
Katherine Ruf
General Counsel
Katherine joined Fifth Down in 2025. She has over 10 years of experience as a legal advisor to private equity and venture capital firms. Prior to joining Fifth Down, Katherine was the General Counsel at Xontogeny, a life sciences accelerator, where she was also responsible for Perceptive Advisors’ venture fund investment activity and portfolio company support. She began her career as an associate in the private equity group at the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges and went on to be a senior member of the legal team at Charlesbank Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Katherine earned her Juris Doctor from University of Michigan and has a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University.