Lang Fund Mentor Network

Joseph Adipietro

Joe Adipietro is a director in the leveraged finance group at Credit Suisse First Boston. As a capital markets professional, Mr. Adipietro focuses on structuring and syndicating bank financings and bridge loans for financial sponsors and corporate clients in a broad range of industries. The types of financing include leveraged buyouts, refinancings and recapitalizations. Mr. Adipietro has been with the firm since 1996, when he joined Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, which was subsequently acquired by CSFB. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Adipietro was a banker in the structured finance group at Citicorp Securities, Inc., where he focused on originating asset-based loans for corporate clients. From 1991 to 1994, Mr. Adipietro was an associate in the global trade finance group at Citicorp, where he provided cross-border financing to large industrial corporations.

Mr. Adipietro holds a BS from Columbia University’s School of Engineering and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Christopher Aidun

Christopher Aidun is a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges. The firm focuses on representing venture capital and strategic investors in high technology, biotechnology and other growth companies. The firm also represents Global 2000 companies in joint ventures and strategic relationships with technology firms and other companies. Venture capital clients include Lehman Venture Capital Partners, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and GE Capital. Strategic investor and joint venture clients include Pirelli, The Reader's Digest Association and RegistryPro.

Mr. Aidun frequently writes and speaks on venture capital, technology law and strategic partnering issues. Recent articles include "Creating Brand Equity in Top-Level Domain Names" in the New York Law Journal (June 12, 2001), "Current Trends in Venture Capital Financing" in Cyberspace Lawyer (April 2001) and "13 Steps for Achieving Successful Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances" in Start-up and Emerging Company Strategist (February 2001).

Mr. Aidun received his JD from New York University Law School, where he was a Root-Tilden Scholar.

Naif Al-Mutawa

The CEO of Mental Charge Media, Naif Al-Mutawa is experienced in both print media and start-ups. Mr. Al-Mutawa wrote a biweekly column for five years in the United States and Kuwait and won a UNESCO prize for children's literature for his first children's book, which he wrote, illustrated and self-published. Since then, his book and its sequel have sold more than 20,000 copies. Mr. Al-Mutawa has also been involved in a venture-backed start-up in Bahrain.

A doctoral candidate in clinical psychology, Mr. Al-Mutawa recently completed his MBA at Columbia Business School. He received his BA from Tufts University in English literature and clinical psychology.

Jim Alterbaum

A lawyer with an accounting and finance background, Jim Alterbaum takes a business and entrepreneurial approach to the law. He focuses on corporate, securities, commercial and computer law, serving a number of public, private and corporate clients in diverse fields. His clients include a number of regional accounting firms.

A dynamic speaker who lectures at Columbia Business School, Mr. Alterbaum has appeared on CNBC's "Money Talk" and "Today's Business” and many other talk shows. He is frequently quoted in newspapers and trade publications and has written numerous trade articles. The Nassau County Epilepsy Foundation voted him "Man of the Year" in 1999.

David Anthony

David Anthony is an experienced entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and management consultant focused on emerging and start-up technology ventures. His functional expertise includes new venture evaluation and creation, scientific and market due diligence, intellectual property, international science R&D and private equity finance. His industry expertise includes nanotechnology, media, and university technology-transfer.

Currently, Mr. Anthony is a partner at Unus Ventures, a firm that invests in early-stage nanotechnology companies. The fund identifies leading nanotechnology research that is incubating at universities and research labs and then provides financial and managerial capital required for realizing commercial application. In 1995, Mr. Anthony launched Notorious Entertainment, a developer of multimedia brands, which published the internationally distributed magazine Notorious. He has also consulted with Fortune 500 clients on capital investments, mergers and acquisitions, and entrepreneurship. Mr. Anthony sits on the board of AccessWorld Solutions, an American Foundation for the Blind business unit focused on adaptive media and assistive technology.

He holds an MBA from the Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth College, and a BA in economics from George Washington University.

Christine Bates ’75

Since 1992, Christine Bates has served as the director of Greenough & Company Inc., providing corporate development and strategic marketing expertise to rapidly growing companies. She is actively involved in assessing client business models and helping entrepreneurs build businesses. She joined Greenough & Company from PP Enterprises, the U.S. subsidiary of a major British multinational where she was responsible for recommending investment opportunities in North and South America. Ms. Bates also has experience as an international banker with assignments in Brazil and South Korea for major financial institutions. Before attending business school, Ms. Bates was project director for Artrain, a national traveling arts program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia, Ms. Bates holds a BA from Oberlin College and an MA in art history from the University of Michigan.

Michael Becker ’93

Michael Becker is the managing director and a cofounder of Broadsword Partners, a New York-based merchant bank involved in private equity and advisory transactions. He has served in senior level positions over a number of years with Wall Street firms, most recently as the director of equities at UBS Warburg, senior vice president at Smith Barney Shearson, and vice president at Kidder Peabody. His responsibilities included institutional and retail equity analysis and raising capital. Mr. Becker has been an active private equity investor for many years.

In addition to receiving an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School, Mr. Becker earned a BS in finance at the University of Arizona.

Robert Berne ’62

Throughout his real estate career that spans more than 30 years, Robert Berne has been involved in management, construction and contracting in both the private and public sectors. At Milstein Properties, he is the principal responsible for the development activities of more than 5,000 residential units, overseeing site selection, acquisitions, design supervision and management of related financial activities.

As an independent developer, Mr. Berne constructed a 200,000-square-foot shopping center, planned and processed a planned-unit development of 500 acres for 4,000 units and built a 30-story 280-unit luxury apartment building in New York City.

In the public sector, Mr. Berne served at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., where he supervised the financing of the nine Operation Breakthrough prototype sites and developed and managed innovative programs to rescue depressed subdivisions and multifamily projects. He also worked on experimental financing techniques in the office of Innovative Financing Research under the assistant secretary for policy development and research. Earlier in his career, he coordinated multifamily applications with FHA including experimental and demonstration programs for the City of New York.

Mr. Berne received a BA from Columbia College and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is an active alumnus of the University and a member of the Business School’s Real Estate Program Advisory Board.

Darren Blumenfeld ’98

Darren Blumenfeld is currently a strategy consultant at the firm Opera Solutions. He previously worked at an economics consultancy start-up implementing complex auctions. He is also founder of the company iMusicWorks, a marketplace for music services. After graduating with his MBA, Mr. Blumenfeld worked for the Mitchell Madison Group on strategic engagements for such companies as News Corp., American Express and Credit Suisse First Boston. He has also authored business plans for various media companies. Mr. Blumenfeld moonlights as a singer, songwriter and producer and has performed at venues around the New York City area, including Le Bar Bat, Village Underground and Shine. He started his career as a software programmer.

Mr. Blumenfeld received his engineering degree from Tufts University, where he graduated summa cum laude, and earned his MBA at Columbia Business School.

Peter Boyd ’73

Peter Boyd is president of PDS Services, a management advisory firm offering assistance to early-stage and underperforming companies on strategic, marketing, product introduction, capital formulation and restructuring issues. Mr. Boyd is a highly entrepreneurial, experienced general manager with significant P&L experience and 25 years of start-up and turnaround experience in both VC-funded and Fortune 500 settings. Mr. Boyd's consulting experience has concentrated on early-stage and turnaround companies with an emphasis on positioning, go-to-market strategies and fundraising for technology-based service companies. Some of his clients include a satellite advertising distribution start-up, an online clearinghouse for education verifications, a national background-checking security firm, a nuclear waste company and a firm offering learning technologies for the deaf. He also has experience in online distribution strategies and new product development. Currently, Mr. Boyd is working with a variety of software and technology-based initiatives.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Boyd holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame.

Catherine H. Brandt

Catherine H. Brandt has over 16 years experience in industrial and media marketing. She was an executive at Merck during a 13-year career covering sales, international training, management and international marketing management. In 2000, she created C. Hocquel Inc., a marketing and sales consulting company. Her list of clients includes Volk Enterprise (United States and Brazil), Carrefour, Doux Europe, E.Leclerc, Celvia, Ronsard, Anaflor and Safeway. In 2003, with several partners, Ms. Brandt created Memnon Group LLC, a division of Somerset Capital Group and C. Hocquel Inc., a marketing and investment banking company specializing in media and communications. The Memnon Group partners with MediaPoint In-Store Television Network, the largest private television network in the United States, which caters to more than 120,000,000 weekly viewers. Memnon Group also is involved in several ventures, including the

worldwide promotion of Le Rallye des Gazelles, an annual international women’s sporting event in Morocco; the launch of a teen/“tween” natural cosmetics line in the United States; the launch of an international trading platform for organic produce and building a partnership between several U.S. supermarket chains and the United Nations for the sourcing of organic products.

Ms. Brandt graduated with a degree in sciences and biology from Rennes University in France. She is also a graduate in industrial marketing from ESCP (Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris). As an executive at Merck, Ms. Brandt attended the executive marketing program at Columbia Business School.

Steve Brotman ’95

Mr. Brotman founded Silicon Alley Venture Partners in 1998. The fund's institutional investors control over $2 billion in venture capital and include TL Ventures (a Safeguard affiliate), TD Capital and the principles of Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Boston Millennium. Prior to founding SAVP, Mr. Brotman was the founder, CEO and chairman of AdOne Classified Network, his third start-up and the nation's leading classified ad Web site and provider of turnkey solutions to daily and weekly newspapers. Mr. Brotman was a finalist for the 2000 Entrepreneur of the Year Award sponsored by Ernst and Young. He also was among Crain's 2001 “Tech 100” and, in 1997, he was selected for Crain's “Top 25 Players Shaping Silicon Alley.” In 1995, he was among Crain’s “Top 40 under 40” New York business leaders. In 1997, Mr. Brotman was #32 in the Silicon Alley Reporter’s “Top 100.”

Mr. Brotman received his undergraduate degree in economics from Duke University and a joint JD/MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. He completed a final year of graduate studies at Columbia University in both law and business.

