Ricardo Velez

Ricardo is a Marine Corps infantry combat veteran turned longtime private company advocate. Over the past 20 years, he has been a serial legal and business affairs executive and strategic advisor to public and private technology companies in the Bay Area. Ricardo has extensive big-law, in-house general counsel, and technology investment banking experience, with expertise in capital markets, corporate governance, equity compensation and securities laws. He is an accomplished tech company operator, securities lawyer, and investment banker, having represented numerous private tech “unicorns” through high-dollar value securities transactions, including IPO, M&A (buy- and sell-side) financing events.  

Ricardo currently serves as General Counsel at Benchling, a biotech company in San Francisco, and is a Venture Partner at Liquid Stock, an options financing investment firm. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, is an active member of the California Bar, and holds Series 79 and 63 securities licenses.