ETF Emerging Technology Fund Advisory Committee
The Governor has appointed a blue-ribbon ETF Advisory Committee composed of individuals who are industry leaders in Texas and or who are nationally recognized researchers from public or private institutions of higher education in Texas.
The appointed members of the ETF advisory committee volunteer their time to serve a two-year term. The ETF Advisory Committee reviews commercialization and matching grant proposals, and makes recommendations, through evaluation processes, to the Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker.
Current ETF Advisory Committee:
Bill Sproull
Richardson Chamber of Commerce & ETF Advisory Committee Chair
Metroplex Technology Business Council
Richardson
Bill Sproull is a seasoned economic development professional with experience in technology, economic development, business mentoring and recruitment. He is president and CEO of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce and leads the Metroplex Technology Business Council. Bill also serves as chair of the Texas Economic Development Council Legislative Committee. He is a board member of the International Economic Development Council and the University of Texas at Dallas Development Board. He received a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University.
Bob Pearson
WeissComm Group
Austin
Bob Pearson serves as Chief Technology and Media Officer for WeissComm Group, a leading independent global media services company. He is also Chief Evangelist of The Social Media Business Council, the leading forum for 80 of the world’s largest companies to share best practices in social media. Bob has a unique combination of social media, marketing and communications skills acquired during 20 years at three Fortune 500 companies and a major consultancy. He was most recently vice president of Communities and Conversations at Dell Inc, where he was responsible for developing an industry-leading approach to the use of social media. Before joining Dell, Bob worked for Novartis Pharmaceuticals as Head of Global Corporate Communications and as Head of Global Pharma Communications, where he served on the Pharma Executive Committee. Prior to Novartis, Bob was President of The Americas for GCI and was responsible for creating and building the firm’s global healthcare practice. He was previously Vice President of Global Public Affairs & Media Relations at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (now Sanofi Aventis). Bob has served on a variety of Boards, including CancerCare, The Huntington’s Disease Society of America and the Dell Foundation. He currently serves on the board of the Association for Multiple Impaired and Blind, the Digital Advisory Board for P&G and the advisory board of Uservoice.com.
Aruna Viswanathan
Clear Spring Capital Group & ETF Advisory Committee Vice Chair
Houston
Aruna Viswanathan of Houston is a vice president and principal at the Clear Spring Capital Group, an associated venture capital CAPCO firm of Aegis Capital Group based in New York. Prior to joining Aegis, Ms. Viswanathan was the Vice-President and Director of Operations for the Houston Technology Center (HTC), the largest technology incubator in Texas and home to the Gulf Coast Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization. She previously worked for AMD, Motorola, and SupportSoft. She serves on the advisory board of the Houston Technology Center and on the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering Leadership Advisory Board. She is a member of Technology Executives Club of Houston and the Houston Private Equity Organization. Viswanathan volunteers as a member and past director of Women in Technology International and is a charter member of The Indus Entrepreneurs-Houston. In 2003, she was named among Houston’s “Top Women in Technology” by the Association of Women in Computing. She received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a master’s in business administration from Rice University.
Dr. C. Mauli Agrawal
Dean of Engineering - USTA Peter Flawn Professor of Bio Medical Engineering
San Antoino
Agrawal’s research specializes in the area of implantable biomaterials and medical implants and is funded by federal grants and support from the biomedical industry. His lab focuses on both orthopedic and cardiovascular biomaterials and performs research in the following areas: tissue engineering, orthopedic total joints, drug-delivery stints, and self-assembled monolayers. Ph.D. 1989, Duke University. Honors and Awards: Fellow of American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering(AIMBE), President-Elect, Society for Biomaterials, Editorial Board Member: J. Biomedical Materials Research Section A, J. Biomedical Materials Research Section B, Tissue Engineering, J. ASTM Intl., J. Nanomedicine.
