The principals at Trumpet Ventures have a history of building successful companies. We focus on long-term value creation by establishing a bold vision, developing a clear mission, creating strong teams, executing a sound strategy and acting ethically. We operate within a world-class network of investors and executive management.
Lani Fritts was most recently Vice President, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Chief Executive Officer of Savi Performance Logistics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Lani was responsible for domestic and international business development, sales, and government affairs for various business units within Savi Technology since joining the company in 2000, and since its subsequent acquisition by Lockheed Martin in 2006. Lani was instrumental in developing global technology and channel partnerships and alliances, developing business strategy, and launching Savi Networks, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Hutchison Port Holdings, a division of the Hutchison Whampoa Group based in Hong Kong, China. He served on the US Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure Security task force, the World Customs Organization task force on supply chain security, the ISO committee defining best practices in chain of custody control, and Lockheed Martin’s corporate logistics business council. Prior to Savi Technology, Lani held a variety of operating positions at Toys “R” Us and was Director of Inventory Management, responsible for managing the flow of goods through 16 distribution centers to over 700 stores nationwide when he left in 1998. Lani enjoys spending time with his wife Zara and their two girls, Keaton and Tatum. In his spare time, he has competed in several marathons and enjoys the occasional game of golf. Lani has an MBA from Stanford University and a BA in economics from Georgetown University.
Chris Miller’s background includes a mix of entrepreneurial management, sales and financial strategy. As President of ResponseLink, he organically grew revenues significantly in 30 months post-acquisition. Under his leadership, the team grew from 7 to 60 employees and the subscriber base grew by 75%. At ResponseLink, Chris managed sales, marketing and operations and was responsible for hiring ResponseLink’s executive team.
Prior to ResponseLink, Chris served as a Senior Executive for IMG, where he was responsible for building corporate relationships, developing and analyzing new opportunities and driving revenue to IMG’s $40m+ Golf Division. As a venture capitalist, Chris spent 4 years investing in early stage technology companies for Draper Atlantic, an affiliate of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which manages over $1B in its funds. At Draper, Chris served as a Director on the Boards of 5 companies and sourced several deals, including GlobalLogic, a leading provider of global software development with 3000 employees in centers across the US, Asia and Europe. Chris previously spent five years developing and managing a financial department for Smith Barney that achieved $150m in annual sales.
Chris enjoys spending time with his wife, Lindsay, and his infant son Charlie. His hobbies include golf, adventure travel and photography.
Chris has an MBA from Stanford University and a BA from Cornell University.