2024 Hall of Fame Inductees
Donn Rubin
Founding President & CEO
BioSTL
Donn Rubin is the Founding President and CEO of BioSTL, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering innovation in St. Louis. He is also a Board Member and serves on the Audit and Finance Committee at Missouri Technology Corporation. Rubin's leadership at BioSTL has been instrumental in driving economic growth and cultivating an entrepreneurial culture in St. Louis, particularly in the medical and plant biosciences sectors. Through initiatives like Cortex and BioGenerator, BioSTL has become a key player in the U.S. bioscience seed investment landscape. Rubin's vision expanded internationally with GlobalSTL, connecting St. Louis with innovation hubs worldwide. He has also played significant roles in advocating for innovation-friendly policies at both state and federal levels. Rubin's diverse background includes legal, financial, and international development experience, notably in Eastern Europe during the post-communist era. Recognized for his civic contributions, Rubin holds degrees from the Wharton School and the University of Michigan Law School. He continues to champion medical research and pro-science policies through his work with Missouri Cures.
John True
General Partner
Cultivation Capital
John True serves as a General Partner at Cultivation Capital. He serves as an Operating Partner at Insight Ventures. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for six private Software firms. In addition, he has previously served on the Board of 10 enterprise technology firms of all stages. He has 20 years of industry experience in executive roles for 5 high-growth technology firms. He has been an officer with three companies entering the public markets (Ariba, Guidewire and PTC). He has participated on both the buy side and sell side of 30 M&A transactions in software tech.
Douglas Wilber
Chief Strategy Officer
Capacity
Douglas Wilber currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer at Capacity, having previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Board Member at Denim Social prior to Denim’s acquisition by Capacity in August of 2023. He is also serves as an Investment Committee Member at SixThirty Ventures where he also serves as Board Representative for portfolio companies Rippleshot and Equipifi. Wilber has over two decades of experience conceiving, building, and scaling fintech solutions with previous leadership roles at PYMNTS.com and Discover Financial Services. He holds an MBA in Product Development and Brand Strategy from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) and BS in Marketing & International Business from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State).