Luncheon Keynote: "Building an Innovation & Entrepreneurial Economy in Upstate New York"
Christine B. Whitman, Chairman, CEO, and President
Complemar Partners, Inc.
Christine Whitman is Chairman, CEO & President of Complemar Partners, Inc, an integrated logistics and supply chain management company with operations in Rochester and Buffalo, NY and Sparks, Nevada. She also serves as the Managing Partner of CSW Equity Partners, where she oversees a portfolio of equity investments in early stage companies. From 1990 to 2000, she served as Chairman, CEO and President of CVC, Inc., a worldwide supplier of thin film process equipment used in the manufacture of magnetic recording heads for disk drives, advanced semiconductor devices and optical components. During this period, the company grew annual revenue ~10X. In 1999, she led a successful IPO for the company and 2000 she completed the sale of CVC, Inc. to Veeco Instruments.
Ms. Whitman serves as Chairman of the Boards of Soleo Communications, Inc. and OneStream Networks. She also serves on the board of Voiceport ,LLC. She is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Rochester Institute of Technology and serves on RIT's Venture Creation Board. She is a founder of the Greater Rochester Enterprise and the Rochester Angel Network. She is past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Rochester Museum and Science Center, serves on the Board of Trustees of the George Eastman House and serves as a member of the Board of High Technology of Rochester.
She is an American Vacuum Society Fellow and a past President of the Association of Vacuum Equipment Manufacturers. She has previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of SEMI/SEMATECH, the Industrial Management Council and the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce. Additionally she has served on the Board of Directors of Frontier Telephone of Rochester and on the Board of M&T Bank. Ms. Whitman is a graduate of Syracuse University.
Presenter Bios
- Scott Bass, President
Advanced Language Translation Inc.
Scott Bass is the founder and current president of Advanced Language Translation Inc., a technical translation and localization services provider. With over 20 years of experience in corporate language services, Scott currently handles R&D and key accounts, working with customers to find the best technical and language solutions for their organizations.
Scott has presented at regional and national conferences for the Society of Technical Communications and American Translators Association on topics covering translation quality management, localization strategies and Web 2.0 technologies.
Scott has a Bachelor of Arts degree in German Language and Chemistry from the University of New York at Binghamton and has a Master's degree in German Studies from the University of Rochester. He has lived, studied and worked in both Austria and Germany.
Scott is currently the vice president of the International Business Council of Greater Rochester. He is also a member of the American Translators' Association, and the Society for Technical Communications.
- Brian Bluff, President & Co-Founder
Site-Seeker Inc.
Brian Bluff is the President and Co-Founder of Site-Seeker, Inc., a Central New York based Internet Marketing Firm that has been recognized as being one of New York's fastest growing small businesses. Together with his brother and Co-Founder Eddie Bluff - Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Brian has grown the company into a successful source of search engine marketing solutions, with offices and employees in three states.
Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Brian studied Micro-Electric Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology. After earning his Bachelor's degree and spending several years in the United States Navy; Brian went on to work for some of the countries most successful companies including; Pfizer, M&T Bank, and PAR Technology - where he held several Vice President positions, including Vice President of Marketing at Rome Research Corporation and Vice President/General Manager of PAR Logistics Management Systems – the company that pioneered the asset tracking industry. In 2000, Brian went on to start his first business, TCO Inc. As a provider of Internet marketing solutions, TCO, Inc. became one of the first of its kind in Central New York, offering clients a competitive advantage online through the use of consulting, online marketing, and the Thomas Industrial Network.
Today, Brian shares the secrets of Internet marketing on the national stage, traveling throughout the U.S. and Canada to speak at trade shows, seminars, and association meetings. In the last year, Brian has been invited to speak at the 2009 Product Development Management Association national meeting, Export New York, and Going Global, to name a few.
- Victor Cardona, Partner
Heslin Rothenberg
Farley & Mesiti P.C.
Victor A. Cardona is a partner with Intellectual Property law firm, Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C., and is a co-chair and co-founder of the firm's Cleantech Group. He has been a driving force behind the Group's signature Clean Energy Patent Growth Index which tracks innovations in the Clean Energy area along with the top patent owners, countries and U.S. states for Clean Energy patents. He has spoken and written about this topic in various venues.
Victor is experienced in enforcing, and procuring protection for, all types of Intellectual Property including patents, trademarks and copyrights. Prior to joining the firm in 1999, Victor gained valuable experience as an Environmental Engineer with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation where he spent over six years evaluating the feasibility, effectiveness and implementation of environmental remediation technologies. Victor also has extensive experience in procuring overseas Intellectual property protection for the firm's clients, which is enhanced by his knowledge of Italian.
