Embracing the Next Generation of QEDians

2020 has been challenging for many reasons, but one silver lining is QED’s growth around the globe. We recently announced our expansion to Southeast Asia, led by Sandeep Patil. Now we are thrilled to share the story of three more additions to the QED team – Ana Cristina Gadala-Maria, Adams Conrad , and Camila Key Saruhashi. Each brings a breadth of experience, both in their careers as business operators as well as through their life experiences.

Ana Cristina will be based in Washington DC as a Principal working with QED’s international investment team focusing on Latin America and special projects including financial inclusion. Adams Conrad is based i

n NY as a Principal where he is working on QED’s Belay platform to build and scale companies from the ground up. Representing QED on the West Coast, Camila is working on US investments from her perch in Palo Alto.

Adams, Camila, and Ana Cristina all hold innovation deep in their DNA. Entrepreneurialism in Camila’s family dates to post WWII when her grandparents left Japan in search for opportunity in Brazil.  Her grandmother “started a fruit stand which grew into a brick-and-mortar small business expanding to fruit, fabric, and dried goods”. Similarly, Adams grew up with his dad launching businesses in the basement of his house. Ana Cristina ties what she describes as an “entrepreneurial mindset” to her analytical mind and brain. Finding creative ways to solve problems was always in the back of her mind, especially as she studied Management Science at Stanford.

Both Camila and Ana Cristina grew up in Latin America - Ana Cristina in Guatemala and Camila in Brazil - which influences their view of the financial services landscape. The pervasive inequity in Latin American financial products is indisputable, and Ana Cristina and Camila both had a front row seat. Ana Cristina was driven by, “the power of finance as a driver of inequality,” and likewise, Camila recognizes how “bad financial products can devastate one’s life and have a huge impact on consumers and businesses.”

Adams’ desire to learn more about tech through a business led him to business school at Georgia Tech.  It was there where he, against all advice, turned down a highly coveted internship at Amazon to intern at Orchard, meeting and working with QED Partner Matt Burton for the first time, unknowingly setting him on a path that would eventually lead him back to QED. It was this decision that catapulted him deep into the operator’s mindset, joining Quovo where he was building and scaling the customer success and management platform. After Plaid acquired Quovo in 2019, he then led much of the integration between the two companies and systems.

Additionally, they all share an experience working in consulting. It was in his role after undergrad, where Adams realized “there is a massive amount of untapped, unutilized data throughout the financial services ecosystem, much of which was locked up at banks”. Camila and Ana Cristiana similarly used consulting as a consulting as a steppingstone to bolster their operating journeys.Camila left in pursuit of “an entrepreneurial, mission driven culture” where she joined the team at Redpoint eventures. Ana Cristina left to attend Harvard Business School “recognizing the value of formal business training in her journey to entrepreneurship”.

While at HBS, Ana Cristina became increasingly excited about the “power of private industry to catapult growth” while working at an education startup. It was clear to her that the startup ecosystem in Latin America was ripe for disruption and was desperate for cultivation. Her and her HBS classmate formed Mosaico Ventures, created a “Spanish language platform for entrepreneurs in Latin America to connect with VCs and grow the nascent ecosystem”.

On making the transition from operating to investing, Camila was compelled by “QED’s hands-on operating approach and 100% focus on fintech”.  She has a personal motto to “surround yourself with great people. At QED I knew by proximity I would learn so much.” Likewise, Adams said “the more conversations I had with the QED team and QED portfolio companies, the more it became clear to me that everyone at QED is an operator”. During the creation of the Mosaico Ventures and through her market research Ana Cristina came across QED and was eager to join a team embedded in the startup and VC ecosystem. After meeting the QED team “it was clear that QED’s values mirrored mine – the passion and potential for financial services have to empower the lives of individuals who are not served by the traditional financial system around the globe”.

Looking ahead to the next chapter, Camila is most excited about “The state of the markets. Growth in financial services is inevitable. Global commerce, ecommerce, tech, mobile penetration is

growing all while the un and underbanked populations persist. This promises to rapidly change financial services for the better”. Ana Cristina agrees and is looking forward to “continuing to develop the Latin America fintech ecosystem. There is still a largely untapped market within the region and am excited to help QED continue its thesis." Adams is eager to “build and grow companies through [QED’s] Belay platform. Financial Services is one of the truly global products. Figuring out a way it can be better for the global community is an exciting challenge”.

In their downtime, Camila enjoys hiking with friends and hanging out with her dog. Similarly, Ana Cris and Adams bring a high-level of activity to the QED team. Ana Cristina is an avid runner and tennis player. She is also very involved in the DC chapter of the Vinetta Project and is passionate about expanding diversity within the industry. Adams, also avid runner, loves cooking and eating and has recently began the quarantine hobby of fishing. We have a feeling they all might be cyclists before no time…

Welcome to the team Ana Cristina, Camila, and Adams! We are thrilled to have you!