Our Team
Karla, Leslie and Eileen are bound by a shared belief that there is an enormous, emerging opportunity for technology to help the fashion, home and outdoor industries preserve our natural environment and support human rights, while meeting growing and rapidly evolving consumer demand.
Our complementary backgrounds across early-stage investing, financial services, sustainable apparel and supply chain reform, combined with our deep industry connectivity, give us unique insight into selecting and supporting the most promising solutions to the industry’s strategic challenges and commitments at the intersection of sustainability and profitability.
We are diligent and thoughtful investors that back systemic change towards a sustainable future for the ecosystem of the fashion, home and outdoor industries.
Karla Mora, Founder & Managing Partner
Karla brings over 12 years of experience in venture capital and impact investing and another 7 years working in economic development in emerging markets. Prior to Alante, she was Interim Investment Director at VilCap Investments where she led initial investments in early-stage companies in Mexico, Ghana, Kenya, and the US. She supported a large portfolio of companies, cultivated new investor relationships and raised capital for the fund. She also prepared early-stage FinTech and HealthTech entrepreneurs to raise capital through Village Capital’s Mexico-based accelerator program.
Prior to this, Karla was Associate Director of The Eleos Foundation, investing in social enterprises in emerging markets. She also worked at Building Markets in Afghanistan, supporting SMEs and strengthening regional supply chains in post-conflict areas, the World Affairs Council, and the United Nations Sustainable Commodity Initiative for the coffee sector. Karla holds a Master’s Degree in Development Economics from the University of Rome in Italy and a Certificate in Financial Management from Cornell University. Karla is on the Boards of Mango Materials, and on the Advisory Boards of Material Innovation Institute and the UCSB Master’s Program in Eco-Entrepreneurship at the Bren School.
Karla has dedicated her career to using business as a force for positive social and environmental impact. Early on she developed a deep passion for reforming production practices across industries to improve working conditions and protect the environment. Her passion for supply chain reform, deep concern with the state of the apparel industry and her love of beautiful clothes, led her to create Alante Capital in an effort to spur innovations that can have lasting positive impacts on people and the planet.
Leslie Harwell, Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Leslie has over 17 years experience in financial services. Prior to Alante, Leslie was Vice President of Sustainable Finance at JPMorgan Chase & Co. where she developed & led the Capital Strategies Initiative for Sustainable Finance in the Americas, and was involved in the management of and value creation in the Social Finance Principal Investing portfolio.
Leslie began her career at Credit Suisse, where she spent 7 years primarily focused on the evaluation of Debt Capital Markets in Emerging Markets, including coverage of sovereign and corporate clients. She helped issuers in Latin America & the Caribbean raise funds in the international capital markets, managing transactions from pitch through due diligence, structuring and execution. She also was involved in strategic coverage for Multilateral Financial Institutions, which was her first exposure to then new field of Impact Investing. Her first role at the Bank was in Operations, where she managed the transition of legacy reference data systems and firm-wide integration of a new automated platform, training as a Six Sigma Green Belt in the process. Leslie holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University with a minor in Arab Studies.
Alante combines Leslie’s lifelong passion for responsibly produced apparel, personal commitment to sustainable development and honed affinity for finding efficient solutions to complex challenges. Leslie grew up surrounded by entrepreneurs, with her mother in design and father a financial services entrepreneur for over 40 years. The apparel industry is a passion of Leslie’s that is practically inherited. Her grandfather’s family owned the general store and a clothing store in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, and her grandfather began importing from Asia in the 1940s. Leslie’s mother spent her life in the apparel and interior design industries and ingrained the importance of vintage, quality and sustainable sourcing…and also taught Leslie everything she knows about connecting with humans across cultures through the lens of craft and design, shopping in souks, bazaars, and markets all around the world.
Eileen Fisher, Partner
Eileen Fisher has partnered with Alante as an investor and chief advisor. She is the Founder and Chairwoman of EILEEN FISHER, INC.
