Nick Acosta
President and Founder
helpmefindMYPET.com
Nicholas J. Acosta is the cofounder and President of helpmefindMYPET.com, the first mass alert service for lost and stolen pets alerting pet professionals and the pet community within a geographical location. helpmefindMYPET.com was fashioned after the Amber Alert service for lost and kidnapped kids. Acosta helped establish helpmefindMYPET.com reputation as the premier missing pet alert service in America and a company dedicated to creating, delivering and administrating the best services in the pet industry. Acosta is responsible for establishing the vision for the company and ensuring that all areas are effectively driving together towards those goals.
Regarded as team oriented with strong leadership skills, a results oriented attitude, and the personal qualities of integrity and honesty, Mr. Acosta is entrusted to build effective relationships both within helpmefindMYPET.com and with its external partners.
Mr. Acosta's entrepreneurial spirit was ignited early in his life through various local small business ventures. Acosta earned his bachelor's degree in Finance with honors from Wayne State University in 2001. While attending Wayne State University, Acosta was introduced to the pet industry by a trainer who would employ Acosta to run all of Metro Detroit's training accounts. Acosta moved to New York City and opened a training school. After returning to the Detroit metro area Acosta reconnected with that trainer and together launched helpmefindMYPET.com. Today, helpmefindMYPET.com is a multi-million dollar company with service across North America. Nicholas Acosta is married to his wife of 3 years Madeline and has 2 sons Antolino and Dante.
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Jack Ahrens
General Partner
TGap Ventures
Jack is a founding General Partner of TGap Venture Capital Fund, headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan. TGap is a $20 million early stage, Midwest focused venture capital fund established in August of 2002. Jack has been a venture capitalist and fund administrator since 1979; first as President of United Capital Corporation of Illinois (an SBIC), since 1983 as a General Partner of Pathfinder Venture Capital Funds I,II, III. Prior to that he had seven years of experience in bank trust investments and operations. He became a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) in 1982 and has advanced training at the American Institute of Banking, NASBIC Management Institute, and Stanford Advance Management College. In recent years at Pathfinder, in addition to traditional venture investment responsibilities Jack has been the administrator of the Partnerships, Pathfinder's in-house systems expert, and has managed the firm's exits from portfolio investments that were sold or distributed. He has served on many Boards during his career including Afmedica, Inc., Central Data, Inc., Micro Business Applications, Inc., MedVantx, Inc., MinuteClinic, Inc., and he is the Chairman of the Great Lakes Entrepreneur Quest. He is a graduate of Indiana University.
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Charlie Barnes
Vice President
AMI Strategies
Charlie has been an entrepreneur and business owner for more than 23 years. While attending night school at Walsh College, he started a hydraulic and pneumatic supply business with a partner serving in the role of VP-Sales. He obtained his degree in Finance from Walsh in 1984 and his law degree in 1989. After selling his interest in that first company in 1990, he worked for a Bloomfield Hills law firm, in addition to forming a small custom clothing company. It was at this juncture that his eduation and experience allowed him to counsel entrepreneurs on new business start-ups and franchises.
Charlie left the daily practice of law and served as a business broker/advisor for Colliers International. At Colliers, he was instrumental in obtaining funding and capital as a broker to facilitate the sale of manufacturing and middle-market sellers. In 1999, Charlie, along with three other partners, bought the assets of Paramount Boring & Machine and converted those operations into a production facility Tier IVII supplier. During his tenure he served in the roles as CFO and General Counsel. In 2008, Charlie sold his interest in Paramount.
Mr. Barnes is currently advising entrepreneurs on the finance and legal issues facing business owners, in addition to his advisory executive role at AMI Strategies - a technology expense management company. Also, Charlie serves on the Board of four small companies, and has been actively involved with business owners in the restaurant, manufacturer's rep, manufacturing, distribution and technology business sectors.
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Gerry Boylan
Managing Director
Long Point Capital
In 1999, Gerry Boylan founded Long Point Capital, a private equity firm, with three partners. Mr. Boylan is a Managing Director of the Firm, which has offices in Royal Oak, Michigan and New York City. Long Point Capital Fund I and II have over $300 million of private equity capital under management. Fund I and II have invested in sixteen companies with aggregate sales of over $1.5 billion.
Mr. Boylan worked at Masco Corporation from 1982 to 1998, primarily in mergers and acquisition activities, becoming Vice President of Business Development in 1990. While at Masco, he was involved in more than 35 each merger and acquisition transactions with a total value over $2 billion.
Mr. Boylan's entrepreneurial activities include founding and managing On-Site child care with his wife Kathy Boylan from 1986-1991 which provided high quality child care to Bostford Hospital and Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital employees. He also co-founded a chain of eleven furniture and accessory outlet stores for Masco anchored by a 50,000 square feet store in Hickory, North Carolina.
Mr. Boylan's civic involvement includes election to the Royal Oak City Council (1981-1983) and service on various other civic boards including: President of the Board of Trustees of Think Detroit PAL, Member of the Detroit Investment Fund Investment Committee, Trust Board of South Oakland Boys and Girls Club, and Royal Oak Housing Commission. He has also served on the boards of several privately held companies including Inrecon Inc. now Belfor (Birmingham, MI), Comfortex Corp (Cohoes, NY), Arch Aluminum and Glass (Tamarac, FL), Sunbury Textile Mills (Sunbury, PA), CHI Overhead Doors (Arthur, IL) , Arrow TruLine (Archbold, OH) and Torrent Resources (Phoenix, AZ).
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David Brandon
President and Chief Executive Officer
Domino's Pizza
As Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Domino's Pizza, David A. Brandon is creating positive energy and growing profits at the corporation, through an upbeat approach to leadership, and an overall message to his team members in the form of the company vision: "Exceptional people on a mission to be the best pizza delivery company in the world!" Brandon has led this charge at Domino's since March 1999, when he was recruited to succeed the company's founder after his retirement and sale of the company to Bain Capital, a Boston-based private equity investment firm.
Upon joining the company, Brandon announced plans to grow sales and profits by honoring the company's roots of efficient menu preparation and delivery, while overlaying a team spirit of "smart hustle" and innovation. Profits have increased dramatically under his leadership, through improved customer satisfaction scores, lower employee turnover and product improvement. Brandon has assembled a strong leadership team, with deep knowledge of the quick-serve restaurant industry combined with specialty skill sets that creates balanced strategic decision-making at Domino's.
Brandon described his strategic plan for the company: "Domino's is one of America's most recognized brands, with a heritage of over 45 years of undisputed dominance in the business of pizza delivery. I'm committed to maintaining and surpassing this high standard through ongoing store growth, flawless operations and making Domino's the employer of choice in the quick-serve restaurant industry. What gets measured gets done. In this way, we will build upon our already strong business, and continue to drive sales, profits and overall value for our shareholders." In July 2004, Brandon led the successful completion of Domino's initial public offering, which was the largest quick service restaurant IPO in history.
Prior to Domino's, Brandon served as Chairman, President and CEO of Valassis, an international marketing services and sales promotion company. After building an industry-leading sales and marketing organization over his 20-year tenure, Brandon led the process of taking Valassis public in 1992. Valassis is a mid-cap NYSE-listed company, and began its acclaim as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America under Brandon's leadership.
Prior to joining Valassis, Brandon worked in sales management at Procter & Gamble's Food Products Division. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he was a member of three Big 10 champion football teams, under legendary Coach Bo Schembechler.
