Harvard Business School Names 2016-2017 Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
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BOSTON—Harvard Business School (HBS) recently named its twelfth annual cohort of Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at the School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. As part of an extensive program in entrepreneurship and under the leadership and guidance of more than 25 faculty members, these successful entrepreneurs and investors spend time on the HBS campus throughout the academic year, advising MBA students eager to start their own companies and working with faculty on research and course development. Since 1947, the study of entrepreneurship has been a vital part of the MBA program, which includes required courses in the first year of the MBA program, numerous electives in the second-year curriculum, and a thriving annual New Venture Competition. The School’s Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, which has earned accolades as the top program for entrepreneurial studies in the nation, supports faculty and their research in the field of entrepreneurial management as well as spurs the HBS community with the energy and spirit needed for new ideas and innovations to thrive and grow. Through a community of support, access to content, and a gateway to entrepreneurial ecosystems everywhere, the Rock Center helps students and alumni create ventures that revolutionize. The twenty three Entrepreneurs-in-Residence for 2016-17 are: AJAY AGARWAL (MBA 1995), a managing director at Bain Capital Ventures in Palo Alto, where he focuses on early-stage software, mobile, and internet investing. STEPHEN BONNER, former president and CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America and currently an advisor to private equity firms and a healthcare merchant bank as well as an investor, advisor, and board member for six health care startup companies. DAVID CHANG (MBA 2001), a five-time entrepreneur/operator at web and mobile startups, angel investor in 40 companies, and leader in the entrepreneurship community, who previously ran the PayPal Boston office. TOM CLAY (MBA 1997), CEO of Xtalic Corporation, which develops high-performing metal alloys that address large, high-value problems in mobile electronics and other fields. Before joining Xtalic, he was CEO of Z Corporation, a leading pioneer in 3D printing. SAM CLEMENS (MBA 2004), founder and chief product officer at InsightSquared in Cambridge, MA, whose expertise is in product management and development for business-to-business software startups. KERRY COOPER (MBA 1997), CEO of Choose Energy, a retail energy marketplace in San Francisco, where customers can shop for electricity and natural gas. She has a broad background in retail, software and e-commerce and previously served as CMO of ModCloth. CHUCK DAVIS (MBA 1986), a venture partner with Technology Crossover Ventures in Los Angeles and CEO of Swagbucks, the leading online rewards and cash-back shopping program. Formerly, he was CEO of Fandango and Shopzilla. ANNE DWANE (MBA 1998), a partner at GSV Acceleration, an early stage VC firm backing entrepreneurs leveraging technology to transform learning and career outcomes from “pre-K to grey”. Previously, she was chief brand officer at Chegg, CEO at Zinch, and co-founder of Military.com, acquired by Monster. DAVID FRANKEL (MBA 2003), founder and managing partner of Founder Collective, a seed-stage fund based in Boston and New York. He was the co-founder and CEO of Internet Solutions, the largest internet service provider in Africa (sold to NTT Didata). ROB GO (MBA 2007), co-founder and partner at NextView Ventures, a high-conviction, hands-on seed VC based in Boston and New York. NextView specializes in pre-traction companies that leverage data and the ubiquitous internet to transform or create large industries. JANET KRAUS, a serial entrepreneur who is now CEO of Peach, a startup that provides women with better fitting, more thoughtfully designed lingerie and basics in the privacy of their home. She also founded Spire (acquired by Perfect Escapes) and Circles (acquired by Sodexho). SHARON PEYER (MBA 2006), an entrepreneur with experience building online consumer ventures and data-driven monetization platforms from the ground up. She co-founded and led business development for Boston-based HitBliss, an online entertainment service, and is currently developing a digital media platform for the nation’s largest manufacturer of networked and screened vending machines, Crane Merchandising Systems. JULES PIERI (MBA 1986), co-founder and CEO of The Grommet, a product launch platform in Somerville, MA, that has helped FitBit and SodaStream get off the ground. RUBEN PINCHANSKI (MBA 1993), co-founder of Digitas and an expert in building and advising e-commerce businesses. KATIE RAE, co-founder and managing director of Project 11, a venture fund in Boston that partners with early-stage startups to accelerate growth. She was previously managing director of TechStars Boston. DUKE ROHLEN (MBA 2001), chairman and CEO of Spirox, Inc.and Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics. Prior to that, he served as founder and CEO of CV Ingenuity and president of FoxHollow Technologies. RUDINA SESERI (MBA 2005), founder and Managing Partner in Cambridge, MA-based Glasswing Ventures. She has experience investing in startups, working with founders and executive teams, and developing strategies for growing businesses. She has also led investments in artificial Intelligence-powered companies in the enterprise SaaS, data, and robotics platforms. JIM SHARPE (MBA 1976), an entrepreneur with years of experience in running small and medium enterprises and turnarounds and meeting the challenges of work/life balance issues with his wife, also an HBS alum. MARTIN SINOZICH, founding partner of Venn Capital and an active angel investor and entrepreneur, with interests in fundraising and pitching, scaling rapid-growth businesses, and positioning closely-held businesses for exit. MICHAEL SKOK, a serial entrepreneur of more than two decades who has been an investor for more than a decade. He is now mentoring, teaching, and continuously learning about entrepreneurship. He co-founded and is a partner at Underscore.VC, which has changed the VC model to create an aligned community of entrepreneurs and investors to empower and support founders. JIM SOUTHERN (MBA 1983), founding partner of Pacific Lake Partners in Boston, which concentrates on small capitalization buyouts via the search fund model and provides entrepreneurs with search and acquisition capital. SATISH TADIKONDA, managing partner at Avigo Solutions and an executive partner at Blue Cloud Ventures, who specializes in the life sciences and healthcare sectors. As an entrepreneur and early stage investor, he has helped found and/or fund more than a dozen innovative companies in technology, health care, and the life sciences. RUSS WILCOX (MBA 1995), co-founder and CEO of Piper Therapeutics, which develops small molecule drugs for immuno-oncology through modification of the tumor microenvironment. He was co-founder and CEO of E Ink, the company behind the display technology used in the Kindle and other e-readers. ABOUT THE ROCK CENTER |
Cullen Schmitt
cschmitt+hbs.edu
617-495-6155
About Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School, located on a 40-acre campus in Boston, was founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University. It is among the world's most trusted sources of management education and thought leadership. For more than a century, the School's faculty has combined a passion for teaching with rigorous research conducted alongside practitioners at world-leading organizations to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. Through a dynamic ecosystem of research, learning, and entrepreneurship that includes MBA, Doctoral, Executive Education, and Online programs, as well as numerous initiatives, centers, institutes, and labs, Harvard Business School fosters bold new ideas and collaborative learning networks that shape the future of business.