New Orleans Entrepreneur Week

Dr. John Elstrott

Faculty Advisor

Dr. John Elstrott is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and the Executive Director of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship at Tulane University's Freeman School of Business in New Orleans, LA. He holds bachelor and master's degrees in economics from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge and a doctorate in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Dr. Elstrott teaches courses in entrepreneurship and has research interests in the areas of entrepreneurship, family business, strategic planning, regional economic development, technology commercialization, and environmental economics. He has won numerous teaching awards including the National Freedoms Foundation Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education, the Edwin Appel Prize for bringing Entrepreneurial Vitality to Academe, and the James T. Murphy award for Teaching Excellence. He was named the Ernst and Young Louisiana Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997 for his support of entrepreneurship education.

In 2007 Dr. Elstrott was awarded the Howard W. Wissner Award in recognition of a professor who has displayed excellence in teaching, interest in students, and their activities and exceptional efforts to improve the A. B. Freeman School of Business.

As Executive Director of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship, Dr. Elstrott manages entrepreneurship research projects and programs designed to train and inspire entrepreneurs. The institute also contributes to regional economic development through the coordination of joint academic, government, and business initiatives that stimulate private enterprise.

Dr. Elstrott is a consultant to family businesses and profit and not-for-profit corporations. He is the Founder and Director of the Tulane Family Business Center. He has also served as an economic development and strategic planning consultant for state and municipal governments.

Prior to joining the Tulane University faculty, Dr. Elstrott was Chief Financial Officer for Celestial Seasonings, Inc. He is an active entrepreneur in the venture capital, wetlands mitigation banking, pharmaceutical, financial services, medical and functional food, and authentic herbal remedy industries. Dr. Elstrott serves on the boards of several public and private corporations and non-profit community service organizations. He serves as the Chairman of Board and is past chair of the audit committee for Whole Foods Market, Inc., a Fortune 300 and S&P 500 company.

Jon Atkinson

Jon is helping lead Ashoka's development of a student venture Incubator, and sits on the Steering Committee of Social Entrepreneurs of New Orleans (SENO). He has been actively involved in shaping SENO's strategic direction, funding model, and capacity in order to better support and nurture practicing social entrepreneurs in the community. Jon has served as a strategic consultant to a number of local ventures, including Goodwork Network, Green Light New Orleans, and Wet Tea for Wetland. Originally from Los Angeles, Jon works as a banking offi cer in commercial lending With Hancock Bank, and graduated from Davidson College with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics.

Xavier Cabo

Xavier Cabo is a Tulane MBA Candidate 2010 in Strategic Management and International Business. He is a member of the Tulane Consulting Group and Beta Gamma Sigma, International Honor Society. Xavier graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and with a minor in Management Information Systems. He is the founder of XWebConsulting, an international web development / online consulting company and the co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of Rebirth Financial, Inc., a start-up company facilitating growth and development in Louisiana. Consulting engagements with Colas Group (world's leader in road construction and Neill Corporation (largest Aveda distributor).

Chonchol Gupta

Chonchol Gupta is President of the Tulane Graduate Business Council. Currently a candidate for his MBA and Masters in Global Management candidate, he has a certificate in Latin American Business Studies, a B.S. Civil Engineering from West Virginia University and a B.A. International Studies from the University of California, Irvine. He is the CEO and co-founder of Rebirth Financial, an online financial platform to facilitate growth and development in Louisiana. Gupta united the A.B. Freeman School of Business with the non-profit St. Bernard Project, to provide free business consulting services. He provided consulting for Kruger Paper's entrance into the Caribbean market and provided consulting for Neill Corp's entrance into Latin America.

Ashton Prat

Ashton works as an intern with the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, specializing in market and financial analyses of innovations created by professors at LSU and Tulane University. He conducts interviews of faculty at local health science centers to identify important and marketable new inventions. He has a BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and is currently pursuing an MBA from the A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University. He has worked previously with Fluor Corporation and MLU Services, Inc.