Victor graduated with a Juris Doctorate cum laude from Albany Law School and has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University with a concentration in Environmental Engineering. He is admitted to the New York State Bar and is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Victor can be contacted at vac@hrfmlaw.com and further information regarding the Cleantech Group at Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti is available at www.cleantechintellectualproperty.com or www.hrfmlaw.com.
- Prof. Steve Chapin
CASE/CISAT, Syracuse University
Steve Chapin received a dual B.S. degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Heidelberg College, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from Purdue University. He has served on the faculties of Kent State University and the University of Virginia, and is currently an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Syracuse University where, he is a key member of the Center for Information Security Assurance and Trust (CISAT). Prior to that, he served as Director of the Center for Systems Assurance, which was selected as an NSA Center of Excellence in Information Assurance Education. In addition, he headed the Rome AFRL Red Team, which performs ethical hacking to test DARPA research projects. His research focuses on the applied side of computer and network security and information assurance, including security auditing, intrusion detection, and Red Teaming (ethical hacking).
- David Eilers, Vice President, Business Development
Blue Highway LLC, a Welch Allyn Company
David J. Eilers is Vice President of Business Development at Blue Highway LLC, an advanced R&D subsidiary of Welch Allyn Company. Throughout his twenty-five year career, Dave Eilers has been a goal-oriented enterprise leader who enjoys pioneering new products as well as opening new markets worldwide.
Mr. Eilers has experience with Consumer Goods such as leading the introduction and roll-out of Personal Pan Pizza for Pizza Hut and opening new markets for Hathaway Division of Warnaco.
His experience in Durable Goods is as diverse as home satellite dishes and commercial chinaware for Syracuse China / Libbey Foodservice.
Mr. Eilers' current interest is applying an Open Innovation business model to Diagnostic Healthcare – bridging the gap between invention and market introduction. Dave was one of three founders of Blue Highway LLC. Blue Highway is dedicated to creating innovative, intellectual capital through early detection and diagnosis of adverse health conditions, aggregation of data to enhance clinical outcomes, and comprehensive, clinical decision support.
Prior to joining Blue Highway in 2008, Mr. Eilers held numerous senior management roles in Marketing, including Vice President of Brand Development at InterV Medical Group, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at B.G. Sulzle, Director of Marketing at Syracuse China Corp., and Director of Marketing at G.A. Braun. He was also Principal at NexTech Consulting and USA General Manager at Tenaz Import/Export Corp.
Dave is involved in several organizations, including Licensing Executives Society, NY Chapter; CNY Medtech, Marketing Committee; CNY International Business Alliance, Founding Member; Upstate New York Export Council, US Department of Commerce; Hiawatha Council, Boy Scouts of America, Executive Committee; and Eastern Hills Church, Past Chairman/ Board of Elders.
Mr. Eilers graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing/Communications.
- Alan Gross, VP of Operations
Currier Plastics
Al has spent upwards of 29 years in industry, most applying the elements of lean thinking to large scale change challenges in (mostly) manufacturing, but also R&D, Sales and Education.
He spent 17 years at Kodak, culminating with the most significant kaizen event successfully pulled off there, taking 20 machines, arranged in a batch and queue mode, off the floor and reorienting them for single piece flow in three days. Al moved to lead Webster Plastics' transformation to a multi-award winning organization with unprecedented profitability in the plastics industry.
Al is now four plus years into a similar experience at Currier Plastics Inc., as VP of Operations in a mid-sized injection, blow molding and assembly company in Central New York. Currier Plastics just was presented the 2009 AME Manufacturing Excellence Award for the Mid-Atlantic region.
Al graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University at Buffalo. He since dabbled in various graduate courses there, at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester. He also taught in the Masters of Manufacturing Leadership program at RIT.
- Chuck Miller, Vice President
Mohawk Global Trade Advisors
Chuck Miller is Vice President of Mohawk Global Trade Advisors. MGTA provides project support and training in all aspects of managing global supply and distribution networks, international trade compliance, and logistics. Prior to joining MGTA, Chuck previously held a number of engineering and supply management executive positions with United Technologies Corporation. He also founded and operated a highly successful supply chain management consulting practice providing support to a number of US and international companies in the areas of strategic sourcing, supply management, supplier quality management and supplier risk management. He has managed strategic sourcing projects across a broad range of commodity categories with suppliers in China, Russia, Europe, Latin America, and the US. Chuck is currently also an adjunct faculty member at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.
Educational Background:
MS, Engineering Management, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
BS, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
- Glen Pataja, Vice President of System Technology Development
Pall Corporation
Glen attended Michigan Technological University where he received a MS in Engineering Mechanics. He started his career in Seattle with Boeing; and before landing in Central New York, had stops in Minnesota and Australia, working in the Mining Industry.
