Legacy Team

Legacy Venture is managed by three seasoned professionals, Russ Hall, Alan Marty and Chris Eyre.

They  have extensive understanding of venture capital, and are accomplished in operational, investment, and financial management. They share a deep, heartfelt commitment to effective philanthropy and the pioneering effort Legacy brings to it. The combination of their experience and contacts in both the private and the philanthropic sectors provides a unique resource for Legacy investors.

Russell B. Hall

Managing Partner

Russ Hall co-founded Legacy Venture in 1999 with Jim Anderson, served as the Chief Executive for the first fund, and now co-manages the firm as Managing Director.  Russ is Chairman of the public charity Legacy Works.  He was Vice President for R. Eliot King & Associates, a boutique money management firm; Vice President of Marketing for the technology start-up Logic Modeling; Director of Sales and a marketing manager at Silicon Solutions, another start-up; and an associate at the venture capital firm Merrill Pickard Anderson & Eyre.  He was also a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group and a captain in the Army Corps of Engineers.  Russ is an alumnus of The Philanthropic Workshop West (TPW) and currently serves on its board.  He also attended Stanford's High Impact Philanthropy Program.  He is active in non-profits, an elder at his church, and on the board of the national ministry TimeOut.  Russ is on the advisory board for Full Circle Fund, Good Capital, Stanford's Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and the Global Philanthropy Forum.  Russ is also a Senior Fellow at the American Leadership Forum - Silicon Valley.  Russ holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business where he graduated as an Arjay Miller Scholar, an MS from the University of California at Berkeley, and a BS from the United States Military Academy.  He and his wife, Debbie, have one daughter.

Alan Marty

Managing Partner

Alan Marty joined Legacy as a Managing Director in 2008.  He brings a wealth of investment, philanthropic and technology perspectives to Legacy.  Most recently he handled all venture capital activities for NASA, engaging private investors to develop the commercial launch vehicles necessary to replace the space shuttle.  NASA presented Alan with its highest honor, the Exceptional Public Service Medal.  Prior to NASA, he led nanotechnology venture investing for JP Morgan Partners.  In his earlier career at Hewlett-Packard, he was General Manager of multinational integrated circuit business employing over 2500 employees.  Following the Agilent Technologies spinoff from HP, Alan became General Manager of the microdisplay business targeting consumer electronics.  Just after business school, he was a regional manager at Applied Materials.  He is also the founder of an innovative company in sports market.  His philanthropy interests are broad including education, church and poverty.  Alan received the distinct honor of being selected as a White House Fellow, America's most prestigious program for leadership and public services.  He also spent time in the academic world, serving as an Associate Professor in Materials Science at Silliman University.  Alan received his bachelor's degree in Materials Science from Iowa State University.  At Stanford University, he received both an MBA from Graduate School of Business, where he graduated as an Arjay Miller Scholar, and a Masters degree from the Graduate School of Education, graduating top in his class. He and his wife Cindy have two daughters and a son.

Chris A. Eyre
Managing Partner

Chris Eyre joined Legacy as a Managing Director in early 2001.  He was one of the early venture capitalists in Silicon Valley as a founding partner of Merrill Pickard Anderson & Eyre, the pioneering venture firm that evolved from Bank of America in the 70’s.  He has served on numerous private and public boards and has been an eyewitness to the revolution in entrepreneurship and venture capital in Silicon Valley. While still active through board service, Chris stepped back from originating investments for a season to spend more time as a father of a young family and engage in charitable and church activities.  On the volunteer side of his life, Chris has worked extensively with youth in a teaching and counseling role.  He served for five years as the lay minister for a large congregation of his church and as an officer with the Tri-City Ministerial Association.  Having largely raised his family, Chris joined Russ full time to promote philanthropy through Legacy.  He is an inaugural member of TPW West, a senior fellow and former board member of the American Leadership Forum – Silicon Valley, a former director on the board of Benetech, an original advisor to the Global Philanthropy Forum, and a member of several other organizations dedicated to advancing the field of philanthropy.  Chris holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a B.S. from Utah State University.

Leave of Absence: Chris Eyre began a three year sabbatical serving as a Mission President for his church in Toronto in July 2008.  He joins Legacy weekly partners’ meetings by phone and remains in close touch during his physical absence.  Understandably however, his primary focus and energy is devoted to serving the people in the Toronto area.  While the timing of a sabbatical can never be perfect, Legacy is well positioned to support such a leave.

Yvonne Hunt
Chief Philanthropy Officer

Yvonne joined Legacy Venture in November 2009.  Ms. Hunt brings a wealth of philanthropic, communication and strategic experience to Legacy.  Most recently, she served as the Vice President of Global Philanthropy at Hewlett-Packard, while she also served as Executive Director of the Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation.   In this capacity, Ms. Hunt guided HP’s global philanthropic efforts, working closely with the HP CEO and executives around the world to determine the best philanthropic programs for each region, and directing grants of more than $47 million. She has been intimately involved with many non-profits, particularly those associated with education, microenterprise development and the environment.  Prior to her philanthropic role at HP, Ms. Hunt served as Vice President of Internal Communications, responsible for providing strategic counsel to the CEO and for keeping 200,000 employees engaged and connected to HP’s world-wide strategic initiatives.

Lance Taylor

Chief Financial Officer

Lance Taylor joined Legacy Venture in 2005 as its Chief Financial Officer with responsibility for the firm's financial management and reporting.  He also leads the firm's administrative and operational efforts including information technology and human resources.  Previously, Lance served as the Director of Finance at Lightspeed Venture Partners, an early stage venture capital firm where his responsibilities included finance, human resources and information technology.  He began his career in public accounting serving software and other information technology companies in Silicon Valley and most recently served as a senior manager in the San Jose offices of Ernst & Young, LLP.  Lance is a Certified Public Accountant and earned his BS and Masters Degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University and is currently enrolled in The Duke Global Executive MBA program, class of 2011.  He also serves as the lay minister to a congregation of his church.  He and his wife, Robyn, have four children.

  Denise Chilow
  Member Relations

Denise joined Legacy Venture in 2005 and manages member relations, programming and events.  She also serves as the Board Secretary of Legacy Works Foundation, a sister organization for Legacy Venture.  In 2007, Denise traveled to India on a Unitus Partner Expedition to observe and promote the power of microfinance.  Prior to Legacy, she was a VP of Operations and compliance officer at Woodford Capital Management, a money management firm, and worked for other money management firms in various operational positions.  Denise is a native of Chicago, holds a B.S.in Business from Indiana University, Bloomington, and was an exchange student at Lancaster University in the UK.  She has a son and a daughter.

  Kelli Cullinane
  Controller

Kelli joined Legacy Venture in 2009 as an Senior Accountant and was promoted to Controller in 2010.  She is responsible primarily for the treasury, fund accounting and financial reporting functions of Legacy.  Prior to joining Legacy, she worked at HRJ Capital, a California based fund of funds, bringing with her a solid background in venture capital accounting.  Kelli began her career at Ernst & Young as an auditor specializing in financial services companies.  Kelli is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.A. in Economics and a Master in Accountancy from The University of Michigan.

 Donna DeBonis
 Executive Assistant

Donna joined Legacy Venture in 2008 and is Executive Assistant to Russ Hall.  Prior to joining Legacy, she was Assistant to former Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld in Manhattan; Legal Administrative Assistant at Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabin in San Francisco; and Legal Administrative Assistant at Cox, Castle & Nicholson in Irvine, California.  Donna holds a BA from California State University, Long Beach.