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Council of National Advisors
The Members of the Springboard Council of National Advisors of Springboard Enterprises are some of the most talented and accomplished leaders in the business world. The Council was convened to advise and support the organization and its Board of Directors and to actively advocate on behalf of Springboard Enterprises and its alumnae among their peers and within the broader business community.
Connie Connors
CEO, Connors Communication
Connie is one of new media's pioneers. Throughout her more than 20 year career, she has helped companies capture their share of the emerging technology markets, defining a new approach to communications and marketing practices in the process. Her work for start ups as well as established companies has earned her numerous awards and honors.
Connie launched Connors Communications in 1985 with the mission to educate the broader consumer audience on how technology can make a difference in the way we live, learn and work. Connie and her team have been responsible for launching many of the major technology initiatives over the past two decades, including: the first personal and hand held computers, CD-ROM drives and educational software, the first networked workstations, online services and new Internet brands including Amazon.com and Priceline.com as well as assisting household brands - Disney.com, National Geographic, Nordstrom.com, The New York Times Digital - transition their offerings online.
Over the past several years, Connie has led her company into the age of digital influence through an integrated online communications and search engine optimization approach. As a result, Connors has developed its own software solution that was the genesis of a popular consumer product called HitTail which was launched in the summer of 2006. Connie served as an Advisory Board Member of the New York New Media Association (NYNMA) and also as its president from 1996-1998. She also served on the NY Governor's task force regarding media and Internet development in 1998. Currently, Connors is an advisor to a number of investment funds and is actively involved in an advisory capacity to several startup companies as well as not-for-profit organizations. She is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization.
Dr. Pamela Reilly Contag
CEO, Cobalt Biofuels
Pamela R. Contag, Ph.D., is CEO of Cobalt Biofuels, a venture-backed company founded in 2005 to develop technology for the production of biofuels. Prior to founding Cobalt Technologies Inc., Pam founded Xenogen Corporation in 1995, served as President and Founder of Xenogen from 1995-2006 and concurrently as CEO of Xenogen Biosciences from 2000-2006 when Xenogen merged with CaliperLS.
In 2000, Xenogen Corporation was listed as one of the "Top 25 Young Businesses" by Fortune Small Business and in both 2001 and 2003 received the R&D 100 award for achievements in Physics. In 2004, Xenogen was named in one of the top 100 fastest growing companies by the San Francisco Times and received the Frost and Sullivan Technology Innovations awards. Pam was named as one of the "Top 25 Women in Small Business" by Fortune magazine.
Pam has held various consulting and board positions; public, private and not-for-profit. Those positions include a consulting professorship at Stanford School of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics (1999-present), the Dean's Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (1999-2005) and the editorial board of the Journal of Biosecurity and Bioterrorism (2002-present). Pam was Director of Xenogen Corporation (1999-2005) and is Chairman of Cobalt Technologies (2005-Present).
With more than 25 years of microbiology research experience, Pam is widely published in the field of non-invasive molecular and cellular imaging. She received her Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1989 and completed her Postdoctoral Training at Stanford University School of Medicine specializing in "Host/Pathogen Interactions".
Ellen Corenswet
Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
Ellen Corenswet is a Co-Chair of Covington's Corporate Group and operates out of the New York office. She specializes in representing venture capital firms and emerging growth companies in securities matters, venture financings, IPOs, follow on offerings and PIPES, mergers & acquisitions, equity plans and executive compensation, and general corporate governance and advice. Her practice focuses on a number of industries, including life sciences, software, Internet services, financial services, clean technology, and telecommunications. Ellen has over 30 years' experience in venture capital transactions at all stages, for both companies and investors. She has helped numerous companies to prepare for an IPO and to successfully navigate the IPO processes. Ellen takes a hands on, business-focused approach to working with companies and investors.
Prior to joining Covington, Ellen was a partner of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP, a preeminent law firm in the venture capital and emerging company arena, until its closure in early 2003. She was one of two founding partners of the New York office of Brobeck and the Chair of its New York corporate practice for a number of years.
