Lucas College of Business Advisory Board

The Lucas College of Business Advisory Board at San José State University comprises distinguished industry leaders dedicated to enhancing business education and improving industry practices. Working with the Dean, faculty, and senior staff, Board members provide invaluable counsel, support fundraising efforts, and bridge the gap between academia and the business community. They actively engage with the college by lecturing in classrooms, collaborating on research, mentoring students, and guiding curriculum development. This synergy enriches our academic environment, ensuring that our students are well-prepared to become the inclusive leaders who design our future

Dean's Advisory Board

Jeff Andreson
Gabrielle M. Capolupo
Phil Boyce
Scott Daugherty
Jay Fulcher
Jeff Ricci

Lucas Career Advisory Board

Gerhard Brummer
Daryl Dobrenz
Rene Shimada Siegel
Vince Voron
Joan Yanabu

Lucas Foundation Board

Scott Daugherty
Tom Zahralis

Lucas Department Advisory Board

Steve Glaser
Bradley Maihack
Mike Todasco

Lucas Young Alumni Board

Erinne Arias
Emily Holland Enany
David Poirier

Former Board Members

Jim Bareuther
Jenny Dearborn
Sara MacDonald
Naresh Malik
Bob Monsour
Reshma Nigam
Tim Ome

Dean's Advisory Board

Jeff Andreson
CEO of ICHOR Systems

Jeff Andreson has served as Chief Executive Officer since January 2020. He served as President of Ichor from April 2019 through January 2020, and as the Chief Financial Officer from December 2017.

Prior to joining Ichor, Jeff served as Chief Financial Officer of Nanometrics Incorporated, a leading provider of advanced semiconductor process control systems, from 2014 until 2017. Prior to Nanometrics, Jeff served for seven years as Chief Financial Officer of Intevac, Inc., a leading supplier of thin-film processing equipment and digital night vision technologies. Prior to joining Intevac in 2007, he spent 12 years at Applied Materials, Inc. where he served in several financial leadership and management positions, most recently as Managing Director and controller of the $2 billion Applied Materials Global Services business.

Jeff earned his BS, in Finance at San Jose State University and an MBA at Santa Clara University.

Gabe Capolupo Gabrielle M. Capolupo
Engineering Office of the CTO, Juniper Networks

Ms. Capolupo has been with Juniper Networks since February 2007. She currently works for the Engineering CTO office and is responsible for providing program management for the Junos Architecture Council and a network service provisioning application project. She also started and manages the Juniper Women in Engineering (JWIE) employee resource group. Previously, she provided program management for the Juniper Distinguished Engineering (DE) and Principal Engineering (PE) communities. Prior to her work in the CTO office, she was Sr. Director of Junos Governance, responsible for policy, process, criteria and schedule for all Junos OS software releases.

Prior to Juniper Networks, in her more than 11 years with Cisco Systems, she was Sr. Engineering Manager for the IOS Packet Engineering Group, responsible for large-scale corporate level software infrastructure planning and implementation. In addition, previous roles included remotely managing the Edge Services software team in Bangalore India, the collective hardware and software engineering teams for the leading Broadband Aggregation platform, and the IOS Source Code team, responsible for all major source code integration.

Prior to her employment with Cisco Systems, Ms. Capolupo spent over seven years at various positions at Novell, Inc. Ms. Capolupo has served as a lead judge for the International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition since 1995, after participating as a graduate student for San Jose State University (SJSU). She has made a number of industry panel presentations including sessions for Women in Technology International (WITI), Women in International Trade (WIT), Women Unlimited, the Project Management Institute of Silicon Valley and the SJSU Women in Leadership League.

Beginning in 2022, Ms. Capolupo is a professional mentor for the TechWomen program, which is sponsored by the US Department of State. Ms. Capolupo received her Master of Business Administration from SJSU and her Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she was a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society and the Men’s Varsity Crew.

Phil Boyce
Board Member, Tower Foundation
Former CEO and Chairman of the board, Pacific Western Bank
BA Business Administration, SJSU

Mr. Boyce is the President of Boyce & Associates, a property development firm. Mr. Boyce is the retired chairman of Western Capital Management. He and his wife, Susan, founded Pacific Western Bank when he was 30 years old, which later became Western Capital Management. In 1994, the bank merged with Comerica Bank

Scott Daugherty
Adjunct Lecturer of Real Estate Finance

Scott enjoyed a long and distinguished career in Corporate Real Estate. During his three-decade tenure at commercial real estate brokerage firm Colliers International, he served as Chairman, CFO, and Executive Vice President of the Occupiers Solutions division. In the latter role, Scott provided Corporate Real Estate strategy and financial advisory services to a number of Silicon Valley's most well-known Financial Services and Technology firms.

