CommNexus NextStage™
Panelists
The scrub team is assembled to meet your specific needs. CommNexus San Diego has access to executives from a wide range of industries and with expertise in all functions. Some of the executives that have participated in scrub sessions in the past include:
Franz X. Birkner, Rayspan Corporation, FXB Ventures - Franz X. Birkner is CEO of Rayspan Corporation, a wireless startup developing advanced air interface technologies, and he is a Managing Director of Express Ventures, a San Diego VC firm focused on early-stage high-tech ventures. Previously, he was a founding director of CommNexus, and he co-founded and was Chairman/CEO of ComStream Corp., a technology-leader in digital satellite communications. Prior to that, he was Vice-President Strategy Development of M/A-COM's Digital Communications Group, whose business units included Linkabit and Digital Communications Corp.
James Brailean, Ph.D., PacketVideo - Dr. James Brailean is the chief executive officer and co-founder of PacketVideo, the number one supplier of embedded multimedia solutions for mobile phones and other devices in the world. A scientist who led the development of the MPEG-4 standards for transmission of video and audio over wireless networks, Dr. Brailean has also worked for Motorola and Hughes Aircraft (Space and Communications Group).
Bill Carpenter, Tech Coast Angels - Bill Carpenter is dedicated to growing early stage technology companies in San Diego. A founding board member of the Tech Coast Angels, he leads the deal screening process. He has also been CEO of three local hardware and software companies, and now serves on the board of three companies. Bill is a director of the Chairmen's Roundtable, as well as the Social Venture Partners, a venture philanthropy group.
Sangeet Chowfla, Timeline Ventures - Sangeet Chowfla is a partner with Timeline Ventures. He has 25 years of broad, diversified experience covering General Management, Product management, Channel development, Partner marketing and Sales. Extensive international experience in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Residence in India, Dubai, Germany, Singapore and the US. As General Manager of Hewlett Packard, he has led a fast growing start-up division to a four-fold increase in world wide revenues. As Division Marketing Manager, he led the start up of a new marketing entity and entry/development of a new printer category. Sangeet currently serves as Executive Chairman of TechnoCom Inc, a provider of location support systems to wireless carriers and location service providers, and on the Board of Emagia Inc., a provider of enterprise cash management solutions.
Mark Dankberg, ViaSat Inc. - Mark Dankberg is Chairman, CEO, and a co-founder of ViaSat Inc. In 2000 Mark was named Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" in San Diego, and was honored as 2003 "Satellite Executive of the Year" by Via Satellite magazine, the leading trade publication for the satellite communications industry. Mark has influenced the development of several satellite communication standards and holds several patents on these technologies as well.
Martha Dennis, Ph.D., Gordian Knot – Dr. Martha Dennis has been a telecommunications technologist and entrepreneur as well as a venture capitalist during her 35 year career. Most recently she was with Windward Ventures. She co-founded Pacific Communications Sciences, Inc., and Waveware Communications after heading up software development at Linkabit Corp. She serves on the advisory boards of several San Diego companies and chairs the board of Netsapiens. She also chairs the San Diego Commission on Science and Technology and is board President of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. She is Past Board President of CommNexus, the Bishops School and UCSD Athena. She serves on the boards of Harvey Mudd College, the San Diego Foundation, and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, and on the advisory boards of the UCSD Rady School of Management, the SDSU College of Engineering, and the Smith College Picker Engineering Program. She also serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at CONNECT’s Springboard Program and a member of the Chairmen’s Roundtable. Her doctorate is in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University.
Larry Fromm, Chaos Telecom - Larry Fromm is a season technology executive. Currently CEO of Chaos Telecom, he previously held executive positions at Widcomm (acquired by Broadcom), CELLIT Technologies (acquired by Davox), and Dialogic (acquired by Intel). Larry is a member of the NextStage steering committee.
Thomas Hartman, Ventana Capital Management – Tom Hartman is an Entrepreneur-In-Residence and key member of Ventana’s venture team where he screens investment opportunities and advises portfolio companies. His background includes corporate, entrepreneurial, senior executive, board, and advisory experiences in numerous industry segments. Tom specializes in the application of wireless, network, software, and Internet technologies over a wide range of industries ranging from telecommunications to consumer products and energy. He is currently involved with several early stage companies both developing and deploying media production, exchange, storage, and distribution technologies.
