IIT-Knapp Entrepreneurship Center

Jules F. Knapp, Founder

Knapp, a member of the IIT Board of Trustees, is himself a successful entrepreneur. With his first business in 1962, United Coatings he was one of the first paint producers to market to mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart. Knapp remains an active entrepreneur today. In September 2000, he purchased Grisham Manufacturing, a maker of steel security storm doors, and turned the ailing company around by improving production and customer service and establishing new sales relationships with retail giants Home Depot and Lowe’s. “An entrepreneur is not only a risk-taker. He or she must also have the right people onboard and the ability to communicate the vision to everyone on the team,” said Knapp. “My greatest enjoyment is seeing a new product come to market and the feeling of success it brings to the people behind it.”

Mitch Saranow
Chairman and CEO, The Saranow Group, LLC

The Saranow Group founded in 1984 and started several successful businesses including Fluid Management, L.P., which was developed into the world’s largest manufacturer of colorant dispensing equipment for paint and inks. It was sold to IDEX Corporation in 1996 for more than $100 million. Mid Atlantic CATV was developed into the nation’s largest “Private” Cable Operator with principal operations in Washington DC, Philadelphia and Baltimore. It was sold to Comcast in 2000 for $150 million.

Prior to founding The Saranow Group, Mr. Saranow served as VP and CFO of CFS Continental, Inc. He serves as a Director of Lawson Products, Inc. and Telephone Data Systems, Inc. He joined the faculty of the Harvard Business School as its James M. Collins Senior Lecturer for the 2001-2002 academic year. Earlier in his career he practiced law with Mayer, Brown & Platt and worked as an investment banker with AG Becker & Co. In 1994, Mr. Saranow was named the “Illinois-Indiana Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year.” He was treasurer in 2002 and president in 2003 of the Juvenile Protective Association, a 105 year old child welfare agency. He also serves on the Board of Governors of the Northwestern Library. Mr. Saranow is an attorney, MBA and CPA.

James E. Banaszak, Ph.D.
Chief Technology Officer, OpenCEL

Dr. Banaszak’s Ph.D. research specialized in Environmental Biotechnology, with specific emphasis on investigating the fate of organic contaminants, metals, and actinides in aerobic and anaerobic biological systems. He has more than 25 years of experience in construction, manufacturing operations, process engineering, management consulting, technical business development, and handling of radioactive materials. He has a wide range of project experience including the planning, design, construction, and resolution of disputes for major civil infrastructure and metal processing equipment improvements, including assisting the Massachusetts Attorney General with their Cost Recovery Efforts on the Central Artery/Tunnel project, also known as the Big Dig. He has conducted feasibility and due diligence analyses of large capital additions, negotiated intellectual property transfers and technical outsourcing agreements, and assisted in major acquisitions. Prior to his current role at OpenCEL, Dr. Banaszak was the Director of Exponent’s Chicago-area office and an Engagement Manager in the Chicago office of McKinsey and Company.

Tony R. Culley- Foster
Founder and President, CFCO International, Washington DC

Through a lifetime mentor relationship with W. Clement Stone, Founder and Chairman AON Corporation, Chicago, Success Magazine and the Stone Foundation; Culley-Foster immigrated from Ireland to the United States, worked as Personal Assistant to W. Clement Stone and established an international network of powerful and influential business, government, press/media, philanthropic and civic leaders. He brings 35 years of extensive top-level, international business, trade, strategic communications, entrepreneurship, marketing, sales and lobbying expertise, as well as a “can do” enthusiasm to his business activities for American & global clients.

Culley-Foster, in November 1985, established CFCO International, a Washington, DC based international business consultancy specializing in business management, government relations and corporate communications support services to the senior management of European & Asian companies either doing business with the United States, or seeking to enter the American market. CFCO also works with the World Bank, IMF, IFC, USAID, regional international finance institutions & foreign government leaders on international private public partnerships to secure political risk guarantees & financing for large infrastructure projects.

