CRDF U.S. Business Advisory Board
The CRDF U.S. Business Advisory Board assists us in accomplishing our mission of expanding
U.S.-Eurasian science & technology business linkages by improving Eurasian S&T entrepreneur
readiness to enter the U.S. marketplace. Our Business Advisory Board Members are leading
North American business executives from a variety of S&T business development professions,
including investors, company owners and marketing and financial consultants.
Joel Coulter
Senior Consultant
EchoStorm Worldwide, LLC
Joel Coulter has been a serial entrepreneur since working on
eLearning and eGov initiatives at the Department of State, NASA,
Federal Aviation Agency and other agencies for several years. Over
the last 12 years he has worked with various small businesses to win contracts with Federal and
state agencies mostly in the Homeland Security, Emergency Management, and Critical
Infrastructure areas. These contracts focused on addressing clients cross domain web
collaboration enterprise and tactical interoperability data sharing requirements. During this time,
Joel set up U.S. and international small business technology partnerships developing and
marketing custom Critical Incident Response Toolkit and web collaboration enterprise solutions
for clients that were marketed and sold to Joint Forces/Coalition and state agencies through
disaster exercises, Mobile Emergency Operations Centers, and Government White Papers.
Currently Joel is working for EchoStorm, Inc. in Dahlgren, Virginia, whose
mobile/portable video sensor enterprise management solution is DOD’s Full Motion Video
standard for Unmanned Vehicles in low bandwidth environments. As a result of a recent DHS
contract award to EchoStorm, he is working to advance the R&D, assessment and testing of next
generation web collaboration, visualization, sensor, and IPv6 enabled solutions for the Joint
Forces and Coalition Disaster Exercise Interoperability team at Dahlgren, VA, where U.S.
Eurasian Australian, and Canadian groups showcase their small business technology Innovations
in various natural and man-made disaster simulation exercises.
George Crosby
SCORE
Currently residing in Silicon Valley, George Crosby is a
lecturer and counselor to entrepreneurs with SCORE. Mr. Crosby was
formerly with Quad Systems, Inc. a surface mount assembly equipment
manufacturer, where he served as Chairman of the Board & CEO.
Among his accomplishments are turning a losing company into a profitable one in one year. He
increased the sales to $22 million worldwide and took it public two years later through an IPO.
Formerly the President of Philips Electronics Instruments, Inc., a scientific equipment
manufacturer and distributor of NV Philips analytical instrument products, he increased U. S.
sales from $10 million to more than $20 million. Philips Electronics Instruments, Inc. also
developed and manufactured x-ray diffraction equipment, and sold and serviced electron
microscopes, gas chromatographs, and x-ray spectrometers. Formerly the President of United
States Robots, Inc., a manufacturer of assembly robots, he took over management of a Hillman
financed startup and sold it to Square D within a year. He remained President for one more year
following the sale.
Robert Dinkel
Executive VP
FedResults
Bob Dinkel has over 25 years of experience in the software and services
industry with both large and small firms. Mr. Dinkel is currently the Executive
Vice President of FedResults in Herndon, Virginia. Formerly, Bob Dinkel was
Senior Alliances Manager within Computer Associate’s Federal Division. At
CA he has held various management positions covering product sales and services in a number of
key business locations which include Chicago, Long Island (corporate) & VA. He joined CA in
1984 upon its acquisition of Johnson Systems. At Johnson Systems, Mr. Dinkel was the Manager
of Federal Product Sales based in McLean VA. Since joining CA, he has. During his 20+ years
& multiple locations at CA Mr. Dinkel’s assignments involved CA’ federal business, commercial
field sales, planning of selective mergers and acquisitions, divestures, opening new CA offices
and managing international operations that include Canada, EMEA & Latin America. Prior to
CA, Mr. Dinkel spent over 10 years working in systems programming and product marketing for
technology and software companies in upstate New York, which included both domestic and
international roles.
Marshall Ferrin
Director, International Business
GMU Enterprise Center
Marshall Ferrin is currently Director of International Business
Development at the Mason Enterprise Center. A highly qualified
international business development professional, he has worked with IT
companies, US and foreign governments and trade associations in
international marketing, sales and business development, in the United States, Europe, Asia, the
Middle East and Africa. At the Mason Enterprise Center, Mr. Ferrin has designed and submitted
proposals which secured funding for international business development projects totaling almost
1 million US Dollars from the Government of Japan (JETRO), the Government of the Saarland,
Germany, the US Agency for International Development and the Commonwealth of Virginia,
Department of Business Assistance.
