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Mark Valdez

COO

“Everyone would love to have outstanding performance. The real question is whether you dare to do the things that are necessary in order to be great. Are you willing to be different, and are you willing to be wrong? In order to have a chance a great results, you have to be open to being both.”

– Howard Marks

Mark is Chief Operating Officer at Pear, where he connects the investment, platform, and finance teams into one operating system for the firm.

Most recently, Mark was the Founder and CEO of Eads Bridge Holdings, an investment firm focused on bridging the digital divide between Tech and Traditional Industries.

Prior to starting EBH, he built a depth of expertise in Silicon Valley having helped launch and build three early stage venture firms. He was part of the founding team at Playground Global where he was responsible for leading the firm’s venture arm which had over $800M AUM and was focused on fundamental technology companies in AI, robotics, biotech, and connected devices.

Earlier in his career, he was an early employee at Andreessen Horowitz where he served as Marc Andreessen’s chief of staff and was a member of the investment team at Stanford Management Company, the university’s investment management arm.

Mark has been an active board member and advisor having served on the Board of Directors for Branch Metrics, Inscopix, Righthand Robotics, and Super Heroic and as an advisor to Accrual, Lightning AI, and Wagr. Mark holds an undergraduate degree from Duke University, an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and is a CFA Charterholder.

Outside of work you’ll find me…

Making Italian feasts for friends and family—fresh pasta, bolognese, and homemade focaccia.

What is your most used emoji?

🤣🙏

What’s your favorite book?

Smartest Guys in the Room

What career path did you want to pursue when you were a kid?

Professional athlete

What are your favorite sports teams?

All my St. Louis teams: Blues, Cardinals, STL City

Previously

Founder & CEO at Eads Bridge Holdings

Founding Team at Playground Global

Chief of Staff at Andreessen Horowitz

Senior Associate at Stanford Management Company

Interested in

The venture firm of the future!