MANAGEMENT
SCIENCE & ENGINEERING 273
TECHNOLOGY
VENTURE FORMATION
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Mentor Biographies
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Jim Anderson Jim Anderson has over two decades in venture capital, including founding partnership positions in Merrill Pickard Anderson & Eyre; and in Foundation Capital, with collectively well over $1 billion in capital commitments. Jim has watched, coached, and participated in the nurture of hundreds of early-stage companies, helping develop them into industry leaders. He came to venture capital with a comprehensive engineering and marketing background, ranging from semiconductors to computer systems built at Beckman Instruments and Hewlett-Packard, Jim was one of the early few to leverage true operational experience. This background provided Jim with a venture platform for some unique value- added industry management approaches to the venture industry including early seed investing, development of the entrepreneur-in-residence concept, and the continuing need and value of a deep seated focus on industry markets. |
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David Bakker Mr. Bakker is currently the Executive Chairman of Inovys Corporation. He has more than 20 years experience in the Semiconductor Industry leading key initiatives in defect classification, data analysis, and yield management. Mr. Bakker held several senior management positions with KLA-Tencor, most recently serving as Vice President Business Development. During his career at KLA-Tencor Mr. Bakker built several successful businesses and published several papers and patents in the fields of inspection and yield. Previously he focused on process engineering and development at Bell Laboratories and DEC. Currently Mr. Bakker has advisory and board positions with Finesse, Presto, Advanced Image Science, Stratosphere, scanR Corp, and Ribbecke Guitar Corp. He also serves on the board of the 501c charity JazzMasters, and actively mentors graduate engineering and business school students at Stanford University. |
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Heinz Blennemann Heinz is an angel investor and an active member at both Band of Angels and the Keiretsu Angel Investing Forum, where he volunteers as the Director of Research. He successfully built and then managed Juniper's first signal-integrity/technology team for eight years. Concurrently, he taught in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University as consulting professor and lecturer for two years. Previously, he has led technology teams and designed high-speed interfaces and systems at Silicon Graphics and I.B.M. He received a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Highest Honors) from Princeton University, a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, and an M.B.A from the Wharton School of Business. Heinz's passion is mentoring student Entrepreneurship teams. He can be reached at heinz@blennemann.com . |
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Richard Bush Richard Bush has an outstanding history of entrepreneurial achievement, assuming roles from engineer and worker-bee to top-executive, in a series of successful Silicon Valley companies which he began with venture or angel funding and transitioned into multi-million dollar publicly traded businesses. In a career marked by entrepreneurial endeavors and by mentoring fledgling start-ups to success, Dick is recognized for his guidance and ability to build strategies and assemble teams that seize market opportunity and achieve business, financial and cultural goals. He has over 30 years of combined high-tech experience in the computer, storage, security and communications. His roles have ranged from VP of Sales and Marketing and other top executive roles including CEO and Chairman. Bush help launch and was an executive in the following successful companies:
Richard’s companies’ have formed significant business relationships including major agreements, mergers or acquisitions with his direct involvement with:
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Shawn T. Carolan Shawn joined Menlo Ventures in 2002 and has focused primarily on connected software and services. He represents Menlo Ventures on the boards of CinemaNow, GalleryPlayer, IMVU, PlayPhone, TalkPlus and TeleNav, and is closely involved with the firm's investments in ePAC and MobiTV. Before joining Menlo, Shawn was a management consultant for Booz-Allen & Hamilton, after spending most of his career in software development and engineering management positions. He was Manager of Software Architecture for Open Port Technology, a start-up that created Internet-based messaging software for data carriers. Prior to that, Shawn worked at Motorola's Cellular Infrastructure Group and Wireless Data Group, Sprint PCS, and the University of Illinois' Center for Computational Electromagnetics. Shawn is a graduate of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business (M.B.A.) and the University of Illinois, Champaign (B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering). |
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Jeff Depew Jeff Depew is a serial entrepreneur and GE-trained leader with a keen eye for emerging markets and technology trends. The first half of Jeff’s career was starting businesses and/or building market share for divisions of General Electric and General Motors. The second half of Jeff’s career has been focused on building new businesses and market opportunities as an entrepreneur. Jeff’s latest venture is Lion Cells, a venture-funded high power/high energy Li Ion battery company which he founded in 2006. The company will enable better performance of battery powered or battery enhanced products such as power tools, lawn and garden equipment, and hybrid cars. Prior to his current venture, Jeff founded Motion Sense, a MEMS semiconductor company providing integrated gesture control and location-aware solutions for handheld devices and game controllers. During his career, Jeff has consulted with both early stage and F1000 companies on how to capitalize on emerging technologies such as interactive digital cable, fuel cells, water purification, and LED lighting. Before focusing his energies on early stage companies, Jeff served as Executive Director of Marketing and Sales at General Motors’ OnStar division, where he led the vision, strategy, positioning, service development and market launch of OnStar. The group integrated cellular, GPS, and data mining technologies into a service platform which delivers peace-of-mind to consumers across all GM’s automotive divisions. Jeff developed his market-focused leadership, product development and marketing skills over twelve years in both consumer and commercial businesses at General Electric. His last position at GE was as President, Electrical Distribution and Control for the Asia/Pacific region, focusing on customer solutions in circuit protection and factory automation. Prior to ED&C, he spent seven years at GE Lighting serving both Consumer and Industrial markets, leading new products and business development for product lines such as IR coated Halogen and GE Rechargeable Batteries. Jeff is a lover of the great outdoors, where he skis, hikes, bikes, boats, and tries at least one new sport each year. Latest: Hang Gliding. He is married, has 2 Finnish Lapphunds (4-legged "kids"), and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. |
