Capital Connection '12 Conference Speakers
Discussion Leader Bios: CEOs | CFOs | CTOs | CMOs
Steve Case, Chairman and CEO, Revolution, Co-Founder, America Online, Chairman, The Case Foundation
Steve Case is one of America’s best-known and most accomplished entrepreneurs and philanthropists, and a pioneer in making the Internet part of everyday life.
Steve co-founded America Online (AOL) in 1985, when the Internet was in its infancy. Under Steve’s leadership as Chairman and CEO, AOL became the world’s largest and most valuable Internet company. AOL helped drive the worldwide adoption of a medium that has transformed business and society. AOL’s early focus on ease of use and social media set the stage for its rapid growth, and at its peak nearly half of Internet users in the United States used AOL. In 1992, AOL became the first Internet company to go public, and was the best performing stock of the 1990s, with a 11,616% return. At the peak of the Internet boom, Steve negotiated what remains the largest merger in business history, bringing together AOL and Time Warner in a transaction that gave AOL shareholders a majority stake in the combined company. To facilitate the merger, Steve agreed to step down as CEO when the merger closed in 2001. He served as Chairman of the Board of the combined company (then known as AOL Time Warner) until 2003.
Steve then went back to his entrepreneurial roots, and in recent years has partnered with more than a dozen entrepreneurs as an investor and mentor. Steve created Revolution in 2005 to oversee his rapidly expanding investments. Revolution now has four divisions: Revolution Growth, which invests in high-growth consumer companies (including Zipcar, LivingSocial, and Exclusive Resorts); Revolution Ventures, which backs early-stage technology companies (including Vinfolio, Snagfilms, and UberMedia); Revolution Health, which invests in health and wellness businesses (including SparkPeople, Extend Health and Brainscope); and Revolution Places, which develops real estate and hospitality businesses (including Grove Farm and Maui Land & Pineapple in Hawaii, Cacique in Costa Rica, and Miraval in Arizona). The success of AOL, coupled with Steve’s post-AOL track record building businesses through Revolution, led CNBC to call Steve “one of the nation’s greatest entrepreneurs.”
Steve is also Chairman of the Case Foundation, a private family foundation he established in 1997 with his wife Jean. Built on the principles of leadership, collaboration and entrepreneurship, the Case Foundation seeks to tap the power of the Internet, new technologies and entrepreneurial approaches to help strengthen the social sector. The Case Foundation has invested in hundreds of organizations, initiatives and partnerships in the U.S. and around the globe. Steve and Jean joined The Giving Pledge, started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010, and publicly reaffirmed their commitment to give away the majority of their wealth to fund worthy charitable causes.
Steve was born and raised in Hawaii and retains active ties to his home state, but has lived in the Washington D.C. area for more than 25 years. He was a leading voice in shaping government policy regarding the Internet, including bridging the digital divide, making the Internet a safe place for children, and nurturing civic engagement. Later, he was a member of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Transformational Diplomacy. Currently, Steve is a member of President Obama’s Council on Job’s and Competitiveness; Chairman of the Startup America Partnership, and co-chair of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Both efforts are aimed at celebrating and accelerating entrepreneurship. He is also co-chair of The Democracy Project, an initiative of the Bipartisan Policy Center to bring bipartisan and diverse voices together to help enhance the ability of government to grapple with the nation’s challenges.
Read more about Steve Case and his companies in the articles and links to company websites below:
Academy of Achievement | CrunchBase | Revolution | Case Foundation | StartUp America Partnership
Kevin P. Ryan, Founder and CEO, Gilt Groupe
Kevin P. Ryan is the Founder and CEO of Gilt Groupe, an innovative e-commerce company offering highly coveted products and experiences at insider prices.
In 2007, Kevin along with a founding team created Gilt Groupe as an invitation-only site for coveted women’s apparel and accessories. Today, Gilt Groupe has over three million members and has added business lines in home; children; men’s apparel and gear (GiltMAN); vacation travel (Jetsetter); local services and experiences (Gilt City), and has founded the leading flash-sale site in Japan (Gilt Japan).
