entrepreneurial ventures and served as a trusted technology adviser to many senior executive teams. Additionally, he was also a co-founder of our firm’s founding investment, MiniLuxe. After college, John returned to his high school alma mater to serve as a chemistry, physics, and computer science teacher and
helped modernize the school’s technology systems. John also worked for Answerthink, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANSR) for eight years where he developed his passion and knowledge for business intelligence and big data. He was an also early technology advisor for ZEFER, one of the nation’s first internet consultancies, which was founded by Tony Tjan.
As a first generation Italian-American, John enjoys dual citizenship. He serves his hometown community as a director of the Revere Beach Partnership and chair of its International Sand Sculpting Festival. He also serves as a trustee of Boston Harbor Now. John holds an AB in biology from Harvard College.
BRIAN CHU
Partner
BRIAN CHU
Partner
Brian Chu is one of Cue Ball’s General Partners. He brings a long track record of investing and management operating experience to our firm and has played leadership roles helping to direct the firm’s strategy and investments. Brian is also a Senior Advisor at HighVista Strategies, which he co-founded and previously served as Managing Partner. Prior to co-founding HighVista, Brian was a Managing Director at Vulcan Capital and also a member of the founding investment team at Highfields Capital. Earlier in his career, Brian worked for Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company.
Brian serves as a Trustee for GBH and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and he chairs the respective Investment Committees of both institutions. He is also an overseer and member of the investment committee of Mount Auburn Hospital. Brian and his wife Ellie are founding board members of the Food Allergy Science Initiative at the Broad Institute. Brian holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar. Brian lives in Boston with his wife and two sons.
ALI RAHIMTULA
Partner
ALI RAHIMTULA
Partner
Ali Rahimtula is a Partner at Cue Ball, managing Cue Ball’s deal origination process and leading many of our firm’s enterprise, SaaS, and financial technology deals.
Prior to joining Cue Ball, Ali was a Principal at the private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners where he oversaw several financial technology and financial services investments. Before going into venture and private equity, Ali was a Vice President in the Financial Institutions Group at Goldman Sachs where he worked on over 40 capital raising and announced merger transactions with values aggregating to over $60 billion. Earlier in his career, Ali worked in the Technology Group at Credit Suisse First Boston.
In addition to his depth of investment experience, Ali was one of the earliest employees at ZEFER, an early Internet consultancy and development firm founded by Tony Tjan. He also worked for the Canadian House of Commons in Ottawa, Canada. Ali met Cue Ball’s co-founder, Tony Tjan, during their formative educational years in Newfoundland, Canada. Ali received a gold medal (highest academic achievement) at Memorial University of Newfoundland and also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He blogs at rahimtula.com
TONY TJAN
Managing Partner
Tony Tjan, Cue Ball’s co-founder and leader, is an entrepreneur and counselor at heart. He has led multiple “ground-up to scale-up” ventures and served as a strategic advisor to several CEOs. Tony’s career started at McKinsey where he founded ZEFER, one of the earliest Internet advisory and development firms. He also co-founded MiniLuxe, an ethical nail care and beauty brand seeking to change an entire industry. For 15 years, Tony was Vice Chairman of The Parthenon Group and also served as a senior strategic advisor for Thomson Reuters, helping to lead its transformation into the largest media information company.
Tony has written over 100 articles for Harvard Business Reviewand is the author of Good People and the New York Times best-seller, Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck. He is a World Economic Forum Global Leader for Tomorrow and recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Tony holds AB and MBA degrees from Harvard and was a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He sits on the Advisory Council for the MIT Media Lab and the Board of the Tory Burch Foundation.
JOHN HAMEL
Partner
John is a co-founding General Partner of Cue Ball and brings an extensive track record of investing and operational experience to our firm. Prior to Cue Ball, John led his own entrepreneurial ventures and served as a trusted technology adviser to many senior executive teams. Additionally, he was also a co-founder of our firm’s founding investment, MiniLuxe. After college, John returned to his high school alma mater to serve as a chemistry, physics, and computer science teacher and
helped modernize the school’s technology systems. John also worked for Answerthink, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANSR) for eight years where he developed his passion and knowledge for business intelligence and big data. He was an also early technology advisor for ZEFER, one of the nation’s first internet consultancies, which was founded by Tony Tjan.
As a first generation Italian-American, John enjoys dual citizenship. He serves his hometown community as a director of the Revere Beach Partnership and chair of its International Sand Sculpting Festival. He also serves as a trustee of Boston Harbor Now. John holds an AB in biology from Harvard College.