Brandon is a member of the Board of Directors of Burger King Corporation, TJX Companies (the parent of T.J.Maxx, Marshalls, A.J. Wright and HomeGoods stores), Kaydon Corporation, and Detroit Renaissance. He also serves on JP Morgan's National Advisory Board. In 1998, Brandon won a statewide election to serve an eight-year term as a Regent of the University of Michigan. He serves on a number of Southeast Michigan-based civic and charitable boards, and is also a National Advisory Board Member of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
A native of Michigan, Dave Brandon resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his wife, Jan. The Brandons have three adult sons, Scott, Nick and Chris, and a daughter, Carli.
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Mike Brennan
Founder
Michigan News Network and MITechNews.com
Mike Brennan is founder of Michigan News Network, and serves as Editor and Publisher of MITechnews.com. MITechnews.com is a web portal site that features stories, information and events listings about Michigan technology companies and entrepreneurs.
Brennan has worked since 1980 as a technology writer at newspapers in New York City, San Jose, CA., Seattle, WA., Memphis, TN., and Detroit. He co founded and served as managing editor of Pacific Rim News Service, which developed a network of more than 100 freelance journalists in 17 Asia-Pacific countries.
Brennan earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and was the 1992-93 Knight Fellow in Economic Journalism at the University of Michigan.
Brennan launched MITechnews.com in April 2000. Video and audio webcasting capabilities were added in 2001, a statewide radio show and eNewsletters were added in 2003. In January 2007, audio podcasts were added, followed by video podcasts in September 2007.
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Kevin Browett
Chief Operating Officer
Renaissance Media
Mr. Browett brings over 25 years of direct hands-on experience in the retail healthcare business and senior executive management experience in personnel development, operations, marketing, merchandising and bottom line financial management.
He began his career serving as a pharmacist and store manager for Peoples Drugstores/CVS Pharmacy in Washington D.C. He was quickly promoted through the ranks to serve as Corporate Vice-President of Professional Programs, Corporate Director of Operations and Corporate Vice-President Pharmacy by age 30. While at Peoples, he successfully turned around the personal health stores after ten years of losses into the highest ROI division in the Imasco Company. He standardized corporate operating procedure for the company's 853 stores and executed a pharmacy system changeover that allowed real time online billing. He also developed the pharmacy recruiting program and the graduate-in-training program, which ensured the growth and retention of a quality workforce.
Mr. Browett joined Kmart in 1991 as the Senior Director of Pharmacy where he had total strategic and tactical planning as well as operational responsibility for 1,100 pharmacies. While in this position he converted all pharmacies to a new computer system, improved gross margins by 1.5%, introduced next day delivery to all stores and set up national satellite networks.
He was promoted to Divisional Vice President in that same year and was responsible for launching a merchandising prototype that increased sales by 23%. He held bottom line responsibility for operations, systems, merchandising, pricing and finance. In this position he managed 80+ managers and over 2,300 stores.
Mr. Browett became the Vice President, Hardlines Merchandising with full P&L responsibility for pharmacy, health and beauty care, hair goods, cosmetics, sporting goods, automotive, books, kitchenware, tabletop and notions. He was promoted to Corporate Vice-President, General Merchandise Manager six months later.
Mr. Browett joined Age Wave in January of 1995 as an Executive Vice President to develop new business strategies for healthy living and aging. While with Age Wave, he was involved with the acquisitions of numerous newspapers that targeted the aging population across the U.S. He consulted on retail, healthcare and merchandising strategies.
Mr. Browett has also been the driving force in several start-up companies including:
The KMT Group, LLC, a full service consulting company, where he served as the CEO and managing partner. He was instrumental in achieving revenues of $1.5 million in the first 12 months of operation and cash flow positive results within the first three months.
Springtime LLC, a consulting firm focused on marketing and process management for the Internet and e-commerce. This included the creation of logistics, item selection, vendor relations, site mapping and customer delivery and interface. He remains a partner in this company today.
MedMax, Inc. - a ground up creation of a revolutionary new retail/healthcare category-dominant company. Browett established the initial business plan, was successful in the capital raise, developed award-winning store designs and built the business to 12 stores, three distribution hubs and 300 employees within three years.
Can Do Inc., a leading online provider of products and services to people with disabilities. While serving as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of E-commerce, he planned and executed several marketing programs, was involved in due diligence of key acquisitions and raised second round equity to ensure the success of the venture.
Browett currently works with Renaissance Media, LLC. He was appointed to establish and execute all related strategies and operations across the company's Michigan and Georgia assets. He lead the transformation of the company from a basic newspaper business - with a long community history - to a media company over a four-year period. This included a dramatic increase in sales and profitability in a depressed economy, the forging of strategic partnerships to extend the brand and diversify company offerings and creating a new entity under the corporate umbrella enabling them to offer agency and custom publishing services.
Mr. Browett has a B.S. in Pharmacy from Duquesne University and has completed a number of Executive Education Programs at the Harvard Business School including Retail Merchandising, Financial Accounting and Marketing.
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Carol Cain
Detroit Free Press Politics and Business Columnist
Editorial Director at CBS Detroit and CW 50
Carol Cain is a columnist at the Detroit Free Press presently covering politics and business. Her columns appear every Sunday in the Free Press' Business Section. She has also written extensively about small business and entrepreneurs in her column that was nationally syndicated to other papers.
She also is editorial and community affairs director of CBS/CW 50 and hosts a weekly TV show "Michigan Matters" about business and politics where she interviews business and political leaders. Among recent guests: GM CEO Rick Wagoner, Daimler executive Dieter Zetsche, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, ePrize CEO Josh Linkner, SBA Richard Temkin, WSU Small Business expert Ed King, Cong. John Dingell, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, DMC CEO Mike Duggan, Skillman Foundation President Carol Goss, Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings and former Ford President Jim Padilla and Geely CEO Shufu Li.
Carol joined the Free Press in 1993 as Assistant Business Editor where she coordinated the paper's daily business news coverage. In 1996, she was named Assistant National Editor and coordinated the paper's coverage of presidential elections as well as international and national issues such as the Iraq war.
Since 2005, she has also written numerous articles and columns about Michigan companies big and small doing business in China
Prior to her tenure at the Free Press, Carol served as Business Editor of the Toledo Blade. She also worked as a business reporter and columnist at The Detroit News where she wrote a weekly business column. She also worked as a reporter and editor at United Press International's Detroit bureau where she covered business, politics, automotive and sports.
In addition to her print journalism background, Carol enjoys extensive experience in broadcast journalist. Carol appears on other regional and national radio and TV networks such as CNN and C-span talking about business, politics, and community issues.
She is active in the community, hosting and appearing at numerous organization's events during the year including: the Detroit Regional Chamber, the Michigan Business and Professional Association, the Michigan Political Leadership, the Women's Economic Club and more.
She was host of the Michigan Chronicle's highly touted "Pancakes and Politics" series of breakfasts in 2006 and 2007 -- which aired on "Michigan Matters" on CBS and CW 50. Participants included: Gov. Granholm, Dick Devos, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman, Strategic Staffing Solutions CEO Cindy Paskey and other leading figures from business, education and politics.
Carol received her B.A. in communications from Michigan State University. In 1999, she received her MBA from the University of Michigan.
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Randal Charlton
Executive Director
TechTown
Randal Charlton has had a varied career with a common theme: starting businesses dedicated to commercializing research in animal, plant and human technology.
In 2007, Charlton became the director of TechTown, the Wayne State University research and technology park. He has since secured a $1.5 million grant from the Kresge Foundation for build-out of the main TechTown incubator facility, TechOne.