Kevin is one of the leading Internet entrepreneurs in the United States having founded several New York-based businesses, including Gilt Groupe, Business Insider, and 10gen/MongoDB. Kevin helped build DoubleClick from 1996 to 2005, first as President and later as CEO. He fostered DoubleClick's growth from a 20-person startup to a global leader with over 1,500 employees.
Currently, Kevin serves on the board of Human Rights Watch, the NYC Investment Fund and INSEAD, and is a member of the Yale International Council and the Council on Foreign Relations. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from INSEAD.
Read more about Kevin Ryan and his companies in the following recent articles in Fortune magazine and on the Gilt Groupe corporate Website:
CNN Money | Fortune | Gilt Groupe
Albert Yu-Min Lin, National Geographic
Dr. Albert Yu-Min Lin holds appointments as a Research Scientist at the University of California, San Diego and an Emerging Explorer of the National Geographic Society in the field of technology enable exploration.
As the creator and Principal Investigator of the Valley of the Khans Project, a non-invasive technology based search for the tomb of Genghis Khan, Dr. Lin has lead multiple high-tech expeditions deep into the most remote parts of the world and developed innovative platforms for satellite, aerial and subsurface remote sensing in exploration. His team's pioneering work to create new methods for massive data analysis through crowdsourcing earned him 2011 USGIS Academic Achievement award, and lead to the formation of California based Tomnod Inc. where is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors. The interactive web-based effort was also recognized as the 2010 Webby Honoree in the category of Science.
At UC San Diego he founded and co-Directs the National Geographic Engineers for Exploration Program which continues to develop innovative technologies in aerial terrestrial, geophysical and underwater robotics for remote sensing and exploration.
Lin's efforts have been highlighted including in the Washington Post, NPR, ABC News, TEDx, and Wired Magazine and a 1-hour National Geographic Documentary film, "the Forbidden Tomb of Genghis Khan", that he narrated. They have also earned him recognition as National Geographic Adventure Magazine's "2010 Readers Choice Adventurer of the Year" and the 2011 Lowell Thomas Medal for Exploration from the prestigious Explorers Club.
His dedication for science and education is exemplified in lectures, mentorship and activities including contributions to National Geographic School Learning textbooks, participation as a judge and representative in the Google Science Fair, and an ambassador for the NG Young Explores Program.
Albert is an avid rock climber, surfer, mountaineer, photographer, sailor and traveler. His Chinese name (Yu-Min) roughly translates to "Citizens of the Universe."
Daniel Yates, CEO & Founder, Opower
As CEO, Dan Yates is responsible for the vision, strategy, and leadership of Opower. Previously, Dan was founder and CEO of Edusoft, an educational software company that provided assessment platforms to US public-school districts. He sold the 150-person, $20M company to publisher Houghton Mifflin in 2004. Dan then embarked on a year-long adventure with his wife, Tobie Whitman, driving from Alaska’s Arctic coast to the southernmost tip of South America. During the trip, Dan became aware of the shocking degradation of the natural environment in the Americas, and resolved to dedicate his professional life to sustaining what remains of our natural world.
Opower is now an industry-leading home energy management software company that helps ordinary people find easy ways to save energy on their utility bills while making an unprecedented impact on the health of our planet. Opower is now working with more than 65 utility clients across North America and the UK and its platform has cumulatively saved utility customers more than $120M and enough energy to take more than 90,000 homes off the grid.
In 2011, Dan was named to Fortune’s “40 Under 40” list that recognizes 40 of the hottest rising stars in business under the age of 40. In the same year, he also received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2011 Greater Washington Award and Opower was named a Technology Pioneer by The World Economic Forum. In 2009, 2010, and 2011, he was named a "Tech Titan" by the Washingtonian.
Dan received his BA in Computer Science, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Harvard.
