Speaker Bios

Mr. Ed Alexander, Founder and Attorney of Entrepreneurship Law Firm, P.L. Ed Alexander is founder of Entrepreneurship Law Firm located in Orlando, Florida, and is admitted to practice law in both Florida and New York. He is the author of the book "10 Common and Costly Business Killing Legal Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. A Business Law Bible for Entrepreneurs" (available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com). Ed works closely with University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program clients and is regularly requested to present the "Legal and Ethical Foundations" portion of the UCFTI Entrepreneurship Certificate Course. Back To Top ^

Mr. Dave Brim, CEO and Founder of Brand Advance David Brim, CEO and Founder of Brand Advance, is a well respected business consultant and marketing strategist. He is also the co-founder of GroupTable, a collaborative software tailored for student group projects and study groups. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Marketing. David was also the winner of the UCF Joust Business Plan Competition for two consecutive years in 2007 and 2008. In May of 2009 David was named the official internet marketing and web strategist for the State of Florida's Economic Gardening program "Grow Fl". Back To Top ^

Ms. Kirstie Chadwick, Coach of UCF Venture Lab Kirstie Chadwick has 25 years of experience at technology companies, including 15 years of direct executive-level experience at early-stage, venture-backed startups. In 1999 she co-founded DigitalOwl, Inc., a digital media software company. As the company's CEO, Ms. Chadwick raised over $13M in venture capital and grew the company to 35 employees. In 2007, she was tapped to become the Executive Director of the Winter Park Angels, a 50+ member angel investment group. Today, she is a founding partner of Growth Innovators, LLC. Ms. Chadwick graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Computer Science from UCF, and has an MBA from UCF. Back To Top ^

Mr. James Dale Davidson of Private Investor Private investor, entrepreneur, analyst and author. Mr. Davidson has been active in the entrepreneurial spectrum since 1967 with extensive experience world-wide in entrepreneurial executive management and venture finance. He has been involved in the launching of three companies that achieved a valuation exceeding $1Billion including Nanovation Technologies, 3 Re.com and Anatolia Minerals. Anatolia survives, with a market cap today of $1,035 billion, and a signed agreement to acquire Avoca Resources for $1 Billion. He also was involved in several others with valuations greater than $100 million inlcuding Agora Publishing, GeneMax Pharmaceuticals, and NewsMax Media. Back To Top ^

Ms. Carol Ann Dykes of UCF Incubation Program Site Manager Back To Top ^

Dr. Cameron Ford, Founding Director of Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Cameron Ford earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Penn State University before joining UCF. Cameron's scholarly interests focus on creativity and entrepreneurship by describing how novel ideas evolve, gain legitimacy, and attract resources during the new venture emergence process. His research has appeared in over 60 academic papers including publications in journals such as the Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, and IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. Back To Top ^

Mr. Gordon Hogan, Director of Operations of UCF Incubation Program Gordon H. Hogan is Director of Operations for the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program. He has a BS in Chemistry from Fort Hays Kansas State University plus graduate courses at the University of Kansas. Gordon was previously President of Central Florida Innovation Corporation (CFIC), a firm dedicated to creating and building technology companies in the region. Additional background includes 30 years experience as an executive, entrepreneur, and business consultant. His areas of expertise include matching technology to a market, preparing technology startups for first outside investment, resolving complex business issues and serving as an interim executive for technology startups. Back To Top ^

Ms. Diana Latour, Managing Director of Latour and Associates Diana LaTour is the Managing Director of Latour and Associates, a consulting firm of senior level business executives with extensive experience in the formation, development and funding of new ventures and small businesses. Ms. LaTour currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Palm Tree Software Inc.; Board Member of International Nutrition Consultants; Board Member of RedCreek Communications Inc., World Telehealth Corp., and Vital Pathways Communications, Inc., Board Member of the IBM Corporation Advisory Board, and Executive Director of The Enterprise Network, a non-profit organization. Back To Top ^