Michael Bleyzer
President & CEO - SigmaBleyzer Investment Group, LLC
Houston Michael Bleyzer is the founder of SigmaBleyzer, a private equity buyout group with one billion dollars in assets under management and extensive experience in investing in emerging markets. Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Mr. Bleyzer was raised and educated in the Soviet Union, graduating from Kharkov Institute of Radioelectronics with a Master of Science in digital electronics and quantum physics. His career took him to Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, until he came to the US in 1978 where he became an American citizen. After joining Exxon Corporation in 1978, Mr. Bleyzer spent the next fifteen years at Exxon and later Ernst & Young in a variety of operational, management and executive positions in Texas, Louisiana and Europe. Mr. Bleyzer founded SigmaBleyzer Investment Group, LLC in 1994 to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the breakdown of the Soviet Union and a new class of investments focused on the emerging markets. Over the last fifteen years, SigmaBleyzer has invested primarily in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. In 2008, SigmaBleyzer began investing in buyout opportunities in Texas. SigmaBleyzer’s approach to private equity investments in emerging markets is operational level value creation combined with advocacy of the economic reforms supported by The Bleyzer Foundation. This hybrid investment style, developed by Mr. Bleyzer and focused on simultaneous value creation at the enterprise level and macro level economic development, is responsible for Sigmableyzer’s very successful track record. SigmaBleyzer has offices in Houston, Kiev, Kharkiv, Sofia, Bucharest, Washington, Amsterdam and Almaty, and over the last fifteen years has made over one hundred investments in a variety of industry sectors, and has realized over ninety exits. In 2001, the Bleyzer family established The Bleyzer Foundation to help the countries of the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in their transition to market economy. Since 2001, the Foundation has funded the benchmarking and statistical analysis of the government policies of 128 developing countries and transition economies, which led to the development of the economic policy framework for transition economies. Over the last several years The Bleyzer Foundation has evolved into a broader economic development think tank analyzing the relationship between private capital investments and wealth creation. Mr. Bleyzer has appeared on CNBC as an expert on emerging markets investment and frequently speaks at investment conferences around the world. Mr. Bleyzer has served on the Board of Directors of the Houston Holocaust Museum for seven years, and currently serves on the Thunderbird Private Equity Center Executive Advisory Board, the Thunderbird Global Council, and the Advisory Board of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA).
T. Randall Cain
Managing Partner - Ernst & Young
San Antonio
T. Randall "Randy" Cain is Ernst & Young's San Antonio office managing partner and the Tax Managing Partner of the firm's Southwest Area. He previously was appointed by Governor Perry to serve on the Texas Tax Reform Commission. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the San Antonio Chapter of Certified Public Accountants. Cain's present civic involvement includes serving as Chairman of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation. He also serves on a number of other boards including the San Antonio Greater Chamber of Commerce and the Alamo Bowl. Previous duties include serving as Chairman of Junior Achievement of South Texas and Texas A&M's12th Man Foundation. He received a bachelor's degree in accounting from Texas A&M University.
Joel Fontenot
Managing Partner - Trailblazer Capital
Joel Fontenot is a managing partner at Trailblazer Capital. Prior to joining Trailblazer Capital, Joel worked for Cisco Systems, Inc. He was a Director of Business Development in the Voice Technology Group and managed the partnerships and strategic alliances involving the Cisco Unified Application Environment and related application offerings from Cisco’s Voice Technology Group. In the fall of 2002, Joel assisted Metreos Corporation as a founder in establishing itself as the first enterprise voice over IP applications platform for the development and deployment of innovative, media-rich IP communications applications. From the fall of 2003 until the Company’s sale to Cisco Systems, Inc., Joel served as Metreos’ CEO. Mr. Fontenot is a member of the Executive Board of the Bobby Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University. He also serves on the Advisory Board of Silver Creek Ventures and the School Board of Cistercian Preparatory School. Joel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin (1983) and a Masters of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University (1988).