Lauren Flanagan
Founder & CEO, SCIO Corp
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Phenomenelle Angels Fund I, LP
Lauren is a Managing Director of the Phenomenelle Angels Fund I, LP, an early stage private equity fund she co-founded in 2006. The Phenomenelle Fund invests in women and minority owned or managed high technology businesses in the Midwest. The Fund's limited partners are successful women entrepreneurs and select entities. Lauren also serves as CEO of SCIO Corp, a strategic advisory firm focused on serving emerging companies in the information technology, biotechnology, clean technology and consumer technology markets. SCIO assists clients with strategic planning, partnerships, executive team/board development, corporate restructuring and financing.
Prior to founding SCIO Corp in 2002, Lauren co-founded WebWare Corporation and served as its Chairman, President and CEO for 7 years. While at WebWare, she helped define and lead two new market categories: brand resource management (now called marketing content management) and media asset management (now called digital asset management). She raised approximately $20 million in equity capital for WebWare, which in 2003 was acquired by a publicly traded company.
In her 15 years of senior management experience prior to WebWare, Lauren co-founded 4 technology companies and consulted for high technology leaders including Apple, Atari, HP, IBM, Microsoft, NeXT, Texas Instruments and Xerox. Lauren received Trailblazer Awards in 2000 and 2001 from the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, and was awarded IT Software CEO of the Year for 2001 by a leading analyst firm, Frost and Sullivan. She serves on the Boards of Springboard Enterprises and ComicWonder, and is a Board observer to IA/Threefold Sensors and EraGen BioSciences.
Barbara Friedman
Chief Financial & Administrative Officer, Association of American Medical Colleges
As the Chief Finance and Administrative Officer, Barbara is responsible for fiscal planning, investment, management, accounting, human resources, business services, facilities maintenance and management, and business development.
Prior to joining the American Association of Medical Colleges, Barbara worked at the New York Public Library as Controller and Assistant Treasurer; Wachtel, Lipton, Rosen and Katz in New York; and at Deloitte & Touche, LLP in Washington, DC, in various positions, including CFO, COO and Executive Director.
She serves on many not-for-profit boards, including Consumers Union in Yonkers, N.Y., Human Resource Advisory Council at Marymount University, and as a member on the Finance Committee of AAHRPP, Washington, DC.
Ellen Hancock
Former CEO, Exodus Communications, Inc.
Ellen M. Hancock served as the President of Jazz Technologies, Inc. and President and Chief Operating Officer of its predecessor Acquicor Technology Inc. from August 2005 - June 2007. Prior to its merger with Jazz Semiconductor, Inc., a wafer foundry, in February 2007, Acquicor Technologies was a blank check company formed for the purpose of acquiring businesses in the technology, multimedia and networking sectors.
Ellen's career includes stints as CEO and Chairman of Exodus Communications, Inc., and Executive Vice President for Research and Development and Chief Technology Officer of Apple Computers, Inc. She also was the Executive Vice President and COO of National Semiconductor Corporation and SVP and Group Executive for IBM. She is a director of Colgate-Palmolive Company, a consumer products company, Electronic Data Systems Corporation, an information technology services company, and Aetna Inc., a health insurance and benefits provider. She is a trustee of Marist College, Santa Clara University and the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies and Director of the Pacific Council of International Policy.
Holly Hassett
Consultant
Holly is a well-respected, seasoned public affairs advocate who for much of her career headed up the government affairs operations for The Hershey Company, a large, publicly traded, food and consumer goods manufacturing company. Since her retirement from Hershey, Holly has worked as a Consultant, Board Member and Advisor providing strategic guidance to corporate, trade association and non-profit clients seeking to influence the political process on a broad range of public policy issues, including Homeland Security, health, tax and appropriations.
Holly spent 25-years at The Hershey Company starting in 1978 when she opened their Washington, D.C. Corporate office. She served as Manager until 1992 when she was named Director of Federal Government Relations. In 1994 she relocated to Corporate Headquarters in Hershey, PA to manage international, federal, state and local government relations programs for the company. Holly retired from The Hershey Company in June of 2002 as Vice President of Government Relations and a corporate officer.
