 John
Kao, leading expert on Innovation, Innovation
Nation
John
Kao is a leading expert on innovation. He taught a popular course
on the subject at the Harvard Business School for 14 years, and
he has also served as a visiting professor at the MIT Media Lab
and the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
In addition he is the founder of consulting firm Kao & Company,
consulting to top-tier Fortune 500 business leaders, as well as
to many departments of the US government. He has specialized in
instructing organizations in the methods for making innovation
happen. Dubbed “Mr. Creativity” by The Economist magazine, he
has started several companies, in areas as diverse as biotech,
innovation management, and e-services, and he has also worked
as an executive producer of several feature films, including sex,
lies and videotape. He is also an accomplished jazz musician.
TOP
 Justin
Adams, Director of Technology Strategy, BP
Justin Adams is Director of Technology Strategy,
Venturing and Innovation for the BP Group. In this role he is
responsible for all venturing activity and investments in the
central technology function and is building a venturing and innovation
network across the Group. Justin is also accountable for technology
strategy and was the architect of the Group’s Long Term Technology
Strategy a key catalyst for the launch of BP’s two new cleantech
companies – Alternative Energy and BP Biofuels.
Prior to joining BP Justin was the founder and
CEO of High Power Lithium a Swiss company developing next generation
battery materials for hybrid electric vehicles in collaboration
with Toyota. He was also an advisor to Konarka Technologies, a
Massachusetts based start-up, developing next generation solar
cells. Before this he worked as a consultant with Arthur D. Little,
ultimately leading the Advanced Energy Systems practice in Europe,
delivering strategic and techno-economic consulting on emerging
energy technologies to many of the world’s leading energy majors.
TOP
Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., Managing Partner and CEO, Flagship Ventures
Noubar is a technologist, entrepreneur and venture capitalist.
He has founded and helped build 15 successful life science and
technology startups during the past two decades. In addition,
he is a Senior Lecturer at MIT in both the Sloan School of Management
and the Biological Engineering Department. Noubar has authored
numerous scientific publications as well as patents, and earned
his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from MIT in 1987.
In 1999 Noubar co-founded Flagship Ventures, an early stage venture
capital and entrepreneurship firm. Prior to that, he participated
in creating and launching six highly successful new ventures.
He was the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of PerSeptive Biosystems
(NASDAQ: PBIO), a leader in the bio-instrumentation field. He
also served as Chairman of the Board of ChemGenics Pharmaceuticals,
a pioneer in genomics-based drug discovery that was a spin-off
company of PerSeptive. After PerSeptive's acquisition by Applera
Corporation (NYSE: ABI), he was Senior Vice President and Chief
Business Officer of Applera, where he initiated and oversaw the
creation of their tracking stock subsidiary, Celera Genomics (NYSE:
CRA). He has also been a founding team member, investor and active
board member/advisor of Antigenics (NASDAQ: AGEN), Color Kinetics
(NASDAQ: CLRK) and EXACT Sciences (NASDAQ: EXAS).
Noubar currently serves as a Director for the following Flagship
portfolio companies in which he is part of the founding team:
Adnexus Therapeutics, Affinnova, BG Medicine, Codon Devices, Ensemble
Discovery, Genstruct, Helicos BioSciences (NASDAQ:HLCS), T2 Biosystems
and LS9. He is also engaged as an advisor with Flagship portfolio
companies BIND Biosciences, Epitome Biosystems, and Mascoma. In
addition, he is a member of the Boston University Board of Overseers
and a member of several advisory boards including the Whitehead
Institute at MIT, the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences
and Technology (HST), the Boston University Medical School and
the Skolkovo School of Management in Moscow. He is also a founder/board
member of Armenia 2020, an international economic development
project focusing on the former Soviet Republic of Armenia.
TOP
Jeff Andrews, Partner, Atlas
Ventures
Jeff Andrews joined Atlas Venture in 2001. He invests in hardware
and software companies serving large and growing markets such
as energy, mobile electronics and media.
Jeff currently sits on the boards of Gotuit Media, Lilliputian,
and Pixtronix, and also works closely with MiaSole. He was formerly
on the boards of Atlas Venture portfolio companies, eDial, which
was acquired by Alcatel (NYSE:ALA), and Optovia which was acquired
by JDS Uniphase (NSDQ:JDSU).
TOP
Doug
Banks, Editor, Mass
High Tech
Doug Banks is editor of MHT: The Journal of New
England Technology, a weekly publication that covers technology
business throughout New England.
Prior to joining MHT in 2005, he was associate
editor of the Boston BusinessJournal, where he oversaw its real estate coverage and editorial
supplements such as "Best Places to Work". He came to
the BBJ from Fast Company magazine, where he had been a staff
editor after an earlier stint as areporter/editor at the BBJ since 1998. Outside the newsroom, Banks teaches journalism at Emerson College
and is a board member of Housing Families Inc., a Massachusetts nonprofit
that works to end homelessness among the families it serves.
A native of Worcester, Banks received a bachelor's
degree in journalism and English literature from the University of Massachusetts Amherst
and a master's of fine arts in nonfiction writing from the University
of Pittsburgh.
TOP
Mark
Bonchek, Chief Executive Officer, SoundBoard Media
As cofounder and chief executive officer of SoundBoard Media,
Mark has a passion for connecting people and ideas through
content and conversation.
SoundBoard Media helps companies amplify their voice in
the market through authentic business insight. SoundBoard's
executive networks and online communities enable companies
such as IBM and Manpower to engage hard-to-reach audiences.
Our Fifty Lessons digital video library, featured on Harvard
Business Online, captures the hard-won lessons learned by
global business leaders. SoundBoard's most recent innovation
is production of a series of Oxford-style online debates
in partnership with Economist.com.
Mark's vision for the future of business
media grew out of his experience as a business strategist
with McKinsey & Company,
Strategos, and iXL, and his doctoral research at Harvard
University and MIT. His 1997 doctoral thesis, “From Broadcast
to Netcast”, predicted the disruptive effect of the Internet
and the growth of online communities, personal publishing,
and social networking.
TOP
 Joost
Bonsen, Founding Program Director, MIT Legatum
Center for Development & Entrepreneurship
Joost studies Innovation Everywhere, from invention in research
labs through action in entrepreneurial startups and innovation
ecosystems generally. He most recently finished the Management
of Technology program at MIT Sloan with his thesis The
Innovation Institute: From Creative Inquiry Through Real-World
Impact at MIT. Prior to MIT Sloan, Bonsen ran the MIT Founders
Project which quantified the economic impact of MIT-related
entrepreneurs, findings ultimately published by BankBoston as MIT: Impact of Innovation. Formerly an entrant, mentor,
judge, and Lead Organizer of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition
he was instrumental in the growth of and recent doubling of
the prize fund to include a Development and Social Impact Track.