Glen has been with Pall Corporation for the past 19 years, and has held the key technical role in the development of a new Division for Pall, the Pall Advanced Separations Systems. He served as president of that division for many years and is now VP of System Technology Development for Pall. Glen also serves on the Board of the CNY Technology Development Organization (CNYTDO).
- Scott Spanfelner, Director of Operations
Welch Allyn, Inc.
Scott Spanfelner is a Director of Operations for Welch Allyn, Inc., one of the world's leading manufacturers of innovative medical diagnostic equipment and flexible patient monitoring systems headquartered in Skaneateles Falls, New York.
Mr. Spanfelner first joined Welch Allyn in 1987 and has held positions in a variety of disciplines including New Product Development/R&D, Business Unit Management, Production Engineering and Manufacturing Management, Marketing, Business Development, Partnership and Joint Venture Management, Strategic Sourcing and Operations/Supply Chain. Most recently, Mr. Spanfelner has lead facility consolidation and development projects including closure and relocation of the Welch Allyn Arden, NC operation, development of the Welch Allyn de Mexico facility, and the current expansion and renovation project in progress at the Welch Allyn corporate headquarters located in Skaneateles Falls, NY.
Mr. Spanfelner received a BS from Rochester Institute of Technology in Mechanical Engineering in 1987.
Pitchfest Investor Bios
- Armand Balboni PhD, JD, Partner and Managing Director of Investment Banking
Bloom Burton & Co.
Armand Balboni, partner and managing director of investment banking, acts as the scientific and legal due diligence expert of Bloom Burton & Co. Prior to joining Bloom Burton, Dr. Balboni was a member of the Dundee Securities Healthcare and Biotechnology Investment Banking Group. Dr. Balboni was a Scientific Advisor in the life sciences group of a patent law firm in New York City from 2001-2003 where he prosecuted patents in technologies including small molecule drugs, antibodies, molecular assays, protein chemistry, human cardiovascular diseases, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, and neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, Dr. Balboni has consulted with clients regarding current FDA regulations and filing requirements for generic drugs and medical devices.
Dr. Balboni completed his doctoral work in the M.D./Ph.D. program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University and his J.D. at Brooklyn Law School in New York. With active faculty appointments in the U.S. and as an officer in the U.S. Army, Medical Service Corp, Dr. Balboni continues translational research of disorders of the head and neck.
- Craig Buckhout, Principal
Rockbridge Investment Management
Craig is a principal in Rockbridge Investment Management, an independent SEC registered investment advisory firm based in Syracuse, NY, managing investment portfolios for a broad spectrum of clients. Craig earned an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University where he also earned his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics. Additionally, he is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Craig's professional experience includes a seven-year period as President of the insurance and financial services subsidiaries of Dairylea Cooperative and more than a decade with Agway where his responsibilities included operational and corporate management, financial management and bank relations, and mergers and acquisitions.
While investing client assets only in well-functioning capital markets, Craig enjoys the contrast provided by his participation in the Seed Capital Fund of Central New York, which invests in technology related start-up companies in the region.
- Dennis DeLeo, Partner
Trillium Group
A founding partner of Trillium, Denny previously held Kodak management positions as vice president and general manager of the Bioscience and Emerging Businesses Division and vice president, general manager of the Image Acquisition Products Division. He also served as president and CEO of Eastman Technology, Inc., a Kodak subsidiary formed to launch businesses based on new technologies. As chief executive, he had overall profit-and-loss accountability and managed a portfolio of more than a dozen new ventures.
At Trillium, he is responsible for managing the Monroe Fund and is a managing director of Trillium Lakefront Partners III. He holds a B.A. from the University of Rochester, a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, and he completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. He is a former member of the SUNY Patent Policy board, a former vice chairman of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Board, and a former board member of Genencor International. He currently serves on the board of directors for Scene Genesis, Inc.
- Rami Y. Katz, Chief Operating Officer
Excell Partners, Inc.
Rami Katz is the Chief Operating Officer for Excell Partners, Inc. Prior to joining Excell, Rami served as the Director of Technology Commercialization at High Tech Rochester where he worked closely with entrepreneurs, researchers and start-up firms to evaluate the commercial potential of new technologies. He managed the creation of over 50 business plans that led to raising over $40M in capital from venture capital and angel investors as well as government grants.
Rami is an attorney that led a litigation, banking and corporate law practice in Israel, managing a legal team that directed the restructure of over $14M in corporate and asset backed debt annually, while growing the group's revenues by over 300%.
After launching his own legal and management consulting practice in Israel, Rami was one the founding members of a seed-stage investment group, investing in seed and pre-seed stage ventures and providing financial and business development management to the startups in the group's portfolio. The team launched 12 high-tech startups that were focused on advanced materials, internet technologies, consumer electronics and medical devices.
