The team behind it all

Prior to co-founding Mercury Fund, Blair was CEO of Intermat, a leader in product information management software (NYSE: IHS). Prior to Intermat, Blair was a Principal of Genesis Park, a Houston-based private equity firm where he focused on software investing. Prior to Genesis Park, Blair helped launch and was the Director of Operations for the Houston Technology Center (HTC), one of the largest tech incubators in the Southwest; and he led the formation of the Houston Angel Network (HAN), one of the most active angel investment organizations in the U.S.

Through Blair’s work in helping to build Houston’s innovation ecosystem, he launched several startup accelerators and investment organizations to help diversify and broaden educational and funding opportunities for entrepreneurs including Houston Exponential (HX), South Loop Ventures, Station Houston (The Ion), and SURGE Accelerator. 

Blair is also an Adjunct Professor at the Rice Jones School of Business where he teaches a course on entrepreneurial finance. Prior to his entrepreneurial and venture career, Blair was an investment banker with Nesbitt Burns (BMO Capital Markets), a credit analyst with Compass Bank (BBVA Compass), and an auditor with Deloitte & Touche (Deloitte). He received his B.S. in Management with special attainments in Commerce from Washington & Lee University, where he currently serves on the Advisory Boards of the Connelly Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics.

Adrian leads the industrial transformation investment practice. He’s focused on backing industrial and physical AI startups solving critical real-world problems where labor, precision, and resilience matter most. Prior to joining Mercury, Adrian was the Managing Director of Invest Detroit Ventures. Adrian also co-founded three software companies: Sidecar (acq. by GM), ShepherdIS, and FlockTAG. Prior to founding startups, Adrian was a powertrain engineer at Ricardo, a global engineering consultancy focusing on the automotive, cleantech, defense, and industrial sectors.

Adrian sits on the boards of Michigan Founders Fund and Michigan Venture Capital Association. He is a co-founder of the Great Lakes Venture Capital Summit which is a gathering of the leading VC GPs in the Great Lakes region.

Adrian is also an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan College of Engineering where he teaches VC fundamentals courses. Adrian received his BSE in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA with High Distinction from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Having failed at every possible job in the enterprise software stack, Aziz joined Mercury Fund as an Associate in 2008. His investments range from Healthcare IT, to DevOps tools, to Cyber Security.

Aziz served as an advisory board member/advisor to SXSW from 2012 to 2025. Aziz has also served on the Mayor of Houston’s Tech Taskforce, the US Government’s National Advisory Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and is currently a board member of the NVCA.

Aziz has a BBA from the University of Texas where he was a TILF scholar, an MBA from Northwestern University where he was an FC Austin Scholar, and he is a member of Class 14 of the Kauffman Fellows Program. Aziz is also an adjunct professor at Rice University’s Jones School of Business, where he has taught a course on Entrepreneurial Finance since 2010.

Sam lead’s Mercury's fintech and blockchain practice, backing exceptional founders rewriting how people and agents move money, invest, and save across the globe. She has spent over 8 years building deep relationships across TradFi and web3 and believes the financial security of the future is in the hands of those innovating today. Sam is also the co-host of the podcast MoneyMoves, where she and Dave Sutter (OpenTrade), and Ian Epstein (Profitr), explore the intersection of TradFi and web3 on a weekly basis. 

Prior to Mercury, Sam was the Investment Director at Goose Capital, where she learned VC from the ground up through sourcing, structuring, and portfolio management across deep tech and frontier investments. Prior to Goose Capital, Sam was a two-time founder in beauty and food products.

Sam holds a B.A. from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the Rice Jones School of Business. She is also a member of Class 16 of the Kauffman Fellows Program, where she currently leads the Blockchain Group for the program's global VC network.

Prior to joining Mercury Fund, Heath founded Gestalt Theory Venture Partners, a venture studio. Prior to Gestalt Theory, Heath held leadership roles as a corporate development executive, fintech division president, and various business/product development roles at Insperity (NYSE: NSP). Prior to Insperity, Heath led product development for EnergyWorkspace.com, co-founded a fintech startup during the dot.com era, and developed his foundational management experience at Travelers Group and UPS.

Heath’s entrepreneurial journey began by helping run his parents’ chain of retail stores in the French Quarter of New Orleans. He received a BS in Finance from the University of New Orleans and an MBA from Texas Southern University.

Outside of Mercury, Heath is an active investor, mentors founders in innovation communities throughout Middle America, teaches the quarterly “How to Start a Startup” session at The Ion, and blogs @ StartupHeat. He is passionate about educating, empowering, and enabling entrepreneurs and investors in all communities.

Aileen Allen is a Partner at Mercury Fund. Prior to joining Mercury, Aileen spent over 15 years in B2B software GTM, leading marketing and BDR teams at world-class SaaS companies. Aileen oversaw product marketing and ecosystem GTM at Atlassian during the company’s hyper-growth phase (pre and post-IPO). She subsequently served as a marketing executive at Gremlin, Vanta, and Tailscale.

Aileen enjoys partnering with founders and executives to design and execute go-to-market strategies, optimize customer journeys, and drive user/customer acquisition, expansion, and retention revenue.

Aileen serves on the Board of Directors of Team Catapult, an organization whose mission is to help disabled athletes achieve their goals. Aileen previously served on the Board of Directors of the Houston Angel Network, Texas’ oldest angel investment group. Aileen is also a committed volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters. 

Aileen earned her BA in Mass Communication and Spanish from St. Edward’s University.

