Who We Are
SaggVentures is a venture investing company with a mission to provide early-stage capital, mentorship, and networks for visionaries building tomorrow’s industries. We invest across industries, with a focused tilt toward high-conviction sectors driving structural change. We look for founders who see the world not as it is, but as it could be, and have a credible plan to get there.
Kathy Martens
Kathy is the co-founder and CEO of SaggVentures, a venture investing company providing early-stage capital, mentorship, and networks for visionaries building tomorrow’s industries. She is an active member of several angel investment communities in major startup ecosystems across the US. She looks for founders who see the world not as it is, but as it could be, and have a credible plan to get there. Kathy previously held roles at Calvert Research and Management, Rockefeller Asset Management, Voya Investment Management, Sandell Asset Management and Citigroup Alternative Investments.
Kathy was born in Belgium where she earned a B.A. in Applied Economic Sciences and Accountancy from the Economische Hogeschool Sint-Aloysius in Brussels. She moved to New York City in 2000 where she earned an MBA from New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business. Kathy Martens joined the Board of Safe Horizon in 2025. She served as a Committee Member for High Water Women and is fluent in English, French, Dutch and conversant in German. Kathy is a FSA Credential-holder, a CAIA charter holder and earned the Competent Boards Sustainability and ESG Designation (GCB.D).
James Gorman
James is the co-founder of SaggVentures, Chairman of The Walt Disney Company, Senior Advisor of General Atlantic and the former long-term Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley. Previously he was a Senior Partner at McKinsey and Company and an attorney in Melbourne, Australia where he was born.
Throughout his career James has advised hundreds of companies, not-for-profit organizations and several educational institutions on leadership, strategy, culture, succession, and operational excellence. He has overseen many businesses and worked globally on acquisitions, investments, business growth, and capital planning. He offers a unique perspective, experience base, and network to bring ideas and capital to start ups. After decades of working with large institutions James is excited to help start-ups successfully navigate the pathways of growth to achieve their vision.