Brendan Burns ’95

Brendan Burns is the co-CEO of PowerOne Media, Inc., and in 1995 was a founding executive of PowerOne’s predecessor, AdOne Classified Network. PowerOne is a service and software media company that works with local newspapers to run successful online businesses. The company is a pioneer in dynamic Internet classified advertising. PowerOne’s goal is to help newspapers simplify and localize the Internet in order to allow consumers to make smarter decisions and purchases in their own local communities. Backed by 12 major U.S. media companies including Advance, Hearst, Scripps, MediaNews and Pulitzer, AdOne is affiliated with over 1000 of the top U.S. newspapers. PowerOne is one of the few Internet survivors. The company has raised both venture capital and strategic capital, made several acquisitions and is today a profitable entity with revenues exceeding $12 million per annum.

In addition to his MBA in finance and entrepreneurial studies from Columbia Business School, he holds a BS from Fordham University.

Joan Camins ’77

Joan Camins is 1) founder and cochair of JaM.com, an Internet-based business aimed at using current technology to deliver simple-for-the-consumer solutions to common problems in the travel and health arenas; 2) general partner of Camesque Realty, a private real estate company focused on single-family residential development; and 3) a director for the Morocco Fund, a limited partnership with equity investments in Morocco. Until January 1998, Ms. Camins served as a managing director at Salomon Brothers Inc., where she managed investment banking relationships with private sector and governmental entities in the United Sates, Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. She assisted the World Bank in the creation of the first global bond. She also was a member of the screening committee for Salomon Investment Bank’s, served as a trustee of the Salomon Inc. Retirement Plan and was named to YWCA’s Academy of Women Achievers.

Ms. Camins is a director and treasurer of the New York Landmarks Conservancy and a supporter of several other New York–based cultural and civic organizations. Her love of the city inspired her collaboration on “New York Selections,” a neighborhood-focused guide to New York City.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, Ms. Camins holds a BA from Wellesley College.

Christopher Caputo

Mr. Caputo is the cofounder of Fortress Group, Inc., a boutique merchant banking firm specializing in private equity investment and raising capital for private equity funds. Until 1998, Mr. Caputo was a managing director and cohead of the private equity group at the Bank Austria Group. During his seven-year tenure at the Bank Austria Group and its predecessor, Creditanstalt, Mr. Caputo was instrumental in developing a private equity capital–raising and merchant banking business, targeting investment in U.S. and European companies. Industries in which Mr. Caputo has some experience include health care and life sciences, telecommunications and e-commerce, plastics and packaging, natural resources and automotive components manufacturing. Mr. Caputo is a board member of Fortress-Chistapak Ltd., a principal investment made by Fortress Capital. Prior to his employment with the Bank Austria Group, Mr. Caputo worked as an associate in the equity group of Goldman Sachs & Co. and as an analyst in the corporate finance department at Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc.

Mr. Caputo holds a BA in economics from Colgate University and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Eugene Carr ’87

Eugene Carr is the founder and president of Patron Technology, an arts e-marketing software and consulting company that offers such services as PatronMail, an e-mail marketing system; development of arts Web sites and technology- and e-marketing consulting. CultureFinder.com, founded by Mr. Carr in 1995, is an award-winning arts events listing site on the Internet, with over 200,000 event listings for over 2,000 arts organizations nationwide. Mr. Carr has been involved in both arts management and the corporate world for the last two decades. From 1991 to 1996, he served as the executive director of the American Symphony Orchestra at Lincoln Center and, beginning in 1994, simultaneously served in the same position for the Concordia Orchestra. He founded High Five Tickets to the Arts, an award-winning five-dollar ticket program for New York City high school students, and served as its first chairman.

Mr. Carr earned undergraduate degrees in history and cello from Oberlin College and Conservatory as well as an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Barbara Close

Barbara is currently cofounder and vice president of corporate development for Swipe LLC, an early-stage, retail-payments technology company. Swipe's primary focus is software that speeds credit authorization and enables small retailers to accept PIN debit cards—a huge unmet need in the sector. The company is currently courting several strategic investors and negotiating to acquire a critical technology partner. During the past two years, Ms. Close also has been involved as a director and consultant to various start-ups in diverse industries, including a position as the director of strategy and business development at Startups.com. Before that, she was senior business strategist for Ingersoll Rand Company, where she managed business development teams and projects for mergers and acquisitions, major product line additions and operations improvement programs. Ms. Close began her career as a space systems test engineer for Lockheed Missiles and Space Company and an intelligence analyst for TRW in Silicon Valley. Ms. Close is also a champion elite equestrian who trains jumping horses and riders, and she also judges horse shows throughout the United States.

Ms. Close holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Irene Cohen

Irene Cohen, CEO of FlexCorp Systems, has founded four companies that specialize in such human resource services as staffing and outsourcing. In 1996, when the four entities were acquired by a public company, Ms. Cohen remained in place as vice chairman of the public company and CEO of the outsourcing division, which served Fortune 500 companies.

Ms. Cohen has made numerous appearances on national radio and television to discuss management issues revolving around the critical shortage of knowledge workers; the steadily expanding contingency workforce; the legal and social implications of these trends; and the recent focus by government and unions. In 1997, she donated a gift to Columbia Business School to develop the Entrepreneurs’ Human Resource Toolkit. She is a member of the Committee of 200, a professional organization of preeminent entrepreneurs and corporate leaders who work to create more opportunities for women in business. She is the founder and a past president of Women Business Owners of New York. Ms. Cohen was previously honored as an Entrepreneur of the Year by President Ronald Reagan.

John Cusick

John Cusick is principal of Q6 Group, where he supports the development of substantial business initiatives through investment, advisory, executive and board level services. Q6 currently holds positions in ventures in a variety of industries, including global satellite broadcasting, biotechnology, digital telephone service and computer networking. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Cusick has been a chairman, chief executive, board member, founder or investor for multiple successful companies in the telecommunications, media and computing businesses. He was founder, chairman and CEO of Primestar Partners, the pioneering satellite television company. In 1995, Primestar was awarded an Emmy for launching the world's first digital television service to the mass market. He also serves as CEO of Innova International Corp, a privately held Swedish group of six companies in the cellular telephone and computer industries.

Mr. Cusick holds a BS from the United States Air Force Academy, an MA in economics from UCLA and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1970 to 1977.

Ian Davis ’98

Ian Davis is vice president at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), having joined the hospitality and leisure investment banking group in 1997. His primary responsibilities include covering hotel- and related clients by providing them with corporate investment banking products and services. Most recently, Mr. Davis was involved in the sale of Swissôtel Hotels and Resorts to Raffles Holdings, in which he acted as sell-side advisor to the SAir Group. Prior to joining CSFB, Mr. David was a senior associate at Hospitality Valuation Services International (HVS), a global consultancy and valuation firm, for which he spent time both in New York and London. During his tenure at HVS, Mr. David valued over $3 billion of domestic and international hotel assets.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Davis has a degree from the School of Hotel Business at Michigan State University.

Jon DeVries ’97

Jon DeVries is the president and founder of Supertron Technologies, Inc., a medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets high-temperature superconducting (HTS) MRI coils, which are the antennas or cameras of an MRI scanner. Mr. DeVries' technical and financial backgrounds include directing a joint HTS research project supported by Southern California Edison, leading a research team at Polytechnic Institute, Brooklyn and teaching electrical engineering and physics at New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan. He has also worked at Pennwood Capital Corporation, a VC firm based in New York, analyzing new ventures, developing corporate strategies and business models and working with firms to develop emerging technologies.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. DeVries holds a BS in physics from Harvey Mudd College.

Joseph Dooley III

As the president and founder of Dooley Associates, Joseph Dooley brings a breadth and depth of experience. He has worked for a range of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, and in information technology, biotechnology, financial services, professional services, health care, broadcasting, publishing, manufacturing, consumer products, cosmetics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Dooley

Associates assists entrepreneurs in obtaining private equity financing from venture capitalists and angel investors. As New York practice lead for Razorfish’s infrastructure and security services group, he worked with clients regarding IT security issues and codeveloping digital solutions that fit into their business models for e-commerce initiatives. He has spoken publicly on venture capital, entrepreneurship, public key cryptography and wireless security and privacy. Mr. Dooley has also written on the need for enhanced privacy in the digital age. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, InformationWeek, Venture Reporter, Information Security magazine, as well as other publications.

Mr. Dooley holds a BA in political science from the University of Hartford, an MA in economics from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from the University of Connecticut.

William Doyle

William Doyle joined Insight Capital Partners as general partner in July 1999. Prior to joining Insight, he was vice president of licensing and acquisitions at Johnson & Johnson. In this capacity, he was a member of J&J’s consumer pharmaceutical and professional group operating committee, as well as a director of the Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (J&J’s venture capital subsidiary) and chairman of the firm’s professional research and development council. Previously, Mr. Doyle was a consultant with McKinsey & Company and a cofounder of three technology start-ups. He was also an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School.

Mr. Doyle holds an SB in engineering from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Wendy Dubit

Wendy Dubit is the founder and president of Vergant, a brand-building and business development consultancy that creates social-oriented programs, products and promotions for diverse companies and causes. She has been the primary force behind multiple publishing, entertainment, new media and education initiatives. Prior to launching Vergant, Ms. Dubit served as founder and executive director of Heaven, a nonprofit that uses new media for the benefit of society and to bridge the digital divide.

Ms. Dubit’s Angels computer training and community service program for students and staff won contracts of more than $1 million per year from the New York City Board of Education. She also founded WorldWise Marketing, OutHouse Productions, CD-MOM: The Family Place in Cyberspace and FarmHands-CityHands: Linking Farm and City for the Benefit of Both, and she was the founding editor of Wine Enthusiast magazine.