Culley-Foster is profiled in Who’s Who in the World; a Visiting Professor in Communications, University of Ulster & the recipient of numerous American & international commendations for voluntary leadership, corporate social responsibility & contributions to peace in Northern Ireland.

Daniel Einhorn
General Partner – Capital Midwest Fund

Dan joined Einhorn Associates – Milwaukee, WI, in 2004 as Vice President, Investment Banking – Biotech Division

Einhorn Associates is a broker dealer established to provide investment banking and brokerage services to emerging medical technology companies and institutional investors in healthcare equities, respectively. Dan raised equity in private market transactions, and negotiated on behalf of clients with prospective acquirers. Currently, hHe is leading theled the marketing efforts for Capital Midwest LLC, a technology based Venture Capital Fund and Einhorn Associates.  He is responsible for evaluating new investment opportunities, assisting in company write-ups, and conducting due diligence/market research activities for the company.  Currently Dan serves on the board of ScholarCentric and PreEmptive Meds.  Dan holds Securities Licenses: Series 7, 24. Since 2001, Dan has been involved in investor relations, analyzing portfolio companies and providing due diligence.  Prior to that Dan was in the food and beverage industry for country clubs and hotels.  He holds a BA from Cornell University in Hotel Administration, and an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

Amy Francetic, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Invention Bridge

Ms. Francetic is Managing Director and Founder of Invention Bridge, a firm that seeks to spin companies out of Midwest labs and universities by combining innovation consulting services with investment capital. Previously Ms. Francetic worked as a Partner at MVC Capital, a publicly traded (NYSE:MVC) private equity firm. At MVC she sourced and managed investments for the firm with a focus on IT and CleanTech sectors. She has over 17 years of operational and executive management experience from the high technology sector with specialties in wireless, consumer, and security technologies. Prior to joining MVC, she commercialized R&D as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence for Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California. Before that she produced the prestigious wireless product launch event, DEMOmobile, for IDG Publishing for two years with high-tech industry expert Chris Shipley.

Ms. Francetic served on the Board of Directors of Glu Mobile (NASDAQ:GLUU), a wireless games publisher, whose founder she advised during fundraising. Earlier in her career Ms. Francetic was Co-Founder and CEO of Zowie Intertainment, a high-tech toy company funded by Vulcan Ventures, which spun out of Interval Research in Palo Alto. Zowie employed RF sensing tags, a custom ASIC, and software to enable a natural interface for the PC for children. She sold Zowie to Lego Systems, the Danish toymaker, in 2000. Before Zowie, she produced videogame software for Hasbro Interactive and Electronic Arts.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science from Stanford University where she also ran Varsity Track.

Vernon W. Francissen, Senior Attorney, Intellectual Property & Licensing, Microsoft Corporation

Prior to Microsoft, Vernon founded Francissen Patent Law in 2005. He represented clients in a broad range of intellectual property matters, including patent preparation and prosecution, licensing, and trademark prosecution.

From 2002 until 2005 Mr. Francissen was a Partner at Gardner, Carton & Douglas in Chicago. Prior to Gardner, Carton & Douglas, Mr. Francissen was at Partner at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert& Berghoff in Chicago.

Mr. Francissen holds a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin School of Law, an M.S. from Illinois Institute of Technology in Electrical Engineering, and a B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Electrical Engineering.

Bob Geras
President, LaSalle Investments, Inc.

Bob Geras is currently President of LaSalle Investments, Inc. and has been a leader in the venture capital community in Chicago for over 40 years. In addition to his role with La Salle Investments, Mr. Geras also serves as President and CEO of Arryx, Inc., a provider of microscopic and nanoscopic holographic laser steering technology to key markets dependent upon miniaturization. Prior to Arryx, Inc., in 1990 Mr. Geras co-founded, and was the largest shareholder of, publicly traded Merge Healthcare (MRGE), the industry leader in eHealth connectivity products for medical imaging. In 1986 he purchased and directly managed MEDX, Inc. a troubled medical equipment company which, in 5 years, he completed a company turn around, selling the company for 26 times the purchase value. Early in his career Mr. Geras co-founded budget motel chain Sixpence Inns in 1970 which was acquired by Motel 6 for over $200 million in 1989.