Tim Rowe, Founder and CEO, Cambridge Innovation Center
Born and raised in Cambridge, MA, Tim Rowe is the Founder and CEO of Cambridge Innovation Center.
CIC houses approximately 450 startup and early stage technology companies, and is perhaps the densest collection of startups anywhere in the world. The Boston Globe has described CIC as “what may just be the most important building in Greater Boston”. Google, Inc. began in New England within Cambridge Innovation Center, as did Great Point Energy and many others. Over 1000 companies have gotten their start at CIC since it was founded in 1999. At last count about $1.7B had been invested by venture capitalists in these companies.
Tim is also a Founder and Venture Partner with New Atlantic Ventures, a $120M early stage venture fund based in Kendall Square. Notable past investments include EnerNOC, a leader in demand-response energy management, and Qliance, a Seattle-based company revolutionizing how primary care is delivered.
Tim’s past work includes 4 years with Boston Consulting Group in Boston, Madrid, Tokyo and Singapore; a two year stint as a lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management; and a role in organizing the “Woodstock of the Web” at CERN in 1994.
Tim is a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management and Amherst College. He is fluent in Japanese and Spanish, and speaks basic Mandarin Chinese.
Tim was named one of Boston’s “40 under 40” young business leaders by the Boston Business Journal, and was elected in the Spring of 2009 as President of the Kendall Square Association, which he helped found. The KSA seeks to improve, promote and protect this important global technology hub.
Greg Cangialosi, Co-founder, Betamore
Greg Cangialosi is an entrepreneur, and early stage investor based in Baltimore, MD. He has built a reputation as a leader in today's online landscape as both a marketer and entrepreneur. Most recently Greg is a co-founder of Betamore, a Baltimore based urban campus for technology and entrepreneurship. Prior to that his company, Blue Sky Factory, a leading email marketing service provider was acquired by WhatCounts in July of 2011.
Greg is also currently the managing director of both the Baltimore Angel's, and Nucleus Ventures. Greg is a seasoned lecturer on marketing & entrepreneurship, and is also the lead author of "The Business Podcasting Book,” a primer on new media for marketers. Greg holds a BA in English from UMBC, and sits on the board of WhatCounts & the Greater Baltimore Technology Council.
Bob Proctor, Founding Member, Blu Venture Investors
Background – Founding Member of Blu Venture Investors. CEO, Board Director and Investor of FlexEl, LLC. Co-founder, Board Chairman, and Investor of Wiser Together, Inc. and Phase 5 Group, Inc. Served as Global Head of Marketing reporting to Chairman and CEO of Corporate Executive Board. Over 10 years of Senior Executive experience in public companies, including line, staff, and IPO leadership positions. Led teams that won corporate-wide awards for Best Business Breakthrough, Managerial Excellence, and Spirit of Generosity. Associate Principal McKinsey & Company, Inc.
Education – Cornell University (BS/MS/Ph.D. Applied Physics)
Industry Expertise – Management Consulting, Software, Information Technology, Energy
Functional Expertise – Sales, Marketing, Strategy Formation, Engineering, HR, P&L Management
Cameron Lester, General Partner, Azure Capital Partners
Cameron Lester is a founding General Partner with Azure Capital Partners where he specializes in software and related infrastructure technologies. His current board memberships include Get Satisfaction, SilkRoad Technology, SourceCode Technology, Switchfly (formerly ezRez Software), Twitvid, and Zend Technologies. Other successful investments include TopTier Software (acquired by SAP), VMware (acquired by EMC), Interwoven (IPO in 1999), PSS Systems (acquired by IBM) and Salesforce.com (IPO in 2004).
Immediately prior to Azure, Cameron was a Managing Director and the Group Head of the Software Investment Banking Group at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB). Prior to CSFB, Cameron was a Director and the Group Head of the Software Investment Banking Group at Deutsche Bank Securities.