Ruth Yomtoubian

Ruth is currently pursuing her MBA and Master of Global Management at Tulane University. She is the vice president of both Tulane Net Impact chapter and the Tulane Entrepreneurs Association. She was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Marketing Manager in the Communication & Strategy and International Divisions, where she oversaw advocacy campaigns for the business community's top priorities including trade, energy, and infrastructure. At Ketchum, Inc., Ruth worked on global social issue and corporate relations accounts conducting media outreach and building grassroots campaigns. She received her B.A., University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Dr. Brett Matherne

Faculty Advisor

Brett Matherne is an Assistant Professor and holds one of the Chase Professorships in Minority Entrepreneurship at Loyola University New Orleans. He earned a Bachelor of Science in International Trade and Finance and Masters in Business Administration (Internal Auditing) degrees from Louisiana State University. After years of working in his family's business and as a credit analyst and commercial banker, his wife agreed to support him in fulfilling one of his lifetime goals – earning a Ph.D. He earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration (Strategic Management) from Georgia State University in 2004. While at Georgia State University, he was awarded the Harding B. Young Teaching Excellence Award and Distinguished Contributions as a Graduate Teaching Assistant Award. In addition to his teaching awards, he was also awarded the Waino W. Soujanen Research Excellence award for two consecutive years. He was also awarded the Loyola MBA Association Graduate Teaching Award. Prior to returning to Louisiana and joining the faculty at Loyola, he was an assistant professor at University of Dayton.

Brett Matherne's research has been published in Journal of Business Venturing, European Management Journal, Journal of Management Education, Academy of Management Executive, Academy of Management Perspectives and Journal of International Entrepreneurship. His research is cited in more than 80 other publications and in five different languages. His research is primarily focuses on entrepreneurial infrastructure mechanisms and strategic change. His current research includes entrepreneurial actions during business disruption (Hurricane Katrina), strategic responses in the cinema industry and community-based entrepreneurship research in response to Hurricane Katrina.

Brett Matherne has worked as a consultant with Westinghouse Corp., UPS and DynMcDermott as well as many entrepreneurial firms in the New Orleans area. He brings a wealth of real-world experience into his classes from his prior work as Controller in his family's business, commercial banker and Small Business Development Center Counselor. He has been an invited speaker to various groups to speak about entrepreneurship issues and corporate governance failures in the financial downturn.

Ra'Shaud Haines

A native of Akron, Ohio, Ra'Shaud Haines graduated from Morehouse College in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and is currently pursuing his MBA from Loyola University of New Orleans. Upon graduation of Morehouse, Haines entered into an analyst training program at KeyCorp, N.A. in Cleveland Ohio. Mr. Haines did his rotations through underwriting in the Large Corporate, Middle Market, and Real Estate Syndication areas of the Bank. Mr. Haines joined Liberty Bank in April 2005. In his current position, he is responsible for developing and maintaining a commercial loan portfolio of over $15 million. Mr. Haines has extensive analytical skills that are vital in helping businesses grow.

Brian Danos

Brian Danos is the Creative and Marketing Director at Archon Information Systems. For nearly 10 years, Brian has lead teams that have developed a wide range of intuitive computer applications from mission critical portals for the U.S. Navy to workflow management systems for the U.S. Department of Energy. He has degrees in Philosophy and Communications and is nearing completion of his MBA from Loyola University. Brian has also founded several successful entrepreneurial endeavors including the design firm Lavadero and the musical co-operative Super Bigtime Studios. When not prototyping his next user-interfaces, he enjoys playing in a band and pursuing photography.

Michael Pitre

Captain Michael Pitre is a U.S. Marine with eight years of service. Michael has deployed twice to Iraq, managed the installation of fiber optic cable on Iraqi bases, led logistics convoys, and commanded a mass casualty response team. Michael currently oversees a $31.4 million contract with HP to install communications infrastructure at Marine reserve centers. He will leave the Marines in May 2010, transitioning his skills into project management. He holds degrees in History and English from LSU, and will complete his MBA in May. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, sailing his boat on Lake Pontchartrain, and boxing.

Barrow Reedy

Barrow Reedy has a diverse background combined with several years work experience in private business sector and the field of government relations. Most recently, with the Toyota North America Governmental Affairs team, Barrow assisted the Group Vice President on many congressional and private sector issues. Prior to this work, Barrow was a consultant with the North American Development Bank where he coordinated funding for environmental and developmental projects on the U.S./Mexico border. Barrow is currently in the process of completing his MBA at Loyola University in New Orleans and can be reached at Barrowfbr@gmail.com.

Kelly Spear

Kelly Spear was born in New Orleans, Louisiana but lived in seven states since then. Her expertise is in marketing, which she gained from her college career at Drake University, where she double majored in Management and International Business, and from her professional career as a marketing coordinator for REHAU Inc., a multinational polymer manufacturer. For REHAU, she managed trade show appearances and the North American stocking program. New Orleans has been the constant in her life; therefore, a graduate program at a New Orleans' school seemed the ideal way to resettle in the area. With her skills in international business, she hopes to help develop more companies of that scale in the New Orleans area.