Currently Holly serves on the Board of the Capitol Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based women's organization comprised of current and former Washington heads of corporations and trade associations. She also serves on the board of The Washington-Ireland Program for Service and Leadership and supports the programs of USA for UNHCR.
Christie Hefner
Chairman and CEO, Playboy Enterprises, Inc.
Christie oversees policy, management and strategy in all areas of Playboy enterprises. She joined Playboy in 1975 and worked in a variety of the company's businesses before being named president in 1982. In 1988, she was elected to her present position of Chairman and CEO with the New York Stock Exchange-listed international media and entertainment company. During her tenure, Christie has restructured operations and initiated the company's highly successful electronic and international expansion. Extending its magazine franchise overseas, Playboy now has 23 localized foreign editions.
Under Christie's leadership, the company has developed its largest profit center, its television business- the first time a magazine successfully leveraged its brand into television. Continuing the company's electronic expansion, in 1994 Christie led the company onto the internet when Playboy became the first national magazine on the World Wide Web. It has since grown into one of the most popular online destinations for men and is the company's fastest growing profit center. For these revolutionary efforts, Christie was named to the media industry's trade publication min's Digital Hall of Fame in 2005.
Christie has also greatly expanded the leveraging of the Playboy brand via licensing. In 2006 Playboy generated over $800 million in global retail sales, and is additionally expanding with video games, stand-alone concept stores, and opened a large multi-faceted location-based entertainment venue, Playboy Mansion Macao, will open in late 209.
Christie has been honored with a Humanitarian Award from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the Spirit of Life Award from the City of Hope and the Corporate Leadership Award from the AIDS Pastoral Care Network. She was inducted into the Women's Business Development Center Hall of Fame in 1991, for opening doors and building opportunities for all women entrepreneurs. In 2003, she received the University of Illinois at Chicago's Family Business council Leadership Award, bearing an inscription recognizing her "vision, determination and courage in refocusing, diversifying and ultimately ensuring the future of an American icon, leading Playboy into the new millennium." Christie was named one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World by Forbes magazine in 2005 and 2006.
Mary Kelley
General Partner, INVESCO
Mary is a nationally recognized small business expert and lecturer, and has been a consultant to two Fortune 100 financial services firms. Mary joined Sovereign Financial services (now INVESCO Private Capital) in 1994. She began her career in 1976 with Deloitte & Touche in the Audit and General Service department. Many rounded her own full service accounting firm in 1980. Her business acumen and leadership have been recognized by both the Reagan and Clinton administrations. She was a participant in President-elect Clinton's Economic Summit, and has served on an advisory board to the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. She was appointed by President Clinton to be a commissioner for the White House Conference on Small Business in 1995. She has extensive experience in business valuation and strategic planning matters. In addition, she has worked with a number of businesses, foundations and endowments with regard to the development of systems, reporting and internal controls. Mary serves on several partnership advisory boards including Telecom II & III, CHL Medical, Healthcare Ventures and Apex.
Lauri Kien Kotcher
Managing Director, Lehman Brothers
Lauri is a Managing Director of Lehman Brothers, and Head of Marketing for Equity Research. Until 2007, Lauri was the Vice President, Global Brand Management at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (a $4 billion division of Pfizer Inc.), a position she had held since 2004. Lauri was responsible for growing Pfizer's consumer brands globally: Listerine, Nicorette, Visine, Purell, Zyrtec, and Rogaine which collectively represented almost $2B in sales and about 50% of Pfizer's consumer portfolio.
From 1988-2003, Lauri was at McKinsey & Company where she was a partner and co-leader of the North American Packaged Goods practice. She has deep industry experience in OTC, HBA/beauty, food and beverage, household goods, and retail apparel. During her 15 years in consulting, she led efforts for major clients across a board range of product categories and channels, including mass retail, food service, and luxury goods. She also has international experience, having worked for global companies in Western Europe, Brazil, Mexico, and Asia Pacific.
