“Early financial sources and assessment”
Moderator Biography
Al Delia
President & CEO - North Carolina’s Eastern Region
Al Delia serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of North Carolina’s Eastern
Region (NCER) in Kinston, NC. North Carolina’s Eastern Region is one of seven
economic development partnerships in North Carolina. It is governed by a 19-member
Board of Commissioners, with six of its members appointed by the NC Legislature
based on recommendations made by the Governor, Speaker of the House and President
Pro Tem of the Senate and 13 members appointed by each county commission in the
13-county region.
Prior to assuming his position with NCER, Al served as Director of Federal Relations
in the Office of the Chancellor at East Carolina University (ECU). His duties included representing ECU’s
interests before the U.S. Congress and federal funding agencies. Al also worked closely with several
professional societies to inform Congress and federal funding and regulatory agencies regarding ECU’s policy
and regulatory interests. Among the issues Al has championed before Congress are the creation of the
SouthEast Crescent Authority (SECA), funding for medical research in racial disparities in cardio-vascular
disease; funding to conduct a comprehensive geological survey of the North Carolina Outer Banks; funding for
university research to defend against chemical and biological weapons; and funding to develop “smart” military
uniforms that will diagnose and treat wounded and injured soldiers on the battlefield.
Al served for over ten years as Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, Economic Development and
Community Engagement at East Carolina University. He was appointed to that position in 1993. In that role,
he provided direction and oversight for the university’s units involved in public service and public outreach
related to economic and community development. These included the Regional Development Institute, the
Small Business and Technology Development Center, the Center for Applied Technology, the Survey Research
Laboratory, and the Japan Center – East.
Al served with the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center – first as Director of
the Eastern Regional Office at East Carolina University, then as Associate State Director at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Before making North Carolina his home, Al helped found a non-profit company to finance small to medium
sized businesses in New Jersey.
He is a political science graduate of Drew University in Madison, NJ.
Al is very involved in community affairs in Greenville and throughout eastern North Carolina. He has served on
the Executive Board of the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce, is a founding member of the Board
of Directors of the Eastern North Carolina Regional Science Center, was a founding member of the Global
TransPark Development Zone Commission (now North Carolina’s Eastern Region), and is on the Board of
Directors of the American Association of Retirement Communities, where he is currently serving as Treasurer
and a member of the Executive Committee.
“Early financial sources and assessment”
Speaker Biographies
Merrill Mason
Partner - Smith & Anderson
Keynote Speaker
As a partner at Smith and Anderson, Merrill Mason has extensive experience representing technology
and life sciences companies - he represents companies at all stages of development with particular
emphasis on emerging and entrepreneurial enterprises.
Prior to joining Smith Anderson, Merrill co-founded Triangle-based Hutchison & Mason in 1996 where
his leadership helped the firm grow to 20 lawyers specializing in meeting the general corporate needs of
technology and life sciences companies.
Passionate about working with developing entrepreneurs and law students, Merrill has taught as an
adjunct instructor at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the
University Of North Carolina School Of Law.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of Council for Entrepreneurial Development and, Executive
Committee of Council for Entrepreneurial Development. Merrill is the author of published articles,
“Nobody Said There Would Be Math” and “Valuation of a Start-Up Business – Art Not Science.”
Steven Casey
Director of Business Development - North Carolina Biotechnology Center
As part of the Biotechnology Center's Business and Technology Development Unit, Steve Casey is
responsible for planning, developing, directing and carrying out programs and service activities
necessary to provide business related assessments on behalf of companies requesting loan support from
the Biotechnology Center.
Prior to joining the Biotechnology Center, Steve was the Founder and former Chief Operating Officer
for Expression Analysis, a company that provides gene expression, genotyping and resequencing
services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology company’s discovery and clinical trial efforts. Before
starting Expression Analysis, Steve was a Manager with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke
University and served in the U.S. Air Force for more than 20 years and was discharged with honors in
1996.
Steve received his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Wayland Baptist University and
his MBA from Elon College in 2001.