James Elkus ’01

James Elkus is a senior director of finance and operations of Avero, Inc., a young technology company that develops restaurant hospitality intelligence software. His responsibilities include corporate and business development, strategic planning and general management issues. Mr. Elkus was recently successful in raising Series B and C rounds of venture capital and venture leasing funds for the company. Investors and advisors include TH Lee Putnam Ventures, Onex Ventures, Cobalt Ventures and Sam Zell, as well as partners in Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Previously, Mr. Elkus was an assistant project manager at the Related Companies, Palladium Company, a large-scale real estate development company based in New York. At Palladium, he was involved in such projects as CityPlace, a 72-acre town center development located in downtown West Palm Beach, Fla. To a limited extent, he was also involved in the Time Warner Center in New York, which houses Time Warner’s corporate headquarters and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, he holds an undergraduate degree in political science from Colgate University.

David Epstein ’01

David Epstein is currently the director of public sector solutions development in IBM's Software Group. He oversees the development of a broad range of replicable software solutions which incorporate IBM middleware and ISV content for federal, state and local governments and related industry sectors. His work focuses on the areas of electronic government, homeland security, health care, life sciences and education. His organization is also responsible for the identification, acquisition and enablement of key ISVs in these areas. During his tenure at IBM, Mr. Epstein has been involved in the rollout of B2B technology and the development of core Internet standards, video compression and data visualization technologies. He also has served as the vice president of development for a start-up media company.

Mr. Epstein began his career at BBN Labs, the developers of the Arpanet (the forerunner of the Internet,) as a principal architect of a $100 million DARPA-sponsored training system.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Epstein holds an AB in engineering and applied sciences and an SM in computer science from Harvard University.

Elliot Fishman

Elliot Fishman has more than 12 years of industry experience in the fields of venture capital, start-ups, technology transfer and engineering. He is currently the founder and managing member of Astrina Capital, LLC, a consulting and financial advisory firm for venture-backed companies. Services include

technology assessment and due diligence; follow-on capital raising; interim management; financialmodeling and capital budgeting; turnarounds and restructuring and M&A advisory. Previously, he served as senior vice president at Advantage Capital Partners, a venture capital partnership managing over $440 million among four offices in New York, St. Louis, New Orleans and Tampa. From 1997 to 1998 he served as director of product management at Doubleclick, Inc., a leading, publicly traded Internet advertising firm, now with a market capitalization in excess of $1 billion. Mr. Fishman’s also has previously served as vice president of Technology Management and Funding, a technology venture incubator, associate of technology transfer for the Center of Technology Transfer at the University of Pennsylvania and marketing manager of telecommunications for the National Semiconductor Corporation. In his position at Penn, he planned business strategy for several telecommunications products.

Mr. Fishman holds a PhD in economic history and the history of technology from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the Wharton School and a BSEE from Duke University.

Joseph Flicek

Joseph Flicek specializes in taking technologies and underperforming assets and leveraging them into profitable businesses. In 1996, he created and established the new ventures group in the Science and Technology Ventures Office at Columbia University. Until 2001, under his leadership Columbia participated in the formation of more than 40 new portfolio companies, and today four of these companies are publicly traded. The Columbia portfolio companies have raised almost $1 billion in venture and public market financings and have generated more than 1,500 jobs. At Columbia, Mr. Flicek brought together faculty members, industry and venture capital groups in order to start new business ventures based on intellectual property and research from the more than 7,000 faculty members and 2,500 laboratories. Ranked number one among universities in licensing, Columbia generates over $150 million per year. Mr. Flicek is currently serving as CEO of Supertron Technologies, Inc., an MRI medical device company that has special expertise in building high-temperature superconducting circuits. The company's investors have requested that Mr. Flicek assist in repositioning Supertron as a value-added asset in the MRI marketplace.

Mr. Flicek holds a BA, MA and MBA from the University of South Dakota.

Monika Mantilla Garcia ’96

For the last 14 years, Monika Mantilla Garcia has served as an advisor, manager or investor in a variety of privately held companies in the United States and Latin America. Mrs. Mantilla is the founder of the U.S.-H.I. initiative, a “think-and-action” tank that promotes and facilitates access to private equity for American

Hispanic entrepreneurs. In 1996, Mrs. Mantilla cofounded the Discovery Advisory Group, a New York–based professional services firm that advises, raises private capital and develops strategic business resources for middle-market companies. Mrs. Mantilla is also a partner of RRR, a fund created with the Ashkenazy family that manages private investments in the retail and real estate sectors. In 1988, she began a nine-year career at FMG, a company later acquired by TMM Mexico, the largest Latin American logistics and sea transportation provider. Mrs. Mantilla is a member of the New American Alliance, an organization of American Latino business leaders united to promote the economic advancement of the American Latino community in the United States.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, Mrs. Mantilla holds a law degree from the Universidad del Rosario.

Victoria Phillips Geduld ’88

Victoria Geduld is a member of the boards of Dances Patrelle, the Mosaic Colony and the Rodeph Sholom School, and she is chair of the board for Starworks Foundation. She has also worked actively with attorney general Elliot Spitzer on the Food Allergy Initiative, testifying on food labeling issues before the Food and Drug Administration in both closed and public sessions.

Until 2000, Ms. Geduld was president of Phillips Strategies, Inc., which provided independent research on publicly traded equity securities to fund managers, brokers and other investors. Prior to joining Phillips Strategies in 1994, Ms. Geduld was fund manager and analyst for Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co., where she managed discretionary brokerage accounts, specializing in health care and casinos.

Previously, as portfolio manager and analyst for Morgens, Waterfall, Vintiadis & Co., Ms. Geduld managed an equity and bond portfolio, utilizing actively hedged techniques and specializing in distressed bonds, “fallen angels” and potential bankruptcies. Ms. Geduld has been published in the New York Times and Grant’s Interest Rate Observer.

Victoria Received a master’s degree from New York University’s Graduate Creative Writing Program, an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in literature and creative writing from Columbia University School of General Studies, where she graduated cum laude.

Previously, Ms. Geduld was a professional dancer and performed at the Metropolitan Museum, Lincoln Center, Rutgers University and Purchase College, as well as with the Lyric Opera Company and in films. Ms. Geduld retired in 2000 to raise her three children. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree and a PhD in dance history at Columbia University. She is also certified in gyrotonics and gyrokenesis and teaches part-time in New York at Studio Riverside. In addition, Ms. Geduld is a certified Red Cross Instructor and has taught swimming at the 92nd Street Y.

David Geliebter

David is founder of Carrot Capital, LLC, a fund that provides capital and management expertise to young entrepreneurs. Prior to starting Carrot Capital, David founded and ran the Carson Group, one of the world’s most successful financial information and advisory companies. Carson’s clients included over half of the Dow 30 and Fortune 500 companies. Prior to Carson, he served as principal and president of Evolution Capital, an early-stage and mezzanine-level investment banking firm. Both Carson and Evolution were acquired by the Thompson Company in 2000. Mr. Geliebter also started the Harvard Group, a financial communications company that was acquired by advertising conglomerate WWP Group in 1986. Harvard and Carson were acquired for a combined value of $200 million. David started his career on Wall Street in 1979 with Merrill Lynch. In 1993, he was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. magazine and Ernst & Young.

Rachel George ’77

Rachel George is currently engaged in providing corporate finance and consulting services for start-up companies. She also is a consultant to Boston-based Mayflower Capital, a member of a financial services network of individual companies that provide investment banking, broker/dealer services, trust management and venture capital. In her prior position she was the managing director for the financial institutions group at Enhance Financial Services Group. In this capacity, Ms. George was responsible for structuring and providing alternative risk transfer products. Before that, she served as an executive vice president at Thomson BankWatch (formerly Keefe BankWatch), where she started and established the ratings coverage of securities firms. She began her career at Bank of America in the New York corporate office, where she became an industry specialist.

William Gilbert ’69

William Gilbert is an entrepreneur involved in several start-ups. He is the CEO and founder of Clean City Squares, Inc., a manufacturing company that produces site furnishings and screen-prints banners. He is also the CEO and founder of Upbeat, Inc., a business-to-business direct marketing company that concentrates on the institutional market. Additionally, since 1997 he has acted as the CEO of Real Time Manufacturing, Inc. In 1998 he also became the CEO of Fushion Coatings, Inc., a manufacturer of plastisol-coated metal furniture for exterior use, as well as plastisol-coated agricultural products and custom-coats OEM items. He has additional interests in cold rolling steel, real estate and venture capital. Mr. Gilbert is the cofounder and an officer in a company that provides MBA student consultants to black- and Hispanic-owned businesses in Harlem. The project was funded by the Ford Foundation.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Gilbert holds a BS/BA in marketing from Boston College.

Arin Goldman

Arin Goldman most recently served as a managing director in Salomon Smith Barney’s fixed income capital markets group. She joined Salomon Brothers in 1982 and spent her first five years with the firm arranging infrastructure financings for a variety of U.S. municipal issuers. In 1987, she joined the government finance group, where she was responsible for a variety of U.S. and sovereign government–related and –structured finance assignments, including those involving the securitization of performing and nonperforming single family mortgages, commercial mortgages, education facilities loans and other unique government assets. She was also responsible for several equity financings for health care issuers from Israel. Ms. Goldman joined the international capital markets group in 1998 and, until her departure from the firm at the end of 2002, had primary coverage responsibility for clients in Israel as well as a number of other international clients. In addition, she was responsible for heading the fixed income capital markets debt execution services group and for all e-commerce and technology activities in credit markets.

Ms. Goldman helped develop the market for medium-grade sovereign issues by participating in business development and serving as lead banker for inaugural Yankee or Global bond issues for the governments of Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, Turkey, Greece and Israel. Her experience includes serving as lead banker for benchmark issues for Telekomunicaja Polska and Israel Electric Corp., among others. She was also responsible for Salomon Smith Barney’s syndicate and debt capital markets Internet initiatives, and she served as project manager for the design and implementation of the firm’s Internet platform for the processing and syndication of new fixed-income issues. She also served on the board of i-Deal, an Internet new-issue joint venture with Merrill Lynch, Microsoft and Thomson Financial.