At McKinsey, Lauri was known as a knowledge leader in the firm and has led ground-breaking work including "Cracking the Code on Innovation," "Making Consumer Mergers Work," and "Breaking Out of the Pack-Building New Businesses." She also developed McKinsey's industry leaders consumer products sales force survey, which is used to benchmark sale effectiveness measures and efficiency issues and published every 4-5 years, and published several articles on sales force best practices.
In 2007, Lauri became a Managing Director of Lehman Brothers, a company serving the financial needs of corporations, governments, and municipalities, institutional clients, and high net worth individuals worldwide.
Dr. Hollis Kleinert
President, Kleinert Scientific/Commercial Consultation
Hollis is a principal with Kleinert Scientific Commercial Consultations. Previously, she was CEO and President of Protometrix, Inc. Protometrix, purchased by Invitrogen, offered drug developers the ability to scan the entire human proteome. During the 20 years prior to joining Protometrix, Inc., she was a senior executive in the pharmaceutical industry and a medical school faculty member. Over a period of 15 years in industry, Hollis held leadership positions in both R&D and commercial franchises. She led broad aspects of drug discovery, drug development, as well as, global marketing and commercial strategies for the registration, launch and post-launch activities of pharmaceutical products. Hollis held the position of Global Vice President pf the Cardiovascular/Metabolic and Oncology Commercial Franchises for Searle-Monsanto and was a core member of the Senior Executive Leadership and Commercial Operations team, which directed worldwide corporate operation decisions, priorities and portfolio management. She also served as Venture Head, Division Director in Pharmaceutical Development at Abbott. She began her career at Abbott as a project leader in Drug Discovery leading integrated pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry teams.
Hollis is a respected former faculty member of the Department of Medicine, New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical College. She is internationally known as a prolific author of scientific articles and book chapters with experience as a reviewer and editorial board member of major medical journals.
Melissa Koeppel
Partner, Grant Thornton LLP
Melissa is an assurance partner with over 20 years of experience serving growth-oriented companies in a variety of industries. She has worked with numerous health care clients ranging from large for-profit physician practices, health insurance, specialty hospitals, and research and clinical facilities. She serves as the head of the Wisconsin Assurance group.
Melissa's significant experiences include providing audit and other assurance services, including assisting clients with due diligence and other transaction work, and performing strategic planning and process improvement projects. Through her service to public companies, she is experienced with SEC reporting requirement and regulatory filings and has led or participated in IPOs, secondary and public bond offerings for several companies. Her clients have included both public and private companies ranging from start-up, high-tech ventures to $700 million entrepreneurial businesses throughout the Midwest.
Kay Koplovitz
Principal, Koplovitz & Company, LLC
Founder, USA Networks
Kay Koplovitz is founder and former Chairman & CEO of USA Networks, including USA Network, Sci-Fi Channel and USA Networks International, today a multi-billion dollar television company. Kay ran the company for 21 years before stepping down in 1998. She is presently a principal in Koplovitz & Company LLC, a media advising and investment firm. She is co-founder of Springboard Enterprises, an organization that has fostered the investment of more than $4 billion in women-led firms, and co-founder of BoldCap Ventures, a venture capital fund. In 2003, she co-founded The Directors' Council, a for-profit firm that specializes in search for corporate boards with an emphasis on women and minority candidates. She is a frequent speaker on media, venture capital and corporate governance.
Kay serves as Chairman of the Board of Liz Claiborne, Inc., a $5 billion company that designs and markets an extensive range of women's and men's fashion apparel and accessories across 38 brands in domestic and international markets. She is also a Director of Sun New Media, Inc., one of China's first integrated, interactive marketing, sales services, and channel management companies. SNMI plans to create a core group of businesses that includes advanced interactive marketing content development and distribution units, sales and marketing services, and channel management software solutions. SNMI has strategic plans to capture China's multi-billion dollar business marketing services market.