Jerry Godwin
Business Development Specialist
Economic Development, Montgomery County Maryland
Jerry Godwin is a business development specialist in the Department
of Economic Development where he runs the Wheaton Business Innovation
Center – one of three business incubators in the County. Godwin came to
work for the County in December 2005 as the manager of the new Wheaton
Innovation Center, which opened in June 2006. Managed by the Department of Economic
Development, the Business Incubator network offers the infrastructure and resources needed to
facilitate the growth and success of young biotech, advanced technology and business services
companies.
Godwin has extensive business and economic development experience including
founding a Spanish language internet portal in the mid 90s (which he later sold) and setting up a
very successful micro-finance program at the Latino Economic Development Corporation in
Washington, D.C. Holds an MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University
of Maryland, College Park and Shanghai, China campuses and a B.S. in Aeronautics from
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Godwin is an officer and helicopter pilot in the U.S.
Army National Guard.
Jim Hunt
Managing Partner
The MITA Group
Jim Hunt is the founder and managing partner of the MITA Group, a public affairs and
business strategy consultancy based in Washington, DC, as well as an active member of the
Active Angel Investors, a pledge fund created in 2003 that innovatively mobilizes private equity
into early-stage companies and provides advisory services to both funds and private investors.
Mr. Hunt’s experience in private equity capital over the last 20 years ranges from company
creation management to angel investing. In 1996, Mr. Hunt founded and presided over Ernst &
Young Technologies (EYT), which represented the physical system integration arm for Ernst &
Young. Mr. Hunt also created the concept of “Palletized Solutions” which involves the sale,
delivery and support of complete solution sets including server systems, database, primary
application software suites, complementary software, high quotients of E&Y “reuse” and
complete lifecycle support. In 1981 Mr. Hunt founded BDS, Inc., a computer networking and
UNIX client server focused federal systems integration. One of the first computer systems firms
focusing on UNIX and Novell technologies in the federal marketplace, BDS grew under Mr.
Hunt’s leadership from an initial investment from family and friends of approximately $250,000
to investment by three venture funds: CEO Ventures, Edison Venture Fund and NEPA
Management (now MidAtlantic Venture).
Mr. Hunt is an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University MBA Program, holds a
Bachelor of Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in
Marketing from the University of Notre Dame. He is married, has four children and resides in
Northern Virginia.
Jeffrey Milanette
President
Innovative Partners, Inc.
Jeff has over 25 years of business experience in management, and management
consulting including several technology business startups, a turnaround, and successful
transfer of technology. For several years, Jeff trained Russian technology entrepreneurs
in preparation for participating in the Russian Venture Fair and Forum, a skill he has
developed as President of the New Jersey Entrepreneurs Forum, and as a technology
incubator manager for Rutgers University. Jeff serves on the U.S.-Russia Innovation
Council on High Technology, a bilateral organization fostering the development of
innovative activities between the two countries. Innovative Partners, Inc. is a
management consulting firm in Westfield, New Jersey serving business incubation
organizations and early stage technology companies. IPI’s services include incubator
development, new technology venture management, entrepreneur coaching and finance.
Jeff has an MBA in finance from George Washington University, and a BS from the U.S.
Naval Academy.
Jennifer Murphy
Director of Technology Transfer Office
Assistant Vice President for Research and Economic Development
George Mason University
Jennifer Murphy is Assistant Vice President for Research and Economic Development
and Director of Technology Transfer at George Mason University. She is also the Executive
Director of George Mason Intellectual Properties, Inc. (GMIP), a non-profit corporation
established to manage the university’s intellectual property. Ms. Murphy has been with George
Mason for 17 years, 12 of which were as Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs. During
her tenure in sponsored programs, she managed the full suite services for the development and
administration of research grants and contracts. In those years she also designed and implemented
a university-wide technology transfer program. Four years ago Ms. Murphy opened a separate
Office of Technology Transfer and was involved in the creation GMIP. Prior to joining George
Mason University, Ms. Murphy held positions of increasing responsibility in university
administration and sponsored programs at The American University in Washington, D.C. and at
Gallaudet University, the national university for the deaf. Ms. Murphy received her MBA from
American University. She has been actively engaged in a number of professional organizations,
in particular the National Grants Management Association (NGMA), The Association of
University Technology Managers (AUTM), and the Academic Licensing Association of Virginia
(ALCOVe).