Ms Goldman graduated from the University of Rochester with a dual major in political science and biology. She received an MBA from Columbia Business School and a master’s degree in health service administration from the University of Michigan.

James Barton Goodwin ’74

J. Barton Goodwin joined BCI Advisors in 1986 as a managing director, where he is active in the investment and management of the firm's investment partnerships. BCI is committed to providing expansion capital to smaller growing companies. Currently, there are four partnerships under management, with a total of $460 million of committed capital. From inception, BCI focused on several highly

fragmented, consolidating industries. BCI has provided growth and acquisition to companies in the broadcasting, health care, financial services and general business services industries. Prior to his work with BCI, Mr. Goodwin spent 12 years at Kidder Peabody, where he was first generalist investment banker and then a private placement specialist.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Goodwin holds a BA from Washington and Lee University.

Peter Greenough ’75

Peter Greenough is managing director of Greenough & Company Inc., which he started in October 1988. He is also owner and general securities principal of Charlotte & Bates Inc., an NASD-registered, private financing and advisory broker dealer. Mr. Greenough has traveled widely and both lived and worked in Korea, Brazil, the Persian Gulf and Colombia, where he spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Andes. After completing his MBA at Columbia Business School in 1975, he joined the international banking group of Citibank and was assigned to Rio de Janeiro as a banking officer for both Brazilian and multinational companies. In 1984, Mr. Greenough joined Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder in New York, dealing with institutional money managers, securities analysts and company management. In 1986 he was recruited to Vickers da Costa Securities as senior vice president. Mr. Greenough speaks fluent Portuguese and Spanish.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Greenough holds a BA in history from the University of California, Berkeley.

Michelle Greenwald

Michelle Greenwald has held marketing and advertising positions at Disney, General Foods, Nestlé, Pepsi-Cola and J. Walter Thompson. She was an adjunct professor and guest speaker at the Peter Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University; Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Graduate School of Business; Loyola Marymount Graduate School of Business and the R. H. Smith Graduate School of Business at the University of Maryland. Greenwald has taught courses in new products, advertising and promotion, and marketing strategy planning. As a guest lecturer, she has focused on brand management and Internet marketing. Her areas of interest include new products, brand management, advertising, food marketing, entertainment-related marketing and kid marketing. She was listed among Advertising Age magazine’s “100 Best and Brightest Women in Advertising and Marketing” and is a member of the New York City YWCA Academy of Women Achievers.

Professor Greenwald is the recent author and publisher of Magical Melting Pot Cookbook—The Cookbook that Celebrates America’s Diversity: America’s Leading Chefs Share Childhood Memories and Favorite Foods.

Ravi Gupta

Ravi Gupta is the managing principal at Momentum Business Development. He has more than 15 years of experience in starting and managing entrepreneurial ventures for Fortune 500 corporations and venture capital firms. He is a specialist in developing new businesses that rapidly commercialize latest technologies and establish new markets. He has advised CEOs and presidents at firms of all sizes, from leading blue chip corporations such as Johnson & Johnson to start-up venture capital businesses. Mr. Gupta has more than 30 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector and has led many teams in developing remote rural villages and urban slums. His present focus is community health care, education and social ventures. One of the new ventures he is developing is a foundation that will help to bridge digital divides and bring the benefits of the Internet to remote corners of the United States, India and Africa.

He holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ronald Hahn

Ron Hahn cofounded Early Stage Enterprises (ESE) in 1996. ESE is a private venture capital fund organized to provide capital and guidance to early-stage companies in the Mid-Atlantic region. He has been investing in and working closely with early-stage businesses for more than two decades, acting as an officer or general partner of four venture capital organizations. Mr. Hahn started his career in venture capital in 1974 at Heizer Corporation, where he was vice president. In 1981, after serving as first vice president of Commodities Corporation, he founded Princeton/Montrose Partners, a venture capital partnership specializing in life-sciences technology, agribusiness, food, energy and natural resource–related investments.

In 1987, Mr. Hahn joined the health care team of Patricof & Co. Ventures as a general partner. In addition, he has been an operating manager and earlier in his career he held positions as an investment banker and a commercial banker. Mr. Hahn has had experience working with entrepreneurs in a number of different industries and served on the boards of directors of more than 25 companies. He also serves as an adjunct professor for Columbia Business School.

Mr. Hahn received his BA from Occidental College and his MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

Elizabeth Hamburg (Chair, Mentor Advisory Group)

Elizabeth Hamburg has extensive experience launching new products and companies in areas of communications, technology, entertainment and new media. She is currently chairman of Hypnotic, an entertainment production company that leverages its relationships with emerging filmmakers to acquire, develop, produce and distribute independent films, episodic content and television properties as well as commercials, sponsored productions and events for advertisers and brands. The company's major investors include Vivendi Universal, Michael Milken’s Knowledge Universe, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and Terry Semel’s Windsor Media. Ms. Hamburg is also the founder of Upstart Ventures, providing incubation, consulting and angel investment to early-stage new media and technology companies. Ms. Hamburg was one of the founders of Vimpel Communications, the leading cellular company in Russia and the first Russian company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Ms. Hamburg speaks Japanese, Russian and Spanish.

Ms. Hamburg received an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a BA from Brown University.

Janet Tiebout Hanson ’77

Ms. Hanson is the founder and president of Milestone Capital Management, LP, a registered investment adviser company specializing exclusively in short-term asset management for institutional investors. The firm manages onshore and offshore funds for both institutional and high-net-worth investors with total assets under management of over $3 billion. Milestone Capital is the only woman-owned investment adviser specializing in the management of institutional money market funds in the United States.

Ms. Hanson is chairman of the board of trustees of the Milestone Funds and chairman of the board of directors of the Milestone Offshore Funds. She is the founder and sponsor of WBEinvestmentmanagers.com, an Internet resource for institutional investors seeking to identify and do business with women-owned investment managers across a full range of asset classes. Ms. Tiebout Hanson is also the founder of “85 Broads,” a network organization of former and current Goldman Sachs women professionals.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, she holds a BA in government from Wheaton College.

Ben Hughes

In his role as VP, Technical Field Marketing, U.S., Ben Hughes is responsible for the research and development, marketing and knowledge transfer of ThruPoint's industry-specific solutions to the company's field organization. He is also responsible for managing the company's technology practices.

Mr. Hughes has been a member of ThruPoint's management team since September 2003. Prior to this, he was VP of consulting for Akibia Inc., where he started the New York practice for the CRM consultancy. Mr. Hughes was also a member of the team responsible for starting the Network Services division of the technology consulting firm, Cambridge Technology Partners. In addition, he has held management roles at both established and start-up companies, including Tele-TV and British Telecom.

Mr. Hughes holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Kate Hartnick Elliott ’90 Kate Hartnick Elliott is the president of Hartnick Consulting (www.hartnickconsulting.com), a boutique marketing consultancy that provides strategy, PR and other communications, online marketing and training solutions to a clientele that includes Working Mother Media, United Jewish Communities, Seedco, Picture Projects, The New School, Clarins USA, and Carnegie Corporation of New York. A well-known expert on marketing, Elliott has recently spoken on the topic at the business schools of Columbia and Vanderbilt, at The New School, for a group of Seedco Nonprofit Venture Network grantees, at a Carnegie Corporation Workshop on strategic marketing communications, at the Support Center for Nonprofit Management and at a national United Jewish Communities/The Federations of North America's Marketing Planning Group meeting.  In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, Elliott received her BA, magna cum laude, from Amherst College.   Joan Helpern

Joan Helpern is the former president, CEO, designer and creative director for Joan & David, the well-known, ready-to-wear footwear and accessories line for women founded in 1968. Among many honors, Ms. Helpern has received fashion awards from Coy, Michaelangelo and the Footwear Hall of Fame. She has been named to the “Working Woman 50,” the “Working Woman 500” and the Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World™. Recognized as a role model, she was presented with the Athena Award by Hunter College and the “Shattered Ceiling Award” (Atlanta, Ga.). She is also a founding member of the Committee of 200. Having sold Joan and David at the end of 2000, she now has commitments to Rockefeller University and Women in Science and to the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (with emphasis on “Women Waging Peace”).

Jeffrey Hoffman

Jeffrey Hoffman is partner at Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman, LLP, where he practices primarily in the areas of corporate and securities law, with specialties in mergers and acquisitions, public and private financings, and venture capital. Mr. Hoffman is a frequent speaker and panelist on programs that focus on corporate and financial matters. He has served as chairman of numerous programs sponsored by the Practicing Law Institute as well as other organizations and was a contributing editor and cochairman of Understanding the Securities Law, published by PLI in 1994.

Mr. Hoffman has a BA from Harvard University and an LLB from Columbia Law School.

Tim Howe ’85

Tim Howe is founding partner and founding member of Collinson Howe & Lennox. He has been investing in private equities since 1984 and has been responsible for a number of investments in the biotechnology, medical device and services areas. Prior to the founding of Collinson Howe & Lennox, Mr. Howe was a partner at Schroder Ventures investing in a range of industries in addition to health care. He also played a

leading role in the formation of Biotechnology Investment Group, LLC, which was organized in 1995 to take over the management of a pre-existing portfolio of public and private health care companies at various stages of development. Mr. Howe has been a director of numerous private and public firms and currently serves on the boards of four companies: Bionaut Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Comprehensive NeuroScience, Inc., Revivant, Inc., and RxCentric, Inc. As an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, he teaches venture capital management.

Mr. Howe received a BA from Columbia University.

Liz Ingrassia

Liz Ingrassia teaches the Columbia Business School class Launching New Ventures and also is CEO of Harvard Management Group, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in writing business plans, content and product development, marketing, branding and strategy. Ms. Ingrassia has founded several companies, the most recent being eLuxury.com, an Internet site funded by several prominent venture capitalists and LVMH. Prior to founding eLuxury, Ms. Ingrassia worked for Time Warner and SNET in their respective interactive television and multimedia divisions.