Christynn Vierra

Christynn is a serial entrepreneur and is the founder of Geaux Nola, a university social networking startup. She has a proven history of capturing opportunities and developing new innovations that alter or create new markets. Christynn holds degrees in Economics and International Business, and she is currently pursuing her CPA/ MBA at Loyola University. Christynn is an analytical problem solver with the ability to translate complex strategies and recommend solutions-- She is a leader in helping to grow a business from the floor up. When she is not volunteering in the community, Christynn enjoys ballroom dancing and sailing.

Andrea Baraya

Andrea Baraya is a graduate student pursuing an MBA with a Marketing concentration at the University of New Orleans, where she also graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Management. She was named the Outstanding Business Woman Graduate by UNO's Women's Club, one of the highest recognitions bestowed to a graduating student and she received the Chancellor's Leadership Award in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, she put her entrepreneurial spirit to work with the creation of Lifeline Fire & Security Solutions, a fire/intrusion detection firm that merges technology and expertise to develop innovative and customized commercial security solutions. As the business manager and founding partner of Lifeline, Andrea, leads a team of security experts and ensures the firm's vision is being realized. A native of Colombia, Andrea came to the United States in 1994. To get in touch with her creative side, she enjoys drawing and designing.

Erik Cooper

After studying International Affairs at Florida State University, Eric served in the Marine Corps for six years as an Infantry Officer. During that time, he gained invaluable leadership skills and successfully led Marines in combat. Currently, Eric is employed as a Terminal Manager with Kinder Morgan. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation as a solid team leader and problem solver. Eric has the ability to capitalize upon an organization's strengths and consequently make it work more efficiently. From his experiences, Eric can help an entrepreneur by offering advice regarding personnel management, strategic planning, and recurring daily operational issues.

Lauren Hebert

Lauren was born and raised in Lafayette, LA, with 3 younger siblings and two great parents, all of which guided her in her goals and values to date. She attended private schools up to college, where she achieved my B.S. in Business Administrations from University of Louisiana. Lauren took a brand sales associate position at Saks Fifth Avenue July 2007, which coincided with her move to New Orleans. Learning about a company's infrastructure and day-to-day business routines sparked Lauren's desire to continue her education, leading her to enroll in UNO's MBA program. She absolutely love New Orleans and plan to develop her career here for business growth and development.

Gabriel Ratcliff

Gabriel Ratcliff is the founder of Skyline Health Services, which is a non-profit health care company that specializes in providing assistance to the charitable class. Gabriel has exemplified excellence in the area of academics earning a Bachelor's degree in Finance and Management, and a Masters degree in Accounting from Tulane University. Currently he is pursuing an MBA with a concentration in finance from the University of New Orleans. He enjoys personally investing in the capital markets and manages his own personal portfolio. Gabriel's goals are to become a Certified Financial Analyst for an investment bank while owning a multi-million dollar world-wide hotel company.

Shantell Washington

Shantel Washington is a Marketing Practitioner with seven years of experience in marketing and nonprofit business development. A budding marketing consultant, Shantel has adopted a proven marketing system to grow small businesses 25% or more guaranteed without spending an extra dime in advertising.

Shantel has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from The University of New Orleans and is presently pursuing a Master of Business Administration at The University of New Orleans. Born and raised in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Shantel seeks to use her marketing acumen in NOLA to foster the growth of local businesses.

Carmen Chan

Carmen Chan is a 2011 EWMBA Candidate with a focus in strategy and management and has a Bachelor's degree in Cognitive Science. She is currently working for Moody's Analytics as Associate Director of Financial Data Analysis Group. She leads a team of five in managing the data integrity of credit risk data that feeds into multi‐million dollar risk products. She hopes that with her 7+ years of experience in technology, data management, financial statement analysis, and project management combined with skills from her MBA can aid her in providing sustainable solutions for nonprofits and for‐profits with a mission.

Michael Dansbury

First Year MBA Candidate Michael Dansbury came to The Haas School of Business after leaving New York and the financial services industry. While working within financial services, he developed an internal surveillance system that set the bar in industry regulation. At Haas, he is eager to splice his project management expertise with his passions for technology, community, and entrepreneurship. Michael recently developed a mentorship program between Haas' undergraduate and graduate communities, and is currently Co‐President of The Black Business Student Association. Michael holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Fordham University.