Jeff Hultman - From 1987 to 1991, Jeff Hultman served as CEO of Pac Tel Cellular where he managed Pac Tel cellular properties in the United States and oversaw operations and business development which included over 2,500 employees in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco. During his tenure as CEO, revenues increased from $100 million to over $1 billion in three years. He directed Pac Tel's successful efforts to win the West Germany and United Kingdom PCS licenses over a dozen other applicants on the strength of a superior business plan and detailed technical system design for both countries. Mr. Hultman attained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Economics in 1961 and Master of Science Degree, in Business Management in 1962, at the University of California, Davis. He currently serves a director on the board of several organizations including Comarco Inc., an Irvine, CA-based wireless performance engineering company.
Mike Krenn, DLAPiper Venture Pipeline - Mike Krenn is Managing Director of the DLAPiper Venture Pipeline - a business unit that is specifically focused on helping early stage companies raise venture capital. In the past five years, Mike has read thousands of business plans, met with hundreds of venture capital firms, and has helped more than 40 companies raise start-up capital. Mike was also a founding board member and founding executive director of both the Tech Coast Angels and CommNexus. He is a member of the NextStage steering committee.
Mike McKeever, Founders Capital Partners - Mike is a seasoned industry executive, having served in such positions as: CEO, Qwest-IBM Broadband Hosting Services; VP Corporate Business Development, Qwest Communications; CEO, Global Data Security Inc.; and Executive sponsor of Qwest Strategic VC business unit. His areas of expertise include: Telecommunications, networking and the Internet. Strategic venture capital. Applications, ASPs and SaaS. Enterprise software, supply chain, banking and financial services. B2B, B2C, JVs and Partnerships.
Rory Moore - Rory Moore is a serial entrepreneur. He is the founding CEO of Silicon Wave (acquired NASDAQ:RFMD), founding VP and CFO of Peregrine Semiconductor (pre-IPO), and co-founder of e-Fire.com (deceased), Optical River(deceased) and Moore-Kent AC (acquired by NYSE: BER). He is CEO of CommNexus, and the co-chair of the SDTC Military SIG. Additionally, Rory is pilot with almost 2000 hours of aerobatic and air show flying.
Hiep Pham - Hiep Pham was the founder, Chairman, CEO and President of WIDCOMM Inc. (Acquired in 2004 by Broadcom). WIDCOMM was the leading global provider of Bluetooth software, systems and turnkey designs, installed in more than 100 end products from more than 80 customers. Hiep also founded Uniden San Diego, a division of the Japanese wireless electronics leader Uniden, and served as its president and CEO, generating $300 million in revenue. Hiep was a senior Director for Hughes Network Systems in charge of wireless cellular and satellite base station developments. Hiep received Ernst & Young's prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Telecommunication Award (2002) and also received the Southern California’s BridgeGate 20 Award. Hiep currently serves on the Board of Directors for the San Diego Opera.
Mark Steele, Symbol Technologies - Mark Steele is Vice President, Worldwide OEM for Symbol Technologies, Inc. He is responsible for providing Symbol technology to OEM customers around the world. These technologies include data capture, wireless, mobile computing, RFID and other emerging technologies that enable OEMs to develop leading-edge Enterprise Mobility solutions. Mark has 25 years of computing and communications industry experience with companies that include IBM, Qualcomm, Gateway, PCSI and Airprime. Mark is also the Chairman of CommNexus.
Marco Thompson, Express Ventures - Marco Thompson is a serial entrepreneur and early stage mentor. He is the founder of Doctor Design (purchased by Wind River), and is currently the CTO of Wind River Services. In addition, Marco is a Managing Partner of Express Ventures, a "pre-series A" fund focused exclusively on startup technology entrepreneurs in San Diego. Marco is the Vice-Chair of the Board of Connect, the former chair of CommNexus, and is a member of the Chairman’s Roundtable and the Executive Committee of the UCSD Connect program.
Stephen Tomlin, Avalon Ventures - Stephen Tomlin is a Managing Member of Avalon Ventures. Stephen has been an entrepreneur, senior executive and investor in wireless technology, biotechnology and Internet industries for over 15 years. Previously, Mr. Tomlin was a Vice-President of America Online, Inc. Prior to that he was a co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of PersonaLogic, Inc., a Web-based e-commerce navigation company, that America Online acquired in November 1998.
