Linda Mason is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Bright Horizons. Bright Horizons provides high quality childcare at the work site as a benefit for employees. She founded the company in 1986 with her husband, Roger Brown, and a small team of committed parents in Cambridge, MA. Prior to founding Bright Horizons, Linda Mason managed large-scale relief operations overseas. She served as co-director of Save the Children's emergency program in Sudan, serving 400,000 famine and war victims, and directed a large feeding program for children in Cambodian refugee camps along the Thai border. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Management, Cornell University and the Sorbonne University in Paris, France.
Mike Homer is the Chairman of Kontiki. He is also an investor and advisor to several Silicon Valley startups, including Opsware (formerly Loudcloud), Tellme Networks, Palm, and TiVo. Previously, Mike was a Senior Vice President at America Online. Before the acquisition of Netscape by AOL, he held various executive positions at Netscape Communications, including Executive Vice President and General Manager of Netscape Netcenter, and Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Earlier in his career, Mike gained valuable experience as Vice President of Engineering at EO Corporation and as Vice President of Marketing at GO Corporation. From 1982 to 1991, Mike held various technical and management positions at Apple Computer. Mike Homer earned a B.S. from the University of California at Berkeley.
Richard Hayman was President and Co-Owner of Hayman Systems before it was acquired by MICROS Systems, Inc. in December 1999. Hayman Systems was founded as a cash register company in 1938 by Stanley Hayman but under Richard Hayman's leadership, grew to become a value-added reseller and systems integrator of point-of-sale systems to the hospitality and retail industries. Richard Hayman received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University in 1967.
Patrick Mulcahy is Chief Executive Officer of Energizer, Inc. His retirement from the company was announced in the fall of 2004. Mulcahy joined Ralston in 1968 and has served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Eveready Battery Company, Inc. since 1987. Mulcahy served as co-Chief Executive Officer and co-President of Ralston from October 1997 to June 1999. He served as Ralston's Vice President and Director, Corporate Strategic Planning and Administration, 1984--1986. Patrick Mulcahy received Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Science from Cornell University. He also holds an MBA from Cornell's Johnson School.
Bill Trenchard is currently the CEO of LiveOps, a teleservices company. Prior to LiveOps, Bill was the founder and CEO of Callcast, a call routing technology and outsourced teleservices firm that merged with LiveOps in 2003. Prior to Callcast, Bill was a managing director at idealab! where he served portfolio companies in capacities ranging from a board member to interim CEO. Bill was also the founder and CEO of Jump Networks, Inc., which was acquired by Microsoft in April 1999. Bill Trenchard has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Science Technology Studies from Cornell University.
John Alexander is president and founder of The CBORD Group, Inc., a company inspired by his foodservice experience at Cornell University. While earning an undergraduate degree in physics, John worked in several capacities for the Department of Dining Services at Cornell, including managing the university's first two "Pickup Store" convenience stores. Later, as assistant business manager, he developed the dining department's systems for food production and cost control. John Alexander is a graduate of Cornell University
Scott Blackwell is the founder of Immaculate Baking Company. At first, it was a desperate need for college tuition money that fueled his first foray into the food business. Using his knack for creative resourcefulness, Scott began selling homemade pies (made in his tiny apartment) to local Greenville restaurants. What began as a venture of desperation soon became a viable little business with over 28 restaurants buying his extraordinary pies. After college, several other food ventures followed suit. From driving a seafood truck up and down the South Carolina coast to establishing Ben and Jerry's 9th ice cream distributorship (covering the Carolinas), Scott absorbed everything he learned along the way. At 23, Scott sold his Ben and Jerry's distributorship, paid off his student loans, and moved to Columbia, SC with 30 dollars in his pocket. What began as a spontaneous itch to try something different soon led to the grand opening of his restaurant, Immaculate Consumption, a popular gathering spot with an eclectic menu and home of the only coffee roasting machine in town! Inspired by the cult following of his artisan-roasted coffee, Scott began making cookies and biscotti to be served with the fresh espresso and soon crowds were pouring through the doors not to eat funky sandwiches and sip lattes but to satisfy the cravings for his infamous pancake-sized cookies! It didn't take long for him to recognize the incredible potential of his famous cookie recipes, and he sold the restaurant and moved to Flat Rock, NC in order to pursue that full time. Well, like many people who drop everything to follow a dream, Scott discovered that it wasn't quite as glamorous as it sounded. There he was doing exactly what he wanted to do, but doing it in his two-car garage, and he suddenly found himself lacking both inspiration and confidence. With this in mind, he turned to folk art, an old interest that had never failed to inspire him, and began traveling, often for days at a time, to visit with different folk artists he had befriended in the past. While driving one day, he had a revelation - why not combine his two passions, folk art and cookies, into the start of his new business? With that thought, Scott returned to his garage, newly inspired, and Immaculate Baking Company was born. Almost 12 years have passed since then, but Scott is more passionate about the food business than ever before. He still develops all of the recipes himself and can be found most any day scouring the grocery aisles for signs of new products and new trends. Aside from his overwhelming interest in Immaculate, Scott is also an avid folk art collector, founder of the Folk Artist's Foundation and has even dipped into the world of filmmaking to complete the 10-year documentary project about Southern folk artists entitled "All Rendered Truth."
David Goldsmith is the co-founder of MetaMatrix Consulting Group LLC, a consulting firm specializing in generating strategies that create competitive advantages for his clients. Goldsmith received his B.S. and M.B.A from Syracuse University.
Richard Sayre is a Professor of Plant Cellular and Molecular Biology at Ohio State University and co-founder of Phycotransgenics, L.L.C. Phycotransgenics is a biotechnology company that specializes in the development of transgenic algae that have market-driven properties. Markets that the company is focusing on include animal health, animal feed, bioremediation, environmental monitoring and biopesticides. Richard received his undergraduate degree from Humboldt State University in California and his Ph. D. in Biology from the University of Iowa. He has completed postdoctoral research at Florida State University, University of Kentucky, and Harvard University.