Kenny Do

Kenny Do is a PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) Software Consultant at Siemens PLM Software. Kenny works with customers to configure solutions to meet their demand for virtual design and validation, process and product reuse, and management of data flow to improve process efficiencies and shorten product time to market. Prior to Siemens, Kenny was a Sales Engineer at Mabuchi Motor, a manufacturer of DC motors. He worked with customers to design custom motor solutions for various consumer and medical products. Kenny holds B.S. degrees in Mechanical and Bioengineering from UC Davis and is a 2012 MBA candidate from UC Berkeley.

Anoop Mathew

Anoop has 10 years of experience in financial analysis and operations. He has worked for a leading boutique hotel company, Kimpton, where he focused on financial reporting. Anoop was also part of a hospitality technology start up and has co‐founded a Night Club & lounge in San Francisco where he was involved in all aspects from securing funding to setting up operations. Currently, Anoop is the Controller at Lake Merced Golf Club, where he directs the financial operations and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors. He holds a B.S. in Hotel Administration from UNLV and is currently getting his MBA through UC Berkeley Haas school of Business.

Vikas Meka

Vikas Meka is currently pursuing a degree in MBA through the Evening/Weekend program at the Haas School of Business. Prior to Haas, Vikas spent eight years in biomedical engineering startups that develop technologies to improve clinical diagnosis. He helped start Convergent Engineering (CE) after securing Small‐Business Innovation Grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health to advance non‐invasive diagnostics using exhaled breath. At CE, Vikas took on multiple roles to ensure smooth business operations, and was primarily responsible for taking research projects from proof‐of‐concept to point‐of commercialization. Vikas graduated from the University of Florida with a Master in Electrical Engineering. In his free time, he enjoys rock climbing and hiking.

Anoobhav Singh

Anoobhav Singh has 14 years of experience in the field of technology, startup operations and Investment management. He has managed two software startups as an operations manager and architect. He also launched a software services firm which he ran for two years before transitioning into Investment management to work with a Pension fund as Research Analyst where he is researching Automobile and Airlines in Asia. He has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and is currently a 2011 MBA Candidate from Haas school of Business at Berkeley.

Sandeep Singh Kohli

Sandeep Singh Kohli has 15 years of consulting, operations, marketing and project management experience in the technology industry, working for two of the top fortune 100 companies. Sandeep has filed for 6 patents at the US patent office in the areas of Video, Voice and networking technologies. He has a Bachelors degree with Honors in Electronics and Telecommunication engineering and is currently pursuing his MBA through UC Berkeley Haas school of Business. Sandeep loves travelling and dancing – he dances professionally for a non‐profit.

Rohan Thompson

Rohan Thompson was a University of Adelaide electronic engineering graduate plucked sightunseen out of Australia during the height of the late nineties tech bubble. He then spent the next decade immersed in building and managing the web site of Xilinx, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company responsible for producing Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Ten years in Silicon Valley is an eternity, and recognizing the need to burnish his management credentials, he decided to get an MBA. He enjoys destroying computers with insane liquid cooling schemes and herding cats out of the bedroom at 4am.

David de Laureal

David is a second year MBA student at Stanford Graduate School of Business. At Stanford, David has focused his studies in the finance and entrepreneurial spaces, and is returning to TowerBrook Capital Partners upon graduation.

Before coming to Stanford, David grew up in New Orleans and attended the University of Virginia. At UVA, David was a Finance major and a quarterback on the football team. Upon graduation, David moved to New York to work at Merrill Lynch as an investment banking Analyst for two years before joining TowerBrook Capital Partners as an Associate. In his spare time, David enjoys golf and Saints football.

Eric Derheimer

Eric Derheimer was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana and graduated from Indiana University as a Kelley Scholar. After graduation, Eric worked in finance in New York City with UBS Investment Bank and in healthcare investing with The Carlyle Group. He is now pursuing an MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Eric enjoys many outdoor sports including cycling, hiking, tennis and golf and spending time with his wife Amanda and his Australian Shepherd Dakota. He also typically enjoys watching IU basketball but not in the 2009/2010 season.

Malvina Goldfeld

Malvina is currently a first year MBA student at the Stanford GSB. She graduated from Princeton University with a BA in Public and International Affairs, and a diploma in Latin American Studies. After working with McKinsey & Company in Europe and Israel, Malvina spent two years doing business development for international companies across the Middle East. Malvina is a long-time member of Seeds of Peace, and an alum of the United World Colleges. Malvina loves foreign languages, and is fluent in English, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese, with good knowledge of Arabic, Japanese and French.