Ms. Ingrassia holds a BA in mathematics from Boston College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Andrew Jacobs ’96

As an officer of Angelo, Gordon & Co., Andrew Jacobs undertakes acquisition and asset management responsibilities for a diversified portfolio, currently consisting of 35 properties located throughout the United States. Angelo Gordon is a New York money manager with approximately $8 billion invested in several alternative investment strategies. The real estate group focuses on buying and repositioning subperforming properties and loans. Prior to working at Angelo Gordon, Mr. Jacobs was a project manager for Hines, where he oversaw the development of a Westin hotel and the disposition of a large portfolio of industrial properties. Before Hines, Mr. Jacobs worked for Campbell Soup, selling surplus industrial properties and selecting retail locations for Campbell's subsidiary, Godiva Chocolatier.

In addition to his MBA in real estate finance from Columbia Business School, he holds a BS in the history of art from the University of Pennsylvania.

Scott Johnson ’97

Mr. Johnson is the founder and CEO of SJ Partners LLC (SJP), an investment banking boutique that provides financial advisory and capital raising services primarily to domestic and foreign media, consumer, information technology and real estate firms. SJP’s advisory work encompasses mergers and acquisition counsel as well as analysis of overall financial strategy and capital structure. Mr. Johnson was a member of Institutional Investor–rated teams at both Salomon Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch (with the Merrill team rated #2 on Wall Street by Institutional Investor). Notable transactions completed at Salomon include the $900 million acquisition of Carson, Pirie Scott by Proffitts, Inc., and the $3.3 billion acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue by Saks Incorporated. At Merrill, transactions included the landmark $89 billion acquisition of Warner Lambert by Pfizer and secondary equity offerings by Gillette, Inc., and the Estée Lauder Companies. Mr. Johnson complements his financial orientation with operating experience, having served as CFO of an early-stage media company.

In addition to his MBA, he has a BA and an MIA from Columbia University.

Daniel Jones ‘66

Daniel Jones is the founder, president and CEO of Newsbank, Inc., a leading electronic publisher of current and historical primary-source information for schools, universities and public libraries worldwide. Prior to founding Newsbank in 1972, Mr. Jones was an associate at Knight, Gladieux & Smith, a management consulting company. He also served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at Text Communication Corp., which pioneered the development of word processing technology. He is founder of

Columbia Naples Capital, LLG, a private equity firm specializing in management buyouts and leverage acquisitions. He founded and currently sits on the board of New Canaan Bank and Trust Company in New Canaan, Conn. He also served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Supply Corps.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, he holds a BA from Northwestern University.

Sharon Joseph ’97

Sharon Joseph has more than ten years of experience in banking and consulting. Upon graduation from Columbia, she went to work for Booz Allen & Hamilton in the financial service group. Later, she worked at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in the private client group. She is currently working on opening a 50,000–sq. ft. bowling and family entertainment complex in Harlem, where she grew up. The business is part of the Clinton Small Business Initiative. Ms. Joseph is very active in the alumni networks at both Columbia and Tufts.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, she holds a degree in international relations from Tufts University.

Richard Juelis ’73

After graduating from the Business School, Richard Juelis worked with three major pharmaceutical companies for over 15 years. He spent seven years with Hoffman-LaRoche in financial and business consulting positions supporting their diverse operating division in the United States. In the 198s, Juelis joined Schering-Plough, spending three years in Puerto Rico as finance director for several of their pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. After Puerto Rico, he became general manager for Schering's biotechnology subsidiary in Ireland. The Irish operation is now among the top three biotechnology production centers in the world. He has been chief financial officer at three early-stage companies, including his current company, Cellegy Pharmaceuticals. Cellegy is a drug-delivery and dermatology company that went public several years ago. The company is launching a spin-off to sell “cosmeceuticals,” including a line of anti-wrinkle products.

Jeremy Kagan ’98

Jeremy Kagan spent three years as president and CEO of Volatile Media Inc., an Internet media company providing music and software e-commerce services. Prior to this entrepreneurial venture, he spent several years as a management consultant with Dean & Company, a boutique strategy consultancy, where he worked extensively on data communications, Internet commerce and new market entry strategies for emerging telecommunications providers. He also spent time at Lehman Brothers as an associate in the media and telecommunication practice of the investment banking group, where he focused on mergers and acquisition work and valuation. Mr. Kagan’s firm was recognized as one of the 12 companies to watch at Internet World in 1998 and was an Early Stage Honor Roll at the Harvard Business School Club Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Banquet in 1999. Mr. Kagan also presented at Alley to the Valley in 1999.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, he holds a BA in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Greg Keshishian

Managing partner Greg Keshishian leads GK Partners in serving the consulting needs of top management, compensation committees and boards of directors. He specializes in the audit and review of executive compensation programs, negotiation of employment agreements and implementation of performance and equity-based incentive plans. He offers his clients the expertise and judgment gained during 25 years of successful professional practice and corporate experience. This experience encompasses a wide variety of management and directors’ compensation assignments and includes special expertise in handling significant transactional situations and in resolving critical company performance and valuation issues.

Clients served include over 450 public and privately-held manufacturing, technology, consumer products, financial and service companies.

Prior to founding GK Partners in 1998, Mr. Keshishian was senior vice president and led the executive compensation practice at Handy Associates in New York. Before joining Handy in 1983, Mr. Keshishian was employed by Revlon Inc., holding significant corporate positions in financial management, executive and employee compensation, and management recruitment and development. His earlier career encompassed the insurance and retailing industries.

An author and lecturer on executive compensation, Mr. Keshishian has addressed many groups including the Council of Institutional Investors and the Investment Management Institute. He has been a featured contributor to several publications such as Pensions & Investment Age, Directorship and CFO magazine, and has been a commentator on NBC News and CNBC. He also served as a governor of the Wings Club in New York from 1989 to 1995. He is an associate member of the American Bar Association and a member of the Aeronautics Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

He holds a BS from Regents College of the University of the State of New York and attended New York University’s Graduate School of Business Administration.

Edwin Keusey, Esq.

Edwin Keusey is partner at Keusey, Tutunjian & Bitetto where he works in all aspects of domestic and foreign patent prosecution in the fields of telecommuncation protocols, digital and analog electronics, audio electronic systems, hardware and software control systems, optical filters including dielectric interference films, light and laser management products, display systems, industrial processes and manufacturing technology. Additionally, he does extensive counseling with in-house counsel, science officers, engineers and other technical personnel of corporate clients. His counseling and related opinion work typically covers issues patentability, licensing and infringement for both domestic and foreign patent rights.

He holds a BS from Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and a JD from St. John’s University School of Law.

Barbara Koz Paley

Barbara Koz Paley is currently the principal of Art Assets, Ltd., and a serial entrepreneur with 30 years’ experience in finance, real estate and fine art. In 1983, she helped create Realty Advisory Services, an investment and advisory fund of which she became president and CEO. She originated the idea for and implemented the Sculpture Garden that was exhibited on Ward's Island from 1977 to 1987. She was active in the inception of the Real Estate and Business Council for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is on the Decorative Arts Council of the Cooper-Hewitt National Museum of Design of the Smithsonian Institution. In addition, Ms. Koz Paley is a member of the leadership of the Urban Land Institute. In 1994, she cofounded the Women's Leadership Board at Harvard’s Kennedy School. She also serves on the board of the Eldridge Street Project. Ms. Koz Paley was cofounder of the Association of Real Estate Women and Central Woman's Focus.

Brian Kraff ’89

Brian Kraff is the founder and CEO of eStudentLoan.com, an Internet-based comparison marketplace for online purchase of student loans. He also acts as a principal engaged in angel financing of Internet start-up ventures and advises private investors on new venture financing. In December 1999, Mr. Kraff merged eStudentLoan.com with CollegeClub.com, the Web's largest college community. From 1991 to 1995, he was the CEO and cofounder of Advanced Network Systems, Inc., a mid-Atlantic network solutions company.

Shalom Leaf

Shalom Leaf is a partner with Hogan & Hartson, LLP. His legal practice encompasses a wide range of corporate and securities matters, including public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, venture capital financings, bank loans, mergers, stock and asset acquisitions and dispositions.

Mr. Leaf has experience representing clients in the media, bioscience, Internet, software, computer hardware, apparel and beverage industries, among others. He also regularly represents research and educational institutions in technology transfer and corporate matters.

Mr. Leaf holds a BA from SUNY Buffalo and a JD from New York University School of Law.

Janet Levitt ’77

Janet Levitt has been a consultant to entrepreneurs, inventors and small growth companies for many years, helping them organize, plan and obtain financing. Prior to that, she analyzed business proposals for a leading venture capital firm and was a security analyst and a portfolio manager for two large New York City banks. She recently coauthored Public Venture Capital: Government Funding Sources for Technology Entrepreneurs (New York: Harcourt, 2000). Presently, she is the manager of a New York–based charitable foundation.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, she has an AB in chemistry from Barnard College and an MAT in chemistry from Harvard University.

Douglas Lindgren ’88

Douglas Lindgren is cochief executive officer and chief investment officer of Excelsior Venture Partners III, LLC, and managing director of United States Trust Company of New York. He is focused on direct investments in information technology, Internet services and communications. Prior, Mr. Lindgren worked for Inco Venture Capital Management as president and managing principal. While at IVCM, Mr. Lindgren invested in venture capital and buyout transactions and served on the board of directors of several of its portfolio companies. Before joining IVCM, Mr. Lindgren was employed at Salomon Brothers and Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co., Inc. Mr. Lindgren is on the board of PowerSmart, Inc., MarketFirst Software, Inc., ReleaseNow.com, LifeMinders.com, Zeus Wireless, Inc., and Firstsource Corp. He has served as an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. In addition to his MBA, he also holds a BA from Columbia University.