Cameron received his B.A. degree in Economics from the University of Virginia and his M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School
Peter Barris, Managing General Partner, NEA
Peter Barris joined New Enterprise Associates (NEA) in 1992 and was named Managing General Partner in 1999. Under his leadership, NEA has grown to over $13B in assets under management, expanded its operations to India and China, and invested in industry-transforming companies like CareerBuilder, Data Domain, Diapers.com, Groupon, Juniper Networks, Macromedia, Salesforce.com, and TiVo. Peter has been named to the Forbes Midas List several times, having personally led investments in over two dozen technology companies that have successfully completed public offerings or mergers. He is a director of several private companies including Goji Food Solutions, Hillcrest, Mediaocean, SnagFilms, and Sprout Social. He also serves on the board of Echo Global Logistics (ECHO), Groupon (GRPN), InnerWorkings (INWK), and Vonage (VG). Prior to joining NEA, Peter held executive positions at Legent Corporation, UCCEL Corporation and General Electric. He has a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern and an MBA from Dartmouth.
Dan Williams, Co-Founder, ArchPoint Partners
Dan Williams is a co-founder and partner with ArchPoint Partners. Utilizing his diverse background in investment banking and operations, Mr. Williams advises public and private technology companies on M&A and financings. Over the past 16 years, Mr. Williams has worked on more than 75 public, private and cross-border transactions valued at more than $10 billion. He has closed strategic transactions with numerous global companies including AOL, Symantec, IBM, Intel, EMC/RSA, Cisco, Adobe/Omniture, Nokia, VeriSign, Corning, BMC, I.H.S, Quest Software, Dell, SonicWALL, Misys, Deltek and McAfee.
Prior to forming ArchPoint, Mr. Williams was with Broadview International, a leading technology investment bank, where he was actively involved in transactions in a variety of markets including mobility, enterprise software, security, infrastructure, and media. Previously, Mr. Williams spent several years in various operating and business development roles with Nortel Networks and Siemens AG, which included multiple positions within both the United States and Europe.
Tony Palcheck , Managing Partner, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital
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Tony Palcheck is a managing director at Motorola Solutions Venture Capital. In this role, he is responsible for identifying and executing strategic minority-equity investments (at early and later stages) in start-up firms to accelerate access to new technologies, new markets and new talent for all Motorola Solutions businesses. Tony brings more than a decade of experience in venture capital and strategy experience, and actively participates in strategy development for various Motorola Solutions business units.
Previously, Tony was a director in the Corporate Business Intelligence group at Motorola. In this role, Tony was responsible for identifying emerging technologies, assessing competition, evaluating market opportunities. He also worked on researching potential investments, divestitures, acquisitions and alliances.
Tony holds an undergraduate degree in marketing and an MBA from DePaul University in Chicago. Tony is also an adjunct faculty member at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.
Dan Primack, Senior Editor, fortune.com
Dan Primack joined Fortune.com as Senior Editor in September 2010 to cover deals and dealmakers, from Wall Street to Sand Hill Road. Primack’s morning newsletter, The Term Sheet, covers venture capital, Wall Street, M&A and other deal-related topics.
Previously, Primack was an editor-at-large with Thomson Reuters, where he launched both peHUB.com and the peHUB Wire email service, a daily email blast with close to 60,000 subscribers.
In a past journalistic life, Primack ran a community paper in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He currently lives just outside of Boston.
Interested in speaking at Capital Connection '12?
Over the years, Capital Connection has welcomed a distinguished roster of business leaders and technology innovators to share their vision and experience with our audience. This year will be our best ever!
We welcome suggestions for timely, topical and highly relevant speakers to add thought-leadership and industry insight to the Capital Connection program. Send suggestions or inquiries to: stephanie@mava.org
- Biz Stone, Co-Founder, Twitter
- Paul DePodesta, VP Player Development, NY Mets
- Tucker Carlson, Daily Caller
- Bob Bowman, President & CEO, MLB Advanced Media
- Vivek Kundra, Federal Chief Information Officer
- John Eck, President, NBC Network & Media Works
- Tom Adams, CEO, Rosetta Stone