Rami earned his MBA from the University of Rochester and his law degree from the Tel-Aviv University in Israel.
- William Kilroy, Managing Partner
Portal Capital
Bill a graduate from University School in Hunting Valley, OH, later received his undergraduate degree from The University of Connecticut and subsequently an MBA from Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Business. He first worked for the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse's New Business Development and later in Corporate Finance in Cleveland's Middle Market Group practice.
Bill eventually moved on to assume the positions of Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Kilroy Company from his father, Ted Kilroy. The Kilroy Company was first founded by Bill's Grandfather in 1918. The Kilroy Company was well recognized as one of the premier names throughout the Midwest in commercial building steel erection and fabrication. The company later diversified into oil and gas exploration as well as other manufacturing enterprises including transportation, machining, plastics, and venture capital. The Kilroy Company gradually divested of its historic holdings and began to refocus the company's efforts on manufacturing: effectively launching the third generation of leadership. Since 1995, under Bill's leadership, the company has acquired businesses in the aerospace, power generation, and medical implant device manufacturing markets. The company's current headquarters is located in Mentor, Ohio.
In 1997 Bill had the distinct honor of being chosen as one of a group of elite business leaders featured in Cleveland Crain's Business newspaper's yearly feature 40 under 40 . In 2001 he was again honored as a finalist in the Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Bill is an active member in the Cleveland chapter of the Young Presidents Organization. He is also a member of the National Tooling and Machining Association. In addition he is a charter member of Cleveland's North Coast Angel Fund, a venture incubating fund for Northeast, OH based development stage companies.
- Melanie Littlejohn, Regional Executive Director for Energy Solutions Delivery, for Central New York
National Grid
Melanie Littlejohn was appointed Regional Executive Director for Energy Solutions Delivery, for Central New York at National Grid in March 2005. In her role Melanie is responsible for management of commercial and industrial customers, including customer satisfaction and customer advocacy as well as customer project management. In addition Ms. Littlejohn is responsible for managing the company's external relationships with community leaders, organizations, and local business associations.
National Grid is an international electricity and gas company and one of the largest investor-owned utilities in the world. In the United States National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 4.4 million customers in the Northeast as well as manages the electricity network on Long Island for the Long Island Power Authority. The company also provides natural gas to 3.4 million customers in the United States. National Grid owns and operates the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales and is Great Britain's principal natural gas transportation provider.
Prior to being named to her current position, Ms. Littlejohn was the Director of Inclusion & Diversity-US Operations. She joined the company (then Niagara Mohawk) in April of 1994 and was responsible for the company's overall strategy for Inclusion & Diversity and Compliance.
Prior to joining Niagara Mohawk, Ms. Littlejohn was the Executive Director, Urban League Onondaga County. Before joining the Urban League, she was the Manager of International Client Services for Banker's Trust Company in the Wall Street District.
Ms. Littlejohn currently serves as a Trustee of Onondaga County Community College, Director Central New York Community Foundation, Director and Former Board Chair- Boys & Girls Club Central New York, The Downtown Committee and The Community Wide Dialogue Advisory board. Previously, Ms. Littlejohn served on numerous boards such as Onondaga Community College Foundation, Hospice, Interfaith Works, Community Folk Art Center, the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Center and the United Way to name a few. She also was a part of a consortium of HIV-AIDS educators who developed an education program targeted toward the African American Community. Ms.
Littlejohn has also received numerous awards such as the 25 Influential Black Women in Business-2011, 2011 Community Wide Dialogue Racial Justice Award, 2010 NAACP, Freedom Award, 40 Below, YWCA Diversity Achievers, Marjorie Dowdell Fortitude, Omega Psi Phi, Citizen of the Year Award and has served as a judge for New York's Creative Core Competition for Emerging Businesses and as a facilitator for the Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism
Ms. Littlejohn has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from the State University of New York @ StonyBrook and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management. In addition she was selected to participate in National Grid's Developing Future Business Leader's program administered by the London Center for High Performance. She resides in Syracuse, New York, with her husband, David, and two sons, Jared and Cameron.
- Spencer Schneider, JD
Principal & Managing Director, Speyside
Consultant, Bloom Burton & Co.
Spencer is a principal and the managing director of Speyside. He is also a consultant to Bloom Burton & Co. as an attorney with particular expertise in intellectual property-related transactional matters. Previously he was an associate at Dewey & LeBoeuf in the intellectual property group of the litigation department, associate at Ropes & Gray in the intellectual property group of the corporate department, and associate at Cooper & Dunham in the patent prosecution group.
Spencer received his BA in Biology from Columbia College, his MS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from New York Medical College, and his JD from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Spencer is an attorney admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, United States District Court of New York (Southern and Eastern Districts) and United States Patent and Trademark Office.
