About Us
EB Exchange Funds was founded by Larry Albukerk in 1999 to allow entrepreneurs to make a rational financial planning decision by diversifying a small portion of their large illiquid holdings and to build a strong network of leading entrepreneurs. EB’s team and advisors include highly experienced entrepreneurs, venture capital investors, executives, academics and attorneys. In addition, EB retains experts in taxation, securities and corporate law for fund creation and management.
Management
• Laurence (Larry) Albukerk - Managing Director, Founder• Yariv Robinson - Director
Advisors
• John Parsons - Venture Advisor• Phil Schlein - Venture Advisor
• Steven Kaplan - Venture Advisor
• John Montgomery - Legal Advisor
• Kevin Connor - Advisor
Laurence Albukerk - Managing Director, Founder
For the past 20 years Mr. Albukerk founded, managed and invested in multiple venture-backed companies. Since 1999 he has been working with entrepreneurs of privately held companies to achieve diversification and liquidity of highly concentrated, illiquid positions. Mr. Albukerk has created 5 private equity exchange funds comprised of over 125 top tier, venture-backed companies. He has also advised on more than 25 secondary and other financing transactions of private stock including, eBags, Facebook, GameFly, LifeLock, Second Life and OpenTable, totaling over $100 million.
In 1993, Mr. Albukerk founded his first venture-backed company, Visible Interactive, a pioneer of location based services. Since leaving Visible in 1997, Mr. Albukerk founded two other venture-backed companies including Basement.com and served on the Boards of Competitor Magazine and Concept Kitchen until its sale to office supply giant, Fellowes, in 1999.
Mr. Albukerk is an advisor to the X Prize Foundation on matters of private equity donations. He is also the inventor and/or owner of several U.S. patents. Mr. Albukerk is a frequent lecturer on topics including Founder Liquidity and Startup Capital Structure.
Mr. Albukerk earned an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1992 and a BSBA from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri in 1989. Mr. Albukerk lives in San Francisco with his wife and two daughters.
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Yariv Robinson - Director
Mr. Robinson is a Director with EB Liquidity Advisors responsible for due diligence and deal sourcing. Yariv brings over a decade of corporate development, management consulting, and market research experience.
Most recently, Yariv was with SVB Financial Group, the leading financial institution serving innovative technology and life sciences companies. As an integral part of the bank’s Corporate Development team, he worked closely with senior leadership on evaluating domestic and international growth opportunities.
Prior to joining SVB, Yariv was a Manager with A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm. During his tenure at the firm, his teams tackled a wide range of C-Level issues including strategy, supply chain, and corporate sustainability.
Previously, Yariv was a Manager of Proprietary Research at J.D. Power and Associates, a global Market Research firm. In this position, he led teams in defining, translating, and integrating customer requirements into products and services.
Before starting his business career, Yariv was a Counter Intelligence Specialist in the Israeli Air-Force.
Mr. Robinson earned his MBA from UCLA where he was an MDE scholar with the Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Yariv also holds a bachelor's degree with a double major in Economics and Political Science from the University of Tel-Aviv.
Yariv resides in San Francisco with his wife and adorable twins.
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John Parsons - Venture Advisor
John has a long career in the venture capital industry having founded, lead or invested in over 50 seed and early-stage companies. He is on the management committee of the Halo Funds and is a member of the Angels' Forum and the Band of Angels. John was also a consultant at Ernst & Young and began his career at General Electric. He holds an M.B.A. from The Darden Graduate School of Business Administration of the University of Virginia and a B.S. degree in Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Back to top.Philip Schlein - Venture Advisor
Phil is a Venture Partner at U.S. Venture Partners, one of the nation's most successful venture capital firms. Phil has been advising entrepreneurs since he joined USVP in 1985. As President and CEO of Macy's California for 11 years, he has focused his investments in the retail sector--from pure retailing plays to the consumer Internet. For example, he guided USVP's investments in PetsMart and Fresh Choice. Phil serves on the boards of Sound ID, Catalist, Specialtys, Auction Drop and Oakville Grocery.
Phil is a guest lecturer in graduate classrooms at Stanford and Santa Clara University. He has a vineyard where he grows mostly Cabernets. Phil is on the boards of the California College of Art, the San Francisco Botanical Gardens and the diRosa Preserve.
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Professor Kaplan is the Neubauer Family Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (GSB) where he has been a faculty member since 1988. He is also the Faculty Director of the GSB's Polsky Entrepreneurship Center. Professor Kaplan's research, teaching, and consulting focus on issues in corporate governance, private equity and entrepreneurial finance, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance. Business Week named him one of the top twelve business school teachers in the country. Professor Kaplan serves on the board of directors of Accretive Health, Columbia Acorn Funds, and Morningstar (MORN). He also serves as a director of the Illinois Venture Capital Association and the Kauffman Fellows Program.
Professor Kaplan earned his Ph.D. in Business Economics from Harvard University. He received his A.B., summa cum laude, in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Harvard College. Before completing his Ph.D. studies, Professor Kaplan held positions with Kidder, Peabody & Co. and Booz, Allen & Hamilton.
Back to top.John Montgomery - Legal Advisor
John has practiced corporate law in Silicon Valley since 1984. John's experience includes extensive corporate counseling to public and private companies and venture capital firms. He has represented clients in connection with numerous venture capital financings, initial public offerings, public and private mergers and acquisitions, going private transactions and a variety of other general corporate matters. He is a frequent speaker and panelist on venture capital topics at such forums as the Churchill Club, SVASE and Intel's CFO Forum. Prior to co-founding Montgomery Law Group with Dan Hansen, John was the co-chairman of the venture capital practice at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, LLP, an early partner of GCA Law Partners, LLP and an associate corporate attorney at Baker & McKenzie and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. John was also an in-house attorney at The Cooper Companies.
Back to top.Kevin Connor - Advisor
Kevin is the President and co-founder of JDI Realty LLC and JDI Loans LLC. JDI Realty is a real estate investment company which focuses on the acquisition of underperforming and undervalued real estate assets throughout the United States, it was founded in 1988. JDI Loans LLC is one of the nation's premier real estate bridge lenders, specializing in the funding of complicated and time sensitive real estate loans. Prior to forming JDI, Kevin was a Vice President with LaSalle Partners, a Chicago-based national commercial real estate firm, and a commercial loan officer at Continental Bank. Kevin graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1980 with a bachelor of arts degree in economics and German. In 1985, he received a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University School of Law. He served as an elected trustee of the Village of Hinsdale from 1993 until 1997 and as an elected member of his local school board from 1997 to 2005. He serves on the advisory board of the Private Bank & Trust Company.
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