He is co-founder of the Howtoons Project which distributes educational
cartoons showing kids everywhere "How To" build things
using everyday materials and tools. He is co-founder of the
MIT Innovation Club, TechLink and numerous entrepreneurial events
and gatherings, including the MIT Chairman’s Salons. Joost was
co-creator and founding Teaching Assistant or instructor of
several MIT classes and seminars, including the IAP Nuts & Bolts
of Business Plans with Joe Hadzima and Developmental Entrepreneurship
and Digital Innovations with Sandy Pentland, and most recently
Neurotechnology Ventures with Ed Boyden
& Rutledge Ellis-Behnke. He has hosted a weekly television
show, HighTechFever, since 1999 (over 250 unique interviews
with inventors, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, professional
service providers, and more) and has run entrepreneurial networking
VentureNights at the MIT Muddy Charles Pub since the mid-1990s,
as noted in The Venture Café. Joost did his Bachelor's
in Bio-Electrical Engineering also at MIT.
TOP
Travis Bradford, Founder, President, and Director, Prometheus
Institute for Sustainable Development
Travis founded the Prometheus Institute in 2003 as a means to
connect the vast reach and power of industrial and capital markets
with the technologies necessary to sustain and develop long-term
economic well-being for people around the world. Travis is currently
the Editor-in-Chief of PVNews, the solar energy industry's oldest
newsletter, and is the author of Solar Revolution: The Economic
Transformation of the Global Energy Industry published by MIT
Press. He is also a partner at Atlas Capital, a hedge fund based
in Cambridge, MA.
Prior to founding the Prometheus Institute, Travis was a partner
at Steel Partners II, L.P., a hedge fund based in New York City
focused on the acquisition, growth, and sale of small publicly
traded and privately owned businesses. In this capacity, Travis
served as both a board member and active management participant
in these types of businesses in industries ranging from industrial
filters to fertilizer distributors to financial service providers.
Travis has worked for the Federal Reserve Bank, has lectured at
top Universities including Columbia University, Duke University,
New York University, and Harvard University on finance, entrepreneurship,
and alternative energy economics.
TOP
John
Brennan, Global Healthcare Practice Leader, North
America; Technology & Innovation Management Practice
Leader, Arthur D. Little
John Brennan is a Partner and Director of Arthur D. Little,
Inc. (ADL). He is the Global Leader of ADL's Healthcare Practice
and the North America Leader of ADL's Technology & Innovation
Management Practice. Mr. Brennan specializes in developing corporate,
marketing, and technology strategies to maximize the value of
technology franchises, R&D investments, and commercialization
activities within the healthcare and medical technology industries.
In addition, Mr. Brennan has structured, negotiated and/or advised
on nearly $2 Billion of transactions within the healthcare sector
during his career as well as provided due-diligence advisory
services relative to mergers, acquisitions, technology licensing,
joint ventures, and strategic alliances. He has significant expertise
in the financing and development of early-stage medical technology
ventures as well as successful post-merger integration expertise.
Mr. Brennan holds a BA from the College of the Holy Cross as
well as Masters degrees from Harvard University and Northeastern
University.
TOP
Robert
Buderi, Founder, CEO, Editor in Chief, Xconomy
Bob
is Xconomy's founder, CEO, and editor in chief. He is one of the
country's foremost journalists covering business and technology.
As a noted author and magazine editor,he is a sought-after commentator
on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most
recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International
Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review,
then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000.
Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and
oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic
newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's
technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award
for The Quality Imperative.
Bob is the author of three books about technology and innovation.
Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a
metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000)
describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That
Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII.
Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National
Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating
Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session
and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the
Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.
TOP
Eugene
Chiu, Vice President of Business Development
and Co-Founder, Predictive Biosciences
Eugene Chiu co-founded Predictive Biosciences and is responsible
for the company's business strategy, marketing, and business development
activities. He was previously business development lead and a
founding team member of Codon Devices, a venture-funded biotechnology
company enabling commercial applications of synthetic biology.
He helped start the company as a member of the Flagship Ventures
life sciences team.
From 1999 to 2003, he was Co-Founder and VP Business Development
of BigMachines, a leading provider of on-demand configuration
and quoting software, where he raised $30 million in financing,
built the marketing and business development functions, and helped
direct the company to profitability. Earlier, he managed iNiku
business development at NIKU Corporation leading up to its successful
IPO and was a consultant at McKinsey and Co. focused on life sciences
and technology industries. Eugene performed graduate research
under the guidance of Professor Robert Langer at MIT. He earned
his undergraduate degree in biochemical sciences from Harvard
College, his M.S. in Health Sciences and Technology from MIT,
and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
TOP
Richard
Chleboski, VP, Worldwide Expansion, Evergreen
Solar
Richard
G. Chleboski, co-founder of Evergreen Solar, has served as Vice
President of Worldwide Expansion since February 2006. Prior to
that, Mr. Chleboski served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer
and Treasurer for 12 years. He also served as a director from
June 1995 to May 2003.
Mr. Chleboski worked at Mo
bil Solar Energy Corporation for seven years
where he was the Strategic Planner focusing on developing long-range
business plans working with strategic partners. Prior to becoming
Strategic Planner, he was a Process Engineer responsible for innovating
the operation of Mobil Solar’s manufacturing line as the expert
on its performance.
Mr. Chleboski received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from
Boston College.
TOP
Michael Chu, Managing Partner, Ignia Fund
Michael Chu is Managing Director and co-founder of the Ignia
Fund, a newly created equity firm based in Monterrey, Mexico dedicated
to investing in and developing commercial and socially inclusive
enterprises focused on low socio-economic sectors. By meeting
the vastly underserved needs of the low income population, Ignia
seeks to empower entrepreneurship and generate social impact while
creating attractive financial returns for its investors. Chu also
holds an appointment as Senior Lecturer at the Harvard Business School (HBS). He remains a Senior Advisor
of Pegasus Capital, a firm in Buenos Aires dedicated to investing
equity capital in Latin America, which he co-founded. Pegasus
Capital portfolio companies are active in consumer retail, consumer
finance and real estate.
Before Pegasus, as President & CEO of ACCION International,
a nonprofit corporation dedicated to microfinance, Chu worked
to develop financial services for the working poor as a new segment
of banking capable of outstanding returns. He participated in
the founding of several microcredit financial institutions and
regulated banks throughout Latin America, including BancoSol,
one of the premier microlending institutions in the world, which
under his chairmanship has been the most profitable bank in Bolivia.
Chu graduated with an A.B.(Honors) from Dartmouth College and
received a M.B.A. with highest distinction (Baker Scholar) from
Harvard Business School.
TOP
 Daniel
Cole, General Manager, Spray
Venture Partners
Dan
Cole joined Spray Venture Partners at its founding in 1996. Dan
brings twenty years of medical device operational experience to
Spray Venture Partners. Dan has served on the Boards of 10 companies
in the first Spray fund, two of which he started. Prior to joining
Spray, Dan served as Senior Vice President and Group President
of Boston Scientific Corporation's vascular business, a $1.2 billion
group including SCIMED (cardiology), Medi-tech (radiology), Meadox
(vascular surgery), and EP Technologies (electro psychology).