Phil Pedlikin
Utilities Practice Head
Tata Consultancy Services
Phil Pedlikin is currently the Utilities Practice Head for Tata Consultancy Services in
Vienna, Virginia. He has been providing consulting advice and services to the Utilities industry
for 10 years and has been responsible for building extensive consulting and outsourcing practices
for some of the largest consulting firms in the world. In four years at AMS, he built one of the
leading CRM practices in his field in the world. At Wipro, he was responsible for extending this
CRM practice and for developing new and unique means of using offshore resources to support
his clients. At both companies, he was responsible for evaluating new technologies and potential
partnerships. In his most recent assignment at a boutique firm specializing in the federal space,
he was responsible for building new practices in the areas of security and medical technologies.
Phil received his MBA from George Mason University and his undergraduate degree from Brown
University.
Hong Peng
Associate Director Medical Campus
Office of Cooperative Research, Yale University
Hong Peng has over ten years of experience in licensing and
intellectual property management and valuation. She is currently an
Associate Director of the technology licensing group at Yale
University. Dr. Peng has done many licensing, technology transfer
deals with biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Prior to her current position, Dr. Peng was
Director of Patents and Licensing at the New York Blood Center and earlier a Licensing
Associate at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Apart from her full time
responsibilities, Dr. Peng, who grew up in China, uses her spare time to help companies with
licensing and IP valuation related issues in China. She is the author of a report entitled
“Licensing Strategies & Opportunities in the China Pharma/Biotech Industry,” published by
Kline & Company. Dr. Peng holds her PhD in Molecular Biology from Cornell University, an
MBA from Columbia University and a BS in Biology from Peking University.
Don Rainey
General Partner
Grotech Capital Group
Don Rainey, General Partner, joined Grotech Capital Group in
September 2007. Prior to joining Grotech, Mr. Rainey was a General
Partner with Intersouth Partners, an early stage venture capital firm in
North Carolina. Mr. Rainey was previously president of Attitude
Network, one of the first entertainment networks online, which was sold
to TheGlobe.com. He also served as a founding member of the Board of
Directors for Accipiter through its acquisition by CMGI and was COO of DaVinci Systems, a
Research Triangle-based software company, which was sold to ON Technology, enabling a
combined entity IPO four months later. Don has also held senior executive positions with Novell
and the IBM Corporation. Don is currently an adjunct professor at George Mason University
where he teaches courses on venture capital and starting a business in the School of Management
and at the University of Maryland where he teaches graduate courses on new venture creation and
finance. Don has served on numerous boards and committees in the fields of investment and
technology.
Randall Reade
President
ZipZone, Ltd.
Randall Reade is President of ZipZone, Ltd. - a company which exports software to Asia.
ZipZone, Ltd. has extensive experience in identifying companies with limited experience in
international sales and helps them find the right markets, distributors, translators, legal and
customs help, and so on. As an attorney, Mr. Reade can help save companies money by avoiding
troublesome legal issues. ZipZone also has extensive contacts throughout the Philippines,
Canada, China and other countries that can meet a technology company's outsourcing needs.
Bob Reader
Vice President of Licensing
NISTAC
Bob Rhea
Senior consultant
Angle Technology
Robert Rea has over 25 years experience developing innovative
projects in both the public and private sectors. Bob’s projects have
been in the fields of technology development, transportation, natural
resource development, aerospace, defense, energy, venture capital and technology
commercialization. Although most of his career has been in private consulting with Abt
Associates, SAIC, Technology Ventures Corporation and ANGLE Technology, he has worked in
both state and federal government research and development agencies and taught graduate
courses in the MBA programs of the University of Phoenix and Webster University. He has also
served as Chief Operating Officer of a high tech spin-off from Los Alamos National Laboratory
in plasma technology. His academic work includes an MBA from the University of Phoenix, a
CE (Civil Engineer) degree from Columbia University for Post-Masters work, an MS in
Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a BS in Civil
Engineering from Texas A&M.