David P. Rizzo
President & CEO - NC IDEA
David Rizzo brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in general management, strategic
planning, acquisitions and divestitures, and corporate finance and investment in technology-based
business environments to NC IDEA. In 2002, David joined MCNC, a private, non-profit created to be a
catalyst for technology-based economic development throughout North Carolina. He led the company as
president and chief executive officer through a restructuring that resulted in the spin-off of MCNC
Research & Development Institute (now NC IDEA, since 2005).
Prior to his career with MCNC, David founded Osprey Systems in 1992, a successful Charlotte-based
company which designed, developed, deployed and managed application technology solutions. This
entrepreneurial spirit lured him away from a thriving 13-year career at IBM serving as the Trading Area General Manager for
the $800M business operations of North and South Carolina.
David has a B.A. in economics from William and Mary and has studied at the Wharton School’s Financial Services Institute and
the Brookings Public Policy Institute.
Andy Burch
President - Carolina Securities
Andy Burch, founder and current President of Carolina Securities, manages the company's investment
banking services. He also serves as Vice President of Calvert Research Institute.
Andy holds numerous securities and real estate licenses. He has spent his career in the fund
management and investment banking industry and has served as President of Triangle (NC) Bank &
Trust and Senior VP of BB&T (NC).
Andy earned his BS in Business Administration at ECU in 1973, then in 1981 graduated from the
School of Banking at LSU. He is also a graduate of the Young Executives Program at UNC. In
Andy's spare time, you can find him outdoors on the golf course.
Will Corbitt
Eastern NC Investor Network
William S. Corbitt III has been involved for over 32 years in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology
industry in many different capacities, including QA compliance, FDA interaction, validation, auditing,
training, the QC laboratory, supervision, QA/Production liaison, and consulting.
In addition to employment at Burroughs Wellcome, GlaxoWellcome and Catalytica, his clients have
included GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, CardinalHealth, Metrics, Valera Pharmaceuticals, Allergy
Laboratories, AmerisourceBergen and Dell Labs.
He also currently serves on the initial Board of Directors of The Clinical Trial Management Group
(CTMG), the Board of Directors of Entegrion, as Treasurer of The Pitt County Memorial Hospital
Foundation Board and on the local Advisory Board of RBC Centura Bank.
Will graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1974 with a Chemistry degree
and also received his MBA from East Carolina University in 1981.
“Early financial sources and assessment”
Panelist Biographies
Stan Eskridge
President & CEO - Entegrion
E.S. (Stan) Eskridge, Jr. is a founder of Entegrion and serves the company as President and CEO. He brings an extensive
background in entrepreneurial business development and management to Entegrion. Starting in 1977 with the formation of his
first company, Stan has enjoyed hands-on experience in nearly every aspect of business operations, with special emphasis on
business planning, capital formation, business development, strategic alliances, and marketing.
An early participant in the venture capital world, Stan led The Aviation Group from raw start-up in 1977, through major venture
investment, and to IPO in just four years. The company ultimately formed the core of today’s massive UPS overnight lift
system. Subsequently, he shifted his focus to providing the efficiency of off-site manufacturing to repetitive construction
programs and developed a patented system for non-combustible modular construction still in use in the fast food industry today.
These ventures were followed by a shift to technology programs, especially those involving the enhancement of communications
between manufacturers and consumers, both corporate and individual. At the forefront of developing applications for newly
emerging technologies including CD-ROM, interactive (touch screen) TV, and the Internet, Stan gained valuable experiences
and relationships in building programs and working with some of the country’s most notable corporations.
Stan utilizes his extensive network of contacts and business relationships to insure that Entegrion has access to the resources it
needs to advance its programs on a timely basis. As a result of his efforts, Entegrion has achieved substantial equity financing
from individual investors, as well as substantial non-equity funding from direct Congressional appropriations and the US
military. In addition, the company has formed productive relationships with contract manufacturers, collaborators, consultants,
and other service providers that enable Entegrion to develop its products while maintaining a tightly-knit, low cost management
overhead.
Stan most recently led in the development of a remarkable new “textile system” technology that is the basis for low-cost
bandages for serious bleeding that significantly reduce blood loss. It is anticipated that Entegrion will initiate commercial
revenue operations with these products during 2007.
David P. Rizzo
President & CEO - NC IDEA
(Please refer to “Speaker Biographies”)