He was also responsible for BSC's rapidly growing international
operations. Dan was previously President and Chief Operating Officer
of SCIMED Life Systems, a public company with revenues of $260
million in 1994 prior to the company's merger with Boston Scientific
in 1995. He previously held a variety of executive and general
management positions at Baxter Healthcare Divisions. He serves
on the Board of Directors of Acorn Cardiovascular, Tryton Medical,
Direct Flow Medical, Tremont Medical, and is actively involved
in Kolis Scientific, PneumRx, and Thoratec Laboratories.
He
earned a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the University
of Kansas, an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the United
States Navy Post-Graduate School, and an M.B.A. from the University
of California, Los Angeles.
TOP
 Stephen
Connors, Director, Analysis Group
for Regional Energy Alternatives at the MIT Lab for Energy and
the Environment, MIT Lab for Energy and the
Environment
Mr. Stephen Connors is director of the Analysis Group for Regional
Energy Alternatives (AGREA) at MIT's Laboratory for Energy and
the Environment (LFEE). As part of the MIT Energy Initiative,
AGREA's research focuses on strategic planning in energy and the
environment, with an emphasis on regional energy infrastructures.
By focusing on the dynamics of energy supply and demand from a
bottom-up, regional perspective the potential impacts of new energy
technologies, services, and policies can be assessed.
Mr. Connors holds two degrees from the University of Massachusetts
at Amherst (Mechanical Engineering and Applied Anthropology),
as well as a Masters from MIT in Technology and Policy, and is
a former Peace Corps Volunteer. In addition to his activities
at MIT, he is currently serves on several local, regional and
national technology review panels, and is a co-organizer of the
AltWheels Alternative Transportation and Energy Festival.
TOP
Dennis
Costello, Partner, Braemar Energy Partners
Dennis R. Costello has more than 30 years of
experience in the energy and venture capital industries. Mr. Costello
was previously a partner with Advent International, an international
private equity firm where he rose to be Chief Investment Officer
for North America. He was personally responsible for 23 investments,
10 of which were in the energy area. Mr. Costello was also a managing
director in Rock Maple Ventures an early stage technology venture
fund in Boston and started in the venture capital industry as
a general partner of Zero Stage Capital of Pennsylvania. Before
embarking on a career in venture capital, Mr. Costello was the
first Executive Director of the Colorado Advanced Technology Institute
("CATI") in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Costello began his
career in alternative energy, with positions as a project manager
at Midwest Research Institute and a member of the original staff
of the National Solar Energy Research Institute ("SERI"),
which is now the National Renewable energy Laboratory (NREL).
During that period, Mr. Costello published numerous papers and
articles on the economic and market issues of solar energy commercialization.
He is also the author of the Dow-Jones Irwin book, New Venture
Analysis: Research, Planning and Finance and served on the Board
of Directors of the New England Venture Capital Association from
1997-1999. He was a founder and Chairman of the MIT Enterprise
Forum of Colorado and he remains active with the national MIT
Enterprise Forum. Mr. Costello holds a Master of Science degree
in business from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where
he was an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. He also holds a M.A. in economics
from Ohio State University and a B.A. in economics from the State
University of New York (SUNY), College at Fredonia.
TOP
 Robert J. Creeden, Managing Director of the Center for Innovative
Ventures (CIV), Partners Healthcare
Bob oversees the creation and launching of new ventures generated
from Partners innovative research discoveries. He has spent more
than twenty-five years commercializing new technologies and promoting
emerging businesses, including fifteen years early stage venture
capital investing experience and culminating in his 2004 appointment
by Partners to establish the CIV. Previously, he was a general
partner at Egan-Managed Capital, a $150 million dollar Boston-based
venture fund, after having served as Vice President of the Massachusetts
Technology Development Corporation, a 25-year-old early stage
venture firm that funds technology-based companies in Massachusetts.
Earlier in his career, he gained strategic operating expertise
as a COO/CFO with start-up ventures and as a management consultant
with Control Data Business Advisors. He holds an AB in Economics
from Holy Cross College and an MBA from Suffolk University.
While serving in a leadership role on the boards of portfolio
companies and developing strong relationships with co-investors
from New England and across the country, Bob has reviewed more
than 2000 business plans and invested in more than 40 companies.
His portfolio has included companies developing leading-edge technologies
in semiconductors, software, telecommunications, medical devices,
manufacturing and advanced materials. He has extensive experience
putting together syndicates of investors, corporations and third
parties to fund technology companies through investment, partnership,
joint development and research agreements.
TOP
 Todd Dagres, General Partner, Spark Capital
Todd Dagres is a founder and General Partner of Spark Capital.
Mr. Dagres has led Spark's investments in Veoh Networks, Menara
Networks, Verivue and Intune Networks. Mr. Dagres was previously
a General Partner and Executive Committee Member at Battery Ventures,
where his investments generated profits of over $1.1 billion to
Battery Limited Partners.
At Battery, Mr. Dagres led the Communications Investment practice
while focusing on the Media, Entertainment and Communications
Industries. Some of his investments at Battery include: Akamai
Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM), Qtera (acquired by Nortel Networks),
XCOM (acquired by Level 3 Communications), Redstone (acquired
by Siemens), River Delta Networks (acquired by Motorola), Broadbus
Technologies (acquired by Motorola), Arbor Networks and Cedar
Point Communications.
Mr. Dagres was named to the Forbes Midas List, which ranks top
venture capitalists who have created the most wealth for their
investors, three times.
Mr. Dagres was also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School
of Management for a number of years, where he taught a course
entitled: New Enterprise. Mr. Dagres' Entertainment and Media
endeavors include establishing two film and television production
companies (Prospect Pictures and Ealing Studios) that together
have produced over 10 films and TV shows since 2003. He has also
been involved in the production of several films including Pretty
Persuasion which won entry into the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
and has been released by Samuel Goldwyn and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
In 2004, Mr. Dagres established the Face of an Angel Foundation.
Face of an Angel is a non-profit, charitable foundation dedicated
to education, research and treatment in the area of vascular malforma
and tumors that cause severe birthmarks and disfigurement in 0.2
percent of newborns. He has served on the board of Fellows at
Trinity College and on the Board of Trustees at Governor's Academy.
Prior to Battery Ventures, Mr. Dagres was Principal and Senior
Technology Analyst at Montgomery Securities, Senior Technology
Analyst and Vice President at Smith Barney/Robinson Humphrey,
Vice President of Communications at the Yankee Group; and, Business
Development Manager for Networks and Communications at Digital
Equipment Corporation.
Mr. Dagres holds an MBA from Boston University and a BS in Psychology
from Trinity College, Hartford CT.
TOP
 William
Davis, CEO and President, Ze-gen
Mr.
Davis has served as Ze-gen’s CEO and President and as a Director
since its founding in July, 2004. Prior to founding Ze-gen, Mr.
Davis’ career in business has included launching numerous companies:
Database Marketing Corporation in 1986, Holland Mark Advertising
in 1997, Jump Jot Authentication Technologies in 2001, and Cambridge
Brand Analytics in 2003.
Mr.
Davis serves on the Board of Directors of the New Bedford Economic
Development Council and the Boston Harbor Islands National Park.