Charlton co-founded Asterand, a biomaterials company, in early 2000, which became TechTown's anchor tenant. In seven years, with an investment of less than $11.6 million, Asterand has established a global repository containing many thousands of samples from cooperating hospitals on four continents. Asterand revenues have grown from $100,000 in 2001 to $18 million in 2007.
As a young man, Charlton won three national awards in Britain for technical journalism and at the age of 23 was voted the best agricultural journalist in Britain. He became interested in the challenges of commercializing a new technology and switched to a business career in his late twenties.
One of his startup companies, FarmKey, Ltd., specialized in finding new ways to grow food in desert climates. FarmKey's accomplishments included a multi-million dollar plan backed by the British government to build an agricultural research station at Alexandria University in Egypt. Charlton was also recognized in the 1980s for his work in the "greening of Saudi Arabia" with a formal invitation to dine with the King of Saudi Arabia at a banquet hosted by the Lord Mayor of London.
He was a pioneer in the use of embryo transfer and artificial insemination as a way to introduce new, more productive breeds of cattle to many countries of the world. This work led to his election as the first chairman of a national cattle organization.
Charlton's accomplishments include being co-founder of Countrywide Communications, a food and agriculture public relations company, which is one of the most successful of its type in the world. He has written three books, contributed to numerous publications and retains an interest in writing and broadcasting as a way of introducing new technology to wider audiences.
Charlton served MichBio, the Michigan Life Sciences Industry Association, as director for three years and as chairman for three years. In 2007, his work with Asterand won him the Heimlich Award for accomplishments in medical technology. That same year he was elected Special Assistant and Economic Advisor to Wayne State University's President Irvin D. Reid. He currently serves as the Wayne State University Entrepreneur in Residence. Charlton was elected as chairman to the Wayne State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors in 2008. In 2008, he also won the New Entreprise Forum's Entrepreneur of the Year award.
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Terry Cross
Founder
Windward Associates, LLC
After graduating from Wayne State University in 1964 with an MBA in Finance, Terry began his career with an 8-year stint in the machine tool industry. In 1968 he founded CP Systems Company and sold it in 1972 to a NYSE listed company for more than $10.0 million.
From 1972 until 1998, Terry worked for Kidder, Peabody and its successor, PaineWebber Inc. first as a stockbroker and then in the investment banking area focusing on business generation. During his tenure, he worked in Detroit, New York City and for the last nine years in San Francisco covering companies and venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. In 1998 he left Paine Webber and co-founded Sonoma Photonics where he led an $11.0 million venture financing and successful launch of the company. He served as Chairman and CEO until returning to Michigan in 2002.
Terry has served as director of 12 companies as well as Chairman of 3 companies. Over forty years he has invested 44 venture deals including the following that became publicly traded: Novell, DSC Communications, Napster, Pay Pal, Inkotomi, Warehouse Club and he was a first round investor in Google. Terry also served for three years on the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity at MIT and helped launch three companies from MIT's Tech Transfer Department. He currently serves as Board Chairman of Green Daisy, Inc. of Grand Rapids, Michigan and is a Director of Monarch Antenna, a Delphi Corporation spinout.
Since returning to Michigan, he founded Windward Associates to assist young companies in connecting and growing in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Michigan. Terry serves on the board of directors for Great Lakes Angels and The Entrepreneurial Initiative of Southeast Michigan, and Board of Visitors of Wayne State's Business School where he was named Outstanding Alumni for 2005 and Executive in Residence for Entrepreneurship.
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Toby Dahm
First Vice President
Hennessey Capital
Toby Dahm serves as First Vice President for Hennessey Capital. In this role, he assists in business development, with primary responsibility for underwriting and managing Hennessey's asset based loans.
Toby has over 20 years of experience in commercial lending. His career began with Michigan National Bank in 1986. At Michigan National, Toby held positions in credit management and portfolio administration, including traditional lending, troubled loan workouts, and asset based lending. In 1995, Toby joined Crestmark Bank. During his 10 year career at Crestmark, Toby's responsibilities covered underwriting, portfolio management, marketing and product development.
In addition to his commercial lending career, Toby has experience as an entrepreneur. He was a founding member of Steeplechase Software, an Ann Arbor Michigan based start up company that developed and sold software for industrial automation. Steeplechase was sold to Scheider Automation in 2000.
Toby received a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Michigan State University in 1985, and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Michigan in 1993. He was a member of the winning team in the 1993 University of Michigan Pryor Award contest for best business plan. He has also served as a coach for the Art of Leadership, which provides leadership training for disadvantaged youth. Toby is active in the leadership of a local church.
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Jim Deiotte
Tax Partner
Ernst & Young
Jim currently serves as a Tax Account Leader in the North Central Area (NCA). In addition to serving our clients, Jim also serves as the leader of the Area's Diversified Staff Group and is the leader of the NCA Tax Learning, Resource and Planning and Counseling Teams.
Jim and his family just returned to the US practice in July where he was on a secondment in Warsaw, Poland for the last four years. While in Warsaw, Jim served as a Senior Partner in the Polish and the Central and Eastern European Area (CEA) practices.
Jim has served a number of clients, including, but not limited to, General Electric, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Delphi, Johnson Controls, British Telecom, RR Donnelly, United Technology, Diebold, Inc., PPG Industries, Avon, TRW Automotive, Federal Mogul, Credit Suisse, American Axle and Lenovo.
In addition to serving clients, Jim served as the Tax Managing Partner for the Polish Practice and was the Business Tax Compliance Leader for the Central and Eastern European Area practices.
Jim has practiced in public accounting since 1980 and holds both the CPA and CMA certificates. Jim has focused on business combinations, reorganizations and representation before taxing authorities. Jim is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American and Florida Bar Associations.
Jim's education includes degrees from Cleveland State University (1980 BBS in Accounting and 1984 MBA in Finance) and the University of Miami School of Law (1988 Juris Doctor).
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Barry Demp
President
Demp Coaching
Barry Demp is a highly successful business and executive coach based in Troy, Michigan. As a coach of over 1000 individuals during the past 14 years, Barry has earned the distinction of Master Certified Coach (MCC) from the International Coach Federation (ICF). He works with executives, business owners, and high-potential professionals to help them significantly increase their performance, productivity, profitability, and life balance.
EXPERTISE
Barry's workshops, seminars, speaking engagements, and customized coaching programs foster a comprehensive and holistic approach to individual and organizational development through assuring practical applications on both professional and personal levels.
His customized coaching programs range from small entrepreneurial ventures to a variety of projects with mid-sized and large organizations.
SPECIALIZED SKILLS
- Engaging public speaking
- Innovative training delivery
- Articulate and intuitive communication
- Efficient planning
- Client engagement activist
- Culture change facilitator
INVOLVEMENT
Barry Demp is the local president of the ICF and spends much of his time helping individuals and organizations master the leadership, management, communication, and coaching skills needed in today's competitive and rapidly changing world. He conducts workshops and speaks frequently to groups in Southeastern Michigan on coaching, leadership, management, mastering successful relationships, sales effectiveness, and life-balance issues.
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James M. Drake, Esq.
Attorney
Clark Hill PLC
EDUCATION
J.D., DePaul University College of Law (1987)
B.A., University of Michigan (1983)
MEMBERSHIPS
American Bar Association Business Law Committee
International Law Committee
Intellectual Property Law Committee
James M. Drake is a member of Clark Hill's Business Practice Group in its Chicago office. He represents business entities of all sizes in all types of transactional matters domestically and internationally, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, structuring, organizing and documenting partnerships and limited liability companies, drafting and negotiating all types of contracts and agreements, and handling partnership and membership dissolutions and disputes. He has represented United States and foreign based entities in negotiating and documenting transactions throughout the world.
