Mentors
Venture & Entrepreneur Mentors
Howard Berke
Senior Advisor, Good Energies
Howard Berke is a Senior Advisor to Good Energies, a private investment firm in solar photovoltaic companies and wind developers. He has nearly 30 years of hands-on management experience launching, building and leading both public and private technology companies. This includes over 20 years of general management with full P&L responsibility for eight start-up companies and ten years of business development and marketing focusing on emerging technologies.
Mr. Berke has founded or co-founded 13 start-up companies and has initiated and completed numerous corporate acquisitions, mergers and R&D joint ventures in the U.S., Europe and Asia. He is currently chairman and co-founder of Konarka Technologies, an innovator in development and commercialization of Power Plastic™, a material that converts light to energy.
In addition to serving as delegate to the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers, he sits on the board of directors for ACORE, has helped to found and organize the New England Clean Energy Council and has guest lectured on entrepreneurship at Yale, Harvard, MIT and elsewhere throughout the world. Berke received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Yale University.
Ian Blakely
Director, Good Energies
As a director in Good Energies’ New York office, Ian Blakely focuses primarily on investments in the solar space. During his time at Good Energies, he has also made investments in wind and load management companies.
Prior to joining Good Energies, Ian Blakely was the co-founder and CFO of BrightPath, an associate at JPMorgan Partners, a leading global private equity and venture capital fund. While at JPMorgan Partners, an analyst at Morgan Stanley.
Ian Blakely received his MBA at the MIT Sloan School of Management with a focus on social and developmental entrepreneurship. He completed his undergraduate studies at Duke University earning a B.S. degree in Economics and B.A. degree in Environmental Science and Policy.
Eric Emmons
Partner, Massachusetts Green Energy Fund
Eric Emmons is a Partner at the Massachusetts Green Energy Fund, and leads many of its investments in photovoltaics, biofuels, industrial process efficiency, and new materials. Prior to joining the fund in 2004, Mr. Emmons worked with Commons Capital, a Boston-area venture capital firm which invests in energy, medical, and technology companies.
Mr. Emmons has prior experience in corporate finance, strategy consulting, and venture capital investing. Mr. Emmons worked in the M&A and strategy group of LEK Consulting, the management team of Enmed, Inc., as Manager of Marketing and Strategic Planning for EPIX Medical, Inc.
Mr. Emmons holds an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Barry Fougere
Partner, Heidrick & Struggles
Barry Fougere is a Partner at Heidrick & Struggles, the world’s leading provider of executive search and leadership consulting services, in the Technology and Alternative & Renewable Energy practices.
Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Barry was CEO and President of Colubris Networks, a leading wireless network infrastructure company where he grew global revenues at an average rate of 2.5 times per annum over his four-year tenure as CEO while increasing enterprise value by a factor of more than 12x. While at Colubris, he was a finalist for the New England Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. Prior to Colubris, he was a Partner in two management consulting firms, A.T.Kearney and Cambridge Strategic Management Group. He began his career in the aviation and power generation field at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines.
Barry holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, a MS in Engineering Management from the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern, a MSME from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BSME with High Distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Network Communications Council and the Advisory Board of the National Center for Technological Literacy, an organization focused on advancing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education in the K-12 levels.
Jon Karlen
Principal, IDG Ventures
Jon is a Principal at IDG Ventures Boston whose investment interests and experience include enterprise software, consumer-focused products and online services, and energy technology. He currently represents IDG Ventures Boston on the board of ZING Systems.
Prior to joining IDG Ventures in October 2005, Jon served as the Director of Product Marketing at OATSystems, an RFID software company, where he led the company’s product positioning and marketing activities. Jon joined the company following a successful Entrepreneur-in-Residence position at Greylock, where he developed the investment opportunity in OATSystems. Before Greylock, Jon was an executive at NTRU Cryptosystems, an early-stage company focused on commercializing data encryption technology for constrained devices. During his tenure at NTRU, Jon served as General Manager for the RFID and Smart Card group and Director of Product Management. Jon also spent time as an Associate with Greylock and an Equity Research Associate at Montgomery Securities.