He graduated from Connecticut College in 1979.
TOP
John Doyle, Vice President, Verenium Corporation
John R. Doyle is Vice President of Engineering for Verenium
Corporation, where he has spent the past ten years focused
on technology development, process design and scale up of
the company's proprietary biomass to ethanol technology.
He has also played key roles in project development, project
financing and technology licensing for the company.
Previously, he was with GE Environmental Systems where he
designed and built pollution control systems for the utility
industry, and with Booz, Allen and Hamilton, where he provided
design engineering services to the Department of Defense.
He is a former officer in the US Navy Submarine program and
a Naval Nuclear Engineer.
He received a BS in Mechanical Engineering
from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of
Virginia.
Omid
Farokhzad, M.D. – Co-Founder,
BIND Biosciences and Assistant Professor of Anesthesia ,
Harvard Medical School
Omid
Farokhzad is Assistant Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard
Medical School (HMS), and Director of the Laboratory of Nanomedicine
and Biomaterials at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). Dr.
Farokhzad has pioneered the application of micro- and nanotechnologies
to combinatorial development and screening of therapeutic
and diagnostic multifunctional nanoparticles for a myriad
of clinical applications, including oncology, cardiovascular,
and immunological diseases. His work has been the subject
of extensive written, TV and radio press coverage, including
being featured on the cover of Popular Science and being
named as Forbes top 5 nanotechnology breakthroughs of 2006.
He was named among the Nano50 winners of 2007 by NASA Nanotech
Briefs which awards the most innovative people and design
ideas that will revolutionize nanotechnology in the near-term
and beyond. He is an inventor of over 25 patent applications.
Dr. Farokhzad co-founded BIND Biosciences with Professor
Robert Langer in 2006 to develop and commercialize the first
generation of therapeutic targeted nanoparticles. BIND is
backed by Polaris Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, ARCH
Ventures and NanoDimension. Dr. Farokhzad received his M.D.
and M.A. degrees from Boston University and completed his
postgraduate clinical training in Anesthesiology and Pain
medicine at BWH-HMS, and his post-doctoral research training
in the Laboratory of Professor Robert Langer at MIT.
 William Foote, President and Founder, Root Capital
William Foote is the president and founder of Root Capital (formerly
EcoLogic Finance), a social investment fund providing affordable
credit and financial education to environmentally-sustainable,
grassroots businesses in the developing world. Before launching
the organization in 2000, he was a financial analyst in the Latin
American Corporate Finance group at Lehman Brothers, and worked
as a journalist in Mexico and Argentina.
In September 2007, Mr. Foote was named an Ashoka Global Fellow,
an international distinction given to innovative social entrepreneurs
committed to systemic social change. Root Capital received the
2007 and 2008 Fast Company/ Monitor Group Social Capitalist Award;
the 2006 World Business Award in Support of the Millennium Development
Goals; and the 2005 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.
Mr. Foote is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves
on the board of the Open Learning Exchange (OLE), a nonprofit
committed to universal access to basic education in developing
countries, and also serves on the Sustainability Committee of
the Specialty Coffee Association of America. In 2006, he was named
one of the Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40,” which recognizes
leading young innovators in the Boston area. Mr. Foote holds a
B.A. from Yale University and a M.Sc. in development economics
and economic history from the London School of Economics. He is
fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
TOP
 Christopher
Gabrieli, Cofounder & Chairman, Mass
20/20
Chris Gabrieli is an entrepreneur
across the fields of business, nonprofits and public policy.
Following the success of GMIS, the healthcare software company
he co-founded, Chris joined Bessemer Venture Partners. Throughout
his 15 years as a partner with Bessemer, Chris has worked
to help other entrepreneurs start and grow their companies.
Chris’s firm has invested over $1 billion in start-up high-tech
and biotechnology companies, helping to create more than
100,000 new jobs. Chris remains active as a Senior Partner
at Bessemer Venture Partners, focused on biotechnology.
TOP
Jim
Gordon, President, Cape Wind
In
1975, Jim started EMI and over the ensuing years would build EMI
into one of the most successful privately held independent power
companies in America. He recruited and managed a team of dedicated
and highly motivated professionals that were able to complete
the myriad and complex tasks of creating state of the art power
projects. Jim’s sense of timing and grasp of political and regulatory
directions allowed EMI to develop some of New England’s first
gas fired cogeneration and independent power projects as well
as the first generation of merchant electric plants in the United
States.
Jim
is a graduate of Boston University’s School of Public Communications
and worked for Warner Communications Corporation prior to founding
EMI.
TOP
Josh
Galper, Managing Principal, Vodia Group
Josh Galper is the lead for Vodia
Group's research and consulting practice. His expertise
focuses on trading, clearing, settlement and custody. Josh
has conducted numerous consulting assignments on prime
brokerage, securities lending, algorithmic trading, market
data and transaction cost analysis. He has advised on over
a dozen acquisitions in the financial services space over
the last seven years. His prior roles include corporate
development at Merrill Lynch, running Electronic Trading
at Sanford Bernstein & Co., LLC, and consulting to the
World Federation of Exchanges.
Josh has been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street
Journal, Forbes, Business Week and most industry publications
covering hedge funds, securities lending and the markets.
He has appeared on CNBC and Bloomberg TV. He holds an MBA
in Financial Engineering from the MIT Sloan School of Management,
an MS from Cornell University and a BA from Connecticut College. TOP
 Michael
Greeley, General Partner, IDG
Ventures
Among a range of general themes, Michael is currently
focused on several investment themes including technology-enabled
business services, the convergence of healthcare and IT, and technologies
that address the physical security and homeland defense markets.
He currently represents IDG Ventures Boston on the boards of BlueTarp,
MicroCHIPS, Predictive Biosciences, Protein Forest and VidSys
and led the firm’s investment in T2 Biosystems and Magen BioSciences.
Prior to founding IDG Ventures, Michael was with Polaris Venture
Partners, where he focused on both early-stage and later-stage
financings for emerging growth companies. Before Polaris, Michael
served for over five years as Senior Vice President and Founding
Partner of GCC Investments, a successful $200 million private
equity fund. Prior to GCC Investments, Michael was a Vice President
and one of the early professionals at Wasserstein Perella &
Co., an international merchant bank with a $1.0 billion private
equity fund. Additionally, Michael was a member of the Mergers
and Acquisitions Department of Morgan Stanley & Co. and worked
in the Leveraged Buyout Group of Credit Suisse First Boston.
In previous positions, Michael has served on the Boards of a
number of public and private companies including Global TeleSystems
Group (NASDAQ: GTSG), El Sitio International (NASDAQ: LCTO), MotherNature.com
(NASDAQ: MTHR), Crescent Communications (acquired by Clear Channel),
Fleetcor Technologies and American Capital Access. Michael received
a BA with honors in Chemistry from Williams College and an MBA
from Harvard Business School.