Kay serves as a trustee for the Museum of Television and Radio, and The Central Park Conservancy and The International Tennis Hall of Fame. President Clinton nominated Kay as Chairman of the National Women's Business Council (NWBC) in 1998. She is the author of Bold Women, Big Ideas: Learning to Play the High Risk Entrepreneurial Game, a book she wrote to inform and inspire women entrepreneurs.
Geraldine Laybourne
Former Founder, Chairman and CEO, Oxygen Media, LLC
Zelinick Media
Geraldine Laybourne founded Oxygen Media and served as its chairman and chief executive officer until the sale to NBC in 2007. Oxygen was launched in 2000 to fill a void in the television landscape- creating a network targeted to younger women.
Prior to founding Oxygen, Geraldine spent 16 years at Nickelodeon. Under her leadership, Nickelodeon became the top-rated 24-hour cable service and won several notable honors, including Emmy®, Peabody®, CableACE®, and Parent's Choice® awards. From 1996-1998, Geraldine was president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks where she was responsible for overseeing cable programming for the Walt Disney Company and ABC.
Lore McGovern
Business @Venturess, LHM Ventures
Lore McGovern is renowned for her successful career of entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. In 1976 she co-founded Vector Graphic Inc., a pioneering micro computer company. She successfully raised venture capital and expanded the company to over $50 million in sales. She left the company in 1983, to co-found Pacific Technology Venture Fund, managing the Tokyo and San Francisco offices.
In 1985, she founded Aplex Corporation, which developed and marketed feminine hygiene products. She obtained two patents for her inventions and sold the marketing rights in 1989. She became CEO and President of Good Morning Teacher! Publishing Company, a company that published over 750 educational titles for grades K-12 and consumer oriented educational materials for children ages 4-8. The business was sold in 1999.
Lore currently serves as the director of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and for Lohika Systems, Inc. Previous board positions include American Electronics Association and Montgomery Ventures. She serves on the Board of Advisors for Blue Pumpkin Software and previously chaired the Board of Associates of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT.
Pat Mitchell
President and CEO, The Paley Center for Media
Pat is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Paley Center for Media. She came to the Center in March 2006 from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), where she was named president and chief executive officer in March 2000, the first woman and first producer and journalist to hold the position. Under Pat's leadership, PBS rejuvenated the National Program Service, which is distributed to the public through 348 locally owned and operated PBS member stations. She also oversaw the development of many new projects, including a new series for children focusing on teaching literacy skills and celebrating diversity. She is credited with leading public broadcasting into the digital future with such initiatives as the conversion from analog to digital broadcasting, the launch of a high-definition PBS channel and an on-demand and cable preschool children's service, the growth of PBS's website into one of the three most visited sites on the internet, and the establishment of the Digital Future Initiative to help define models for public service media using new digital technologies.
Pat is responsible for establishing an independent production company based at Paramount Studios. The company produced documentaries, specials and series for broadcast, cable, and national syndication. Within the company, Pat became the Executive Producer and the host of "Woman to Woman," the first female-hosted talk show. She has reported from Israel, Palestine, Northern Ireland and El Salvador for an NBC series called "Women and War." She also produced "A Century of Women," the first documentary series on women's history in the United States.
Julie Muraco
Senior Managing Director, the NASDAQ Stock Market
Julie C. Muraco oversees strategy and client relations with corporate advisors, such as investment banks and financial sponsors, as they transition private companies to the public markets. She has been with the NASDAQ Stock Market since February, 2004.
Julie spent more than 20 years on Wall Street as a vice President with J.P. Morgan's Cash Markets Division, based in New York, and as a Managing Director in the Capital Markets Division of Smith Barney, based in Chicago and earlier, in Cleveland. She has extensive experience with institutional investment firms and advisors throughout the U.S., Canada and Asia, and has been involved with public company investments as a registered advisor since 1980. Julie spent two years as Vice President, Investor Relations, for Archstone-Smith, a publicly traded REIT specializing in luxury high-rise apartments.
She serves on the Board of Directors of Americans for the Arts, Washington, D.C., the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing participation in the arts.