Jon holds a BA in Philosophy from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Rob Lachenauer
Co-founder, CEO and President, GEO2 Technologies
Formerly, Mr. Lachenauer was a Vice President and Director of the Boston Consulting Group. During his 17 years at BCG, Mr. Lachenauer's practice was to develop and implement growth strategies for multi-national companies across a range of markets including automotive, consumer goods, apparel, retail, and financial services. Client work was global including in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Asia, and South America. Prior to BCG, Mr. Lachenauer was a Brand Manager at Frito-Lay. He co-authored a book published by the Harvard Business School Press entitled "Hardball" which was translated into seven languages and printed more than 50,000 copies. Mr. Lachenauer holds a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. He is married to Dr. Catherine Lachenauer, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, and enjoys endurance sports--completing four Boston marathons, biking across the U.S. in 24 days and parenting of three daughters. He is a private investor in several clean tech firms including Fallbrook Technologies (planetary CVT) and General Compression (wind energy).
J. Christopher Moran
Vice President, General Manager, Applied Ventures
J. Christopher "Chris" Moran is responsible for the development and management of Applied Ventures' investments in early stage, privately held companies.
Most recently, Mr. Moran served as vice president and division general manager of the Applied Materials Mask Products Division. Prior to that, Mr. Moran was vice president of Corporate Marketing from 1999-2005.
Since joining Applied Materials in 1984, Mr. Moran has held a number of positions in division management, product management and marketing. He also served as general manager of the Metal Etch Division, Etch Product Business Group, and held a variety of engineering and product management positions. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Moran served as a member of the technical staff at Hughes Aircraft Co., and Atari Computer Corporation.
Mr. Moran received his bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Christopher Poirier
Cheif Executive Officer, CoalTek
Since joining CoalTek in 2003, Mr. Poirier has spearheaded CoalTek’s efforts to commercialize and deploy the company’s Clean Coal technology, overseeing corporate strategy, operations, financial management and business development.
Prior to his current role at CoalTek, Mr. Poirier founded or led several venture-backed technology companies, including Resinate Corporation, GetPlastic, and JR Medical Technology. His extensive experience includes technical sales, business development and management positions at MK Industries and AT&T Global Information Systems.
Mr. Poirier is a member of the American Coal Council, a member of the Environmental Committee of the Council of Industrial Boiler Operators (CIBO), and a member of the New England Clean Energy Council’s CEO Council. Mr. Poirier earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing and finance from Boston College.
Pierre Villeneuve, Ph.D
Founder, Cambrius
In 2004, Dr. Villeneuve founded Cambrius, a manufacturer of industrial process analyzers based on Raman spectroscopy. Dr. Villeneuve served as CEO of Cambrius until December 2007 when the company was sold to Hamilton Sundstrand (a United Technologies company).
Prior to Cambrius, Dr. Villeneuve was CEO of Clarendon Photonics, a manufacturer of integrated optical components for telecommunications using standard CMOS processes. Previously, Dr. Villeneuve spent 5 ½ years at MIT as a Research Scientist (’96-’99) and a post-doc (’94-’96). Concurrently, he consulted for Lucent, Corning and Polaroid, and held an Assistant Professor position at Brown University.
He authored 25 patents and over 60 articles in scientific literature. Dr. Villeneuve holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Laval University, Canada.
Todd Wilson
General Partner of RockPort Capital Partners Fund
Mr. Wilson began his career at AT&T, where he held technical, sales and marketing positions. In 1990 he joined Wilbraham & Monson Academy, a 200-year old private secondary school located in central Massachusetts, where he was Director of External Affairs and held positions in Admissions, Development and Financial Assistance. He later joined Montague Corporation, a manufacturing business where he was a general manager involved in all aspects of the business. In 1998 Mr. Wilson joined RockPort Partners, a merchant bank specializing in the energy and environmental sectors and helped form the venture fund in 2001.