Mr. Drake also advises clients in technology development, protection and transfer matters and other intellectual property matters, including drafting and negotiating patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret development, licensing, transfer and joint venture agreements, and registering copyrights and trademarks.
Mr. Drake earned his Bachelors of Arts Degree from the University of Michigan in 1983, and his law degree from DePaul University in 1987, where he was a member of the DePaul Law Review. He serves as a member of the American Bar Association Business Law Committee, International Law Committee and Intellectual Property Law Committee.
Mr. Drake has been recognized as an Illinois Leading Lawyer by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company in Closely and Privately Held Business Law for 2006 - 2007.
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Rick Galdi
President
Great Lakes Angels
Mr. Galdi is a seasoned executive with over 22 years of running many successful enterprises including StarShowz Corp. which he co-founded in 1986 and still operates today. He applies a unique set of skills that combine a deep background in all facets of creative media production with the disciplines of accounting and finance. His work has earned numerous awards and accolades from top executives, print and TV media, and his peers.
From 2000 thru the present, Rick has been active in the angel investment community and real estate. He acquired back a majority interest in StarShowz and expanded it into a media production company to accommodate internet content needs and innovate mediarich family oriented entertainment products. During this time he has become an active member and President of the Great Lakes Angels and formed Windfall Projectz LLC. WPZ, which focuses on increasing the success of early stage companies with a processoriented fast-track approach of leveraging capital, contacts, management and mentorship. He holds a significant position in Saleztrack LLC, an automotive intelligence software company and serves on the board.
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Paul Glantz
Chief Executive Officer
Emagine Entertainment
Paul Glantz possesses an in-depth understanding of business, having acquired substantial experience through progressively more responsible positions in finance, insurance, real estate and cinematic exhibition. After graduating from Wayne State in 1980, Mr. Glantz started his career as a Commercial Loan Analyst with Comerica Bank-Detroit. Upon learning that he had passed the CPA examination at his first sitting, he subsequently joined Ernst & Young. After several years as a tax practitioner and the attainment of his CPA designation, Mr. Glantz joined Pulte Homes, Inc. serving as Corporate Risk Manager, Assistant Treasurer, and later, as President of its wholly-owned subsidiary, First Line Insurance Services.
Since 1989 Mr. Glantz has focused his efforts on building entrepreneurial businesses, including Cinema Hollywood, located in Birch Run, Michigan. Beginning in 1990, he also assumed the position of Vice President of Finance & Administration with Proctor Financial, Inc., a leading provider of specialized insurance services. In his capacity as CFO of Proctor, Mr. Glantz initiated efforts that added over $3 million per year in annual operating income. Moreover, between 1996 and present, he helped guide Proctor and its affiliates from a value of less than $1 million to over $55 million today. In 2004, he successfully quarterbacked the sale of Proctor to Brown & Brown, Inc., a leading NYSE national insurance brokerage firm. Since May 2007, Mr. Glantz has lead Proctor Financial as its President & CEO.
Mr. Glantz also has been the driving force behind the development and operation of Emagine Novi (2002) and Emagine Canton (2004), two state-of-the-art 18-screen megaplex theatres. Serving as Chief Executive of both entities, he raised over $30 million in capital to initiate those ventures, and in doing so, brought his concept of an exemplary movie-going experience to reality. During 2007 Emagine Novi will host nearly 875,000 guests, and the Emagine theatres, collectively, have been recognized by the Detroit News as the "Best Theatres in Michigan" for the past three years running. Emagine Canton is on pace to exceed the success achieved by its sister theatre in Novi.
Considered an expert in the cinematic exhibition industry, Mr. Glantz has been quoted in numerous publications, including, Film Journal International, The New York Times, and The International Herald Tribune on the future of moviegoing. Recently, Mr. Glantz appeared on CNN's Headline News Program "Showbiz Tonight" discussing quality features of the Emagine theatres designed to enhance the moviegoing experience. Those participating in the show, including Mr. Glantz, were characterized as operators of "Five Star Theaters."
Mr. Glantz has been at the forefront of technological change in the theatre industry, particularly the transition to high-definition digital presentation. Under his direction, Mr. Glantz's theatre chain became, in January, 2006, the first in the nation to convert all of its screens to high-definition digital imagery, dramatically improving theatrical picture quality and eliminating the need for 35 millimeter film.
Mr. Glantz holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with High Distinction from Wayne State University and a Master's Degree in Taxation from Walsh College. In March 2006, Wayne State's Business School recognized Mr. Glantz's accomplishments awarding him its Distinguished Alumnus Award.
In addition to accomplishments in commerce, Mr. Glantz is also well recognized for his philanthropy, contributing generously to numerous charities. At its May 2007 Annual Convention, Variety, The Children's Charity, recognized Mr. Glantz as one of its "Presidential Citation Award Winners."
Mr. Glantz and his wife, Mary, reside in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. They are the proud parents of two terrific teenage sons, Jack and Jim.
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Brad Hehl
Senior Manager · Transactions Advisory Group
Ernst & Young
Brad has over 10 years experience at Ernst & Young and approximately 6 years experience in the Transaction Advisory Service practice.
Brad is a Certified Public Accountant, currently based in our Global Automotive Center in Detroit, MI.
Brad's transaction experience has been primarily concentrated in the automotive and manufacturing industry. Industries include steel, plastics, aluminum, off/on-highway heavy truck components, aftermarket products, and various other manufacturing or assembly components.
Brad has led both buy and sell-side due diligence services for various Fortune 500 companies.
Brad specializes in industry consolidations/roll-ups and carve-out transactions.
Brad has led international financial due diligence assignments for corporate and private equity buyers.
Brad also previously conducted financial audits of multi-national companies, which primarily consisted of Tier One automotive companies and other SEC registrants.
Brad received a B.A. in Accounting from Michigan State University
Brad is a member of AICPA and MACPA
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Bryan Hirn
Area President
Gallagher/Rains
Bryan Hirn is Area President of Gallagher/Rains, the largest employee benefits brokerage and consulting firm in Michigan. Serving over 300 corporate clients, Gallagher/Rains produces annual revenue of approximately $12.5 million, and employs 60 Michigan residents in a variety of professional and staff positions.
During his 24 years experience in the employee group benefits field, Hirn has served in a variety of professional capacities throughout his career. Prior to its acquisition by Gallagher, Hirn served as Managing Director of The Rains Group, then one of the largest privately held employee benefits consulting firms in Michigan. Hirn's resume also includes service as a Principal and Shareholder for another prominent local benefit consulting firm, as well as a role as Area President for an earlier Gallagher acquisition in southeast Michigan.
In addition to his direct job responsibilities, Hirn has served on a number of advisory boards and counsels, including the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan State Advisory Council, the PPOM (now Cofinity) State Advisory Council and the CIGNA Healthcare and Group Insurance Advisory Councils.
Hirn also served as President and Board Chairman for the Benefit Advisors Network (BAN), one of the largest collations of independent employee benefit broker consulting firms in the United States. Hirn has made numerous public appearances at state and regional benefit forums and seminars.
Hirn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University and a Masters in Business Administration from Wayne State University in Detroit. Hirn and his family reside in Orchard Lake, Michigan.