Richard Lipkin ’99

At Laird, Richard Lipkin serves as the vice president of new enterprises, leading the firm’s business development efforts, including the creation and management of new funds, bringing more than 17 years of management and finance experience in the media, Internet and telecom industries. Previously, Mr. Lipkin served as vice president of corporate strategy and chief financial officer of ResponseLogic, an Internet application service provider that he helped to launch. He has worked as consultant to the Advanced Research Projects Agency and as a senior editor at Scientific American and Science News, having published more than 400 articles and book chapters with such organizations as the Journal of NIH Research, Technology Review, the Wilson Quarterly, National Geographic Books, Smithsonian Books, Grolier’s Encyclopedia and the American Mathematical Society. Mr. Lipkin has assisted in the production of news and documentaries for WNET 13 in New York and CNN in Washington, D.C.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, he holds a BA from Princeton University.

Esther Ma ’92

Esther Ma is the CEO and founder of Prestique Limited in Hong Kong. Prior to starting Prestique in 1996, Ms. Ma worked at Procter & Gamble Limited as a brand manager in Hong Kong. She also worked as a financial analyst for Mortgage-Backed Securities and assisted a sales team in marketing deals to potential buyers. Esther is involved in various charitable organizations such as the Hong Kong Ballet Group, Hong Kong AIDS Concern, Friends of Snoopy’s World, Society for Abandoned Animals, the KELY Support

Group and the Artists’ Guild. Ms. Ma has recently signed up education clients who focus on encouraging student participation in community work such as designing Web sites for charitable organizations, broadening students artistic and cultural interests by raising funds for charity ballet performances and fostering student musical talents by promoting online music education to underprivileged children. Esther is interested in assisting those looking to expand their ventures or establishing new contacts in Asia.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, Ms. Ma holds a BA in economics from the University of California.

Franklin Madison, Jr.

Franklin Madison, Jr., was recently named one of Crain’s Tech 100, a listing by Crain’s NY Business of the leading professionals in technology in New York City. Mr. Madison joined ITAC in 1999 as technology program coordinator and within four months was promoted to technology program director.

Mr. Madison is responsible for the strategic development and implementation of new programs to assist high-tech firms in New York and for managing their FastTrac programs. He is also the SBIR regional specialist for New York City, Long Island and the Mid-Hudson Regions, as well as program manager for NASA’s Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP). ( Mr. Franklin also works one-on-one with CEOs of high-tech companies, providing technical assistance in the areas of business plan development, access to capital from private and public sources, R&D assistance and technology partnerships.

Mr. Madison is a member of many associations, including the New York Regional Consortium, the Institute for Business Trends Analysis, the New York City Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Committee of the New York City Private Industry Council, the New York New Media Association, Minority Internet and Technology Professionals and the New York Software Industry Association. He also is a consultant to the New York City Council Technology Infrastructure Division in two administrations.

Mr. Madison sits on the board of directors and advises the National Executive Board for Hispanics in Information Technology and Telecommunications as chief knowledge officer. He is also board vice president of RedIbis, an African-American technology organization, and he chairs the board of directors for Film, Video, Arts, the oldest nonprofit working with new and emerging independent filmmakers in New York City.

Lawrence Manson, Jr. ’85

Lawrence Manson, Jr., is a general partner of Penman Partners (PP) and Penman Asset Management, LP (PAM) entities, which he cofounded in 1992. PP acts as the general partner, and PAM as the management company of the Penman Partners Equity and Mezzanine Fund. The LP, (PPEMF) is a private investment fund with capital commitments of approximately $90 million. PPEMF invests primarily in leveraged transactions involving middle-market companies in high-growth industries. PP provides investment management services to PPEMF. Mr. Manson has been involved in various civic and philanthropic activities. He currently serves on the boards of directors of the Chicago Horticultural Society, the Northside Center for Child Development, Inc. in New York City and the Alumni Association of Columbia Business School. Previously, he served on the boards of directors of the Ballet Manhattan Foundation.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, he holds an AB from Princeton University.

Matthew McCooe ’99

Matthew McCooe is the senior associate director and manager for Columbia Business School’s Science and Technology Ventures (STV), where he manages the University’s portfolio of new ventures. STV has over 40 portfolio companies and is currently structuring deals with over 15 start-up companies seeking licenses to Columbia IP. Prior to joining Columbia, Mr. McCooe, successfully led several large, rapid-growth operations. He has launched three companies from the green-field stage. The revenues generated by these businesses today range from $30 million to $750 million. Most recently he was the general manager and

VP of sales and marketing for a New York–based communications and software application organization that he cofounded. As general manager, he led a team of 70 people, increasing revenues from zero to $30 million per annum in less than two years. Earlier he managed the development and rollout of technology products in the United States and abroad for two Fortune 500 companies, Becton Dickinson and MCI.

Nina McLemore ’95

Nina McLemore is president of Regent Capital Partners, LP, a private investment firm with $30 million in private capital. Regent makes debt and equity investments in small- and medium-sized companies that require capital to expand their operations or to finance buyouts and recapitalizations. Regent focuses its investments in consumer-driven businesses, media/communications and women-owned businesses. Ms. McLemore has managed a wide variety of retail and manufacturing businesses, concentrating in women's apparel and accessories for over 25 years. She previously managed high-growth, highly profitable, start-up situations for May Department Stores and Liz Claiborne, Inc. In 1980 she founded Liz Claiborne Accessories and developed it from a small hands-on business to a large corporate division. Ms. McLemore is a founding member and has served several terms on the board of the Committee of 200. She is the vice chair of the board of the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, and she is on the board of the Foundation of the University of Southern Mississippi.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, she holds a BA in economics and French from Louisiana State University.

Larry Miller ’94

Larry Miller is currently serving as entrepreneur in residence at Chazen Capital Partners, LLC, which was established in 1997 as a private investment partnership. The firm provides equity capital and management support to growth opportunities in both traditional and new economy businesses. Previously, Miller was president of Reciprocal Entertainment, a digital rights and financial transaction clearinghouse. During his tenure with Reciprocal, the company scaled from zero to more than 100 customers, including Sony Music, BMG, Zomba and others comprising 60 percent of the U.S.-based music business, processing 40 percent of all legitimate music transactions in North America. Prior to joining Reciprocal, Miller was vice president of market development at AT&T Labs and COO and cofounder of a2b music, AT&T's innovative online music delivery service. A frequent conference speaker, Miller is an often-quoted authority on the convergence of music and technology.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Miller holds an AB from Brandeis University.

Lewis Miller ’76

Lewis Miller is the chairman of Intermedica, Inc., an international medical education company based in Darien, Conn., and Mexico City. He is also corporate editorial director and part-owner of Dowden Health Media, Inc., in Montvale N.J., and an occasional angel investor in the health communications field. He has started or assisted in starting companies in medical and health publishing, medical record systems, continuing medical education and Web-based health information in the United States and Latin America. All are privately held. He has helped bring in outside venture capital, outside directors and strategic partners where necessary and has negotiated acquisition and divestiture deals, as well as many licensing agreements.

Joel Morse ’88

Joel Morse is president and cofounder of C3i, a company that provides customer relationship management–services to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. A Siebel Systems premier consulting partner, C3i delivers Siebel Life Sciences software implementation, Web-based training, ongoing system administration and end-user support services. Clients include several divisions within Johnson & Johnson, Genzyme, Roche, Eisai, Berlex, Bayer, Serono and Elan. At the end of 1998 C3i received funding from the New York City Investment Fund and Palisade Capital. The funding has enabled C3i to grow from $4

million in 1998 to $20 million in 2000. Mr. Morse began his career in 1988 at American Express in the strategic planning group. There he focused on new business development and investments, in both the United States and Europe. In 1991 he transferred to Corporate Card Marketing, where he headed the marketing acquisition team responsible for sales automation, database management, lead generation, collateral and direct mail.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Morse holds a BS in mechanical engineering from Tufts University.

H. Tomkins O'Connor ’77

H. Tomkins O’Connor is a general partner and cofounder of Atlantic Medical Capital LP, a venture capital fund that invests exclusively in health care companies. AMC targets midstage and late-stage businesses specializing in health care services, products, financing, distribution information systems and the Internet. AMC’s investments are principally made to fund growth, including sector consolidations, acquisitions and buyouts, recapitalizations and special situations. Investors in AMC include CalPERS, the University of Texas, Dresdner Kleinworth Benson, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and the Equitable Life Assurance Society. Prior to founding Atlantic Medical Capital in 1993, Mr. O’Connor was the senior officer responsible for investments in GE Capital’s $750 million health care LBO portfolio.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. O’Connor holds a BA from Union College.

Joseph Pennino ’04

Joe Pennino is both a technology and financial veteran and has spent the last five years building several start-ups and commercializing technology. Previously, he spent eight years working in finance with HSBC, RBS Greenwich Capital and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a CPA with a BS from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Mr. Pennino has completed additional coursework at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and at Columbia Law School.

James Perakis ’72

Jim Perakis is currently a principal at Fourth Wall Ventures. He is the former chairman and CEO of Hyperion Software, where he oversaw the company's growth from approximately $1 million in revenue to $295 million. He managed the company through seven years of profitable growth as a public company. Hyperion was named to Inc. magazine’s list of America's 500 fastest-growing companies for five consecutive years, and it was listed four times on Forbes magazine’s list of the World's 200 Best Small Companies. Perakis serves on the board of directors of Bristol Technologies, Unica Corporation and Design2Launch, Inc., and he is chairman of Netkey, Inc. As a member of the board of the Connecticut Technology Council, he is active in promoting technology-based enterprises in the state of Connecticut.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, he holds a BS in electrical engineering from the University of South Carolina.