He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Davidson Instruments, EcoSMART Technologies, HydroPoint Data Systems, MicroSeismic, Inc. and Pionetics Corporation, and is an observer to the Boards of Directors of NeoPhotonics Corporation and NanoGram Corporation.
Mr. Wilson received a BA in History and Economics from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Dr. Bilal Zuberi
Co-founder and VP Product Development, GEO2 Technologies
Prior to joining GEO2, Bilal Zuberi was a consultant in the Boston office of The Boston Consulting Group, advising clients in automotive and industrial markets, especially in matters of technology and intellectual property. He has a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from MIT where he studied the fate of atmospheric nano-particles, and the effects of particulate pollution on local, regional and global climate change under Prof. Mario Molina (Nobel Laureate, 1995). His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and in 40+ patents and patent applications in the fields of materials and engine emissions control technologies. He has given invited talks at international conferences, symposia and at universities, including MIT and Harvard. Dr. Zuberi has been an advisor and consultant to private investors, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in clean tech, esp. engine technologies, solar thermal, and thermo-electric materials. He is a member of the steering committee for the University Research and Entrepreneurship Symposium (Boston, 2008) and a core-team member for the first private science and engineering research university in Pakistan (LUMS). He also maintains a blog on related issues at BZnotes.wordpress.com. He is married to Dr. Lama Rimawi, a fellow MIT alum and a pediatrician, and lives in Cambridge (MA).
Legal Mentors
Paul G. Afonso
Of Counsel Government Law and Strategies, Brown Rudnick
Mr. Afonso is Co-Practice Leader of the firm’s Boston Government Law & Strategies Group. With 20 years of energy, legislative and regulatory experience and a strong background in international trade law, Mr. Afonso is noted for his expertise in regulatory policies and legislation related to electricity, gas, water, cable television, telecommunications, pipeline engineering and safety, railway, trucking and bus services.
Mr. Afonso served as Chairman of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy (DTE) from 2003 to 2005, the Chairman of the Energy Facilities Siting Board, former General Counsel for the MasMassachusetts DTE, and he oversaw the review of a key petition for the Cape Wind project, the nation's first major off-shore wind project. He has helped oversee state regulatory policies, governing rates and quality of service for electric generation, gas supply, telecommunications, cable television and transportation.
James Avery
Partner, Brown Rudnick
Mr. Avery has represented a variety of clients in a wide range of regulatory proceedings before the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy, the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board and other state utility commissions. Mr. Avery has also represented clients in a variety of commercial and financial transactions, including acquisitions, mergers, corporate restructuring, contracts and financings.
Mr. Avery is co-author of, Inside the Minds: Energy Law Settlements and Negotiations:
Leading Lawyers on Dealing With Regulatory Commissions, Understanding Political and Market Forces, and Making the Right Deal, Aspatore Books; the Chapter on the Department of Public Utilities (now the Department of Telecommunications and Energy), Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Compilation on Massachusetts Procedure, Volume 9; and State and Federal Deregulation of Electric and Natural Gas Services in Massachusetts, National Business Institute.
David V. Capillo
Partner, Goodwin Proctor
David Cappillo is a partner in the firm’s Corporate and Technology Companies Groups. His practice focuses in corporate, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, securities laws and technology licensing areas. Mr. Cappillo represents entrepreneurs, start-ups, and private and public companies in a variety of industries, including media, communications, hardware, software, information technology services and life sciences. He counsels his clients on formation issues, corporate finance matters, equity fundraising activities, mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance, strategic licensing and technology transfer transactions. Mr. Cappillo also represents leading private equity and venture capital investors in connection with investments in operating companies both in the U.S. and in Canada.
Christopher J. Denn
Partner - Goodwin Proctor
Chris Denn, a partner in Goodwin Proctor's Business Law Department and member of its Life Science Practice, specializes in advising both emerging and established companies in the commercialization of intellectual property, including through licensing, strategic collaborations and joint ventures, as well as advising clients on corporate governance and finance matters. He joined Goodwin Procter in 2005 and was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in both 2006 and 2007.