Mr. Geras is currently a director of, and/or investor in VideoHomeTours, ShowingTime.com, NexVu, 20/20 Technologies, Advanced Diamond Technologies, Intellext, Bias Power, OrthoScan, and PowerQuest Corporation, a leading software developer and technology pioneer which was recently bought by Symantec for $140 million.

A graduate of Northwestern University, Mr. Geras and his wife are the founders of the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation which initiated and passed the Illinois Baby Safe Haven Act in August 2001.

Moises J. Goldman, M & J Acquisitions

Moises J. Goldman is a dynamic, high-powered executive with a distinguished career in building, growing and optimizing the financial and operational performance of diverse companies. He has strong orientations in strategic planning, business development, and corporate development and deal making. Moises in an expert in leveraging technology to gain competitive advantage, spark and sustain growth, achieve profitability, and deliver stakeholder value. Past positions have included Interim CEO at RNS, Inc., CEO at TDVision Systems, Inc., COO at VoiceCue Technologies, and President & CEO at Applied Wiring Components.

He has received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Houston, an M.S. in Management of Technology from MIT, and a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from UCLA

Steve Johns, General Partner, Ardesta, LLC

Steve brings over twenty years of experience in the areas of technology, finance, consumer marketing and entrepreneurship. As a co-founder and head of Corporate & Business Development for Ardesta, Steve has been responsible for leading the building of the Ardesta portfolio through venture creation and investment.  He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Micronics, Inc., Sensicast and XCOM Wireless, Inc and led the successful negotiation and sales of Ion Optics, Inc. and Mesosystems Technologies.

Steve is active with the Chicago Micro and Nanotechnology Community (“CMNC”) and has been invited to serve on the Motorola Research Visionary Board.  Prior to co-founding Ardesta, Steve was president of MEMS Technology, Inc., the predecessor company to Ardesta.

Before starting MEMS Technology, Inc. Steve served as Senior Vice President of Strategy and New Ventures for Launch Media (now Yahoo! Music), a digital media company dedicated to creating the premier Internet destination for music. In his role at Launch, Steve was responsible for strategic planning, mergers & acquisitions and new business start-ups and initiatives. Under Steve’s leadership, Launch acquired several companies and strengthened its strategic positioning in content, community and offline brand building.

Prior to joining Launch, Steve was the Vice President of Global Business Development for Gateway, Inc.

Steve earned a BA in Business and Accounting in 1985 from Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois and is a CPA.

Harvey Kahalas
Ph.D., Dean and Harold L. Stuart Professor of Management and Economic Development at IT Stuart School of Business
Executive Director of the Center for Strategic Competitiveness

Prior to joining IIT, Dr. Kahalas he served as Dean and Professor as well as Executive Director of the University’s Institute for Organizational and Industrial Competitiveness at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan; Dean and Professor at the State University of New York at Albany, New York as well as a Senior Fellow at the State University of New York’s Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government; and Dean and Professor as well as the Executive Director of the University’s Center for Industrial Competitiveness at the University of Massachusetts – Lowell, Massachusetts. Dr. Kahalas has had numerous academic recognitions, including appointments as a Senior Fulbright Scholar and a Distinguished Professor of Management. He has been a distinguished invited national and international lecturer on economic development as well as individual, organizational, and industrial competitiveness.