Leonard Hinton

Leonard is a second year MBA student at Stanford GSB where he has focused on general management and entrepreneurship. While in Business school, Leonard worked at a venture capital firm, First Round Capital, where he helped finance a number of early stage companies.

Prior to Business school, Leonard began his career Credit Suisse, a New York Investment Bank, before transitioning to the International Finance Corporation (IFC). While at the IFC, he worked on numerous transactions and traveled to 10 different emerging market countries. While Leonard still enjoys traveling, he prefers spending time in his hometown, New Orleans, and converting his one-year-old daughter into an avid Saints fan.

Rachel Holt

Rachel is a second year MBA student at Stanford GSB. She grew up in New York City before moving to Western Massachusetts to attend Amherst College. At Amherst, Rachel was a Psychology major and played on the tennis team. Upon graduation, Rachel moved back to New York to work at Bain & Company as a Management Consultant and also spent 6-months as a Manager of New Media at MLB Advanced Media (MLB.com). This past summer Rachel worked at Clorox as a Marketing/Brand Manger on Kingsford Charcoal and KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce. Rachel is going back to Clorox full-time in the fall. In her free time, Rachel enjoys playing tennis and squash as well as exploring new places.

Mike Needham

Mike Needham is a student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. At Stanford, Mike has focused his studies in the entrepreneurial and venture capital spaces, and is planning on starting a search fund upon graduation.

Before coming to Stanford, Needham was Special Assistant to the Policy Director on Rudy Giuliani's Presidential Campaign. In this capacity, he was responsible for working with Policy Director Bill Simon in overseeing all aspects of policy development for the campaign, including policy paper production, speechwriting, and debate preparation. Before to joining the Giuliani campaign, Needham served as a Director and Chief of Staff at The Heritage Foundation – Washington's largest and most influential think tank and public policy organization.

Lauren Plomgren

Lauren has a B.S.B.A. in accounting from the University of Richmond. After graduating, she spent two years teaching high school Math through the Teach for America program in Charlotte, North Carolina. In her second year in the classroom, her students achieved the highest growth of any secondary math teacher in the district. In 2007, she joined Deloitte Consulting, where she led a Pro-Bono consulting project for Zoo Atlanta, a firm-wide day of service event, and the development of the curriculum for an educational outreach program. At Stanford, she is an Arbuckle Leadership Fellow, a Board Fellow working at a charter school launch, and co-Leader of the Stanford Management Internship Fund.

Briana Rogers

Briana is currently a second year student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prior to attending Stanford, she worked for Goldman, Sachs & Co. for three years. Briana spent two years in the Investment Banking Division, working with corporate clients on debt origination, and one year in the Equities Division, advising high net worth clients on Equity Derivatives transactions. This past summer, Briana worked at a London-based technology start-up, building a revenue model, developing a corporate strategy, and helping to design a mobile user interface. She is very passionate about entrepreneurial ventures and developing go-to-market strategies for new products.

Linda Darragh

Faculty Advisor

Linda Darragh is the director of entrepreneurship programs for the Chicago Booth's Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship. Professor Darragh teaches the New Venture Lab, the Social Entrepreneurship Lab class and coaches for the New Venture Challenge. Ms. Darragh received the 2009 Illinois Technology Association's Citylights Award given to an individual that has made a significant impact on the Illinois technology community. She also organized Springboard: Mid-West, an investor forum for women entrepreneurs in 2001 and 2003 which raised over $85 million. She earned a M.Sc(Pl) from the University of Toronto in 1978 and a BA from Queen's University in 1976.

Matthew Cooper

Matthew Cooper was born on June 15, 1983 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Upon graduating from Mandeville High School in 2001 he attended Vanderbilt University from where he graduated in May of 2005 with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics. After graduation Matthew began his career in the financial services industry where he worked until returning to New Orleans in February 2009. Between February and his beginning of class at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in September 2009 Matthew traveled and volunteered extensively for the New Orleans area Habitat for Humanity.

Bradley Feingerts

Bradley Feingerts grew up in New Orleans, attending Isidore Newman School. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006, majoring in economics and political science. Bradley spent one year working for Navigant Consulting in Washington, DC. He is currently in his 3rd year of the JD/MBA program at the University of Chicago. Last summer, Bradley was a summer associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York City. The previous summer, he was a judicial intern for the Honorable Lee H. Rosenthal in Houston, TX.

