Bob Martin
Bob Martin is the Chairman &
CEO of JumpStart Partners, Inc. a merchant banking firm
specializing in mergers, acquisitions, and corporate change
allowing companies to achieve their growth objectives.
JumpStart Partners, Inc. was founded in 2000, and
has worked with over 60 clients including Royal Dutch / Shell
Oil, IBM and Vivendi Universal.
Mr. Martin
also co-founded Internet REIT, Inc (iREIT), a leading Internet
media company with over 250,000 web properties. While
serving as CEO of iREIT, the company raised over $125 million in
capital, completed over 100 acquisitions, and grew its online
audience to over 40 million unique visitors per month. Prior, he was the Vice-President of Sales &
Marketing for MagRabbit - an Austin-based leader in logistics and
customer care. Mr. Martin previously was Director of
E-commerce at Trilogy Software, an enterprise software company. He
also held roles with Advent International Global Private Equity and
Procter & Gamble (Customer Business Development Division) in
Boston.
He sits on the Board of
Advisors for RPM Capital, ILS, and formerly The
Middleware Company (which was acquired by Precise Solutions,
Nasdaq:PRSE). Bob currently is a member of the Success
Committees for both the Austin Technology Incubator and the
Clean Energy Incubator and is a member of the Advisory Council
for The University of Texas’s Technology Commercialization
program. Mr. Martin is also a co-founder of the Energy VC
Forum, and has authored a number of articles on investment and
mergers & acquisition trends. He has previously served as a member of the
Board of Directors of the Austin Coalition on Workforce
Development and the Executive Committees of the Austin Clean
Energy Council, the Houston Angel Network and the Austin Technology Council.
Mr. Martin graduated with honors from Harvard University with a
BA in Economics, attended
Sloan
Business
School
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a Chartered
Financial Analyst (CFA Charterholder).
Steven
Meyers
Steven
Meyers
has worked at the forefront of business development and
operations in the energy-efficiency and energy-financing
industries for more than a decade. Steven is currently
president and founder of the Rational Energy Network, offering
technical, financial, strategic, and market analysis. Since
Rational Energy’s recent inception in August 2003, clients have
ranged from early-stage companies and entrepreneurs to large
utilities and multinational corporations. As a Vice-President
at Invesys PLC,
Steve
developed technical products and services for the Electric
Utility Industry. While a Vice-President at Enron Energy
Services,
Steve
conceptualized and managed a portfolio of investments in energy-efficiency
projects at dozens of Fortune 500 companies. Previously, he
worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, with Energy
Service Companies (ESCO’s) in
Singapore
and
California
, as an independent consultant, and with an Internet start-up.
Steve
has published articles and spoken nationally on these issues.
Steve
received his MS in Engineering from the
University
of
California
at
Berkeley
and a BS in Physics from
Haverford
College
. Born and raised in
Wisconsin
,
Steve
and his wife
Lauren
now make their home in
Austin
,
Texas
.
Charles Shields
Charles Shields has 25 years of business
experience as an entrepreneur and executive for major
international corporations, manufacturing organizations, foreign
governments and The World Bank. He currently works as an
advisor and interim executive in high tech and growth company
operations.
Charles founded several high tech engineering
firms that provide systems design, integration, installation and
training for the electronics, biomedical, automotive, printing,
metal fabrication, communications and other industrial sectors.
Under his direction, these firms have installed over 900 systems
in 60 countries, on 4 continents for over 300 of the Fortune
International 500 firms.
As a commercial diplomat in Europe, he
assisted over 400 Euro firms planning entry or expansion into
the US market, including strategic planning, feasibility
studies, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing and
technology transfers. As President of Swedish State Industries,
Western Hemisphere, he directed strategic planning, marketing,
distribution, licensing, technology transfers and M/A activities
for 23 divisions. Shields served as a consultant to The World
Bank, advising 5 South American governments for administrative
organization.
Charles has a BA in Developmental Economics from the University
of Texas and an MBA in International Business from Thunderbird
Graduate School of International Management. He holds over 50
patents worldwide for control systems, apparatus and methods and
is conversant in 6 languages. Shields has served on the Boards
of Directors of over 45 domestic and international companies.
Board of Advisors
Don
McCullough, Chairman MPS Capital,
Philadelphia, PA
Don McCulloch, Jr., is chairman of MPS Capital, Inc., a private
investment firm focused on consumer products and Internet
companies. He plays an active leadership role in strategizing,
reorganizing, and managing those investments such as JumpStart
Partners.
Prior to forming MPS Capital, Inc., McCulloch served as chairman
and CEO at Nutri/System, Inc. Previously, he held the President
and CEO positions at C. F. Hathaway Co. He also held several
positions at PepsiCo, Inc., including senior vice president of
marketing for their Pizza Hut division, vice president of
marketing for the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group and business manager
of tennis for Wilson Sporting Goods.
McCulloch holds both a BA in government and an M.B.A from
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Elaine
Wetmore,, CEO Austin Entrepreneur's
Foundation, Austin, TX
Elaine Wetmore is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the
Austin Entrepreneurs Foundation, an organization dedicated to
facilitating mutually beneficial, sustained relationships
between the entrepreneurial and the non-profit communities in
Central Texas.
Prior to joining the AEF, Wetmore had been President and Chief
Operating Officer of venture-backed start-up Knowledge Discovery
One, Inc. ("KD1"). Earlier this year, she presided over its
acquisition by Net Perceptions, Inc., the leading provider of
marketing software and services for retailers. Wetmore had
joined KD1 as CFO in 1998 and was previously CFO and
vice-president of Tivoli Systems, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary
of IBM.
Prior to Tivoli, Wetmore worked for IBM for 13 years in various
financial management positions supporting software and hardware
business units in Texas, New York and Vermont.
She has also been on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of
Austin, Board member and Vice President of Austin's State
Theater, Board member of the local chapter of the Financial
Executive's Institute and is currently an Adjunct Professor of
marketing at St. Edward's University and on the Board of the
Austin Community Development Corporation.
Wetmore has a bachelor's degree in Finance from Penn State
University and an MBA in Strategic Management from Pace
University.
Craig Fryar,
EVP Business Development, Torquin Holdings, Austin, TX
As a technology "Evangelist" Craig Fryar has over twenty years
experience in launching new companies and products. As a partner at
Seedstage he works with entrepreneurs to craft their concept into a
clear, concise, fundable proposition.
Prior to Seedstage Craig served in key management positions in
business development, product management, marketing and sales for
Dell, Apple Computer, Technology Works, Interplay and Ashton-Tate.
Craig served as President of a successful software startup,
Peninsula Gameworks, and most recently served in business
development for a privately held Austin-based investment and product
venture company, IDM Partners.
Active in the local community, he serves as a board and advisory
board member for several businesses and organizations including
AdvocateWeb. He holds a degree in Business and also Communications
from Texas Tech University.
In 1999 he founded an Austin-area group called "G3", Geeks
Glorifying God, which serves the local high-tech, faith-based
community. According to Craig the best software he has ever shipped
are his three kids!