Among many, Mr. Denn’s clients include companies like clean technology to produce fuels, and energy and other sustainable products. He has assisted clients in the formation and negotiation of joint ventures, strategic alliances, technology licenses, outsourcing programs, and technology transfer agreements, as well as corporate governance issues, company start-ups, venture capital investments and initial public offerings of securities. Mr. Denn also has significant experience with shareholder relations, business development and strategic planning.
Elizabeth DiMare Fischer
Associate, Goodwin Proctor
Elizabeth DiMare Fischer, an associate in the firm’s Technology Companies Group, focuses her practice on securities law matters, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, public offerings and other matters of general corporate and securities law. Ms. Fischer joined Goodwin Procter in 2003.
Paula Valencia Galbraith
Associate, Mintz Levin
Paula is an associate in the Corporate practice of Mintz Levin’s Boston office. During law school, Paula served as a judicial intern for Chief Judge Larry J. McKinney of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, and as a law clerk with the Judge Advocacy General’s summer program at the U.S. Army post in Vicenza, Italy. Also, she was a law clerk for another prominent Boston law firm, where she researched materials for a legal treatise. Paula received her B.A. from College of the Holy Cross (1994) and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law (2001).
Emily Hayes
Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendelton
Emily Hayes represents early stage and established technology companies, advising them in the areas of entity formation, general corporate matters, equity and compensation, angel financing, venture capital financing, and mergers and acquisitions. In addition to representing companies, she also represents venture capital funds and other institutional investors in their investments in portfolio companies.
Richard A. Kanoff
Of Counsel, Mintz Levin
Richard is Of Counsel in the Corporate practice of Mintz Levin’s Boston office. His practice focuses on energy-clean technology law including regulatory policy and litigation, permitting, development, and transactional matters. Prior to joining Mintz Levin, Richard served as Regional Counsel for an independent/merchant power producer, Calpine Corporation. In this role, Richard supported development, construction, permitting, operation, compliance, acquisitions, restructuring and/or disposition of more than $2.5 billion in energy facilities. He also directed federal and state energy and environmental activities including matters before the U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and regional ISO’s. Richard is admitted to practice in Massachusetts He received his B.A., in Government and Law, from Lafayette College, and his J.D., cum laude, from George Washington University.
James R. Kasinger
Partner, Goodwin Proctor
James Kasinger is a partner in the firm’s Business Law Department. As a member of the Technology Companies Group, Mr. Kasinger’s practice is concentrated in the areas of corporate and securities law, private equity and mergers and acquisitions. He has experience in various areas of business practice including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity transactions (including private placements and buy-outs) and general representation of public and private companies. Mr. Kasinger joined Goodwin Procter in 2005.
W. Matthew Rowe
Associate, Goodwin Proctor
Matthew Rowe is an associate in the firm's Business Law Department. He joined Goodwin Procter in 2005. Prior to joining Goodwin Procter, Mr. Rowe was an associate in the Business Practice Group at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault in Boston. While attending law school, he served as the Clinical Program Director for the Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review.
Jeff Steele
Partner - Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendelton
Jeff Steele is a Partner in Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton’s Corporate Practice Group. He practices securities and general corporate law, focusing on start-ups and developing companies in high technology industries, including telecommunications, medical devices, software and biotechnology. He has extensive experience representing start-ups, developing companies and investment and venture capital firms in connection with private placements, seed and venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property licensing, initial and secondary public offerings, public company compliance work, and executive employment matters.
John W. Wadsworth
Partner, Brown Rudnick
Mr. Wadsworth represents energy companies in connection with acquisitions, permitting, regulatory approvals, and development work, and represents developers and financers of large projects in connection with permitting, regulatory and environmental risk allocation issues.
Mr. Wadsworth has developed very strong relationships with various environmental agencies and utility regulatory agencies. He has extensive experience with Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and with carbon issues in general. He has served on the Solid Waste Advisory Board aiding the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in drafting regulations, has been extensively involved in programs relating to Chapter 91 (tidelands) issues, and has been asked to advise DEP on the effectiveness of various programs. He has also lectured on compliance with procurement laws in developing environmental facilities in a series of seminars sponsored by DEP.