Tristram Hewitt

Tristram Hewitt graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Social Studies. He then moved to Mexico City and taught English for a year before returning to Boston to teach math and English at an inner-city middle school. Eager to improve urban education, he next joined a start-up charter high school serving former dropouts, teen mothers, and other at-risk youth. After teaching for one year, he took charge of the school's finance and operations. This interest in the ‘business' side of education led him to the University of Chicago Booth School where he is a first-year MBA student.

Christian Kim

Christian Kim hails from California. Prior to starting his MBA, he helped develop his family's retail businesses in Los Angeles and worked at the United States Department of Commerce in Washington D.C. Christian also worked in M&A consulting at Stax Inc. and interned at Western Reserve Partners, a Cleveland investment bank. Christian received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree from the Committee on International Relations at The University of Chicago. Christian is currently working on his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in finance, accounting, and strategy.

Leslie Mallman

Prior to business school, Leslie Mallman spent time in client services for a large bank in London followed by a stint as a financial advisor for high net worth individuals. She came back to business school to focus on entrepreneurism and is looking to potentially start her own social entrepreneurial organization. This summer, she plans on working for a social entrepreneur but has not yet specifically identified where. Outside of school, Leslie enjoys running, skiing, yoga, meditation and cooking. This is her first visit to New Orleans, and she is excited to get a taste of this fascinating city.

Philip Nevels

A 2nd year student at Chicago Booth, Phil's focus has been entrepreneurship, having consulted for several Chicago-based and international startups in a variety of industries ranging from Technology to Web 2.0 to Manufacturing. He is currently involved as the Sales Director at Power2Switch (www.power2switch.com), a startup currently incubated at Chicago Booth that connects small and medium-sized businesses to electricity suppliers through the web. Prior to business school, Phil spent several years as an IT consultant at Accenture within their Oracle Practice, and worked in business development at a New York-based software startup. Phil earned his B.S.E. in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University and is a native of Chicago, IL.

Julia Reardon

Julia was born and raised in New Orleans and attended Benjamin Franklin High School in the city's Gentilly neighborhood. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis in 2004, she worked for two years in sales and marketing at General Mills and two years in client services at a mental and chemical health center for women. Julia is currently in her 2nd year of graduate school at the University of Chicago, pursuing an MBA at the Booth School of Business, with a concentration in Strategic Management, and an MA at the School of Social Service Administration, with concentrations in Nonprofit Management and Policy Planning and Analysis.

Steven Gal

Faculty Advisor

Steven Gal, a career entrepreneur, returned to teaching entrepreneurship at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management in 2009. Steven's interests focus on the founding and building of new high-growth ventures. Steven has co-founded and grown six venture-capital backed companies, raising more than $100M, leading to an IPO, several successful sales, and one failure. Steven holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell University, a JD from University of Southern California and is a member of the California Bar.

Risa Mish

Before returning to Cornell to teach, Risa Mish was a partner at Collazo Carling & Mish LLP law firm, where she represented management clients on labor and employment law matters, including employment discrimination claims in federal and state courts. Prior to CC&M, Mish was a labor and employment law associate with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City, where she represented Fortune 500 clients in various industries. She is admitted to practice before the state, federal, and U.S. Supreme courts in New York and Massachusetts. Mish earned a BS with Distinction and a JD cum laude from Cornell University.

Matthew Donovan

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Donovan spent his entire life in California before moving to Ithaca for business school and he have missed the California sun ever since. He attended UCLA for undergrad and majored in Business-Economics and Accounting and became a huge UCLA basketball fan. After school he went to work for PricewaterhouseCoopers in San Francisco, initially in the Corporate Tax Department and then spent two years in the Consulting Department focusing on the Utilities Industry. This past summer he was an intern at American Express as a member of their Business Strategy Team.

Kelly Dwyer

With a passion for human potential and a head for entrepreneurship, Kelly Dwyer brings unique experience and enthusiasm to her clients. In 2007, she launched Do U Yoga, merging her extensive background in entrepreneurial business with her ongoing study of yoga and fondness for the outdoors. After two years of successful adventures, Dwyer embarked on an MBA in Sustainable Enterprise, the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University, to build upon her business management skills and to develop a career path toward large-scale positive social and environmental impact.

Daniel Hest

Danny is a second year student at The Johnson School at Cornell University. Prior to pursuing his MBA, he founded and ran an artist management and music marketing company, was a director of business development and a senior product manager at a telecommunications startup, and a technology and management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. In addition to serving as Chief Operating Officer of BR Ventures, Johnson's $1.2M Venture Capital Fund, he is President of the Media & Entertainment Club and a Johnson Leadership Fellow, as well as a mentor in the Cornell Alumni-Student Mentoring Program.