Betsy Myers
COO, Obama for America
Betsy Myers is currently COO for Obama for America, the 2008 Presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama (IL). Myers, who is known for her ability to build organizations from the ground up, oversees the day-to-day operations of the campaign. According to Betsy, her "two passions in life are politics and leadership development."
Most recently, she was Executive Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. The Center is dedicated to excellence in leadership education and research and through its programs and initiatives, bridges the gap between leadership theory and practice. Prior to her appointment at the center, she was Director of Alumni Programs and External Relations and the Kennedy School. During the Clinton Administration, Betsy was a senior official at both the White House and the Small Business Administration (SBA) as Associate Deputy Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development and was responsible for the agency's technical assistance, management , and distance learning program.
In addition, she was responsible for implementing the SBA's national requirements under President Clinton's Welfare to Work Initiative. From 1995-1997, Betsy launched and directed the first White House Office for Women's Initiatives and outreach, serving as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Women's Initiatives. In 1993, she held the post of Director at the Office of women's Business Ownership, Washington, D.C. where she served as advocate for 7.8 million women entrepreneurs. Betsy began her career as an entrepreneur in southern California.
Carol Nichols
Managing Director, Circle C Ventures
Carol Nichols is an early stage investor, focused on strategies to make companies and people successful. Carol invests through her own company, Circle C Ventures, LLC. CCV seeks superior returns by investing in fast growth companies, led by exceptional management teams. CCV capitalizes on Carol's experience as a former executive with Bank of American and JP Morgan Chase and her partnerships with other strategic investors. Carol has over 26 years of experience providing capital and advice to growing companies.
Carol is a leader in capital access initiatives for women-business owners. She is a Co-Founder of the Texas Women Ventures Fund; a member of Golden Seeds, an angel investor group; and a Co-Founder of NAWBO Capital Concepts, Inc., a micro loan program.
Carol is currently on the National Advisory Council for Springboard Enterprises and on the Advisory Board for the Center for Women's Business Research, in Washington, DC. Carol is a frequent speaker or panelist on the topics of growth capital for small businesses, career strategies, and leading transformational change.
Sharon Patrick
President, The Sharon Patrick Company
Sharon is a business architect and brand builder specializing in entrepreneurial ventures. After graduating from Stanford University and earning her MBA from the Harvard Business School, she spent 13 years at McKinsey and Company developing her brand building skills and experience - founding and leading McKinsey's media and entertainment practice; creating the business model and start-up strategy for ESPN for Getty Oil; directing Cablevision in the development of the original SportsChannel franchises as well as American Movie Classics; directing strategy and branding work for the USTA and USFL; and leading the turnaround and branding of urban cable systems for Times Mirror, Warner Amex, Cox and Cablevision among other assignments.
From 1990-1993, Sharon joined Cablevision as President and Chief Operating Officer of Rainbow Programming to convert the company from a Cablevision subsidiary into a standalone, self-financing company with a portfolio of branded assets. On Sharon's watch, 4 new channels were successfully launched: In Court (now Court TV) was created, the Bravo network was branded and repositioned, Rainbow's other networks doubled in size, revenues grew 58 percent to nearly $350 million, and operating income tripled, enabling the company to become profitable for the first time.
In 1994, Sharon founded her own company, The Sharon Patrick Company, to create and own highly branded media and merchandising businesses. She began by creating the Outdoor Life Network among other ventures. One of the clients of The Sharon Patrick Company was Martha Stewart who in 1993 was looking to Sharon to help her buy back her interests from Time Warner and help her build her own company. The two joined forces as founding partners to build, based on Sharon's "omnimedia" business model, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., the well known and highly branded $1.5 billion retail empire for the home. Sharon led the buyback of Martha Stewart Living from Time Warner to establish MSO and in 1998 became MSO's President and COO. In that capacity, she led the company's high-profile IPO, taking over as CEO in June 2003. At year-end 2004, mission accomplished, she resigned from MSO, returning to The Sharon Patrick Company full time once again pursuing her entrepreneurial interests in creating new, next-generation branded ventures capable of "doing good while doing well".