BRIAN CHU
Partner
Brian Chu is one of Cue Ball’s General Partners. He brings a long track record of investing and management operating experience to our firm and has played leadership roles helping to direct the firm’s strategy and investments. Brian is also a Senior Advisor at HighVista Strategies, which he co-founded and previously served as Managing Partner. Prior to co-founding HighVista, Brian was a Managing Director at Vulcan Capital and also a member of the founding investment team at Highfields Capital. Earlier in his career, Brian worked for Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Company.
Brian serves as a Trustee for GBH and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and he chairs the respective Investment Committees of both institutions. He is also an overseer and member of the investment committee of Mount Auburn Hospital. Brian and his wife Ellie are founding board members of the Food Allergy Science Initiative at the Broad Institute. Brian holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar. Brian lives in Boston with his wife and two sons.
ALI RAHIMTULA
Partner
Ali Rahimtula is a Partner at Cue Ball, managing Cue Ball’s deal origination process and leading many of our firm’s enterprise, SaaS, and financial technology deals.
Prior to joining Cue Ball, Ali was a Principal at the private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners where he oversaw several financial technology and financial services investments. Before going into venture and private equity, Ali was a Vice President in the Financial Institutions Group at Goldman Sachs where he worked on over 40 capital raising and announced merger transactions with values aggregating to over $60 billion. Earlier in his career, Ali worked in the Technology Group at Credit Suisse First Boston.
In addition to his depth of investment experience, Ali was one of the earliest employees at ZEFER, an early Internet consultancy and development firm founded by Tony Tjan. He also worked for the Canadian House of Commons in Ottawa, Canada. Ali met Cue Ball’s co-founder, Tony Tjan, during their formative educational years in Newfoundland, Canada. Ali received a gold medal (highest academic achievement) at Memorial University of Newfoundland and also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He blogs at rahimtula.com
JAMES WALKER
Partner
JAMES WALKER
Partner
James Walker is a Partner of Cue Ball and brings a long track record of investing across all major asset classes and relationship building globally. James was most recently Managing Director and Global Head of Investments for J.P. Morgan Private Bank, where he spent over 20 years. James oversaw all investment solutions including brokerage and managed platforms across a wide breadth, both discretionary multi- and single asset-class strategies, as well as traditional and alternatives manager selection platforms. James was responsible for overseeing over $400 BN in client assets and particularly focused on private investment relationships. James was also a member of both the Wealth Management Operating Committee and the Asset & Wealth Management Operating Committees.
In prior roles, James was responsible for investment advisors globally. Before that, he served as J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Head of Investments for Europe and Israel, and earlier in his career he was the Private Bank’s Head of Investments for the Western and Southern Regions of the United States. James joined the firm in 1996 as an Analyst on the Self- Directed Municipal Trading Desk for J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc. and also served as a J.P. Morgan Investment Management Fixed Income Portfolio Manager in 1998. Since retiring, James has been active private investor in the start-up entrepreneur space, assisting early stage companies with their growth strategies and raising investment capital. He is a Board Member of Israeli firms Cymptom and New Era Capital. A native of Virginia, James earned his B.A. in History from the University of Virginia.
MATS LEDERHAUSEN
Operating Partner
MATS LEDERHAUSEN
Operating Partner
Mats is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Andas. He has more than 40 years of experience building and investing in global businesses in the consumer space.
Mats previously founded the investment platform Be-Cause in 2007, a pioneer in purpose-driven investing dedicated to businesses with a purpose bigger than their products. Mats currently serves as JV Partner & Board Member of Picadeli US, a founding investor and Director of MiniLuxe, a founding General Partner and Operating Partner of Cue Ball, as well as Director of several other companies.
Mats started his career at BCG before becoming CEO and JV Partner of the McDonald’s franchise in Sweden. After leading a successful expansion building over 150 new units, he joined the McDonald’s Corporation as Global Head of Strategy, where he was a key member in architecting the company’s successful turnaround. Mats also served as Founding President of McDonald’s Ventures, where he oversaw and led ground-breaking investments in brands including Chipotle, Redbox DVD (which he co-founded), and Pret A Manger. As Lead Director and Chairman of Chipotle, he helped lead what became one of the most successful restaurant IPOs.
Mats was named one of Crain’s Chicago Business “40 under 40” in 1999 and the World Economic Forum honored him as a “Global Leader of Tomorrow” in 2000. He also serves on the global board of Ronald McDonald House Charities and served for nearly a decade as Chairman of Business for Social Responsibility. Mats holds a Master’s degree from the Stockholm School of Economics.
HILARIO BANGO
Creative in Residence
HILARIO BANGO
Creative in Residence
Hilario Bango is Cue Ball’s Creative in Residence at Cue Ball and also Co-founder and Creative Director of Martian Arts, a creative brand and storytelling agency. At Cue Ball, Hilario brings the art and power of storytelling and design to our firm and our portfolio companies. As a retained resource available to our portfolio businesses, Hilario has helped founders better shape their brand purpose and better share the narrative of their vision. The range of his work has included everything from the visual expression of a firm’s identity to the development of content pillars of their story.