Brett Prager ’92

Brett Prager is the president and CEO of Theo Capital, a company that executes leveraged acquisitions of and growth equity investments in privately-held, growth-focused, middle-market companies. Before Theo Capital, Mr. Prager was CEO of CPA2Biz, a company that offered expertise in developing rapidly growing companies both online and offline. Previously, Mr. Prager was the founder and CEO of Integrated Professional Services, which provided management services to accounting firms and other professional service firms. Raising $50 million in funding, he worked with a number of CPA and law firms to forge a multidisciplinary practice model. He also cofounded Gotham Practice Management, which enables New York–based physicians to better manage their practices. When FPA Medical Management acquired Gotham in 2000, it was New York City's largest physician practice management company, generating $85 million in revenue annually. He was named by Accounting Today as one of the 100 most influential people within the CPA profession in 2001.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Prager holds a BS from Wharton and a BAS in systems engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Preston

Michael Preston is a professor in Columbia Business School’s entrepreneurship program. For the past five years, he has been teaching Managing Growth, a course that deals with taking a company from a start-up to a professionally run enterprise. In 1998, he coauthored The Road to Success: How to Manage Growth, published by John Wiley & Sons, and he regularly speaks on this topic. During this same period Mr. Preston has advised a variety of middle-market and early-stage companies on growth management and consulted to IBM Professional Services on strategic issues. For almost 30 years previously, he was a management consultant, partner and executive for Grant Thornton & Company LLP, in charge of the firm’s New York Consulting Practice and as eastern regional consulting director, overseeing the firm’s 13 consulting offices in the Eastern United States. At Grant Thornton he specialized in advising companies on strategy, organization and management systems. Some of his larger clients include Lloyds of London, Motorola and AT&T. He serves on the boards of FEGS, the country’s largest provider of mental health services, and NYANA, which provides social services to immigrants and refugees.

Nelson Rockefeller ’99

From 1987 to 1990, Nelson Rockefeller worked as an associate at JP Morgan, where he assisted portfolio managers with global equity selection and equity/fixed income analysis. From 1990 to 1993, Mr. Rockefeller served as special assistant to the deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget in Washington, DC, where he negotiated resolutions to outstanding policy issues for President George H.W. Bush’s National Urban Policy Report. From 1993 to 1996, Mr. Rockefeller served as assistant to the United States Senate Minority and then Majority Leader Bob Dole. He provided the senator with primary staff support on welfare reform. In 1999, Governor George Pataki appointed Mr. Rockefeller to the State University of New York (SUNY) board of trustees, and he was subsequently reappointed by Governor Pataki in 2001. He is a member of the executive committee and chairman of the Executive Compensation and Personnel Committee, a member of the Finance Committee and the Charter School Committee, and he sits on the board of directors of the Research Foundation of SUNY. He was appointed by Governor Pataki to the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research Advisory Council as a SUNY representative. Mr. Rockefeller is a member of the board of directors of the Conservation Fund and a member of the board of trustees of Historic Hudson Valley, and he is a national trustee of the San Antonio Museum of Art.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, he holds a BA in history from Dartmouth College.

Joel Rosenman

Since 1967, Joel Rosenman has been chairman of JR Capital Corp., a venture capital firm focusing on start-ups, mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, management-assisted buyouts, in such fields as entertainment production, recording studio construction and operations, pharmaceutical manufacturing, shoe manufacturing, gift wrapping and greeting cards manufacturing, national retail chains of farm and ranch equipment, and supplies and high-tech R&D in video display fields. He is the author of Young Men with Unlimited Capital, which is currently in feature film development at AOL Time Warner TNN. He does lectures, symposia and TV- and radio appearances on to Woodstock, the 1960s and the field of venture capital.

Mr. Rosenman holds an AB from Princeton University and an LLB from Yale Law School.

Karen Ross

Karen Ross is founder, owner and CEO of Sharp Decisions, a global information technology solutions firm servicing the financial industry and other Fortune 500 clients. Founded in 1990, Sharp Decisions has achieved sales in excess of $25 million and has aggressive plans for diversification and growth. Marketing, sales and business development are some of her key strengths. The firm focuses on the leading-edge technology sector of information technology staff augmentation. Sharp Decisions is Ms. Ross’s second

start-up. Her first firm, Turn-Key Solutions, was started in 1985 as a solutions-oriented consulting firm that served clients on a global level. She established partnering relationships with many IT product vendors and the Big Six consulting firms.

Ms. Ross holds a BS and an MS from Union College.

Joseph Rubin

Joseph Rubin was an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School from 1973 to 1994 and at Columbia Law School in 1996. He currently teaches at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. He is a senior partner at the law firm of Rubin, Bailin, Ortoli, Mayer, Baker & Fry, LLP. He has also contributed to books and articles on expropriation, structuring business organizations, privatization and other international legal and business issues. Mr. Rubin conducts business and government management training programs in Russia and the republics of the former USSR.

Joseph holds a BA and an MIA from Columbia University and a JD from Harvard Law School.

Mohamed Sarhan

Mohamed Sarhan is the chief counsel and chief operating officer of Mental Charge Media. A graduate of the Duke University School of Law, Mr. Sarhan is a licensed attorney in New York and was formerly an associate in the New York office of White & Case, an international law firm. Mr. Sarhan specialized in mergers and acquisitions, general corporate and securities law and also had significant experience in transactional intellectual property, venture capital and private equity work, having worked with a number of technology companies including start-ups and joint ventures.

Judith Schneider

Judith Schneider has over 25 years of business experience, the majority of which has been as an advisor to start-ups and emerging growth companies. She is a recognized authority on business planning and the issues impacting new ventures. She is the CEO of the BPI Group, a professional services firm providing strategic advisory and business plan development services to emerging growth and middle-market companies. The BPI Group’s largest subsidiary, Business Plans International, was the largest business plan consulting firm in the United States with offices in seven locations. Business Plans International developed customized, professional business plans for more than 800 emerging growth and middle-market companies seeking capital and needing a blueprint for growth. Before founding BPI, Ms. Schneider was a partner of Schroder Ventures, a venture capital fund investing in early-stage companies and leveraged buyout situations. She was also a vice president of corporate finance with Oppenheimer & Co. (now CIBC Oppenheimer), creating direct equity investments, and a consultant with Hay Associates, providing strategic advisory services to leading corporations, as well as small enterprises.

Ms. Schneider has been a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences on the subject of starting new ventures. She has written articles for and has been quoted in magazines and trade publications, including Crain’s New York, Business Week Online, Venture Magazine, Success Magazine, Entrepreneur, Drug Discovery Today, Commercial Biotechnology and Business 2.0. Ms. Schneider received her MBA from Columbia Business School.

Rose Sculley ’77

Rose Sculley is responsible for corporate and foundation development at Women’s World Banking (WWB), a 20-year-old global not-for-profit network of 41 affiliates in 35 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America, which provides poor women entrepreneurs with access to capital through microfinance. Ms. Sculley is responsible for identifying funding partners interested in supporting a global network which links international financial resources with women who do not have access to financial resources. Prior to this position, Ms. Sculley was finance and administration manager of WWB for 10 years, responsible for financial management of a $9 million global budget. Before joining Women’s World Banking, Ms. Sculley was vice president at HSBC (Marine Midland Bank) in corporate lending and new business development for corporate finance, assistant vice president at Bankers Trust Company for Latin American correspondent

banks in the Andean region, debt rescheduling in Brazil, and credit officer for the Southern Cone, and she was the first female associate in corporate finance at Loeb Rhoades investment bank.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, Ms. Sculley earned a BA in art history from Tufts University.

Felice Shapiro

Felice Shapiro has been involved in creating and growing businesses since 1986. She is a graduate of the Georgetown Foreign Service School (BSFS) and the MBA program at George Washington University. Felice began her career at Pepsi Co. in Purchase, N.Y., in strategic planning and it was there that she met her future business partner with whom she would launch her publishing company.

In 1986, Family Publishing Group (FPG) launched its first publication, New York Family, a controlled circulation local parenting publication with 30,000 circulation. The magazine broke even with the first issue as sufficient advertising revenue covered the cost of both printing and distribution. The market was ripe for the magazine and grew quickly into a profitable venture within the year. In 1988, Westchester Family was launched and Connecticut Family was started in 1990.

The magazine group (FPG) was a leader in the industry of local parenting magazines. By 1990, there were over 100 such papers across the country. Ms. Shapiro spoke regularly at the annual trade association meeting and was instrumental in creating the PPA (Parenting Publications of America). In 1990 she launched the Family Marketing Network (FMN), owned by FPG. The network would represent all 100 parenting publications and sell national advertising to the major advertising agencies. This was an extremely high profit business and grew rapidly.

By 1998, with over $3,000,000 in revenues, the company was bought by United Advertising Publications. Ms. Shapiro was called in as an independent consultant one year after the sale to help during the transition period.

With two boys at home, in 1998, Ms. Shapiro became a stay-at-home mom. Practicing yoga became a passion of hers and she studied to become a yoga teacher and got her certification in 2000. She began teaching private groups and in studios for the next few years. In 2003 Felice was asked to help to grow the business of a spiritual center in Rye, N.Y., called the Wainwright House. She recommended they open a Yoga Center and they agreed to hire her for the project.

On November 7, 2003, six months from beginning work on the project, the Yoga Center at Wainwright opened its doors boasting a schedule of 16 classes and eight teachers. The center has been bringing in a growing revenue stream for Wainwright House each month. Ms. Shapiro handed over the daily running of the center to the staff of Wainwright and continues to advise on a regular basis.

With a love of business, creating and implementing new ideas, Ms. Shapiro is interested in teaching and working with other entrepreneurs to develop their ideas. Felice lives in Larchmont, N.Y., with her husband Alan and two boys, Jake and Cal, ages 17 and 15 years, and their dog, JoJo. She speaks fluent French and is an avid road biker and skier as well as a yoga enthusiast.

Alexandra Sheller ’98

Alexandra Sheller is the director of business strategy at DeskNet Inc. She negotiates partnerships and analyzes various market opportunities for DeskNet. Ms. Sheller most recently founded and served as chief operating officer of Aperture Inc., a financial services company that promoted and provided financial products for microsegments online. Prior to founding Aperture, Ms. Sheller worked as a management consultant in Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's financial services practice. Recent speaking topics include e-business trends and the evolving application service provider industry.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, she holds a BA from Wellesley College.