Scott’s credentials include a BS in Accounting from the Lucas College of Business, a CPA, and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He is an Adjunct Lecturer of Real Estate Finance at Santa Clara University, a role he previously held at the LCoB. His ambition is to educate and support the leaders of tomorrow, with the belief that they will continue the cycle of giving back.

Scott's commitment to SJSU has been a lifelong passion. He was the President of the College of Business Alumni Association and has served as a member of the President’s Advisory Board and the Presidential Search Committee at SJSU. In his capacity as the University’s Real Estate advisor, he successfully negotiated the University’s joint venture with the City of San José for the 175,000 sq. ft Martin Luther King library on campus.

Scott is presently advocating for Dean Rangapriya Kannan in the development and execution of the school’s corporate and alumni engagement initiatives.

Jay Fulcher
Managing Partner, Cheyenne Ventures
Board Member, Advisor, Investor
BS Management, SJSU

Jay Fulcher has over 30 years of experience as a public and private technology company CEO, executive, board member, investor, advisor, and author. Jay is widely regarded for having delivered exceptional returns to stakeholders while building transformational companies (six exits). He is now Managing Partner at Cheyenne Ventures, a venture capital firm he launched in 2023 with Greg Eaton that invests in high growth, expansion stage tech companies (cloud, cyber, AI, consumer, enterprise, infrastructure, healthcare). He is also founder of Fulcher Ranch LLC and 1st&10 Ventures LLC.

Jay is the co-author of the WSJ and 5x best-selling book "People Operations: Automate HR, Design A Great Employee Experience, and Unleash Your Workforce", which provides a practical guide to the future of work for small and medium-sized businesses. He is a member of the Forbes Business Council, an advisory board member at San Jose State University's Lucas College and Graduate School of Business, a board member at Signos, and advisor to iSport360, Inc. and many other startups. Previously, Jay was Chairman and CEO of Agile Software, Ooyala and Zenefits, leading each of these game-changing companies to successful exits and delivering disruptive innovation that profoundly changed the industry. Previously, Jay was President & EVP at PeopleSoft (following the acquisition of Red Pepper Software), and a VP at SAP. Jay's mission is to leverage his leadership skills, operating experience and investor instincts to help entrepreneurs and organizations achieve their full potential.

Jeff Ricci
Senior Vice President and Controller for Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In this role Jeff has responsibility for the accounting, financial close and external financial reporting activities of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, including quarterly and annual financial statements filings with US and international regulatory agencies such as the SEC. His team also provides technical accounting support to HPE’s M&A and divestiture projects. Additionally, Jeff manages HPE’s import/export compliance and credit and collections organizations. Jeff served on the Board of Directors for Mphasis Corporation, a $1 billion IT services company, until its’ divestiture by Hewlett Packard Enterprise in 2016.

Prior to being named Controller, Ricci served as the Vice President of Finance for the HPE Technology and Operations organization that included Sales Operations, Information Technology, Global Real Estate, Global Procurement, Global Business Solutions and Global Security.

Jeff joined Hewlett Packard Enterprise in 2009 as the CFO of the $4B Software Business Unit, coming from BEA Systems where held financial leadership positions across the organization during his 9-year tenure. He served on the BEA Executive Leadership team.

Before joining BEA, Jeff was a director of FP&A for Compaq. He also served as the Controller for the $2B western region sales at Compaq. Early in his career Jeff held finance positions at Tandem Computers and Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. Jeff holds a BA in Business Administration from San Jose State University and an MBA from the University of San Francisco. He serves on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer for the San Jose State Tower Foundation, a philanthropic organization.

Lucas Career Advisory Board Members

Gerhard Brummer
Senior Manager, Walmart

Gerhard Brummer, originally from South Africa, brings 25 years of senior retail management experience to the Career Advisory Board at LCOB. An SJSU alumnus with a BBA in Accounting, he is furthering his education with an MBA at Boston University. Gerhard has contributed to the college since 2012, serving on various boards and engaging in mentorship programs. He currently manages a Walmart near the SJSU campus and resides in San Jose with his wife, Rafaela.

Daryl Dobrenz
Former CEO of Kranz Consulting

Daryl Dobrenz was, most recently, the CEO of Kranz Consulting, a Private Equity owned, Silicon Valley based firm providing CFO Advisory and Strategic Financial services to Venture Capital and PE Firms and their private and public portfolio companies. Daryl provided strategic direction and leadership to a team of 300+ experienced professionals serving 800+ clients across the U.S.