A recognized expert in the areas of training and executive education as well as competitiveness, Dr. Kahalas has had extensive corporate experience including providing training programs for leaders from numerous Fortune 500 companies. Additionally, Dr. Kahalas designed, developed, and oversaw The Young Executive Program for the Aspen Institute for more than a decade.  The Aspen Institute program was built upon the leadership skills and values necessary to operate effectively in today’s turbulent global environment. Dr. Kahalas has provided consulting assistance to federal government agencies, and numerous state, county, and local government organizations. Additionally, Dr. Kahalas has been employed by General Motors and Ford Motor Company to assist them in their need to enhance their global competitiveness positioning via utilization of technology and enhanced worker team development across all organizational levels.

Dr. Kahalas has published over 100 scholarly articles focusing on areas such as leadership, social issues and problems, economic development, organizational change, and strategic planning. Dr. Kahalas served as Chairman of the Board of the American Society for Competitiveness (ASC) – an organization comprised of academics, private sector executives, and public sector officials committed to enhancing global competitiveness – as well as Editor-in-Chief of the ASC’s academic journal Advances in Competitiveness Research.

Lerry J. Knox, Jr.
PE, Senior Vice President and Head of Project Finance
Loop Capital Markets

Lerry J. Knox is an investment banker who specializes in the tax-exempt debt capital markets and public private partnerships (PPP) financings. Mr. Knox joined Loop Capital Markets in 2007 to head the firms Project Finance Group, which incorporates Higher Education, Healthcare, and Public Power practice areas. Mr. Knox’s experience includes over seven years of project engineering and program management experience and over nine years of financial services experience. Prior to joining Loop Capital Markets, Mr. Knox was an equity options and derivatives trader and investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co..

Mr. Knox is a licensed Professional Engineer with significant project management experience. Prior to migrating into the financial services industry, Mr. Knox served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy.

He has received his B.S. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the Navy’s Postgraduate Bettis Reactor Engineering School, M.B.A. from the University of Illinois and a J.D. from the University of Illinois.

Joseph Levy
President, Levy Venture Management, a real estate development firm

Member of the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, Joseph Levy founded Levy Venture Management (LVM) as a real estate rental/development group in automotive retailing. He is known for his creativity, business acumen, compassion for his fellow human beings and his wonderful sense of humor. He built several senior centers that bear his name (one in Evanston), operated the world’s largest Chrysler and Buick dealerships (also in Evanston) and was a founding director of Computer Discount Warehouse.

His past philanthropic associations have been with the Kellogg School at Northwestern University and the Culver Academies in Culver Indiana.

Daniel T. McCaffery
Founder and President of McCaffery Interests, Inc.

Founded in the fall of 1990, McCaffery Interests, Inc. has risen to be nationally recognized as a leader in urban development and renewal projects. As the founder and President, Mr. McCaffery has overall responsibility for the executive management, strategic direction and leadership of the company. Other specific responsibilities include new business creation and enhancement and expansion of tenant and financial partner relationships. Mr. McCaffery has more than 25 years experience in the real estate industry and has led the development of more than $2 billion of mixed-use urban projects.

In addition to its many projects in the Chicago area, the firm has developed projects in diverse markets including Minneapolis, San Francisco, Myrtle Beach, Washington DC, Clarendon, VA and Moscow, Russia. Its most demanding challenge at present is the redevelopment of the approximately 500 lakefront acres known as the former US Steel lands in the southeast area of Chicago.

He graduated from the University of Alberta in Canada.

Ronald Rashkow, Chief Operating Officer, Rashkow Professional Management Services

Ron’s career started in a small family owned lumberyard while attending IIT. Growing the business after graduation was followed by development of a concept for expansion –Handy Andy Home Improvement Centers. The company grew to seventy-two large format stores in eight mid-west states. Handy Andy was the only company in the industry recognized as “best in class” in all three categories defined by sales volume.

