Nelson Gayton

NELSON GAYTONis a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, advising and seed funding venture-backed companies in media, technology, and education. He has incubated and advised early-stage, technology and media enterprises, executing over $100 million of investments in emerging markets across the globe.

A published author, Nelson is a seasoned C-suite executive, a former merchant banker, and former Special Assistant to the CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, where he drove divisional synergy opportunities in filmed entertainment, television, and computer entertainment. As an entrepreneur, Nelson has founded and led several early-stage media and edtech ventures, successfully exiting from two digital media startups in the US and abroad.

Nelson has also served as Faculty and Founding Managing Director of media, technology and innovation think tanks at University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and UCLA Anderson School of Management. Today, he serves on the Faculty of edtech pioneer Emeritus, recently recognized by TIME Magazine as the number one EdTech company in the world.

A renowned speaker, Nelson frequently contributes to numerous publications, like Knowledge @ Wharton, Forbes, and National Public Radio to name a few. He’s a global “thought leader” in digital media and technology, having authored several investor bluebooks on “Internet TV” and the “Metaverse.” Today, Nelson’s interests focus on education, technology, and entertainment in frontier markets such as the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. He is a sought-after Senior Advisor and Management Consultant, maintaining a global client list that includes Fortune 500 companies like McKinsey & Company, the Boston Consulting Group, Dell Computer, and General Electric.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Nelson is fluent in Spanish, enjoys adventure travel, marathon running, and collecting fine art. Most importantly, he is the proud father of beautifully-empowered, teenage daughter and an industrious and precocious teenage son.