Jacqueline Reses
Partner, Apax Partners
Jacqueline Reses is a partner responsible for the media investment effort in the US. Recent investments include Thomson Learning, Thomson Nelson, The Learning Annex, Hit Entertainment, NEP Broadcasting, Intelsat and TVHead. Prior to joining Apax, Jackie served as the Chief Executive Officer of iBuilding, Inc., a real estate software business that was sold to Realeum. Previously, she was a principal at Doughty Hanson & Co. focusing on media and technology investments.
Prior to Doughty Hanson, she spent over seven years at Goldman Sachs as a Vice President in its Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory Group and Principal Investment area. Jackie is on the Investment Committee for the Peddie School and the Boards of Springboard Enterprises and Baby Buggy.
Apax Partners is one of the world's leading private equity investment groups. It operates across the United States, Europe, Israel and Asia and has more than 30 years of investing experience. Funds under the advice of Apax Partners total $35 billion around the world. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. Apax Partners funds invest in companies across its global sectors of technology and telecommunications, retail and consumer, media, health care and financial and business services.
Heidi Roizen
Founder, CEO and Chief Lyrical Officer, SkinnySongs
Until she suddenly decided to make a 180-degree career turn and follow her passion to create music that would motivate her (and others) to lose weight and get in shape, Heidi Roizen was a well-known technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Heidi has spent her entire life in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Silicon Valley, first as an entrepreneur and then as a venture capitalist. Now she is an entrepreneur again, as the founder, CEO and Chief Lyrical Officer of SkinnySongs.
Even as a child, Heidi was an entrepreneur, running a puppet theatre for children's parties and retail establishments from the early age of twelve until well into college. With the earnings from this and other jobs, she put herself through Stanford University, receiving both her BA and MBA degrees. After graduating in 1983, Heidi co-founded T/Maker Company, a software publisher and developer for early personal computers, including the IBM PC and the original Macintosh. As CEO, Heidi led the company for over a decade, raised two rounds of venture capital and ultimately consummated a successful acquisition of T/Maker by Deluxe Corporation. In 1996, she joined Apple Computer as VP of Worldwide Developer Relations. After one year at Apple, Heidi decided to return to her entrepreneurial roots, this time as a Mentor Capitalist and ultimately a Venture Capitalist at Mobius Venture Capital, where she served as a Managing Director from 1999 to 2007. In this capacity, she has served on more than 20 boards of companies ranging in size from 1 to 2,000 employees.
Muriel Siebert
Founder and President, Siebert Financial
Muriel is the founder and president of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) brokerage firm that bears her name, Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc. She established the firm in 1967 when she became the first woman member of the NYSE, and transformed the firm into a discount brokerage house on May 1, 1975, the first day that NYSE members were permitted to negotiate commissions.
Muriel continues to oversee the firm's day-to-day operations at its seven branches. The firm's Siebert Brandford Shank & Co., LLC municipal affiliate is ranked in the Top 25 Public Finance Firms in the country. Muriel started her career as a $65 a week trainee in research at Bache & Co., and became an industry specialist (airlines and aerospace). She later became a partner at Finkle & Co., as well as at Brimberg & Co.
Bernee Strom
CEO, The Strom Group
Bernee Strom has a worldwide reputation for successfully guiding technology firms from startup to mainstream success. Strom is chairman and CEO of Strom Group Inc, an investment, management consulting and business advisory firm and has served as president of InfoSpace Ventures, LLC, president and COO of InfoSpace, Incorporated and was founding CEO of Priceline.com.
Strom is a member of the Board of Directors at Hughes Electronics (NYSE), the Polaroid Corporation (NYSE) and ImageX.com (NASDAQ). She is a former director of Krug International (AMEX), DDL Electronics, Inc. (NYSE), Software Publishing Corporation (NASDAQ), InfoSpace (NASDAQ), iGrandparents.com, PassKey, and eLetter.com (private companies).
She serves on the Board of Advisors at J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University and the Women's Leadership Board of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and is a trustee of the National Public Radio Foundation.