Ron next founded RPMS, Inc., a strategic consulting enterprise that includes merger and acquisition activities. Current advisory boards include privately held Hilco Trading, one of the country’s largest asset liquidation firms and RTC, a specialty retail fixturing and merchandising group. Ron is a member of the board of directors of O’Reilly Automotive, a NASDAQ listed company. Advisory activities have included private equity groups, public and private companies, various entrepreneurial enterprises, and mentoring of individuals. Another focus has been redevelopment of former Handy Andy real estate into a portfolio of commercial shopping centers.

Mr. Rashkow has served as president and chairman of the Home Center Leadership Council, National Home Center Advisory Board, Home Center Industry President’s Council, and the Home Center Institute. He was a member of the Advisory Council of Entrepreneurial Studies at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Mr. Rashkow has been recognized for charitable activities that include the City of Hope, Israel Chamber of Commerce, the Holocaust Museum, J.U.F., the Rashkow Philanthropic Trust, and most recently as volunteer of the year for the Les Turner ALS Foundation.

Daniel Ratner, Chief technology Officer, Sittercity, Inc.

Dan is a veteran of high-tech startups. Prior to Sittercity, he was Executive Vice President and CTO of Driveitaway.com, an online automotive remarking company and co-founder and CTO of Wired Business, one of the first nationwide providers of DSL Internet access.

He began his startup career as the founder and CEO of Snapdragon Technologies, an IT consulting firm specializing in information systems and strategies for clients nationwide, and worked before that for Zeller Research Ltd. as an electrical engineer and project manager doing projects for Fortune 500 companies and the U.S. government.

Dan holds a B.A. in engineering and economics from Brown University, is a Visiting Scholar at Northwestern University, and has written two books on nanotechnology. In 2001 he was selected by PhillyTech for their “Thirty Under 30″ list.

Ellen Jordan Reidy
Founder and President, America’s Food Technologies, Inc.

Ellen Jordan Reidy is President and Founder of America’s Food Technologies, Inc. (AMFOTEK®) a privately held blending and packaging operation specializing in product development and manufacturing of custom and private label beverages for the foodservice and specialty coffee arenas. Ms. Reidy began her career with Wechsler Coffee Corporation holding numerous positions including President of the firm’s specialty coffee division, and later as Vice President of Operations overseeing the firm’s three roasting plants/quality assurance initiatives.

During her 28 year coffee career, Ms. Reidy has served on numerous coffee industry boards and committees. She is Chairperson of the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to improving the quality of coffee and the lives of the people who produce it.  Ms. Reidy is a past-director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). Ms. Reidy is a recipient of the SCAA’s Outstanding Contribution to the Industry Award (2000) for her work on the critical role of sensory evaluation in coffee’s quality assessment. She further serves the industry on the National Coffee Association’s Scientific Advisory Group.

In the field of education, she is a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of the Illinois Institute of Technology and is a member of the Board of IIT’s Stuart School of Business. She is also chairperson of Queen of Peace High School’s board of directors.

Ms. Reidy is an officer of the Windy City Chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and is also a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, The Executives’ Club of Chicago and The Chicago Network.

Ms. Reidy holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Nik Rokop
Managing Director of the Jules F. Knapp Entrepreneurship Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology

Nik Rokop is past President & CEO of nLake Technology Partners, a management, business development and technology commercialization group specializing in nanotechnology. He has 30 years successful entrepreneurial experience in engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing and international operations. His career spans the iron and steel industries, manufacturing, consulting and the Internet.

Nik is involved in support of the entrepreneurial community as founding member and current President of the Chicago Microtechnology & Nanotechnology Community, founding member of the BIG Idea Forum, Vice Chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Chicago, and member of the Steering Committee of the Technology Commercialization Task Force. Nik was named one of i-Street Magazine’s Top 100 in Technology & Economic Development in 2002.

Nik has given lectures on entrepreneurship and the impact of nanotechnology at Northwestern University, DePaul University, Illinois Institute of Technology and for organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences, the Economic Development Council and the National Investment Bankers Association.