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Gordon Eubanks From April 1999 to March 2005 Eubanks served as president and CEO of Oblix, Inc. Oblix was a private company funded by leading venture firms such as Apax Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. Gordon Eubanks managed the company’s rapid growth and established its position as the industry’s leading provider of enterprise identity management solutions. In March 2005 Oblix was sold to Oracle Corporation. From 1984 to 1999, Eubanks was president and chief executive officer of Symantec Corporation. Under his leadership, Symantec evolved into one of the world’s most prominent software companies. Previously, Eubanks founded C&E Software (which Symantec acquired in 1984) and served as a senior executive at Digital Research, Inc. responsible for commercial system software development and marketing. Eubanks founded Compiler Systems, Inc. in 1975 and authored its products: CBASIC, one of the first successful languages on personal computers, and CB80, a compiled version of CBASIC. Compiler Systems was acquired by Digital Research in August 1981. Eubanks received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Oklahoma State University (1968) and his Master's degree in Computer Science from the Naval Postgraduate School (1976) in Monterey, California. Eubanks was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, serving in the nuclear submarine force from 1970 to 1979. He is an active member of industry trade associations, including a past tenure as chairman and president of the Software Publishers Association. He is also on the board of the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation. In 2005, Eubanks was elected to the Hall of Fame of the Oklahoma State University Engineering School. Eubanks serves on the board of Concur Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNQR). He served on the board and as Chairman of Preventsys, a private company, until June 2006 when it was sold to McAfee. Eubanks is on the board of GuardID and Oakley Networks, both private technology companies. |
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Jon Gillespie-Brown Jon has extensive leadership experience in the information technology, communications and new media arenas with executive roles spanning from VP Sales and Marketing to President and Chief Executive Officer. He has a great deal of expertise in the Software Development and Security markets and over 22 years in the IT business. Prior to founding Nalpeiron has was the founder and CEO of three IT Companies in Software, Training and New Media. He successfully built and sold out of these Companies in 2000. Before his own ventures, Jon worked for Global players such as Ericcson, SmartLink and Pace as VP Sales/Marketing and General Manager. Jon is on the Board of Directors of Digital Ventures and TeachMe Interactive. He has been a Entrepreneur in residence/Mentor for the London Business School for 6 years and is the Author of a book on rookie entrepreneurs called "So you want to be an entrepreneur" published by Wiley & Co in 2008. He is passionate about 'entrepreneurship' and believes in the individual's ability to shape their own destiny. |
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Brian Hamel Brian Hamel has 18 years experience in both the Semiconductor and Electronic Design Automation industry in a variety of roles including sales, business development and venture capital. Brian currently is the co-founder and CEO |
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James Joaquin James is an advisor to numerous Silicon Valley technology startups and serves as a Director for Ritz Interactive, a network of top e-commerce sites including RitzCamera.com. |
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Bill Levin Bill has over three decades of experience building businesses, from startups to large corporations. Most recently, Bill was a Vice President for Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ: MXIM), a worldwide leader in the design, development, and manufacture of analog, mixed signal, digital, and high-frequency circuits. During his 9 years at Maxim, Bill initially had responsibility for Engineering ,then U.S. Sales,Marketing and Product Line Management as he helped grow the company from $50MM in annual revenue to $600MM in annual revenue. Before Maxim, Bill was an Vice President at Shugart Corporation—where he led a turnaround that took one of the companies businesses from an unprofitable $24MM in annual revenue to over $70MM in highly profitable annual revenue. Bill has a B.S. in Engineering, an M.S. in Engineering, and an M.S.in Business, all from UCLA. |