Maggie Wilderotter
Chairman and CEO, Citizens Communications Company
Maggie became Chairman and CEO of Citizens Communications Company (NYSE: CZN) on January 1, 2006. She joined the company on November 1, 2004 as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. Before this, Maggie was Senior Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector at Microsoft, responsible for strengthening customer and partner outreach in the government and education markets, as well as working across Microsoft's business divisions on developing and coordinating forward-looking strategies.
Previously, Maggie was President and CEO of Wink Communications Inc., where she led efforts to develop low-cost, end-to-end e-commerce systems to enable advertisers, merchants, and broadcast and cable networks to create interactive enhancements for traditional television advertisements and programs. Before joining Wink, Maggie was the Executive Vice President of National Operations for AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. and Chief Executive Officer of AT&T's Aviation Communications Division. She also served as Senior Vice President of McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. and was a Regional President, managing the company's California, Nevada and Hawaii region.
Maggie has received national recognition for her contributions to the television industry. In 2000, the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) honored her outstanding work in the industry, awarding her the Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership. The award is the most prestigious of NCTA's national awards, recognizing the best and the brightest in cable television. The NCTA also gave her the award in 1989, making her one of only 20 individuals to have received two Vanguard Awards since the award's inception in 1965. In addition, she received the 1999 Outstanding Mentor Award from the Women in Cable & Telecommunications Foundation and its Top 10 Women in Cable & Telecommunications Award in 1989 for her support of the foundation and advocacy of women in the cable industry.
Amy Wildstein
Fund Manager, Boldcap Ventures, LLC
Amy Rosen Wildstein serves as the Fund Manager for Boldcap Ventures, LLC, a venture capital fund that invests in early to mid-stage women-led companies, primarily in the healthcare and technology sectors. Wildstein oversees the investment activities of the fund.
Prior to Boldcap, Wildstein served as a Principal of Solera Capital, which was formed in 1999. Prior to this position, she worked at Morgan Stanley, where she was responsible for evaluating potential acquisition candidates and structuring investments for Morgan Stanley's $2 billion investment fund.
Prior to Morgan Stanley, Wildstein worked with The Blackstone Group and focused on private equity investing and mergers and acquisitions. With this experience under her belt, Wildstein is able to play a crucial role for Boldcap's portfolio companies in developing and executing financial strategies, including public equity and debt financings, bank facilities and private equity placements. Amy has served on the Boards of Directors of companies in the media, healthcare information technology and consumer sectors.
Jura Zibas
President, Clear Springs
Jura Zibas is Vice Chair of Clear Springs, a wholly owned subsidiary of Investors Life Insurance Company. Jura oversees the development process of Clear Springs. Central to her role is identifying and selecting companies to receive funding and potentially locate their operations within Florida's I-4 technology corridor at Clear Springs. Alongside investments, she oversees the mixed use land developments on Clear Springs land.
Jura brings over 16 years of legal experience handling corporate transactions with a focus on intellectual property, litigation and business development. Her corporate and legal practice emphasized new business development via identifying and establishing joint venture partnerships and the protection of trademarks, patents and trade secrets. She has authored several industry journal articles on intellectual property business development and has edited textbooks and articles for several large legal publishers.
Penny Zuckerwise
President & CEO, Utendahl Capital Management
Penny Zuckerwise is the President & CEO of Utendahl Capital Management, L.P., a minority and women owned institutional asset management firm based in New York.
Previously, Penny was President & COO of Chancellor LGT Asset Management (formerly Citicorp Investment Management), a global money-management firm, and was responsible for over $50 billion in assets, including $4 billion in alternative asset funds. She has more than twenty years experience as a senior executive in the financial services industry.
Penny is also a Founder and Governing Board Member of Boldcap Ventures, LLC, one of the first New York women's venture capital funds that targets mid-stage private investments across the media, technology, and health care industries. She is currently a member of several boards including Automated Collection Control, Colspace and Boldcap Ventures. She is a former Director of The Lebenthal Funds, Boston Advisors, Miavita, Liechtenstein Global Trust Management, Chancellor LGT and Chancellor Capital Management.