Nik holds a Professional Engineer’s license in PA and earned his B.S. in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

Joseph C. Rygiel, President, Rygiel & Associates

Joseph is currently an Operating Consultant, Calvert Street Capital Partners. Joseph Rygiel joined Calvert Street Capital Partners (CSCP) in 2007 for the purpose of providing manufacturing and marketing support for several of CSCP’s portfolio companies. His background includes over thirty years of operating experience.

For the six years prior to joining CSCP, Mr. Rygiel served as Operating Partner for Bank of America Capital Investors, a $350 million fund focused primarily on manufacturing and distribution companies in the middle market. Since 1991 he had served as President/COO of various Saranow Group companies. Mr. Rygiel was VP/General Manager of the Electromechanical Systems Unit of Johnson Controls, which he joined in 1985, and VP of Operations at Tellabs, which he joined in 1983. Earlier industrial experiences include, nine years at Motorola as VP/Director of the Alternator and Instrumentation businesses, as well as positions with Ford Motor Company and Hewlett Packard.

Mr. Rygiel holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School, an M.S. from Stanford University in Electrical Engineering, and a B.E.E. from the University of Detroit.

John J. Sabl
Partner at Sidley Austin, LLP in the Corporate and Securities Practice group in the Chicago office

John J. Sabl joined Sidley Austin, LLP in 1976 and became a partner in 1983. He represents clients in a broad range of corporate and securities matters, including public and private offerings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity investments and corporate counseling assignments. His experience spans a number of industries, such as financial services, communications and media, agribusiness, biofuels, retailing, information services, medical products, health care, manufacturing and real estate.

From 1997 until 2000 Mr. Sabl served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Conseco, Inc., a life and health insurer. At Conseco he handled a diverse set of legal matters, including merger and financing transactions, litigation, venture capital investments, regulatory issues and government relations. Mr. Sabl is an active speaker and a past Chair of the Securities Law Committee of the Chicago Bar Association.

Mr. Sabl received his undergraduate degree in economics from Stanford University in 1973, where he graduated with distinction and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree from Stanford Law School in 1976, where served as associate managing editor of the Stanford Law Review. He is admitted to the bar in Illinois and California.

James H. Stone
President and Founder of Stone Management Corporations

James H. Stone has developed his firm into one of the country’s leading logistics consultancies by attracting experienced consultants who consistently provide a wide range of corporate clients with important levels of economic improvement. He directs the firm’s research reports, which appear in the firm’s newsletter, Logistics Resource, and is a former Director of the Chicago Roundtable of the Council of Logistics Management (CLM).

Until recently, he served as a Director of Stone Container Corporation, a publicly owned manufacturer of newsprint, paperboard and converted products until it recently merged with Jefferson Smurfit Corp. He served as Director of Fullerton Metals, a privately owned distributor and fabricator of metals and metal products. He is President and a Director of the Harvard Business School Club of Chicago. He is also an active member of the Chicago Committee, the Economic Club, and the Traffic Club of Chicago.

In the field of education, he serves as Trustee and Secretary of Roosevelt University, Life Trustee for Hadley School of the Blind, member of the University of Chicago, Visisting Committee to the Library, and is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Stuart School of Business, Illinois Institute of Technology. He has also initiated the Grade Level Project, a pilot program to raise achievement levels in the Chicago Public Schools.

Samme Thompson
Founder & President, Telit Associates, Inc.

Samme L. Thompson currently serves on the board of directors for: American Tower Corporation, the nation’s largest wireless communications tower company, and USA Mobility, Inc., a major wireless messaging and communications company. He is also president and founder of Telit Associates, Incorporated, a financial and strategic advisory firm serving telecommunications clients. From 1999 to 2002 Mr. Thompson was Senior Vice President and Director, Strategy and Corporate Development, at Motorola, Inc. Prior to Motorola, Mr. Thompson held senior management positions at in the technology and telecommunications areas while at Kidder Peabody & Co., Inc., AT&T Corporation and McKinsey & Company.