Ms. Lilian Myers, Co-Founder and CEO of Allviant Lilian has nearly 20 years of entrepreneurial, executive, and tech industry experience. She founded consulting firm, eGlobal Strategies, to identify market opportunities, develop go-to-market strategies and start new businesses. Ms. Myers later became part of the management team at the University of Central Florida's Venture Lab, a leading economic development force in Central Florida for moving local innovations from idea to operations, funding, and into the market. She has served on the board of Children's Home Society of Florida where she chaired the statewide governance committee. Back To Top ^

Mr. Michael O'Donnell, Executive in Residence of CEI Michael has 38 years of business experience and a long history of entrepreneurial involvement including company founder, private equity financing, lease financing, debt and equity placement, equipment asset management, business plan development, manufacturing management, and business consulting. He has served on the Board of Directors for financing entities in the US, UK, Germany and Australia. Michael recently joined UCF as the Executive in Residence for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He is an instructor for the Department of Management in the College of Business Administration, teaching New Venture Finance in 2010. Back To Top ^

Dr. Tom O'Neal, Founder and Director of UCF Incubation Program Tom O'Neal currently serves as the Associate Vice President of Research and Commercialization at The University of Central Florida (UCF) and Executive Director of the UCF Business Incubation Program (UCFBIP) and also the Florida Economic Gardening Institute (FEGI). O'Neal has been part of UCF's Office of Research and Commercialization team working to help UCF become a leading metropolitan research university since year 2000. O'Neal's areas of responsibility include the sponsored programs office, technology transfer, compliance, the UCF Business Incubation Program and the newest initiative under his direction is the Florida's Economic Gardening Institute. Back To Top ^

Mr. Rick Parks, Venture Lab Coach of UCF Venture Lab Rick Parks is a technology entrepreneur with expertise in building and selling software companies. His early career included senior technical positions with companies like Chrysler Corporation and Abbott Laboratories. Rick's first start-up, Intec Systems Corporation, was a break-through concept for sales automation. Intec was acquired by Symantec in 1994. In 1995 Rick founded Endeavor Software, Inc. After two years, Endeavor was acquired by a publicly traded consulting firm as the platform for its sales process reengineering practice. Soon after, Rick started his third company, SalesWare Corporation, which was acquired in 2000 by Front Range Solutions (Goldmine). Rick also works with the University of Central Florida as an Entrepreneur Coach at the UCF Venture Lab where he mentors young companies on their way to success. Back To Top ^

Dr. Dan Rini, Founder and President of RINI Technologies Dr. Rini is the founder and president of RINI Technologies, Inc., and has successfully completed over 50 R&D contracts from the Department of Defense, NASA and DHS. Under Dr. Rini's leadership RINI Tech is now the leading developer of miniature personal cooling systems in the world. Back To Top ^

Dr. Svetlana Shtrom, Director of UCF Venture Lab Dr. Svetlana Shtrom is currently directing the commercial development of technologies at UCF's Office of Research & Commercialization. She has over 10 years of experience in life sciences with expertise in business development and technology management. Prior to joining UCF, she consulted for biotechnology companies and venture capital firms in business growth and technology evaluation. Svetlana holds an MBA from UCF. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health, and received a Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of California at San Francisco and a B.S. in molecular genetics from the Ohio State University. Back To Top ^

Mr. Michael Siemer, Founder and CEO of Mydea Technologies Corporation Michael is currently the founder & CEO of Mydea Technologies Corporation. He earned his BS in Aerospace Engineering and MS in Mechanical Engineering from UCF and is a registered professional engineer. Since 1995, Michael has worked at the Walt Disney World Co. in several areas of design and production where he helped engineer new rides and shows. Michael left Disney in 2003 to found Mydea Technologies as part of the UCF Technology Incubator. His company is providing product development services in the Central Florida area with an emphasis on rapid prototyping, rapid tooling and direct digital manufaturing technology. Back To Top ^

Mr. Scott Wall, Senior Vice President in Commercial Markets of RBC Bank Scott Wall has a 14 year background working with the ownership and management of middle market companies providing financial and strategic solutions as a commercial banker. He completed his commercial credit training with NationBank in Charlotte, NC, and has worked in Central Florida for most of his banking career. He is currently a senior vice president in Commercial Markets with RBC Bank in downtown Orlando. Back To Top ^