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Judy Johncox
Venture Development Director
Wayne State University
Judy M. Johncox, Director for Venture Development at Wayne State University, has a well-established track record at evaluating research-based, academic technology for commercialization and business development. She manages the strategic planning and business concept development for transitioning WSU technologies into start-up companies, as well as attracts the management and investment resources for applicable start-up companies. Ms. Johncox assists with Federal SBIR/STTR grant strategy planning. She collaborates with WSU's School of Business to create interdisciplinary teams of graduate students to evaluate for commercial viability current WSU research projects. Ms. Johncox holds a M.A. degree in Organizational Communication from Western Michigan University and a B.A. degree from Eastern Michigan University.
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Ed King
Assistant Director · Small Business Programs
Wayne State University
Edward F. King, author of the books Running a PROFITable Small Business and Starting a PROFITable Small Business, is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who has been teaching small business workshops for over 25 years. During this time, he has helped thousands of small business owners deal with a variety of business problems. Mr. King recently completed work on the Profit Forecaster/Analyzer, which took over 2 years to develop. This computer program will help the small business owner move away from "crisis management" through financial projections.
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Antonio Luck
Adams Fellow
Delphi Corporation
Antonio Luck is an advisor to the Wayne State University MBA Association and co-chair of business for the Detroit Young Professionals. As an Adams Entrepreneur Fellow, Luck serves Delphi by managing Business Development and Intellectual Property Analysis. In April 2007 he had an integral role in the launch of Monarch Antenna Inc., a new technology company created by Delphi in partnership with Michigan State University and Automation Alley to commercialize its novel Monarch Self Structuring Antenna Technology. Antonio Luck was born in Brazil and received degrees from universities in his home country in law from Faculdade De Direito Curitiba and in civil engineering from Universidade Federal Paraná. He is a certified engineer and a licensed lawyer in Brazil and has been serving as an advisor to the president of Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná for more than five years. During this period Luck acquired extensive entrepreneurial work experience in Brazil. He was involved in creating the Project Office and the Intellectual Property in the University Tuiuti of Paraná. Lück is Wayne State University MBA alumni. During the 2006 E2detroit Conference competition, his team developed a business plan and created a marketable product. He won the title "exceptional entrepreneur." In 2007 Antonio became a member of the E2detroit Student Advisory Board and presented a panel at this same conference.
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David Leider
Chief Executive Officer
Gas Station TV
With more than 20 years experience in media, automotive, consumer packaged goods, retail and technology, David Leider has been a prime mover in fueling a shift in the world of digital advertising. First as a manager of integrated marketing for companies like DaimlerChrysler and Ford, then as a strategist for the automotive sector of Yahoo!, Mr. Leider set the course
for the evolution of digital advertising to entirely new venues and media. As CEO of GSTV, Leider leads client/partner relationships and business operations where he has leveraged his marketing expertise to successfully launch GSTV in the top 12 media markets in the nation, growing GSTV's national reach to over 30 million viewers a month.
Mr. Leider was most recently in senior management with Yahoo!, Inc., one of the world's leading media companies. At Yahoo! he had sales, strategy, marketing, and public relations oversight for their automotive, consumer packaged goods, Pharma, and Travel categories.
Leider's previous experience includes senior level positions at three of the top advertising, marketing, and interactive companies in the world, JWT, Doner, and Organic. In those capacities, he managed client relationships, business operations and marketing integration for a number of the top automotive, consumer packaged goods, retail and financial brands in
the world including DaimlerChrysler AG, Ford Motor Company, Campbell Soup Brands, Kohl's, Canadian Tire, and Comerica.
Mr. Leider has represented his companies at numerous events and keynoted major industry conferences. Outside the office, Leider serves as a director on the boards of the Michigan Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Camp-Mak-A-Dream.
He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan.
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Mark Lundquist
President
Fulcrum Edge
Mark is the Founder, President and CEO of Fulcrum Edge, Inc. He spent fifteen years in the aerospace and defense arena before coming to Detroit twelve years ago to work in the automotive and manufacturing industries. In the corporate world he was brought in to implement change, restructuring, turnarounds, and help companies grow their business. He held executive-level positions with Grimes Aerospace, Valcor, Vickers, Bosch Rexroth and Norgren. Six years ago he formed Fulcrum Edge, to develop state-of-the-art business plans, help with deal-making, and lead companies through growth and change.
Mark is a mentor to Detroit's TechTown and Ann Arbor SPARK, and sits on the advisory boards for Hydro Designs and U.S. Energy Systems. He is frequently requested by State Representatives to speak on the business climate in Michigan and has addressed other venues such as Automation Alley and E2detroit on business and finance matters. Mark is also a contributing business writer to the publications of Michigan Small Tech, Michigan's micro- and nanotechnology association. He has a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, holds a patent for an aerospace product and is currently authoring a book on international railroad locomotive design.
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Darci McConnell
President and Chief Executive Officer
McConnell Communications, Inc.
Darci E. McConnell, President and CEO of McConnell Communications, Inc., has worked for nearly 20 years in the communications field, both as a public relations professional and as a journalist. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the Detroit Black Public Relations Society, and sits on the boards of Habitat for Humanity, the Detroit Community Initiative and the Detroit City Chess Club. She is the past president of the Detroit Association of Black Journalists, and a former adjunct professor at Wayne State Universitys School of Communication Arts. Prior to establishing her company, McConnell spent 14 years as a print reporter for newspaper outlets across the state as well as in Washington, D.C. She holds a bachelors degree in English and Communication from the University of Michigan. Her personal passion is making a difference in the lives of young people, through mentoring programs and opportunities.
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Bob Metzger
Program Director
Michigan's Next Great Companies Movement
Bob Metzger is Program Director for the Michigan's Next Great Companies Movement (MNGC).
Established by the Office of the Governor and spearheaded by First Gentleman Daniel G. Mulhern, MNGC is an economic development initiative focused on both attracting and enhancing companies with great workplace cultures. It is the mission of MNGC to make the business case for being a great place to work by showing the connection between corporate culture and bottom line results.
As program director, Metzger is responsible for implementing the strategic vision of Michigan becoming the leading state in developing great places to do great work and building workplaces focusing on attracting, developing and retaining top talent, while creating bottom-line results through employee engagement.
Metzger was named program director for MNGC in January 2008. Prior to that he held leadership positions in corporate learning and marketing communications at Accident Fund Insurance Company of America and Michigan State University's Broad School of Business. Metzger has a bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University and a master's degree from Michigan State University. He is a graduate of the Michigan State Chamber's Leadership Michigan program, the Disney Institute's Service Leadership program, and other programs focusing on leadership and employee engagement. Metzger is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the American Society for Training and Development.
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Terry Beltran Miller
President
Vista Latinos
Terry Beltran-Miller is a senior marketing professional with over 16 years of experience and an MBA in Marketing and Management. Beltran-Miller has experience with multicultural marketing for the Hispanic, Women, Youth, Mobility, and other international markets, as well as for the general U.S. marketplace. Areas of expertise include integrated marketing plan development and execution, sales programs, strategic planning, advertising, direct marketing, customer relationship management entertainment marketing, sponsorships and promotions, international marketing, web design, and market research.
Terry Beltran-Miller formerly was with General Motors and Univision. She has worked with several globally recognized organizations including the National Basketball Association, Walt Disney Corporation, PBS, Intel, BabyCenter.com, The Council of Fashion Designers, and World Wide Productions entertainment.
In 2002, Ms. Beltran-Miller served as Chairwoman of Automation Alley's GLIMA - Great Lakes Interactive Marketing Association. She served as the Marketing Chair for the 2005 Hispanic Business Alliance Exposition and Economic Summit and served as Vice President of Memberships in 2006 and in 2007 as the President for the National Society of Hispanic MBA's Detroit Chapter.