TOP
Bob Higgins, Managing General Partner, Highland
Capital Partners
Bob has more than twenty years of experience
in venture capital and has served as a director of many public
and private companies. He is a former director of the National
Venture Capital Association and President of the New England
Venture Capital Association. In addition, Bob has been recognized
by the prestigious Forbes Midas List as one of the top venture
capitalists in the industry.
Bob has been an investor in many successful healthcare service,
medical device and biotechnology companies. Some of the services
companies he has backed are Community Health Systems (NYSE:
CYH), Mariner Health Group (IPO/acquired), New England Critical
Care (IPO/acquired), Renal Treatment Centers (IPO/acquired)
and U.S. Labs (acquired). Bob's medical technology investments
include AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Codon Devices, Conor Medsystems
(IPO/acquired), Helicos BioSciences (Nasdaq: HLCS), Magen
BioSciences, Mitotix (Neuer Market: GPC Biotech AG), Origin
Medsystems (acquired), PerSeptive Biosystems (IPO/acquired),
Pervasis Therapeutics, PRAECIS PHARMACEUTICALS (Nasdaq: PRCS)
and RedBrick Health. In addition, Bob has also served on
the boards of SmartBargains, Staples.com and WordWave (acquired
by Merrill Corporation).
Before co-founding Highland, Bob was a general partner at
a Boston-based venture capital partnership. Immediately prior
to entering venture capital, he spent four years as the Executive
Director of the John A. Hartford Foundation. He also was
the Chief Executive of the Clark Foundation and the Burden
Foundation. Bob is a former Assistant to the U.S. Secretary
of Commerce and an Assistant to the head of the international
division of the U.S. Treasury.
TOP
Elliott Hillback, EVP of Corporate Relations, Genzyme Corporation
Elliott D. Hillback, Jr. is Senior Vice President, Corporate
Affairs of Genzyme Corporation with 36 years experience in
the health care and biotechnology industry including almost
18 years at Genzyme. He served as Genetics Division President
before moving to his current role in 1996. Reporting to the
CEO, Elliott's primary responsibilities include all investor,
public and employee communications groups and functions,
the Genzyme Foundation, and the European government/corporate
affairs office.
Elliott is very active in the development
of industry and public policy related to genetic testing
and the use and growth of biotechnology. He is a Board
Member of the Biotechnology Institute, a non profit organization
focused on improving education about biotechnology. He
is a member and past chairman of the Biotechnology Industry
Organization (BIO)'s Ethics Committee and was a member
of the Human Genome Project's Task Force on Genetic Testing,
a member of Health and Human Services Secretary Thompson's
Advisory Committee on Genetic Testing (SAC-GT), and a Board
Member of the Genetic Alliance (a non profit patient advocacy
organization). Elliott is an active scholarship fundraiser
for the Biomedical Science Careers Project which provides
minority students the support needed to successfully pursue
careers in the biomedical sciences. He is also a member
of the Whitehead Institute Board of Advisors; the Advisory
Committee to the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences,
Cornell University; and the advisory board of the Kellogg
Graduate School of Management (Northwestern University) Center
for Biotechnology. Elliott is a Trustee of the Berklee College
of Music where he chairs the Student Affairs Committee of
the Board.
 Shane
Hughes, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pyxis
Mobile
Shane
Hughes is the co-founder, President and CEO of Pyxis Mobile.
Shane is responsible for formulating and communicating the vision
for the Company and securing the appropriate resources to build
a self-sustaining, profitable and dominant firm. .
Prior
to Pyxis Mobile, Shane was a technology consultant aligned within
the Financial Services division of Accenture. While at Accenture,
he earned the FLMI insurance industry designation. Shane is a
graduate of the University of Massachusetts – Amherst where he
received a BBA in Management. He remains active within the alumni
community and in the classroom. Shane is a regular contributor
to numerous industry publications and is regularly quoted in the
press. He is also a frequent panelist on wireless application
trends in the financial services industry. Shane was recognized
in 2005 by the Boston Business Journal as one of the “Top 40 Under
40” business leaders in Boston. Under his leadership, Pyxis Mobile
has also been named as one of Boston’s Top 20 Best Places to Work
for two consecutive years.
TOP
 Anthony
Jimenez, President and CEO, MicroTech,
LLC
Mr.
Anthony Jimenez is the President and CEO of MicroTech, LLC, a
mission-oriented Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and 8(a) Small
Business focused on information technology, systems engineering,
value added resale, and consulting services and solutions.
Since
co-founding MicroTech in 2004, Mr. Jimenez has led MicroTech through
a period of uninterrupted growth. MicroTech’s professional staff,
now numbering over 100, supports over 30 prime contracts with
civilian and defense agencies of the Federal Government.
As
a former federal government executive with more than 25 years
experience in information technology, strategic planning, enterprise
transformation, and acquisition management, Mr. Jimenez guided
DoD’s efforts to solve complex and critical platform transformation
challenges facing Government organizations.
Mr.
Jimenez is a highly decorated veteran, has an MA in Information
Systems, an MS in Acquisition Management and a BS in Business
Management. Mr. Jimenez is a certified Program Manager, Chief
Information Officer, and IT Professional and has served as a Government
Contracting Officer where he held numerous unlimited contracting
warrants for the Federal Government.
Prior
to starting MicroTech, Mr. Jimenez served as the Director of Enterprise
IT Solutions at Unisys, a worldwide systems integrator specializing
in information technology services and solutions.
In
August 2007 Mr. Jimenez was selected as one of the 25 Powerful
Minority Men in Business. In December 2006, Mr. Jimenez was selected
as the Veteran Entrepreneur “Vetrepreneur” of the year for 2006
and in January 2004, Mr. Jimenez was selected as a Federal 100,
one of the top 100 Executives from Government, Industry, and Academia
who had the greatest impact on the government information systems
community in 2003.
TOP
Tripp Jones, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, The MENTOR Network
As chief administrative officer, Tripp coordinates
the work of five distinct but inter-related departments--Human
Resources, Legal (Risk Management and Compliance), Public
Strategy (Communications, Government Affairs, Marketing and
Survey), Information Technology Services, and Strategic Planning/Integration--in
order to facilitate effective interaction with operations.
Prior to joining The Network in February of 2003, he co-founded
and led MassINC, a nonpartisan institute with the mission
of developing a public policy agenda that promotes the growth
and vitality of Massachusetts’ middle class. Previously,
Tripp held positions in state government and Massachusetts
and national political campaigns. He has a B.A. in government
from Hamilton College.
TOP
Stephen Killeen,
CEO, Carbon Neutral
Stephen Killeen has been a senior executive in high profile consumer,
financial, and technology companies for over 15 years.
Stephen’s most recent position was as President & CEO, of
WorldWinner, a venture backed start-up in the casual games space.
He increased revenues by 5 times and operated the company profitably
for four years, he sold the company to London based Fun Technologies
which is controlled by Liberty Media.
