The 2024 f7 Catalysts

At f7, we pride ourselves on identifying exceptional operators who are building the future from the ground up. In September, we first introduced our inaugural class of f7 Catalysts – ten remarkable individuals who embody what it means to get shit done (GSD) in high-growth tech companies. Today, we’re so proud to publish a more detailed list of our accomplished Catalysts!

Download the full pdf here

Biography: A transformative healthcare technology executive who's blazed trails from Google Health to the FDA. She's driving innovation in Medicaid healthcare delivery while championing global health initiatives, earning recognition as a FierceHealthcare top minority executive.

GSD Superpower: First principles approach to the problems she's solving. She leverages her unique perspective across government, law, and tech to make unexpected connections and build innovative structures, consistently getting to the heart of complex organizational challenges.

Kind words from Dan Reed: "She is an absolute dynamic force driving the future of health tech, especially with a focus on underrepresented communities. She formally leads legal and people functions, informally she's the 'COO' leading across everything from pitching deals to upleveling processes to coaching other execs."

Biography: A Harvard-trained partnerships virtuoso who's driven strategic growth at Netflix, LinkedIn, Spotify, and Pinterest before steering Airwallex's North American expansion. She excels at building high-impact partnerships that accelerate business growth.

GSD Superpower: Leading with data. With every key strategic decision and partnership integration, she shares impact metrics across stakeholders, ensuring everyone understands how their work is bending the growth curve.

Kind words from Emily Chiu: "As an operator, Jessica has led companies — including Spotify, Pinterest, Airwallex, and others — in navigating complex strategic decisions and successfully accelerating their growth curves, even at scale."

Biography: A Stanford MBA and Harvard graduate driving Whatnot's vertical expansion. With experience spanning tech, sports (Major League Soccer), and startups, she combines strategic vision with operational excellence to scale emerging businesses.

GSD Superpower: Path-lighting ability to find forward motion. She leads her team with a laser focus on quick, actionable insights, constantly asking "What is the quickest way we can get a signal this week to inform our next move?"

Kind words from Francisca Gilmore-Yulee: "Kristina is without a doubt a top 1% performer. From managing a growing team, multiplying Whatnot's revenue, and being an all around athlete, Kristina shows up with her full self and delivers."

Biography: A distinguished West Point graduate and former Airborne Ranger who transitioned from combat leadership (earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star) to tech innovation. He combines military precision with product expertise across Google Cloud, the VA, and Stripe.

GSD Superpower: Grit and perseverance in the face of ambiguity. After surviving a Taliban ambush and enduring 25 surgeries, he demonstrated extraordinary resilience in his recovery, applying the same determined spirit to his tech leadership.

Kind words from Prashant Goela: "Harp is a great product leader and technologist who seamlessly combines strong product vision with execution. He is as comfortable diving into hard technical topics, stepping back and defining an inspiring long term vision, or driving a large cross-org initiative."

Biography: A UC Berkeley graduate who's revolutionizing executive leadership through her platform connecting executives with Chiefs of Staff. She's built a thriving community of 400+ CoS professionals, drawing from her experiences as CoS at Hugging Face.

GSD Superpower: Firsthand experience to drive problem-solving. As the first woman of color and sixth employee at a unicorn startup, she transformed her personal challenges into a platform that now empowers tens of thousands in crucial leadership roles.

Kind words from Lexi Lewtan: "Clara makes things happen. She brings high energy to whatever she does, and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty to solve problems."

Biography: A Stanford MBA and Michigan graduate revolutionizing personalized medicine through Vibrant. She previously led AI and AR initiatives at Meta, helped launch The Primary School with Priscilla Chan, and actively invests in 20+ companies.

GSD Superpower: Path-lighting superpowers. Leading Meta's earliest AI teams, she excelled at showing teams not just the destination but the journey, emphasizing how individual contributions create greater collective impact.

Kind words from Maryanna Quigless: "Sunita doesn't just manage teams—she empowers them to push boundaries and achieve the seemingly impossible. At Meta, she led teams with unwavering leadership, navigating uncharted technological terrain with a laser-focused clarity and first-principles thinking. Now, as she leads Vibrant, she's transforming healthcare by giving clinicians the tools and freedom to practice personalized medicine at scale."

Biography: A UC Berkeley graduate and former USC professor transforming family caregiving through tech. Named to Inc.'s 2024 Female Founders list and Ad Age's 40 under 40, she's leveraging her decade of caregiving experience and Meta marketing expertise to revolutionize family care.

GSD Superpower: Grit + passion for the problems she's solving. She approaches startup leadership like her ultramarathon running, applying the same endurance, strategy, and resilience to pushing through tough challenges.

Kind words from Sarah Personette: "To watch Shauna build, lead, and grow is to watch true leadership in action. She strikes the perfect balance of operating with urgency, acting with empathy, and driving tangible results forward."

Biography: A Stanford graduate and former Teach For America educator who helped scale Coursera to $100M in revenue. She's managed global operations at Facebook with 250 team members across four international offices.

GSD Superpower: Focusing on clear metrics to maximize impact. From teaching in Bedford Stuyvesant to leading operations at Meta and Coursera, she drives success by defining clear metrics that measure outcomes, not just activities.

Kind words from Julia Stiglitz: "Amber is an extraordinary operator and leader. She has this rare combination of high octane horse-power, strategic thinking, and EQ that makes her (and her teams) unstoppable. We are so lucky to have had Amber help build Uplimit from the very beginning."

Biography: An MIT and Stanford MBA graduate pioneering AI-assisted mental health coaching. Former Senior Director at Meta leading AR/VR initiatives, he was instrumental in launching Android at Google and developing the first Google Phone (now Pixel).

GSD Superpower: Leading with lived experience. Drawing from his journey and helping others in their journeys to manage mental health while leading at Meta and Google, he's built authentic connections with customers and partners, including the prestigious Gottman Institute.

Kind words from Matt Papakipos: "Erick Tseng is a great product leader, team builder, and dear friend. He has a great ability to find the intersection of user need, viable technology, marketable product, and revenue model. He is skilled at building partnerships inside and outside his organization to further his mission and align useful partners. Erick radiates an infectious charismatic excitement that motivates his teams."

Biography: A Yale graduate and Kellogg MBA bringing 15 years of strategic operations expertise to high-growth companies. Previously led operations teams at Instacart, Highlight, and Sprig, specializing in scaling and driving operational efficiency.

GSD Superpower: First principles approach to making things happen. When faced with ambitious goals at Instacart, he demonstrated this by spending long focus hours over the holidays, mapping out a principled path to success, and using detailed memos to sharpen his thinking to lead his team to victory.

Kind words from Aaron Coven: "Sean is one of the most exceptional leaders I've had the privilege of working with — he's a true force multiplier. He drives meaningful business impact through his own efforts, and he simultaneously elevates the wider team's performance as a culture carrier."

These ten individuals represent the best of what it means to be a Catalyst. Each exemplifies a critical attribute of exceptional operators - from in-the-trenches experience to rare path-lighting abilities - while bringing their unique approach to getting shit done. They're not just participating in the future – they're actively shaping it through their ability to execute, innovate, and transform challenges into opportunities.

Full pdf report available here.