Orna Shulman

Orna Shulman founded her own investment company, OLS Ventures LLC, in 2000 to invest her own portfolio and advise third parties in alternative investments and opportunistic real estate situations. Between 1988 and 2000, Ms. Shulman was executive vice president, general counsel and COO of Intertech, a privately owned investment firm in which she was a partner. Ms. Shulman was responsible for a private equity portfolio consisting primarily of real estate, high tech and biotech. During her tenure, the return on equity increased eightfold.

Ms. Shulman led the acquisition and disposition of the HEI hotel portfolio first to Prudential and then to Starwood. Ms. Shulman was also the architect of the purchase and redevelopment of 1500 Broadway in New York City, the home of ABC’s Good Morning America, and was codeveloper of over 1.2 million square feet of commercial development in the Dulles corridor in Northern Virginia. Among other early stage investments, she invested seed capital in the Israeli high-tech company Exalink, which was sold to Comverse. Ms. Shulman was an early investor in the Internet company Eziba.com (which, she is happy to say, is still growing).

Ms. Shulman spends much of her time in the nonprofit and political worlds. She serves as a Dean Nye’s Advisor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and on the board of the Lang Institute for Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School at Columbia University. She also serves on the board of directors of New Yorkers for Children, Montclair Art Museum and the director’s council of the Whitney Museum. She is a trustee of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and serves on the board of the Middle East Forum.

Ms. Shulman graduated from Tufts University with a BA cum laude in history and received a law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University.

R. Adam Smith ’98

Adam Smith joined Caxton-Iseman Capital, Inc., as an associate in October 1999. Mr. Smith initiates, evaluates, and structures potential acquisitions, conducts due diligence and collaborates in the oversight and expansion of portfolio companies. Previously, Mr. Smith spent two years as an associate with Castle Harlan, Inc., where he was directly involved in the leveraged buildup of a Castle Harlan operating company, Matrix Global Investments. During business school, Mr. Smith was a summer associate with J.P. Morgan’s financial sponsors group. Prior to J.P. Morgan, Mr. Smith participated in the launching of Columbus Advisors, LLC, and the creation of its emerging markets hedge fund. Mr. Smith began his career as an analyst at Salomon Brothers, Inc., where his assignments included M&A advisory and global debt and equity financing for U.S. and Latin American institutions.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, he holds a BA in international relations and finance from Boston University.

Joshua Spodek

Joshua Spodek cofounded Submedia, LLC, in 1999, bringing to market a technology he conceived of while completing his doctorate in astrophysics at Columbia. Submedia is a unique, full-service media provider offering its proprietary motion-picture advertising to subway riders moving in tunnels between stations—a super-premium product with a large, captive audience.

He holds a BA in physics and a PhD in astrophysics from Columbia University.

Guillermo Suescum ’95

Guillermo Suescum is currently VP of new business development for Arcavista Corporation, a marketing communications technology company. In the past, he has served as vice president of strategy and finance for ShopGuide, an e-commerce portal. Prior to that he provided financial advice plus strategy and business development services to various technology companies, including Fusion Networks, BuyerWeb and

EarthWeb. In the Republic of Panama, he worked in investment banking and was vice president of finance for a commercial teak business. Mr. Suescum has extensive engineering experience in heavy design and construction ranging from U.S. Navy ships to cryogenic gas separation plants.

William Susetka ’90

William Susetka currently serves as president of global marketing at Avon Products, Inc., and has over 24 years of experience in domestic and international product management. Mr. Susetka has worked for Clairol since 1975, when he began in retail marketing for hair care. Since then, he has held a variety of positions at Clairol including product manager, group director of hair color and business development, vice president for marketing, and, currently, president for Clairol International and U.S. retail.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, he holds a BS in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Helen Lang Suskin ’88

Helen Lang Suskin is currently the vice president for global market analytics within Pfizer's pharmaceuticals group. Ms. Suskin leads seven teams composed of 130 professionals who work with all levels of management to develop optimal business solutions, leveraging market research data to provide cutting-edge analyses. Projects range from the sizing and structure of new field forces to positioning of marketed products to decisions around licensing candidates. Prior, Ms. Suskin headed the finance marketing group for U.S. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Her responsibilities included the management of U.S. budgets for Pfizer products and the determination of the optimal allocation of resources, as well as their return on investment. She spent five years as an agricultural engineer, advising and applying modern scientific and commercial practice for Werthein S.A., one of the five largest farming conglomerates in Argentina.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, Ms. Suskin holds a BS in agricultural engineering from the University of Buenos Aires.

Michael Thiessen ’98

Michael Thiessen is currently a senior manager in the PricewaterhouseCoopers audit and business advisory services group, focusing primarily on technology and technology-related clients. In his tenure at PwC, Mike has served both large and small and both public and private companies in a variety of industries, and he has been involved in numerous initial public offerings, debt offerings, buy- and sell- side M&A transactions and complex technical accounting and financial reporting matters. He is a certified public accountant.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Thiessen holds a BS in accounting from the University of Connecticut.

Jordan Turkewitz ’98

Jordan Turkewitz is a senior director at internet.com Ventures and is responsible for the venture capital and acquisition efforts of the east coast business development team. He has led investments in, and is a board observer of, AnywhereYouGo.com, AskIt.com, BuyBuddy.com, NetMechanic.com and NetRead.com.

Prior to internet.com Ventures, he was an associate with Merrill Lynch’s media investment banking group and Goldman Sachs’ mergers and acquisitions group. Mr. Turkewitz was also one of the founders of the Student Advantage program, a fee-based membership program that provided students with official discounts at businesses throughout the United States and abroad. Student Advantage (Nasdaq: STAD) is now the leading offline and online portal to the higher education community.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Turkewitz holds a BA in government from Cornell University.

Yongdong Wang ’02

Yongdong Wang is currently the director of science and technology (S&T) for PerkinElmer Instruments, a leading supplier of scientific instruments in chemical, environmental and biotech areas. The S&T group, under his direction, conducts internal technology development for next generation instrumentation, software and informatics products; evaluates external technologies for licensing and codevelopment; engages in joint research projects with universities and performs technical due-diligence for business development activities. Mr. Wang’s professional interests include novel mathematical algorithms and their applications to address issues in technology and business. He holds 20 patents and has published more than 20 technical papers in these areas.

In addition to his Executive MBA from Columbia Business School, he holds a BS and MS in metallurgy from Central South University (Hunan, P. R. China) and a PhD in chemistry and mathematics from the University of Washington.

Donald Weiss ’67

Donald Weiss is the owner of White Home Products, Inc., a manufacturer in residential moveable storage products, and Self Storage Depot, an operator of ministorage warehouses. He is also chairman of Altura, Inc., a manufacturer of specialty packaging products. From 1970 to 1996, he owned White Systems, Inc., the leading U.S. manufacturer of automated retrieval systems for the storage of small parts and documents. White Systems, selected in 1989 by the Business Journal of New Jersey as “One of the 10 Best Companies to Work for in New Jersey,” has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and on National Public Radio and ABC-TV’s Business World. Before joining White Systems in 1970, Mr. Weiss spent four years as assistant to the president of Hezeltine Corp., now a division of Emerson Electric.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Weiss holds a BS from Cornell University.

Betty Melinda Ark Fung Wong ’82

Betty Wong’s experience includes advertising, sales, market research, public relations, finance, operations and marketing in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Ms. Wong is currently CEO and founder of CEO Global Resources Inc., which offers three services: 1) GENI Connects, an Internet networking and data-warehousing service, 2) Service Finders, a personalized business-to-business matchmaking and referral service and 3) a marketing consulting division.

Prior to her current activities, Ms. Wong was a co-owner of Corporate Communications Marketing Group, Inc., a. public-relations agency, for five years. Among her clients were AlliedSignal Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Company, the Rockport Company, New York State Department of Economic Development, the New York Times Magazine Group and Family Circle magazine. The agency was ranked among the top 100 communications agencies in the country in 1992, 1993 and 1994. Ms. Wong is currently on the board of the New York Chinese Culture Center.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, she holds a BS from New York University.

Musa Yenni

After having held various executive positions with the larger-bracket investment banks and with IBM and Intel, Mr. Yenni cofounded Yenni & Company, Inc., in 1991 and serves as its president. Yenni and Company is a boutique investment banking firm and has numerous contacts in the United States and globally with financial and strategic institutions, angel investors, private equity firms and venture capital firms. One area of concentration is raising capital for and providing mergers and acquisitions advice to qualified small companies, including health care and cutting-edge technology firms. Another area of specialty is international business and cross-border transactions, for which the firm solicits corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions advisory mandates from larger companies. Mr. Yenni received his BS in industrial and operations engineering, magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan in 1980. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1984. Mr. Yenni has also had a long history of distinguished community service activities. Some highlights include chairing his Harvard Business School 15th year reunion and promoting American-Turkish-Israeli trilateral cooperation.

John Young ’00

John Young is an associate at Easton Hunt Capital Partners, L.P., a venture capital and private equity fund investing in early- and late-stage venture capital transactions, PIPEs and management buyouts. In the venture and private equity area, the fund has focused on life sciences, telecommunications infrastructure, industrial manufacturing and distribution, software and energy. In the buyout arena, the fund's focus has been much broader. At Easton, Mr. Young performs financial and operational analyses on a wide range of companies. Mr. Young has eight years of experience consulting with multinational companies about technological change. Prior to joining Easton, he initiated and ran J. Walter Thompson's interactive operations in Asia. He has worked with many companies on various operational, technical and marketing aspects of their strategies, including Reebok, American Express, CNBC Asia, Kodak, Hong Kong Telecom and One2Free.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Young holds a BA in communications from Queen’s University in Canada.