K. Jamease Leonard

Prior to Johnson, Jamease worked in the public power energy trading industry, most recently in a role that required working closely with other internal departments on business processes to improve effectiveness and efficiency of operations. Her work was highly project-oriented and required her to identify, develop and implement processes and systems to manage the company's operational risks. After completing her MBA, Jamease intend to transition into general management or consulting. Her decision to transition is deeply rooted in her desire to be a part of the initiatives that strengthen our nation's defenses.

Padraic McConville

Padraic McConville is currently a 2nd year at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Prior to the Johnson School, Mr. McConville worked for DeltaPoint Capital Management, a private equity firm that focuses on investing in control positions in a variety of industries in the lower middle market. Mr. McConville also spent his summer internship with Stonehenge Capital, a private equity firm with a focus on the lower middle market. His experience includes valuation, portfolio monitoring, fund administration, transaction structuring, and industry, company, and transaction due diligence.

Marlon Nichols

Marlon Nichols started his career as a software technologist where he led the deployment of global enterprise software and business process improvement initiatives for several Fortune 100 enterprises. During his stint in software Marlon played a key role in the European expansion of a Cambridge based software firm. Later, Marlon worked as a principal strategist for a strategy consulting firm focusing on monetizing knowledge and new business development. Marlon is also the Founder and Co-Chairman of a growing nonprofit. Marlon holds a BS from Northeastern University and is currently pursuing his MBA at Cornell University.

Lou Paik

Lou Paik is an MBA candidate at The Johnson School at Cornell University. Lou's undergraduate degree in Public Health is from The Johns Hopkins University, and he also holds a Masters in healthcare finance and management from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Prior to coming to Cornell, Lou spent 3 years in healthcare consulting, providing strategy and operations consulting to healthcare providers. He has also founded and operated various business ventures including luxury fashion, pharmaceuticals/neutraceuticals, and real estate. Upon graduation, he plans to pursue a career in brand management.

Henry Parry-Okeden

An entrepreneur at heart, Henry Parry-Okeden has worked in several different industries ranging from Agriculture to telecommunications. After spending a number of years travelling and working in North and South America, Henry returned home to Australia to help launch a successful real-estate startup, Shanghai Vision Ltd, which focused on the residential market in mainland China. Following this experience Henry worked for a large telecommunications company in California holding several positions within Sales and Marketing before deciding to return to school to obtain his MBA. With his studies focused on Entrepreneurship Henry plans to launch his own company post graduation.

Thane Gauthier

Faculty Advisor

Thane Gauthier is currently the Entrepreneurship Fellow at the Larry and Carol Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. As the Fellow, Thane serves as an entrepreneur-in-residence, provides business coaching and advisory services to entrepreneurs, and manages several external outreach programs with the Chicago-area business community. He teaches a seminar to Kellogg MBA's on starting a business, frequently serves as a business plan judge, and has spoken about international business strategy at one of Kellogg's leading business conferences. He is a founding board member of Wildcat Angels, an angel investment network based in Evanston, Illinois. Thane is also a Managing Partner of the Focal Point Management Group, a firm that provides advisory services to entrepreneurial firms and that also facilitates strategic investments in middle market businesses. Prior to being named the Fellow, Thane worked for an emerging markets private equity firm with over $500 million in assets under management which was focused on investments in the Caribbean and Latin America. While there he assisted in growing assets under management by over $260 million and participated in the evaluation and due diligence of several transactions, the largest being a greater than $60 million telecommunications investment.

In addition to his private equity experience, Thane has a lifelong interest in entrepreneurial activities and has advised dozens of early-stage companies, non-profits, and small businesses and has developed expertise in the software, retail, financial services, transportation, educational services, and capital equipment industries. Additionally, he has extensive sales, marketing, and business development experience in multiple emerging and developed international markets and has directly overseen nearly $40 million dollars in new product introductions and sales in countries like Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China, Singapore, Germany, and the United States.

Thane received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and holds an MS in Materials Science from Stanford University. He also received his BS in Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was one of 15 national AT&T Bell Laboratories Scholars.

He is one of 75 alumni of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology featured in the 2001 book, "Technology and the Dream" which chronicles the history of African-Americans at MIT. He was also a primary contributor to the book, "Entrepreneurial Finance: Finance and Business Strategies for the Serious Entrepreneur" by Kellogg School of Management finance professor Steven Rogers. Thane was born and raised in Opelousas, Louisiana.