In 2016, the company became the largest women’s fashion organization to be certified a B Corporation, having met high criteria for social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. EILEEN FISHER is the largest B Corp in the state of New York. In 2015, the company announced VISION2020 a bold 5-year plan that addresses sustainability and human rights. In keeping with Eileen's belief in collaboration, VISION2020 calls for co-leading with other brands to transform the fashion industry.
Given Eileen’s commitment to the development and growth of the whole person, she recently launched LIFEWORK - a personal transformation initiative that invites participants to explore purpose, mindfulness, and embodiment through a variety of online and in-person workshops and events. LIFEWORK programs are offered to company employees, business organizations and the public.
In 2017, Parsons New School of Design honored Eileen at their annual gala for her work in sustainability. Eileen was selected to join the Steering Committee for New York State's Inaugural Council on Women and Girls. Launched by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the committee was formed to ensure that government policies and programs protect women's rights and equality advancement in the state. Eileen was presented the Force for Good Award by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) in February 2016. She is a 2012 inductee into the Social Venture Network Hall of Fame.
Tess Krasne, Principal
Tess is a Principal at Alante Capital, managing sourcing, pipeline, due diligence and investments at the fund. Tess began working with Alante in 2021 while pursuing her MBA at Berkeley, where she specialized in impact venture capital. During school, Tess worked part-time for Builders Vision, assisting in sourcing and executing investments in ocean-related innovation, and Getaway, advising the CEO and Chief of Staff on strategic growth post-Series C fundraise. Tess joined the team full time in July 2022.
Prior to her MBA, Tess spent four years with Ocean Conservancy’s plastics initiative, bringing together Fortune 500 companies, leading scientists, NGOs, and international and domestic government agencies to develop circular industry. Tess started her career organizing for the People’s Climate Movement and Hillary for America. In addition to her MBA, Tess holds a bachelor’s from Washington University in St. Louis, where she studied environmental biology, economics, and anthropology.
Growing up in New York City, Tess always loved fashion and had an overflowing closet. Maturing into a climate activist, this passion evolved into taking pride in being voted “most likely to be 100% thrifted” at her Berkeley MBA program.
Lisa Bougie, Venture Partner
Lisa brings over 30 years of experience in the consumer goods sector leading digitally native and omni-channel businesses at Stitch Fix, Nike, Patagonia & Gap. She has been an investor and active advisor to Alante Capital since 2019 and joined the team as a Venture Partner focusing on retail tech in 2022.
Lisa started her career with twelve years at Gap, Inc., where she built her foundation in the art of merchandising and product creation under Mickey Drexler’s leadership. Following, Lisa spent nearly a decade at Nike where she held direct to consumer and merchandising leadership roles. Her last role at Nike was General Manager of Direct to Consumer for Emerging Markets where she led all functional teams and was responsible for e-commerce, 1,000 Nike stores and a P&L with annual revenue of $1.3B.
In her most recent operating role as Chief Merchandising Officer and General Manager at StitchFix, Lisa was instrumental in leading the company's growth from $10M in annual revenue to $1B+ in less than five years. Lisa believes to her core that art and science are better together. The way in which she led the cross-functional teams to optimize the integration of data science and human judgment was critical to the company's early success.
Lisa is on the board of Eileen Fisher, Cora, and MakerSights. Additionally, Lisa is an advisor to a number of sustainably focused pioneering start-ups. As such, she guides each founder/CEO on strategic planning, brand building, organizational design, and leadership development, Lisa brings a wealth of invaluable expertise to Alante and the portfolio.
Job Openings
Alante Capital is an equal opportunity employer, committed to upholding a culture of inclusion and maintaining a safe environment for people of all backgrounds.
Alante is committed to the values of communication, transparency, and partnership. To ensure these values are upheld in all of the work we do, Alante relies on a spirit of teamwork. Headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, Alante also has an “office” in Connecticut, Seattle, and San Francisco. With a small, remote and bi-coastal team, Alante provides a flexible and progressive work environment.
Open Positions:
None available at this time.