Dr. Brett Gilbert
Texas A&M University
College Station
Dr. Gilbert is currently an assistant professor at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School. Before starting at her current position Gilbert was employed by the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. She is also a member of the Academy of Management and the Strategic Management Society. In addition Dr. Gilbert has been published in numerous journals including: the Journal of Business Venturing and the Journal of Management. She received a bachelor’s degree from Whittenberg University and her doctorate in Entrepreneurship from Indiana University.
Judy Hawley
Advanced Acoustic Concepts
Portland
Judy Hawley is a Texas business development representative at Advanced Acoustic Concepts and formerly served as a Texas State Representative. During her tenure in the House, she served as chair of the Rural Caucus where she helped establish the Office of Rural Community Affairs. She also served as Vice Chair of the Transportation and Energy Resources committees. As vice chair of the House Military Caucus, she helped establish the Texas Military Preparedness Commission and the Office of Defense Affairs. Hawley later represented Texas as vice-chair of the Southern States Energy Board and as a member of the National Energy Council. She is commissioner of the Port of Corpus Christi and past chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission Advisory Board. Hawley serves on the executive committee of the I-69 Alliance, Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce and Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Council. Additionally, she is a member of the American Association of Port Authorities and National Defense Industrial Association. She received a bachelor’s degree from Knox College and a master’s degree from Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Bill Holmes
Datamark
El Paso
Bill Holmes is chairman and CEO of Datamark Inc., an international document and forms processing company with production centers in El Paso, Texas, Mexico and India. He has nearly 40 years of experience in computer sales and service and customer support. Before moving to El Paso in 1982, Holmes worked for various firms in Houston, Texas and Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa. He is chairman of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra Trustee Board, and President and Chairman of the Kalahari Children’s Home Foundation. He is also a past board member of the Upper Rio Grande Workforce Development Board, and a member of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce and TransPecos/El Paso Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization.
Scott Kennedy
Deputy General Manager - B&W Pantex
Mr. Kennedy is in charge of maintaining all requisite and viable business systems and infrastructure for safe and successful operations at B&W Pantex. Areas of expertise include: Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities (RTBF) Program Management; Construction and Environmental Projects; Environment, Safety & Health; Maintenance Operations; Human Resources; and Budget/Finance. Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Kennedy was the Program Director for the RTBF Programs from October 2005 to May 2008. In total, Mr. Kennedy has over 27 years of extensive and diverse Pantex Plant experience in facility and maintenance engineering, maintenance work and control/scheduling, supply chain management, manufacturing production tooling, and weapons and infrastructure program management. Mr. Kennedy has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University and a M.E. in Engineering Management from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Rick Ledesma
DataLogic Software, Inc.
Harlingen
Rick Ledesma is founder and CEO of DataLogic Software Inc, a firm that develops Vesta(R) a commercial billing and management software for the home health industry. He is a member of the Texas Association of Home Care and the Harlingen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Ledesma also serves as vice president of the Rio Grande Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization, chairman pro tem of the Valley International Airport and chairman of The Harlingen Healthcare Council. Mr. Ledesma holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
William E. Morrow
Chairman & CEO - CSIdentity Corporation
Spring Branch
Bill Morrow has over twenty years experience in business foundation and leadership experience. In 2006, William established CSIdentiy Corporation where he currently serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Under Bill’s stewardship, CSIdentity provides innovative technology, products, and services to Fortune 500 companies, governmental entities, small businesses, and individual consumers. From 1999 to 2005, Morrow founded Grande Communications where he served as the Vice Chairman of the Board, Director, and CEO. Under Bill’s leadership Grande's funding efforts skyrocketed establishing a Texas record in venture capital investment with total equity raised surpassing $500M. In September of 2005, Governor Rick Perry appointed Morrow as a board member for the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. In August of 2007, Bill rejoined the committee as appointed Chairman. Bill was also reappointed to the committee in 2009. Bill currently sits on the University of Texas San Antonio Development Board where he supports our future generations. He has served on the board for over eight years. Morrow has also served as the past Vice Chair of the Communications Committee at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and as a Board member of the Austin Economic Development Corporation. Morrow received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Texas San Antonio and was awarded the UTSA Alumni Association Alumnus of the Year award in 2002. He earned both the San Antonio Business Journal's "40 Under 40" award in 2001 and the 2002 Austin “Under 40” award for community service in the categories of business and finance. Morrow earned the honor of finalist four times for “E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year” contest here in Austin. A native Texan, Morrow, and his wife Traci recognize the need for community service. The Morrows dedicate their time and resources to honorable foundations such as Any Baby Can and Area Food Banks. Bill and Traci reside in Spring Branch, Texas with their children.