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David Morris
Executive Director
Oracle Capital
David Morris is a founder and managing partner of Oracle Capital Partners, LLC, a private equity firm headquartered in Detroit, Michigan that invests in emerging domestic market firms. His responsibilities include generating deal flow, conducting due diligence on prospective transactions and managing portfolio company investments. Prior to OCP, David was an investment banker with UBS Warburg, focusing on mergers and acquisitions transactions in the firm’s New York and Tokyo offices.
Previously, David was an assistant vice president in the Corporate Business Banking Group at AmSouth Bank and a banking officer at Hibernia National Bank. He began his career at First Commerce Corporation, where he prepared financial analyses and provided origination support to the bank's senior lending officers and private equity group.
David received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Duke University and earned his MBA at Tulane University's A.B. Freeman School of Business, where he was designated a Morton A. Aldrich Scholar. An alumnus of the Venture Capital Institute, he is a member of the Investment Review Board for the Michigan Pre-seed Capital Fund, which provides early stage capital to high-tech start-up companies throughout the state of Michigan. He also serves on the Board of Visitors of the Wayne State University School of Business.
In 2007, David was selected to Diversity MBA Magazine's Top 50 Under 50 Corporate Executives List and to Crain's Business Detroit's Top 40 Under 40 List.
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Dr. Jay Noren
President
Wayne State University
Jay Noren received BA and BS degrees from the University of Minnesota, MD degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School, and an MPH from Harvard University. He was a research fellow at the Harvard Center for Community Health and Medical Care, Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences and U.S Congress, and a Winston Churchill Fellow in England and Scotland. He did his graduate and post-graduate work in health policy, health services research, public health, preventive medicine, and internal medicine at Harvard, the University of Vermont, and Michigan State University. He joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1976 where he served until 1999 as a tenured faculty member and in several leadership roles. In addition to his faculty appointments at Wisconsin, he has also held faculty appointments as professor at the University of Nebraska, the George Bush School of Government and the College of Medicine at Texas A&M University and Health Science Center, as a visiting professor at the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington, and Research Scholar at the National Institute of Health Policy.
Dr. Noren has previously served in several academic leadership roles including Founding Dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Nebraska, Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin as well as Acting Dean for Allied Health and Associate Vice Chancellor at Wisconsin, Chancellor of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and President of the Health Science Center and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs at the Texas A&M University System.
Dr. Noren's research and teaching emphases are health services research, health policy and health politics, health services leadership and management, health workforce, the role and operation of academic health centers, Native American health care, and executive education. He has engaged in extensive funded research projects and has authored numerous papers and book chapters. He developed and directed the Wisconsin Center for Health Policy and Program Evaluation and was an originator and director of the University of Wisconsin graduate program in Administrative Medicine.
Dr. Noren's international experience includes negotiated educational exchange agreements with universities in China and Lithuania and work in collaboration with educational enterprises in Africa and England.
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Jayson Pankin
New Venture Creation Specialist
Delphi Technologies, Inc.
Jayson leads Delphi Technologies, Inc.'s commercialization activities targeting spin-outs of potential "game changing technologies" into start-up companies. This includes creating internal incubators and external ventures, such as the spin-out of SpaceForm, Inc. to commercialize a revolutionary metal welding technology, called Deformation Resistance Welding which promises to impact the design and manufacture of vehicle spaceframes and components. SpaceForm recently was awarded the Michigan Technology Leaders' Award for Corporate Partnerships. Jayson is developing a pipeline of disruptive technologies as candidates for future spinout, including the smart antennas, infrared sensors, hydrogen storage and application software innovations.
For over twenty-five years, Jayson has been a venture partner specializing in early stage and turnaround situations. He has started and participated in new ventures in a variety of industries: biotechnology, material sciences, retail, insurance, software, manufacturing and packaging. He has worked with numerous universities and Fortune 1,000 companies to acquire emerging technologies and form commercialization partnerships to grow new products and companies. He was a founder of Titan Auto, Inc., one of the largest insurance companies in Michigan and has advanced the commercialization of artificial blood and biological therapies for cancer and other serious illnesses. He started a non-profit foundation in Russia that used the broadcast media to disseminate pro-democracy motion pictures throughout the former Soviet Union. He earned his BBA in Accounting and MBA in International Business at the George Washington University.
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Tracey Parry
Senior Vice President and Partner
Airfoil Public Relations
Tracey Parry is Senior Vice President and Partner at Airfoil Public Relations where she leads marketing communications programs for business-to-consumer companies that include eBay, PayPal, Starbucks, as well as ePrize, the world's leading interactive promotions agency. Her areas of expertise span e-commerce, food and beverage retailing, information technology systems for manufacturers and offices, the construction industry and global logistics companies. She is one of the PR profession's leading strategists for development of events, consumer media relations and the execution of PR-driven research programs.
Tracey also has extensive consumer and automotive experience, both in the B2B and consumer realm, having managed programs for OEMs, including Nissan North American and American Suzuki Motor Corporation. She managed the national media relations program for the AM General Corporation, and oversaw the placement of the Hummer press fleet with national and international automotive journalists. She managed the global public relations program for Ziebart International, a provider of automotive aftermarket accessories and services, launching Ziebart corporate franchises across North America.
Tracey has conducted national technology media tours for numerous consumer technology companies and has solid professional relationships with reporters from notable national technology and business publications, including BusinessWeek, InfoWorld, InformationWeek, Computerworld, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes.
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Sandy Pierce
President and Chief Executive Officer · Michigan and Indiana
Charter One
Sandra Pierce is President and CEO, Charter One, Michigan and Indiana. She is responsible for the bank's commercial banking business, oversees all state bank activities and is involved in local marketing and community giving.
Charter One is a division of RBS Citizens, N.A, which is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. CFG's corporate parent is RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).
Pierce began her successful and diverse banking career in 1978 when she joined NBD Bancorp as a teller while attending Wayne State University. Upon graduation, she held a number of significant roles in commercial banking, retail banking, marketing and private client services at NBD and its successor organizations First Chicago NBD, Bank One, and JP Morgan Chase. In 2002, Pierce became regional executive of the Retail Midwest Region at Bank One. In this role, Pierce managed 350 bank branches that served over one million households and provided a full suite of consumer services, including: mortgages, small business loans, consumer loans and investments.
In January 2005, Pierce brought her leadership experience, local market insight and customer service expertise to Charter One as President and CEO in Michigan. In December 2005, Pierce was also named President and CEO, Charter One, Indiana. Additionally, she serves on the company's Executive Policy Committee. Under her leadership, Pierce launched several signature Charter One initiatives including Champions in Action®, Job Creation Loan Program and Housing Bank.
A native of Michigan, Pierce is a 1980 graduate of Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. She earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from Wayne State University in 1982.
Civic and community involvement include the Detroit Economic Club; Detroit Investment Fund; incoming chairman of the Detroit Regional Chamber; executive committee of Detroit Renaissance, Inc.; Detroit Zoological Society; Downtown Detroit Partnership; Henry Ford Health System; New Detroit, Inc.; vice chair of The Parade Company; University Detroit Mercy; and the Wayne State University Board of Visitors. In 2007 Pierce joined the distinguished six-member One D Champions Council to oversee the work of One D: Tranforming Regional Detroit and was named to the NCAA Men's Final Four Host Committee where she serves as chair of the Volunteer Committee.