Susan Edwards

Susan Edwards is a second year MBA candidate at the Kellogg School of Management with a concentration in Marketing, Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. At Kellogg, she is a Board Fellow with Public Allies Chicago and interns at the Chicago Urban League's Entrepreneurship Center. This past summer, Susan was an Education Pioneers fellow at Rocketship Education, a start-up charter school organization in the Bay Area. Her projects included developing an online operations toolkit for both school and national staff and evaluating the impact of regional expansion on school operations. Before graduate school, Susan was a program manager at Abbott Laboratories where she managed the product development of several diabetes products. Susan graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.

Christina Flanagan

Christy Flanagan is a first year student at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Prior to pursuing her MBA, she was a Senior Consultant for IBM Global Business Services. As a member of the Organizational Change and Strategy practice, Christy advised clients on strategic change issues in effective reorganization, business process redesign and system implementation efforts. At Kellogg, Christy works on leadership initiatives and strategy as a Director of the Business Leadership Club and is a member of the Admissions Committee. She is also Professional Board member and Adoption Counselor at PAWS Chicago, a no-kill animal shelter and humane education center. Christy received her B.A. in Organizational Studies and Psychology from the University of Michigan and enjoys mentoring, global travel and volleyball.

Jessica Ford

Jessica is a first-year MBA Candidate at the Kellogg School of Management with concentrations in Management & Strategy, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship. She serves as a marketing director for the Women's Business Association Conference and first-year events director for the Energy Management Club. Before Kellogg, Jessica worked for Cornerstone Research, an economic litigation consulting firm, where she primarily evaluated energy market manipulation claims. Jessica graduated from Vanderbilt University with a dual degree of a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Mathematics. In her spare time, Jessica enjoys cooking, running, and exploring Chicago.

Songhua Hu

Songhua Hu came from Ningbo, China. He majored in sociology in college and obtained a Ph.D. in sociology at Stanford University. Before joining Kellogg, he worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in Boston and a customer insights analyst at Google. When he was in school, he worked part-time for a dog accessory company. Now he is excited to work for NOLA Couture with a line of business in dog collars!

Reed Hushka

Reed was born and raised in Bismarck ND and worked on a cattle feedlot from the time he was eleven to the time he was fifteen. He attended the University of Minnesota and majored in Finance & Economics. Following this Reed joined Ingersoll Rand's Accelerated Development Program where he worked in business unit and plant finance and in corporate audit. In these roles he worked in the energy, construction equipment, & refrigeration industries and lived in Charlotte NC, Northern New Jersey, & St. Louis MO. Reed is currently attending the Kellogg School of Management and majoring in Marketing and Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Following graduation he hopes to start his own business or go to work for a startup in the e-commerce industry.

Allison Johnson

Alli Johnson is currently attending the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Previously, she worked as a Manager with Mission Measurement, where she led client engagements with nonprofit organizations including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Easter Seals, and the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago. Prior to that, Alli worked for Bain & Company as a Senior Associate Consultant. Between engagements at Bain, Alli spent time at the Civic Consulting Alliance, offering counsel and guidance to several departments within the City of Chicago. She has also been an active board member for campusCATALYST, a nonprofit that educates and inspires the next generation of socially-minded leaders. Alli received her B.A. in Mathematics and Economics, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, from Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA.

McLean Quinn

McLean is a first year student at the Kellogg School of Management with concentrations in Finance and Real Estate Management. Prior to Kellogg, McLean was a private equity associate with Wachovia Capital Partners ("WCP") in Charlotte, NC, where he analyzed and executed investments in the healthcare services, IT and specialty pharmaceutical industries. Before joining WCP, McLean worked as an investment banker with Wachovia Securities, providing financing and advisory solutions to homebuilders and building products. McLean graduated from Davidson College in 2005 with a BA in Political Science and a minor in Economics. His interests include urban planning, cycling, running, and Davidson College basketball.

Steven Szaronos

Steven is a first year MBA Candidate at the Kellogg School of Management with concentrations in entrepreneurship, marketing, and finance. He is currently interning with the I2A early stage venture fund in Chicago, serves as a Kellogg Board Fellow, and is on the executive committee for the Kellogg admit weekend. Prior to Kellogg, he worked for Callaway Golf in Asia as an operations project manager and was a management consultant for three years with Deloitte. Steve graduated from Miami University (of Ohio) with a degree in Business Economics.