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Alex Gras is a Principal at Mercury Fund focused on the AI enablement of foundational, slow-moving legacy industries. Driven by the conviction that the most massive technological opportunities lie in the physical world, Alex backs founders injecting pragmatic, applied AI into the bedrock of the economy—spanning heavy industry, real estate, sports, and hospitality. He has led investments in companies building the infrastructure for the physical world's next chapter, including Collide, SmartAC, Satsuma, and Pie. Through his AI After Dark podcast, he regularly connects with top-tier technical talent to explore how generative and agentic AI can translate into tangible ROI for legacy sectors.

As a former oil and gas engineer and a current operating partner in the margin-tight hospitality industry, Alex has a highly tuned filter for distinguishing between theoretical tech and tools that traditional businesses will actually adopt. This practitioner's perspective allows him to translate complex generative and agentic AI into tangible ROI, bridging the gap between bleeding-edge technology and the concrete, everyday realities of foundational markets.

What sets Alex apart on the cap table is his unique blend of technical fluency and operational empathy. He doesn't just evaluate traditional industries from afar; he cut his teeth as an engineer in the oil and gas sector at Tenaris after graduating from SMU, and he actively navigates the margin-tight realities of the physical world as a co-owner of the iconic Houston F&B concepts, Love Croissants, Weights + Measures, and Petite Lucie. Having previously served as Chief Commercial Officer at The Cannon and co-founded the sports tech accelerator Pokatok Labs, Alex brings a true practitioner's perspective. He has a highly tuned filter for distinguishing between theoretical tech and the robust solutions that operators will actually adopt, making him a deeply strategic partner to founders bridging the gap between deep tech and traditional operations.

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Andreas Galliker is Chief Financial Officer at Mercury. Prior to joining Mercury, Andreas worked with Cintrifuse, a Cincinnati-based venture capital fund-of-funds, and for Northcreek, a mid-market mezzanine fund.  Prior to that, Andreas was a Mandate Manager for an Audit, Tax, and Financial Advisory Firm, where he was responsible for annual reporting, audit mandates, and investment accounts.  Andreas received his BBA in Finance, and his M.S. in Finance, where he was a UGS Scholar, from the University of Cincinnati.  He received a Swiss certified specialist in accounting and finance degree (CPA equivalent) from the Institute of Higher Business Education in Lucerne, Switzerland and is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Society Houston.

Jackie Pfister is the Chief Operating Officer at Mercury, managing all operations for the firm. Jackie collaborates with the entire team to ensure all aspects of the Mercury platform achieve maximum productivity and impact. She works closely with leadership to transform goals into actionable plans and driving them to execution. Jackie also manages community and ecosystem engagement for the firm and is the Executive Director of CXO Summit, the largest gathering of software startup participants in the middle of the country. Prior to Mercury, Jackie worked as a Business Analyst at Trenegy, a Houston-based management consulting firm where she focused on project management, change management, and organizational design related to new enterprise software implementations. Jackie received her BA in Communication with a minor in Business Administration from Texas A&M University in College Station.

Lisa Roberts is the Chief Product Officer at Mercury supporting and consulting with portfolio companies and leaders on all things related to product strategy, development, positioning, and go-to-market. The bulk of Lisa’s career has been in building and leading (as both head of Product and/or Marketing) early stage B2B SaaS businesses through growth to IPO or acquisition. She has specific experience and expertise in ecommerce (Bazaarvoice, FloorFound, Dell, Garden.com), higher education (Civitas Learning), Martech (Yonder, Adlucent), and recommerce logistics (FloorFound). Lisa advises a number of local Austin startups, and has been on the board of the Andy Roddick Foundation since 2018. She received a BA in advertising and journalism from Texas A&M College Station.

Patrick Okorafor is Director of Finance at Mercury. Prior to joining Mercury, Patrick worked for CRG LP, a healthcare focused private equity firm, where he was responsible for financial reporting, capital activity, LP correspondence, and investment fundings. Prior to CRG, Patrick worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, where he audited private equity firms and regulated investment companies. Patrick received a BBA in Accounting and a BBA in Finance from the University of Houston – Downtown, an MBA, with concentrations in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management, from Rice University, and he is a licensed CPA in the state of Texas.

Eric Ragsdale is the Analyst at Mercury Fund, where he supports financial reporting, fund operations, and performance analysis across complex investment structures. He contributes to portfolio valuations, capital activity tracking, LP communications, investment due diligence, and the financial modeling that underpins the firm's investment decisions.

Prior to joining Mercury Fund, Eric worked for Verivest, a real estate fund administrator, as a fund accountant across a diverse suite of vehicles including debt funds, fund-of-funds, and syndicated investments. Eric began his career at Rockspring Capital, a Houston-based real estate investment firm specializing in acquiring and managing land and property investments throughout Texas.

Eric holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Houston.

Tolonye Williams is the Mercury Fund Operations Manager where she supports the investment team through deal flow pipeline and database management; performing venture, company, and market-related research. She also works directly with the Mercury Fund Limited Partners. Prior to Mercury, Tolonye supported executive staff members in various fields including commercial real estate, marketing, and non-profit. A native Houstonian Tolonye attended Houston Community College and The University of Houston.

Rachel Craft is the Office Assistant at Mercury, where she helps the team with administrative tasks and daily operational needs. Prior to Mercury, Rachel worked as a Sales Support Specialist at Experian Consumer Services on the Data Breach Response Team. Rachel received her B.A. in History from Baylor University.