Pierce was recognized by Crain's Detroit Business in 2006 as one of the region's Most Powerful People and as one of ten Newsmakers of the Year. In 2007, Pierce was recognized by Crain's Detroit Business as one of the Most Influential Women and again as one of ten Newsmakers of the Year. She is a graduate of Leadership Detroit XXI.
Pierce and her husband Tom reside in Milford, Mich. and have three children.
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Mahendra Ramsinghani
Independent Consultant
Mahendra R. presently provides business, financial and strategic advise to technology start-ups which have the potential to grow at a disruptive pace. Mahendra's background includes 15 years of experience in business, venture capital and technology development. From 2006-2008, Mahendra was a Sr. Vice President at Plymouth Venture Partners, an pledge fund where he helped double the fund size to $21 million and led two investments.
From 1999-2006, Mahendra was Director of Venture Capital initiatives at the Michigan Economic Development Corp. where he helped develop Fund of Funds program with a total of $200m and investments in 4 VC funds. Mahendra served on the Board of the Michigan Venture Capital Association, Mid-Michigan Innovation Center & the Advisory Board of Chrysalis Ventures.
Mahendra's educational background includes a Bachelor's in Electronics Engineering, an MBA with a major in Marketing and Finance. Mahendra has led the formation of an orphanage in India. He lives with his wife, Deepa and daughter, Aria in Saline, Michigan.
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Christopher Rizik
Chief Executive Officer and Fund Manager
Renaissance Venture Fund
Chris is incoming CEO and fund manager of the Renaissance Venture Fund, with two decades of experience in technology, finance and law, and a principal role in over 50 multi-million dollar venture capital transactions.
Chris previously was a co-founder, partner and Board member of Ardesta, LLC and a Managing Director of Avalon Investments, Inc., the largest Michigan-based venture capital firm. During his time at Avalon and Ardesta, Chris led the negotiation and closing of investments in over three dozen technology-oriented companies, including several that were started following successful technology transfer from universities.
Prior to joining Avalon, Chris was a senior partner with Dickinson Wright PLLC, one of the Midwest's oldest law firms. While a partner at Dickinson Wright, Chris led the Firm's emerging company group, a fast-growing group designed to provide full legal counseling and representation to private companies, including several technology-based organizations. He also served as chief outside legal counsel for dozens of public and private technology-based companies.
Chris received an undergraduate accounting degree with high honors from Michigan State University and a law degree with honors from the University of Michigan. He also passed the Certified Public Accounting examination and worked at PriceWaterhouse Coopers.
Chris is the Chairman of NextEnergy, the public/private economic development organization formed by the State of Michigan to advance alternative energy technologies in the state. Chris was the founding Chair of the Michigan Microsystems Alliance, a consortium formed by the State of Michigan, the U.S. Government, educational institutions and private companies to further the development of micro- and nanotechnology in Michigan, and the predecessor to the Michigan Small Tech Association. Chris is also the founder of SoulTracks.com, America's most popular soul music website. Chris has served in board or committee positions with several community, charitable and economic development organizations, including the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Detroit Interfaith Council, the Michigan Entrepreneur of the Year Program and the New Enterprise Forum. He is also a board member of several privately held technology companies. Chris was named by Crain's Detroit Business magazine as one of its "40 under 40," a recognition of outstanding business leaders under the age of 40.
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Nipa Shah
President
Jenesys Group
Nipa, the founder and CEO ofJenesys Group, LLC, is an entrepreneur with creative ideas, and a leader and a visionary who leads with action and who plans for the future.
Graduating from Lawrence Technological University with a Master's degree in Information Technology and Business, Nipa is responsible for the development of the strategic direction of the company and for the formation of alliance partnerships to grow it internationally.
Nipa brings more than 17 years of Automotive background working for 12 years in the Information Technology field as a leader responsible for overseeing a systems portfolio of more than $20M.
She began her marketing career in 2001 and as an online marketing expert, she excels in getting client websites ranked high in leading search engines. She spends a lot of time with her clients ensuring that they understand search engine optimization and how it affects the performance of the website as an online lead generation tool.
As a Michigan SEO consultant and president of an SEO services company, Nipa focuses on applying online marketing strategies that are designed to grow your online business.
Nipa speaks at business events and conferences explaining how businesses can benefit search engine optimization and related online marketing solutions.
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Mary Ellen Sheets
President and Chief Executive Officer
Two Men and A Truck International
Mary Ellen Sheets is the founder and chief executive officer of Two Men And A Truck located in Lansing, Mich.
While still in high school in the early 1980s, Mary Ellen's two sons Brig and Jon Sorber started a small moving business to earn extra spending money. They used an old pickup truck and advertised for business in a local newspaper with an ad that began, "Two Men and a Truck." She drew a logo for their business that is still used today.
After her sons left for college, Mary Ellen kept receiving calls for their services, so she purchased an old moving truck for $350 and hired two movers. The business grew steadily and Mary Ellen's entrepreneurial spirit became well known in the Lansing area. In 1988, when Mary Ellen was serving on a panel for Michigan State University's business school, she became interested in the opportunities franchising offered her business after speaking to a fellow panelist. Mary Ellen awarded the first franchise to her daughter, Melanie Bergeron, a year later.
By 1989 Mary Ellen had developed her sons' business into the first and only local moving franchise in the country. Today, there are more than 150 Two Men And A Truck locations in 27 states. Two Men And A Truck is the fifth largest moving company in the United States. Mary Ellen considers herself fortunate to have her daughter, Melanie Bergeron, as president and C.O.O. of Two Men And A Truck, and sons Brig and Jon Sorber, the original "two men," actively involved in franchise operations today.
Mary Ellen is amazed by her accomplishments. "When I look back, I can't believe this all happened," she says. "I am in shock and so grateful. I definitely think this is the American dream. We live in a wonderful country."
A key portion of Mary Ellen's business model is to give back to the community. Always active in local service projects, Two Men And A Truck 's commitment to the community began with Mary Ellen Sheets. At the end of her first year in business, Mary Ellen was ecstatic that she had made $1,000 and decided to donate the money, giving $100 to 10 different charities.
Additionally, Mary Ellen is a long-time supporter of many organizations, such as: Habitat for Humanity; the United Way of America; the YMCA; the Greater Lansing Food Bank; the Potter Park Zoo; the Michigan Vietnam Monument Organization; and the American Cancer Society.
Mary Ellen has been honored with many awards as the founder of Two Men And A Truck. Among them are the International Franchise Association's 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year Award-Mary Ellen was the first woman to receive this honor; 2004 Michigan Women's Foundation Women of Achievement and Courage Award; 2002 Athena Award; the 1999 Working Women's 500 Congress; Working Women's 1999 Best Employer Regional Finalist; 1998 Blue Chip Award; 1995 Michigan Entrepreneur of the Year Award; 1994 Top 25 Michigan Business Woman of the Year; and 1993 Lansing Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year. Two Men And A Truck has also been highlighted in several books, including: What's Luck Got to Do With It?; Start Small-Finish Big; Women Entrepreneurs Only; Glorious Accidents, and Millionaire Women.
Eager to encourage others to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, Mary Ellen has been a speaker on numerous occasions, including for Louisiana State University, Michigan State University, Wake Forest University, the University of Texas at El Paso, and the Michigan Women's Attorney Association, to name a few. She has also presented an overview of Two Men And A Truck at the International Franchise Association's Franchisor Forum at McDonald's University. Mary Ellen has been featured in such publications as the Franchise Times, the National Enquirer, and was profiled on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
In addition to her position as founder and chief executive officer of Two Men And A Truck, Mary Ellen serves on the boards of the International Franchise Association; Michigan Chamber of Commerce; Michigan Freedom Foundation; M-LAW (Michigan Law Abuse Watch); Sparrow Hospital; and is a commissioner on the Michigan Truck Safety Commission.