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Mike Maples Mike Maples, Jr. is the managing partner of Maples Investments, and is an entrepreneur in his own right. Before becoming a full-time investor, he worked in a variety of executive and management roles in high-growth companies. His background spans a variety of markets including consumer technology, small business, and the enterprise, and he has served in various executive roles in product development, marketing, and corporate strategy. Mike began his technology career in high school, when he started a software company that developed games and educational products for the original IBM PC. He has been passionate about the technology industry ever since. Most recently, Mike co-founded Motive, Inc., the world’s leading broadband software company in 1997 and played key roles in its growth from raw start-up through sales of $100 million. Motive was one of the only successful technology IPOs in 2004, and the most successful infrastructure software IPO for the prior three years. At Motive, Mike was General Manager of Motive's Corporate Business Unit, as well as Chief Marketing and Strategy officer. Prior to Motive, Mike was responsible for worldwide product marketing at Tivoli Systems, where he managed the company's product portfolio from its early-stage development through its 1995 IPO and growth to a $750M line of business within the IBM Software Group. Mike began his professional career at Silicon Graphics, where he served in business development and product marketing roles. In his spare time Mike is an amateur artist, movie-maker, and calligrapher. He holds an Engineering degree from Stanford University, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a guest-lecturer on entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School, Stanford University, Princeton University, and the University of Texas. |
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Mark Sochan Mark Sochan is President of Nuvonix, a consulting firm that specializes in OEM partnering and technology licensing strategies. Prior to Nuvonix, Mr. Sochan held the position of Vice President of Business Development at SAP, where he was responsible for the NetWeaver partner program, the launch and growth of the SAP Developer Network, as well as leading the negotiation teams for several software company acquisitions. Prior to SAP, Mr. Sochan was Vice President of TopTier Software, a company that was acquired by SAP in 2001, and was responsible for successful strategic OEM partnerships with Microsoft, IBM, and SAP. Earlier in his career, he served as Director of Business Development for Crystal Decisions (now Business Objects), where he managed the OEM and channel sales teams responsible for successfully licensing Crystal Reports to more than 150 software companies. Mr. Sochan holds a B.A.Sc. in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo. |
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Spencer C. Tall
Spencer C. Tall joined the Allegis team in 2004 and worked closely with the Allegis team over the years co-investing with the partnership twice. Prior to Allegis Capital, Mr. Tall was a co-founder and General Partner with APV Technology Partners for three funds over 10 years. In addition, Mr. Tall is a co-founder of Asia Pacific Ventures LLC, a consulting and advisory service firm where, over a 13-year period, he assisted more than 50 technology companies in their Asia expansion plans. This included technology licensing, fund raising and distribution arrangements. Mr. Tall has acted as a strategic advisor to global companies including Motorola, Sony, Fujitsu, Samsung, Canon, TDK, and Dacom. Prior to founding APV, Mr. Tall, a fluent Japanese speaker, oversaw US sales operations for Marubun Corporation, a Japan-based billion dollar components trading company. He also worked as a sales manager with GRE America, Inc., a Japanese contract manufacturer, serving U.S. corporations' outsourcing efforts. Mr. Tall currently serves on the boards of IMVU, Allegiance, Collinear, and AvaLAN Wireless. Prior investments include E.piphany (EPNY), Web TV (acquired by MSFT), One Touch Systems (acquired by Hughes Satellite), Locality (acquired by e2Grow), and North Systems. Mr. Tall has a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and Japanese from BYU. |
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Steve Weinstein With a background that spans technology, intellectual property and entertainment, Steve Weinstein now leads the film industry’s united effort to explore and invest in emerging technologies to advance the consumer experience in the new media environment. Prior to joining MovieLabs, Steve served as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at Macrovision Corporation, where he led the post-reorganization effort to define that company’s strategic and technological direction. Steve previously served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Macrovision’s Entertainment Technologies Group, where he guided the transition from physical security technologies to secure online distribution, commerce and subscription services. Previous to Macrovision, Steve held the role of Chief Technology Officer at Vicinity, a mapping company acquired by Microsoft in 2002. Steve was a founding executive and Chief Strategist and Technologist at Liberate Technologies, an interactive television software company. Over his career, Steve has held executive-level positions at Microprose/Spectrum HoloByte, Electronics for Imaging, and Media Cybernetics. |
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Phil Wickham Phil Wickham is a twelve-year veteran of the venture capital industry, with a particular focus on globalization of young companies. He has worked with Flagship (Boston), JAFCO (Tokyo/Palo Alto) and Copan (Munich/Palo Alto). Prior to his years in venture capital, Phil co-founded Reference Media in Tokyo in 1989 and later sold the company to the Princeton Review. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona, an MBA from Rensselaer and is a Charter Class Member of The Kauffman Fellows Program and vice chairman of the Program's board. He is also a board member of S2 Technologies and SVASE. |
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Glen Winokur Glenn Winokur is a 20+ year veteran of the software industry. He was most recently CEO of Scalix from June, 2004 until July 2007. Prior to Scalix he spent a year advising early stage portfolio companies of some of the leading Venture firms in Silicon Valley. Prior to that he was Chief Operating Officer of NetIQ, a leading supplier of security and system management software. At NetIQ, he played an instrumental role in leading the company through an extended period of rapid growth from initial product launch in 1996 to $300 million in annual revenues in 2003. Winokur was responsible for all revenue, customer and partner related activities; including NetIQ's landmark agreement with Microsoft in 2000 which firmly established the company as the market leader in it’s category. Prior to NetIQ, Winokur has held executive positions in sales and business development at several enterprise software companies, including Compuware, Frame Technology (now Adobe), Documentum (now EMC) and Ingres. Winokur received a BS in Business Administration and Marketing from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. |
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