Prior to WorldWinner, Stephen was President of TerraLycos the
fourth largest media
property in the world where he was responsible for more than
1,200 employees located through out the world. Previously, Stephen
was President & CEO, of Raging Bull where he raised over $20
million in venture financing and grew Raging Bull’s market capitalization
from $2 million to an eventual sale to AltaVista for over $250
million. Stephen led Fidelity Brokerage Services, the 2nd largest
discount broker in the world, introduction of online trading and
eventually became responsible for all aspects of Fidelity Brokerage’s
P&L and prior to Fidelity, Stephen was a member of the founding
team of PCFN (eventually to be renamed DLJdirect) the first online
brokerage firm.
Stephen has served on the boards of several public and private
sector companies including Switchboard (NASDAQ: SWBD), Lycos Europe
(NL: LCY), Molecular and Marketing Services Group (NASDAQ: MSGI).
He has also served as a Director of Junior Achievement of North
New England and on The Secretary of Commerce's Task Force on Privacy.
Stephen is a highly regarded speaker and over his career has
received numerous awards and honors including being named to the
Mass High-Tech Hall of Fame, as a finalist for E&Y Entrepreneur
of the Year for New England, as a “Leader Internet Economy” by
the Industry Standard and having the unique distinction of managing
2 companies that received Deliotte & Touche Fast 50 award.
Stephen received his BA from Union College in Schenectady, NY
in 1984.
TOP
Scott
Kirsner, Innovation Economy columnist, Boston
Globe
Scott Kirsner's column, Innovation Economy, appears
in the Globe every Sunday, and he also maintains a companion blog
at innoeco.com. Kirsner’s writing has also appeared in BusinessWeek,
Variety, The New York Times, and other publications.
Kirsner is the author of the book "The Future of Web Video,"
editor of "The Convergence Guide: Life Sciences in New England,"
and a contributor to "The Good City: Writers Explore 21st
Century Boston." Kirsner was part of the founding team of
Boston.com in 1995, and he is a graduate of Boston University’s
College of Communication.
TOP
Luda
Kopeikina, Founder, Noventra
Corporation
Luda
Kopeikina founded Noventra Corporation, previously Equanex Corporation,
in 1999.
Ms.
Kopeikina spent six years at General Electric in various vice
presidential positions where she had an opportunity to work with
Jack Welch and observe his methods in action. Later she was President
and CEO of Celerity Solutions, Inc., a publicly traded company.
Under her leadership, the company executed a complete turnaround
in two years and grew six-fold. Interactive Week's 1998 Executive
Worth Survey ranked Ms. Kopeikina within the top twenty CEOs of
US high-tech public companies for her performance and total return
to shareholders.
Ms.
Kopeikina holds a Master's Degree from MIT's Sloan School of Management
as a Sloan Fellow. She also holds a Master's Degree in Computer
Science from St. Petersburg University, Russia, and completed
a Ph.D. thesis in Computer Science there. In 2003 and 2004 she
was appointed a Visiting Scholar at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
TOP
Dr. Robert Krim, Executive
Director, Boston History and Innovation Collaborative
Bob Krim is the Executive Director and Founder
of the Boston History & Innovation Collaborative (BHIC).
BHIC (or "The Collaborative") is a not-for-profit
alliance that exists at the intersection of educational,
business, cultural, technological, economic and social institutions,
and works to sustain Greater Boston's 400-year tradition
of innovation. As a historian, Bob developed a program of
historical and economic research that revealed that there
is fundamental pattern of innovation that accounts for Boston's
remarkable 400-year record across different silos of innovation
- scientific, technological, financial, and social. Under
Bob's leadership, The Collaborative has played a leading
role in embedding the "innovation story" at all
levels of society in Greater Boston. More recently The Collaborative
has operated the "What's the Big Idea?" program
- a performance (with companion book) designed to be a primer
and engage young minds in all things scientific and innovative.
The Collaborative also consults with development projects,
historic sites, and companies on Boston's history: indeed
as a Fulbright Scholar to New Zealand in '05 a leading newspaper
dubbed Bob "the American history guru." The Collaborative
has developed a series of heritage projects working with
hundreds of Greater Boston institutions including the Literary
Trail of Greater Boston; Boston by Sea: Maritime Trail; the
Boston Family & Immigrant Project; and The Innovation
Odyssey.
TOP
 Raju S. Kucherlapati, Scientific Director, Harvard-Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics, Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School
Currently, Dr. Kucherlapati is the scientific director of the Harvard-Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics. He is also the Paul C. Cabot Professor of Genetics and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Formerly, Dr. Kucherlapati was chairman of molecular genetics and a professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He is a member of the National Advisory Committee for Human Genome Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and editor-in-chief of the journal Genomics. Dr. Kucherlapati holds a Doctorate in Genetics from the University of Illinois.
TOP
 Christina Lampe-Önnerud, Founder and CEO, Boston-Power
Dr. Lampe-Onnerud is a well-known authority in the battery industry. She has pioneered the use of lithium-ion and other materials to deliver more powerful, longer lasting, safer and cost-effective batteries for laptops, PDAs, cell phones and other electronic devices. Prior to founding Boston-Power, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud was one of the youngest partners ever appointed at Arthur D. Little/TIAX, where she ran the company's globally renowned battery labs, defined strategies for the world's top chemical and battery organizations, and directed high-profile market evaluations. Earlier in her career, she served as a director and senior scientist at Bell Communications Research. Awarded 15 patents in portable power solutions, with 6 patents pending, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud has been recognized among the 100 Top Young Innovators by Technology Review, MIT's Magazine of Innovation. She has also served as keynote speaker on power issues at industry and government initiatives for more than 15 years. Dr. Lampe-Onnerud earned a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry and a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Calculus from Uppsala University in Sweden.
TOP
Russell
Landon, Managing Director, Canaccord
Adams
Russ Landon joined
Adams Harkness (merged into Canaccord Adams in January 2006) in
1993. He founded and currently heads the Industrial & Manufacturing
Growth practice, which includes Resource Optimization Technologies,
Advanced Enabling Materials, Defense & Security Technologies,
and Precision Components & Subsystems. Russ was also head
of the Adams Harkness Investment Banking Group for five years
and established the firm's consumer practice where he still maintains
a presence in the area. He has more than 20 years of experience
in the investment banking business.
Before joining Adams
Harkness, Russ was a Vice President at PaineWebber, specializing
in consumer and service companies. Prior to that, he worked at
Kidder, Peabody, focusing primarily on environmental services
and consumer products.
Russ received his
B.A. from Yale University, and his M.B.A. from Columbia Business
School.
TOP
Michael Lannon, Founder & CEO, Koko Fitness, Inc.
Koko Fitness is a developer of interactive software and hardware for the $60B worldwide fitness and wellness industry.
Mike Lannon, along with Co-founder Mary Obana, started Koko in 2003 to develop patented products and technologies that make exercise more enjoyable and effective. Prior to Koko, Mike was CEO and Founder of Send.com, one of the Internet's leading e-commerce businesses that attracted financing from five of the industry's premier venture capital firms including: Highland Capital Partners, Greylock, Benchmark, Charles River Ventures and Tudor Ventures. The company was featured in hundreds of TV and newspaper stories including The New York Times, ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, USA Today, Business Week, Time, Forbes and Fortune. The company's unique business model also became a Harvard Business School case study on innovative business growth strategies.