Prior to starting Two Men And A Truck, Mary Ellen worked as a computer programmer and systems analyst for the State of Michigan for 20 years.
A native of Michigan, Mary Ellen attended Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich.
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Jake Sigal
Principal and Founder
Myine Electronics
The principal and founder of Myine Electronics is Jake Sigal. He has a proven record of over 16 successful consumer electronic product launches into the market. In his previous position as Product Line Manager for Delphi's Consumer Electronics group, he focused on producing XM Satellite Radios for the US and Canadian markets.
Jake worked as part of the team responsible for managing products through the development process to secure and grow a large portion of the business's $125 million in annual revenues. Working with the sales team, he successfully launched the SkyFi3 XM Satellite Radio into Best Buy and Circuit City, the XM Premium Sound Audio System into Wal-Mart, and various bundled promotions.
Before working at Delphi, Jake worked to help launch ION Audio, a privately held company headquartered in Cumberland, RI. There he invented the USB Turntable, the first product to allow vinyl records to be converted to CD and/or MP3. He also is listed as a co-inventor of the iDJ (an iPod-based mixing console). Today, these products have been increasing in sales revenue year after year, even after Jake left the company. In fact, the USB Turntable is now the best-selling SKU in the company's history.
Jake holds a Masters and Bachelors degree in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Ohio University. He also sits on the advisory board for the Russ College of Engineering at Ohio University.
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Lisa Stern
Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer
Big Communications Inc.
Lisa's leadership is notable for its distinct personal touch, operational creativity and business acumen. A skilled communicator and an inspiring role model, Lisa possesses a keen understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and its unique intricacies. Following her graduation from the University of Michigan, Lisa pursued studies at several notable institutions, including theatrical work at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and at UCLA as well as French language and literature studies at L'Alliance Française in Paris. Subsequent to her educational pursuits, Lisa toured the US with the comedy troupe Just Kidding, serving the company as a performer, writer, and director. In 1992, her interest in the entertainment and production fields led Lisa to accept a position as president and chief operating officer for Corporate Video Services (CVS), a full-service production and post-production company boasting an impressive roster of national clients. Her success at CVS attracted the attention of Showcase Entertainment in Los Angeles, who recruited Lisa in 1993 to direct their Acquisitions department; in this capacity Lisa negotiated film rights and brokered distribution deals with international markets. Driven by a desire to expand her horizons and run her own enterprise, Lisa returned to Detroit and founded Big Productions in 1994, assembling a world-class creative and production team to meet the demands of the sophisticated high-tech marketplace. Big's early projects were defined by their innovative, functional designs, high quality, and exceptional creativity; word spread rapidly among customers, and Big's client list soon came to include US Steel, Chevrolet, American Express, Veritas, and Compuware. Since engineering Big's transition to serving the communication needs of the pharmaceutical industry in 2001, Lisa has helmed the company as it gains an ever-burgeoning client roster that now includes Amgen, Ortho-McNeil, Janssen, Novartis, Schering-Plough, and Takeda. Since devoting itself to designing programs for pharmaceutical companies, Big has seen exponential growth over the past 6 years—proof positive of the vision, strength, and wisdom that are hallmarks of Lisa's leadership.
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Jane Sydlowski
President
AMI Strategies Inc.
As Founder and President of AMI Strategies, a WBEN enterprise established over 17 years ago, Jane Sydlowski has assembled a dynamic and experienced team to design, build and manage her clients' technology infrastructure, while finding ways to lower their cost of communications. Jane has created a vision for AMI that includes 100% client satisfaction, profitable growth, respect for the individual, and employee empowerment.
Under Jane's leadership, AMI was recognized among the 2003 Deloitte Fast 500 public and private technology companies, 2002 and 2003 Inc 500 fastest growing private companies, and 2003 Crain's Best Places to Work.
Jane has a Bachelors of Science in Applied Engineering from Michigan State University and an MBA from Wayne State University. She successfully completed the marketing program of Thomas Learning Center and is a Dale Carnegie graduate for both the Human Relations and Sales Courses. Among her honors, Jane has been awarded the MSU Applied Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award; the Association of Women In Computing Leadership Award; the Detroiter Magazine's award as one of Michigan's Top 100 leaders in 2004; and the Lawrence Technological University Leaders and Innovators award in 2007.
Jane speaks to graduate students regularly for the Wayne State University entrepreneurial program and she serves on three boards: The Michigan Council of Women in Technology, Greenpath, Inc. and the Board of Visitors for Wayne State University.
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Richard Temkin
District Director · Michigan District Office
U.S. Small Business Administration
Richard Temkin is the Michigan District Director of the U. S. Small Business Administration. He was appointed in March, 2004 after serving as acting director for nearly two years.
Mr. Temkin is responsible for the delivery of all SBA programs and services in the state, including the SBA guaranty loan program, which is delivered through more than 100 lenders; the government contracting and minority enterprise development programs; and oversight of the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center, SCORE, and Women's Business Centers.
The Michigan District Office, which covers all 83 counties in the state, is located in Detroit and has a staff of 16 employees. From fiscal years 2002 to 2006, Michigan had the greatest increase in guaranteed loans of any district office in the country.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Temkin had served as Deputy District Director for the Michigan District Office since moving to Michigan in 1981. He began his federal career in 1968 with the SBA in Washington, D. C. after receiving his MBA from Columbia University. He has also worked for the Agency in Cleveland and Chicago as the supervisor of the management assistance programs.
Mr. Temkin is married, has three children, and lives in Farmington Hills.
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Daniel Varner
Chief Executive Officer
Think Detroit PAL
Daniel S. Varner is the Chief Executive Officer of Think Detroit PAL, a non-profit organization dedicated to building character in the young people of Detroit, Michigan through athletic, academic and leadership development programs. Created by the 2006 merger of Think Detroit and the Detroit Police Athletic League, Think Detroit PAL serves nearly 13,000 kids annually, aged 4 to 19, in its summer camps, community centers, student-athlete support programs, and sports leagues, which are among the largest in the country. The organization has received numerous awards, including the 2004 Best-Managed Nonprofit Award from Crain's Detroit Business. In February 2005, the organization hosted a visit from the First Lady of the United States, Ms. Laura Bush, who highlighted the impact of the organization's programs on young people in Detroit.
Dan is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Michigan Law School. As a practicing attorney, he clerked for Justice Alan Page of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and then returned to Detroit. He left the practice of law in 1999 to work full-time on youth development activities.
Dan serves on numerous boards, including, currently, the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports, and the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy. He has also received numerous awards for his public service, including the 2003 Social Entrepreneurship Award from the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, the Jane L. Mixer Award for Outstanding Contributions to Social Justice from the University of Michigan Law School, and the Community Service Award from the Ford African Ancestry Network.
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Ray Waters
President
ShoreBank Enterprise Detroit
Ray was appointed President of ShoreBank Enterprise Detroit in 2004 after having served nearly three years as its Managing Director of the Detroit Community Loan Fund. Before joining ShoreBank, Ray was a Managing Partner of BBC Ventures and served nine years as President of Horizon BIDCO Investment Company, a mezzanine venture capital fund in Southeastern Michigan. In addition, Ray has over twenty years experience owning and managing three profitable growth companies, two of which were start up ventures.
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