Sam Sezak
Senior Associate
New Vantage Group
Sam Sezak is a Sr. Associate at New Vantage Group. He has
participated in over 10 private equity financings and has performed
extensive diligence on over 50 companies in the mid-Atlantic region.
He has been an active philanthropic participant in the DC community
having served on the Board of Advisors for both Community Harvest, a
non-profit organization whose mission is to create a locally rooted,
sustainable food system that meets the needs of both underserved communities and small farmers
in the Washington, DC region and Dress 4 Development, an award winning project created to
provide employment opportunities for skilled and underprivileged seamstresses by giving them
access to overseas markets. Prior to joining New Vantage Group, Mr. Sezak worked for Merrill
Lynch’s Global Markets and Investment Banking Group in New York, NY and served as a
United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine as a business development advisor. Mr. Sezak
holds an MBA from Georgetown University with a focus in international business and
entrepreneurship.
Valerie Stinger
Business Consultant
Valerie Stinger has over twenty years of strategic planning,
marketing management, and business development experience in U.S.
and developing market economies. She has served as a business
consultant, assisted with new product development, and developed
marketing strategies for numerous biomedical companies and foreign
clients from Kazakhstan, Russia, and Morocco. In Morocco, for example, she developed and
implemented a technical training program for a Small Business Development Program. Also as a
consultant, Ms. Stinger has conducted market evaluations and assessments of market potential for
products in the healthcare and related fields. During her tenure at GENENTECH, Ms. Stinger
served as the Principal Associate for Strategic Marketing Planning, where she developed longterm plans and forecasts to effectively allocate corporate resources, prioritize products in early
development research, and oversaw a $2 million research budget. At other positions in
pharmaceutical product development, marketing, and banking organizations, Ms. Stinger has
managed market research and assessment efforts, coordinated international teams, and conducted
modeling and strategic evaluation of developing markets and economies.
Valery Tolstikhin
Founder and CTO
OneChip Photonics
Dr. Tolstikhin has been involved in the research, development
and commercialization of advanced semiconductor devices for micro- and
optoelectronics for more than 30 years. An industry veteran with a solid
academic background and international credentials acquired through work
in Russia, Sweden, the Netherlands and Canada, he has a long record of
achievements as an innovator, team builder and R&D organizer. In late 2005, he founded
OneChip Photonics Inc., a developer and manufacturer of optical transceivers for mass
deployment in broadband access networks, based on proprietary photonic integrated circuit (PIC)
technology. Headquartered in Ottawa and funded by venture capital, this company is at the
leading edge of commercialization of the cost-efficient PICs in InP for ever expanding access
transceiver market. Prior to starting OneChip Photonics, he has been with another Canadian
photonics technology company, MetroPhotonics Inc., where he has proposed an innovative
approach to photonic integration in InP, built the design team and led it through the development
and commercialization of state-of-the-art PIC products for applications in WDM. Dr. Tolstikhin
has authored more than 80 research papers in the areas of semiconductor device physics, design
and technology and given numerous conference presentations in these areas. Also, he is an
adjunct professor at university of Ottawa.
Sindy Yeh
Business Development Manager
Arlington County Economic Development Authority
Ms. Sindy Yeh is Business Development Manager for Arlington Economic Development.
Arlington County, Virginia is a very dynamic urban center located minutes from Washington,
DC. It is home to the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), Ronald Reagan National Airport,
and Arlington National Cemetery. At Arlington Economic Development, Sindy is responsible for
attracting businesses to Arlington, as well as to help local companies expand overseas. Sindy has
also worked with companies located in the Arlington County incubator, Incubator America.
Prior to joining Arlington Economic Development, Sindy was employed in the
telecommunications industry concentrating on international business development. She has more
than 15 years of U.S. and international experience in program management, business planning,
and joint venture management. Sindy has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wellesley
College in Wellesley, Massachusetts; and a Master of Arts from the Johns Hopkins School of
Advanced International Studies in Washington DC. She currently serves on the Board of the
Singapore American Business Association and the International Trade Association of Northern
Virginia.