Prior to Send.com, Michael was both Vice President of Marketing and Sales and Vice President of Western Operations at MicroFinancial, a specialty commercial leasing business which he helped to grow profitably from 30 people to nearly 300 people in 5 years prior to the company's successful IPO. Mike was also CEO and Founder of The Lannon Group, a full-service advertising/media relations agency specializing in launching new businesses and new product lines.
TOP
Jim Matheson, General Partner, Flagship Ventures
Jim joined Flagship Ventures in 2000 and focuses on new ventures in the IT and special technology (e.g. nano-technology, specialty materials, and energy) arenas. He brings to this task 20 years of technology and leadership experience across a variety of organizations and roles designing, engineering and deploying sophisticated technology platforms. Jim formerly served as a Navy fighter pilot including duties flying combat missions from aircraft carriers, and as a TOPGUN Instructor. He also gained broad experience in emerging weapons system design, testing and procurement, and was deeply involved in many of the military’s IT modernization initiatives.
Jim earned an MBA from The Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Science (with honors) from the United States Naval Academy and he continues to serve as a Commander in the US Naval Reserves. He serves on the boards of Flagship portfolio companies Avidimer Therapeutics, e-Dialog, Genstruct, Mascoma Energy Corporation, Tira Wireless and Trusted Network Technologies, and is Chairman of the Board of Ze-gen. He was previously a director of Yantra (acquired by Sterling Commerce / SBC) and Flamenco Networks (acquired by SOA Software). Jim is on the Board of New York-based hedge fund Black Horse Capital, Common Impact (a non-profit providing IT services to other non-profits), and the Center for Women & Enterprise, and is actively involved in numerous entrepreneurial and venture capital organizations including the MIT Enterprise Forum, The Deshpande Center, and The Service Academy Business Network.
TOP
Vinit Nijhawan, Chairman, TiE
Vinit Nijhawan has over 20 years experience building four startups: as CEO of two, three were acquired, and the fourth has grown to over 400 people. Recently, Vinit was Venture Partner at Key Venture Partners and over two years sourced over 200 deals and made one investment. Vinit is an advisor and board member to several technology startups and was a Mass High Tech All-Star in 2005. Vinit has participated in over 120 panel discussions and paper presentations, and is Chairman of TiE-Boston and a Board of Trustee of TiE Global, a non-profit that fosters entrepreneurship globally. Vinit is an Executive-in-Residence at Boston University where he teaches an MBA course on Starting New Ventures. Vinit earned a B.A.Sc in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
TOP
Kevin
Richardson II, Founder, Prides
Capital
Mr. Richardson founded
Prides Capital LLC and Prides Capital Partners LLC in January
2004. Mr. Richardson is a member of the board of directors of
Healthtronics Inc. (HTRN), QC Holdings (QCCO) eDiets.com (DIET),
and Pegasus Solutions, Inc., all public and private portfolio
companies of Prides Capital LLC.
Prior to that, Mr.
Richardson had been a partner at Blum Capital Partners since April
of 1999. Blum Capital Partners is a $2.5 billion investment firm,
which pioneered the investment style of "strategic block
investing". Between May 1999 and September 2003, Mr. Richardson
was the lead public partner on 18 investments.
Prior to joining Blum
Capital, Mr. Richardson was an analyst at Tudor Investment Corporation,
an investment management firm that currently manages approximately
$8.8 billion across several hedge funds and private equity funds.
Previously, Mr. Richardson
spent four years at Fidelity Management and Research where he
was the assistant portfolio manager of the Fidelity Contra Fund,
a registered investment company.
Mr. Richardson also
managed the following additional registered investment companies,
Fidelity Airline Fund, the Fidelity Aerospace and Defense Fund,
and performed research and analysis in a variety of industry sectors
(computer services, business services, media, financial services,
and healthcare information technology).
Previously, Mr. Richardson
worked at Kidder, Peabody & Co. Mr. Richardson has a B.S.
from Babson College and an M.B.A. from Kenan-Flagler Business
School at the University of North Carolina.
TOP
Peter Rothstein, Entrepreneur in Residence, Flagship Ventures
Peter joined Flagship in 2007 as an Executive-in-Residence, expanding Flagship’s investment and venture creation focus on emerging Sustainability opportunities, and bringing many years of deal experience, startup venture development and industry relationships in the cleantech venture market. Peter works with several of Flagship’s portfolio companies, including Ze-gen and Mascoma, where he has played roles in strategy, finance and operations.
Prior to joining Flagship, Peter was President of Allegro Strategy, a consultant, advisor and interim executive with early-stage, high-tech, and cleantech startups. Peter’s work has focused on early-stage venture development, and is based on a career with extensive entrepreneurial, strategy, venture development, venture deals, acquisitions, and general management experience in energy and digital media/software markets. In the past several years Peter has been an interim executive, advisor, and/or board member with a number of VC-funded early-stage companies, including cleantech startups Mascoma, Boston-Power, and Mechanology, and digital media/software ventures WorkshopLive, MetaCarta and Pyxis Mobile. Peter has founded several companies including The Human Interface Group, Inc., which was acquired by Lotus Development in 1994. Peter spent several years at Lotus and IBM in various executives roles focused on incubating, starting, and leading new knowledge management businesses, including strategy and acquisitions experience.
After Lotus/IBM, Peter was a Partner at Kodiak Venture Partners, focusing on seed and early stage Internet ventures before founding Allegro Strategy to work directly with early-stage ventures and to return to energy technology opportunities. Peter has a Masters degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management with a concentration in energy economics and finance, and a BA in Environmental Design from Clark University.
TOP
Amar Sawhney, Founder, Confluent Surgical and CEO, I-Therapeutix
Amar is currently the CEO of I-Therapeutix, a venture backed company in Boston. He was the CEO and co-founder of Confluent Surgical, Inc., a Massachusetts-based biosurgery products company sold to Tyco for $250 million in August 2006. Confluent’s products include SprayGel, an adhesion barrier for minimally invasive surgery; SprayGel is expected to benefit women undergoing gynecological surgery. Another one of Confluent’s products, DuraSeal prevents the leakage of cerebrospinal fluid following brain and spine surgery. Amar was named the New England Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006. In addition to being a scientist and an entrepreneur, Amar is the Managing Director of Incept, LLC, a technology incubator for healthcare entrepreneurs. He has authored 85 publications and is the holder of over 35 patents in the medical device field. Amar’s doctoral work is also used by Novacell, CA, to develop biohybrid organs for transplantation, and Infimed, Inc., MA, a controlled release drug-delivery company.
Prior to co-founding Confluent, Dr. Sawhney was Director and Technology Founder at Focal, Inc. (acquired by Genzyme), the world’s first FDA-approved synthetic sealant that facilitates early recuperation for patients undergoing lung cancer surgeries. In addition to Confluent, he serves on the board of MarketRx Inc. (an Incept company specializing in sales and marketing effectiveness, planning, and analytical products and services) as well as ACI. As technology founder at Focal, He completed his PhD at the University of Texas Austin and Bachelors in Engineering from IIT Delhi.