Born in the city of Buenos Aires, where he studied Audiovisual Design, he honed his theatrical talents by producing and directing a large body of material working in advertising, television, and film with various brands such as Disney, Nickelodeon, and Coke-Cola. In 2011 Hilario moved to Boston to start his storytelling and brand development firm, Martian Arts and he joined Cue Ball as a Creative-in-Residence in 2013. Since then he’s has worked as a creative advisor to brands such as TB12, MiniLuxe, Virgin Pulse, ianacare and more. Fascinated by the power of the story to open minds and even shape whole cultures, he exercises that muscle daily at Cue Ball during the day and bedtime stories to wife, Kirsten and their son, Kai in the evening.
JAMES WALKER
Partner
James Walker is a Partner of Cue Ball and brings a long track record of investing across all major asset classes and relationship building globally. James was most recently Managing Director and Global Head of Investments for J.P. Morgan Private Bank, where he spent over 20 years. James oversaw all investment solutions including brokerage and managed platforms across a wide breadth, both discretionary multi- and single asset-class strategies, as well as traditional and alternatives manager selection platforms. James was responsible for overseeing over $400 BN in client assets and particularly focused on private investment relationships. James was also a member of both the Wealth Management Operating Committee and the Asset & Wealth Management Operating Committees.
In prior roles, James was responsible for investment advisors globally. Before that, he served as J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Head of Investments for Europe and Israel, and earlier in his career he was the Private Bank’s Head of Investments for the Western and Southern Regions of the United States. James joined the firm in 1996 as an Analyst on the Self- Directed Municipal Trading Desk for J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc. and also served as a J.P. Morgan Investment Management Fixed Income Portfolio Manager in 1998. Since retiring, James has been active private investor in the start-up entrepreneur space, assisting early stage companies with their growth strategies and raising investment capital. He is a Board Member of Israeli firms Cymptom and New Era Capital. A native of Virginia, James earned his B.A. in History from the University of Virginia.
MATS LEDERHAUSEN
Operating Partner
Mats is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Andas. He has more than 40 years of experience building and investing in global businesses in the consumer space.
Mats previously founded the investment platform Be-Cause in 2007, a pioneer in purpose-driven investing dedicated to businesses with a purpose bigger than their products. Mats currently serves as JV Partner & Board Member of Picadeli US, a founding investor and Director of MiniLuxe, a founding General Partner and Operating Partner of Cue Ball, as well as Director of several other companies.
Mats started his career at BCG before becoming CEO and JV Partner of the McDonald’s franchise in Sweden. After leading a successful expansion building over 150 new units, he joined the McDonald’s Corporation as Global Head of Strategy, where he was a key member in architecting the company’s successful turnaround. Mats also served as Founding President of McDonald’s Ventures, where he oversaw and led ground-breaking investments in brands including Chipotle, Redbox DVD (which he co-founded), and Pret A Manger. As Lead Director and Chairman of Chipotle, he helped lead what became one of the most successful restaurant IPOs.
Mats was named one of Crain’s Chicago Business “40 under 40” in 1999 and the World Economic Forum honored him as a “Global Leader of Tomorrow” in 2000. He also serves on the global board of Ronald McDonald House Charities and served for nearly a decade as Chairman of Business for Social Responsibility. Mats holds a Master’s degree from the Stockholm School of Economics.
HILARIO BANGO
Creative in Residence
Hilario Bango is Cue Ball’s Creative in Residence at Cue Ball and also Co-founder and Creative Director of Martian Arts, a creative brand and storytelling agency. At Cue Ball, Hilario brings the art and power of storytelling and design to our firm and our portfolio companies. As a retained resource available to our portfolio businesses, Hilario has helped founders better shape their brand purpose and better share the narrative of their vision. The range of his work has included everything from the visual expression of a firm’s identity to the development of content pillars of their story.
Born in the city of Buenos Aires, where he studied Audiovisual Design, he honed his theatrical talents by producing and directing a large body of material working in advertising, television, and film with various brands such as Disney, Nickelodeon, and Coke-Cola. In 2011 Hilario moved to Boston to start his storytelling and brand development firm, Martian Arts and he joined Cue Ball as a Creative-in-Residence in 2013. Since then he’s has worked as a creative advisor to brands such as TB12, MiniLuxe, Virgin Pulse, ianacare and more. Fascinated by the power of the story to open minds and even shape whole cultures, he exercises that muscle daily at Cue Ball during the day and bedtime stories to wife, Kirsten and their son, Kai in the evening.