John Schrock Sr.
Lifetime Industries
McAllen
John Schrock is president and CEO of Lifetime Industries Inc. He is chairman of the McAllen Medical Center, McAllen Heart Hospital and McAllen Medical Foundation. Schrock is also vice chairman of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation and past president of the Boys and Girls Club of McAllen. He is a member of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. Additionally, he is an executive committee member of the University of Texas Pan American Foundation Board. Schrock is board chairman of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and formerly served in the U.S. Army as an intelligence officer for the Army Security Agency. He received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&I College.
Dr. Max Talbott
Principal Consultant and Owner - MAX TALBOTT LLC.
In 2002, Max Talbott established MAX TALBOTT LLC, a consulting practice specializing in regulatory and business development issues concerning drugs, biologics, and medical devices. Max also served as the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Commercial Development at Introgen Therapeutics, a Texas-based company specializing in the discovery and development of gene-based medicine, from 2002 until 2008. Prior to 2002, Max served as a chief regulatory officer for a number of large pharmaceutical firms. These firms included: Eli Lilly and Company, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer/Aventis, and DuPont/Bristol Myers Squibb. While directing regulatory efforts at these companies, Max personally directed the worldwide regulatory approval of approximately three dozen major drug, biologic, and medical device products. Mr. Talbott received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in biology from Ball State University in 1970. He went on to earn his a Masters of Science Degree in physiology from Ball State in 1972. In 1976, he received a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from Rutgers in immunology and pharmacology, under the direction of Dr. Helen Strausser. Several professional awards and recognitions Mr. Talbott received include: the FDA’s Commendable Service Award, membership on the Editorial Board of the Drug Information Journal, and listing in various professional and business compendia (i.e., “Who’s Who in Science and Technology,” “Who’s Who of American Professionals,” and, “Who’s Who of Business Leaders”). Mr. Talbott also has numerous presentations and publications in the areas of new drug/biologic/medical device development, health product regulatory affairs/public policy, immunology and pharmacology.
Richard Williams
Head of Renewable Energy - Energy Future Holdings
Dallas
In his role in corporate development and strategy at Energy Future Holdings, Richard Williams manages renewable energy investments, including exploring and screening new and emerging technologies. Formerly TXU Corp., EFH is the leading purchaser of wind energy in Texas and is committed to increasing its investment in clean sources of electricity including renewable resources and development of alternative energy technology. Williams previously served as part of TXU’s corporate strategy team, which included originating and executing value-creating M&A transactions. He participated in the $45 billion buyout of TXU to a group of private buyers led by Goldman Sachs, KKR and TPG. Prior to joining EFH, he was a member of Deutsche Bank’s Energy, Utilities, and Chemicals investment banking practice in New York where he negotiated international transactions ranging in size from $250 million to $40 billion. Williams received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and currently lives in Dallas.
Enrique (Henry) R. Venta
Lamar University College of Business
Laredo
Henry Venta of Beaumont is dean of the Lamar University College of Business. He serves on the board of advisors of the Beaumont Small Business Development Center and is a member of the Southeast Texas Economic Development District Board. He is also a member of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Council and past member of the Illinois Coalition Technology Fund Panel. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico and a doctorate degree from Northwestern University.
