Mario Malave

Mario, who plays a significant role in FC Como Women's Acquisition and Avenue Sports found incorporation into Mercury/13, is a native of Caracas, Venezuela and began his journey in the U.S. at 16. He graduated in 2013 with majors in Economics and Political Science magna cum laude. His first job was as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, where he focused on cross-border M&A transactions across Latin America before transitioning to the firm’s renowned Technology Group in Menlo Park. Fascinated by technology and early-stage investing, Mario joined Playground Ventures, a deep-tech venture capital fund with $800M AUM, where he oversaw the execution of 40+ deals before pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School.

At HBS, Mario combined his passion for sports and entrepreneurship, leading a European Football trek and working with the Los Angeles Football Club. Before graduating, he co-founded Wagr, a venture-backed sports betting startup that raised over $16M from world-class investors and was acquired by Yahoo Sports in April 2023. Following the acquisition, Mario became the VP of Sports Betting at Yahoo Sports, making him one of the youngest VPs in the company. After overseeing his team’s integration, he joined Mercury/13 as a co-founder and co-CEO