TOP
Anupendra Sharma, Investment Partner, Siemens Venture Capital
Anupendra Sharma is Investment Partner at Siemens Venture Capital in Boston. He is most actively focused on investing in Healthcare in US, China and Israel. He focuses on opportunities including imaging and applications, in-vitro and point of care diagnostics, navigation systems, imaging biomarkers, software, healthcare IT, and minimally invasive oncology and radiation therapy. He is a Board Member of China Diagnostics, and involved in SVC investments in Cylex, Sequenom (NASD: SQNM), Radpharm and U-Systems. Anupendra has founded several companies and not-for-profits including Mobile Medics, named the Most Innovative Social Venture of 2006 by the Global Social Venture Competition for its work on the “last-mile” problem for rural healthcare. Anupendra is a Charter Member of TiE Boston and mentors early-stage life sciences companies in New England. Anupendra founded the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at BITS Pilani, named one of India’s top five entrepreneurship centers.
Anupendra holds an MBA from Cornell University, MS in Accounting & Finance from Manchester Business School, Masters in Economics and Bachelors in Instrumentation Engineering from BITS Pilani, India.
TOP
William M. Sisson,
Director, Sustainability, WBCSD Buildings Project, United Technologies
William Sisson is
presently the Director, Sustainability and since 2006 the co-chair
for UTC in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Energy Efficiency in Buildings Project. The Project is a multi-corporation,
broad reaching, holistic look at the building life cycle with
the intent to bring forward new directions for the collective
industry to reach zero net energy buildings that are environmentally
neutral and socially acceptable, while preserving business growth
and profit objectives.
In 2001, he was appointed
Director, Carrier Programs, at United Technologies Research Center
(UTRC), in East Hartford, Connecticut, the central corporate research
center for United Technologies Corporation (UTC). Carrier Corporation
is the world’s leading manufacturer of heating, ventilation, air
conditioning and refrigeration equipment. Mr. Sisson was previously
Global Product Manager for Commercial Controls at Carrier Electronics,
Carrier Corporation.
Mr. Sisson began his
career at UTRC in 1985, where he served a variety of increasingly
responsible roles. In 1998, Mr. Sisson was sponsored by UTC to
attend the MIT Sloan Fellows Program in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
where he received his MBA and developed a business innovation
thesis entitled “Fueling Innovation and Growth Strategies using
Corporate Venturing”.
He completed his undergraduate
studies at Virginia Tech in Engineering Science and Mechanics,
received his MS in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute and was awarded an MBA from the Sloan School at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
United Technologies
Corporation (UTC) provides high technology products and services
to the aerospace and commercial building industries worldwide.
UTC products include Otis elevators, escalators and people movers;
Carrier heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems; UTC
Fire & Security fire safety and security products; UTC Power
fuel cells and on-site cooling, heating and power; Pratt &
Whitney aircraft engines; Hamilton Sundstrand aerospace systems;
and Sikorsky helicopters.
TOP
Doug
Solomon, Chief Technology Strategist, IDEO
Doug
Solomon leads technology strategy efforts at IDEO, working with
clients to effectively leverage technologies that create both
business and social value. With more than twenty-five years of
leadership experience in the information technology industry,
Doug has a particular interest and experience in collaborative
technologies that enable greater community engagement and participation.
Prior
to IDEO, Doug was Vice President of Investments at Omidyar Network,
helping pioneer a new approach to socially impactful investing.
He was also Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and
Chief Strategy Officer at both Apple and Palm, in addition to
holding leadership roles at Interval Research and several technology
startups. Doug began his career by applying marketing and other
business concepts to public health programs in Asia, where he
learned the importance of cultural awareness and community involvement
in achieving meaningful social change.
Doug
is a volunteer chaplain at Stanford Hospital. He has three children
and a fabulous wife, who all continually teach him how to be a
mensch. Doug earned a Masters Degree from the East-West Center
at the University of Hawaii and a Ph.D. in Communication Research
from Stanford University.
TOP
Kevin
Tice, Technology Global Investment Banking, Merrill
Lynch
Kevin
Tice is Co-Head of Americas Technology Investment Banking practice
based in New York. Prior to Merrill Lynch, Kevin was Head of Global
Corporate Finance for Technology Investment Banking at Credit
Suisse First Boston. He was also a member of CSFB’s Investment
Banking Commitment Committee – the Committee that approves all
public and private financings undertaken by the Firm. Kevin has
over 16 years of investment banking experience, with over 14 years
experience in the technology industry. During his career, Kevin
has completed over 100 transactions from IPOs, follow-on offerings,
high yield debt, high grade debt, convertible financings and mergers
and acquisitions. Kevin has been involved with many leading technology
companies including AT&T, EMC, Flextronics, IBM and Xerox.
Kevin
began his investment banking career at Salomon Brothers in 1989
as an Associate in the corporate finance department. He was a
member of Salomon Brothers mergers and acquisition group from
1989 to 1992, before joining Salomon’s technology group in 1992.
In 2000, Kevin joined the Technology Group at Credit Suisse First
Boston. Kevin received his M.B.A. from the Stern School at New
York University and a B.S. from Colorado State University. He
lives in Rye, New York with his wife and three children.
Gunther
Winkler, Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives,
Biogen
Idec
Gunther Winkler joined Biogen Idec in 1988 as
a research scientist. He developed Amevive, an immunomodulator
for the treatment of psoriasis. He has held various managerial
positions in clinical development, program management and corporate
administration. Gunther is currently senior vice president of
Strategic Initiatives, with a broad range of responsibilities
for new business initiatives including the development of certain
Asian markets, M&A, corporate branding and global government
relations.
He is a member of
Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Board of Directors
Research Advisory Committee. He was born and educated in Austria
and earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University
of Vienna. He completed postdoctoral research at the University
of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. His academic achievements
include discoveries related to the structure-host relationship
of flavivirus proteins, publication of over 30 articles and an
award for innovative research from the Austrian Society of Microbiology.
TOP
Martin Young, Vice President,
Corporate Development, Phase
Forward
Martin
Young has logged over 20 years of technology and pharmaceutical
experience, focusing on the implementation of new technology applications
to improve pharmaceutical companies' clinical development effectiveness.
With Phase Forward since 1999, Young has played a pivotal role
helping establish the company's international operations and services
delivery. He has served as the company's vice president of professional
and enterprise services, international, and most recently as vice
president of services, North America. In his positions with the
company, Young has been responsible for overseeing international
corporate accounts, marketing and business development, consulting,
and project management services.
Before
joining Phase Forward, Young served Glaxo Wellcome PLC (now GlaxoSmithKline)
in various operational and corporate development capacities, helping
develop joint ventures focused on improving clinical development.
Prior to his time at GSK, Young served in similar capacities at
Digital Equipment Corporation and Kodak LTD.
Young
holds a bachelor of science degree in engineering science with
honors from Durham University and an Executive MBA degree from
the Cranfield School of Management.
TOP
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