Executives from Microsoft, Palantir Technologies, Urban Community, McKinsey, and SiliconSage elected at March meeting
March 15, 2019 – The Joint Venture Silicon Valley board of directors today added seven new members from diverse sectors of the economy. Elected at the board’s quarterly meeting in Mountain View were Sanjeev Acharya, SiliconSage Builders; Gary Dillabough, Urban Community; Max Duggane, Boys & Girls Club of Silicon Valley; Mitra Mahdavian, McKinsey & Company; Jonathan Noble, Microsoft; Ed Shikada, City of Palo Alto; and Victoria Virasingh, Palantir Technologies.
“These accomplished and engaged executives will strengthen our board,” said Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture. “We’re fortunate to add their expertise and leadership.”
Sanjeev Acharya is CEO of SiliconSage Builders, founded in 2011. He holds a B.S. in Electronics and Communication and is a 20-year veteran in high-tech, software engineering, and entrepreneurial roles. His portfolio includes developments in Sunnyvale, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Santa Clara, and San Jose.
Gary Dillabough is the co-founder & CEO of Urban Community, a real estate development company with a strong focus on Downtown San Jose. With a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Dillabough gained an expertise in smart, energy-efficient buildings while serving as managing partner at venture capital firms Navitas Capital and The Westly Group. Dillabough was previously with eBay as Vice President of Sustainability.
Max Duggane is CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley. With a B.B.A. in Finance from Boston College, he worked in the financial sector in New York and Los Angeles and served as director at Concord Preparatory High School. Since joining Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley in 2015, the organization has doubled its revenue, clubhouses, and youth served — over 2000 per day. Duggane also serves as a director of the Warmenhoven Family Foundation and on the Board of Regents at Boston College.
Mitra Mahdavian is partner at McKinsey & Company where she is a core leader of McKinsey’s technology and software work. She primarily works with clients in the hardware-and-software industry, and guides initiatives to serve emerging growth-technology companies. Mahdavian’s expertise spans growth and go-to-market strategy, sales-force and channel management, pricing, and portfolio planning. Mahdavian holds an M.S. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. from the University of North Texas in Computer Engineering, Mathematics.
Jonathan Noble is Director of US Government Affairs for Microsoft, where he leads outreach to Alaska, Hawaii, and municipal and county governments on policy and procurement issues. Noble joined Microsoft in 2010. With almost 20 years of local, state, campaign, and private sector experience, his background includes serving as Chief of Staff for Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez of San Jose. He earned a B.S. in political science at Haverford College.
Ed Shikada is City Manager for the City of Palo Alto where he also served as Assistant City Manager and General Manager of the Utilities Department. Shikada was previously City Manager for the City of San Jose. Shikada holds a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Hawaii, an M.S. in architecture and urban planning from UCLA, and certificates from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Stanford Center for Professional Development.
Victoria Virasingh is building a team at Palantir Technologies which looks at the impact of technology on labor markets. Since 2015 she has worked across a variety of vertical initiatives including international expansion, equity and data/information security, and deploying Palantir’s technology in the public sector space. Prior to Palantir, Virasingh worked for Senator Dianne Feinstein and the IRS - Criminal Investigations Unit. She holds a B.A. in International Relations and a M.A. in Global Studies with a focus on Latin America from Stanford University.
About Joint Venture Silicon Valley
Joint Venture Silicon Valley was established in 1993. A nonprofit organization, the group convenes the region’s leaders across every major sector – government, business, academia, labor, and community organizations. The organization provides data and analysis on our region’s challenges, and leads initiatives to address those challenges. Joint Venture is funded by cities and counties, local companies, colleges and universities, labor and workforce institutions and foundations. For more information, visit www.jointventure.org.
