Mac Harman is Founder & CEO of Balsam Brands and an active angel investor, mentor, and board advisor to consumer product and Internet startups. Mac founded Balsam Brands in 2006, which quickly became a leading ecommerce retailer and made the Internet Retailer “Top 500” in just its fourth year of operation. Balsam Brands has also been recognized on the Inc. 5000 and as one of the 15 fastest growing private companies in Silicon Valley. More recently, Mac co-founded ProService, a customer service solution provider. Previously, Mac served for seven years as the CEO of Progress Wire Products; he also worked in marketing for the Clorox Company, in business development for the Cleveland Clinic, and as a consultant at McKinsey & Company. Mac was recently named to the Silicon Valley “40 under 40” list and holds an MBA from Stanford and an undergraduate degree from Williams College in Geosciences, Economics, and Environmental Studies.

Ben has been a partner with DLA Piper LLP’s international tax practice in Silicon Valley since 2008. He works with US companies expanding outside the US, as well as foreign companies which seek increase their operation as in the US. In this capacity, Ben focuses on International tax structuring and planning, cross-border mergers & acquisitions (including post-acquisitions integration), transfer pricing planning and compliance, and tax controversy assistance. Prior to joining DLA Piper, Ben worked at PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP in Silicon Valley from 1993 to 2008, including as a partner with the the international tax group from 2001 to 2008.

Ben has a Masters in Taxation (LLM) and a Masters in Corporate Law (LLM) both from New York University. He also has a Bachelor in Laws (LLB) and a Bachelor in Science (BS) in Legal Management from the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.

Ben, together with his wife, Rose, have actively supported NVC (Philippines) since 2011 after their son volunteered for a mission to help the underprivileged in Negros Island. Ben is excited about the opportunity to establish NVC-USA because it will help further its mission of fighting hunger and poverty in the Philippines through proper nutrition and access to quality education for children of the poor, and sustainable livelihood opportunities for their parents.

Claire is the EVP of People & Growth at Balsam Brands, leading the HR function and strategic growth initiatives for the company. Claire began her career as a strategy consultant at Parthenon (now Ernst & Young), worked in Global Strategy at Starbucks and ran Operations at NutraBella and Beau-coup. She graduated from the Stanford MBA program and holds an undergraduate degree from Williams College in Political Economy.