Prior to joining Kranz, Daryl served in various Consulting and Leadership roles at Connor Group, an IPO and M&A services firm, including as Managing Director and Head of the New York office, where he led business development efforts across the East Coast and Europe. Previously, Daryl's experience includes 20+ years in Senior Management roles at premier technology companies in Silicon Valley such as Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and Applied Materials.

Daryl received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Business Administration from San José State University.

Daryl currently splits his time between California and Oregon, enjoying the outdoors and spending quality time with his wife and two daughters.

Rene Siegel René Shimada Siegel
Partner, Armanino LLP

René Siegel leverages her Silicon Valley background and entrepreneurial expertise, having served as a partner with Armanino, a Top 20 consulting firm. At Armanino's Growth Office, René excelled in forging Bay Area connections and building relationships across industries, helping business leaders navigate complex challenges and achieve ambitious goals.

Before joining Armanino, René was the CEO and Founder of Connext, where she supported tech leaders with marketing and communications resource challenges for over two decades. In 2021, she merged her team and expertise into Armanino, enriching the firm's client portfolio and consultant network.

René has been a passionate advocate for women's advancement through Armanino's The Bridge committee and a champion of community service as part of the Armanino Foundation Volunteer Vacation committee. Her dedication to mentorship and education is reinforced by her role at the Lucas College of Business at San Jose State University, where she serves on the Dean's Advisory Board and shares insights from seven years as a Public Relations adjunct professor.

René is also a member of the Silicon Valley chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and holds a lifetime membership with the International Association of Business Communicators. Her greatest achievement remains the creation of three amazing humans.

Vince Voron
VP, Head of Product Design at Visa

Vince Voron is a dynamic creative leader known for his holistic approach to design, seamlessly integrating user experience, engineering, brand strategy, and design to craft compelling products. With a career spanning diverse industries and five countries, he has transformed several billion dollar brands and effectively increased consumer engagement.

Beginning his career journey at Apple, Vince played a pivotal role in revolutionizing manufacturing processes. He later transitioned into Industrial Design leadership. This marked the start of a remarkable chapter where he brought iconic products like the iMac, iPod, and iPhone to life.

Vince embarked on a journey with Coca-Cola in 2006, where he spearheaded the design of groundbreaking innovations like the Coca-Cola freestyle platform, a $200M investment. In 2013, Vince embraced a new opportunity at Dolby, driven by the challenge to make sound and imaging technologies tangible and desirable.

Continuing his quest for innovation, Vince ventured into the fintech realm with Ripple in 2019 and subsequently joined JP Morgan Chase. Most recently, he was the Head of Design at Visa, leading a diverse team of product designers committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation.

Vince has a BS degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University, an MBA degree from San José State University, and a Masters in human ecology from the Université de Paris. He has an impressive portfolio of 44 US Design Patents and over 30 International Design Awards, including prestigious accolades such as Emmy Awards, Cannes Lion, IDEA and Red Dot.

Joan Yanabu
Vice President, Employee Experience at Cisco

Joan Yanabu is Vice President, Employee Experience at Cisco. Her global organization brings a unified, digital-first mindset to transforming the way Cisco employees and partners adopt new skills. Joan is also responsible for influencing Cisco’s greatest talent engine through prediction of future workforce needs. She is driven by innovation and speed

Joan previously held leadership positions at Salesforce, Dell, Williams Sonoma, E.phiphany and Digitas in Marketing and Customer Success. She is a collaborative leader, driven by innovation and speed who combines strategy, technology, and analytics to deliver business transformation, impact and growth.

A native of Ireland, Joan is based in Marin County, CA. Joan and her husband Reid have three children and two dogs. When she’s not working, you can find her hiking, running, cooking, enjoying time with friends and relaxing at the beach.

Lucas Foundation Board Members

Scott Daugherty
Adjunct Lecturer of Real Estate Finance

Scott is presently advocating for Dean Rangapriya Kannan in the development and execution of the school’s corporate and alumni engagement initiatives.

Tom Zahiralis Tom Zahralis
President and Publisher, Silicon Valley Business Journal

Tom is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in sales and marketing. A proud graduate with a Marketing degree from San Jose State University, he has dedicated the past 16 years to managing sales teams, honing his leadership skills, mentoring talent, and fostering a culture of success. Currently serving as the President and Publisher of the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Tom oversees the entire business operation, leading editorial, sales, and events teams with a strategic vision that continues to elevate the brand's presence in Silicon Valley.

Before his pivotal role at the Business Journal, Tom held the position of Chief Revenue Officer at Embarcadero Media for 12 years, where he played a crucial role in driving revenue growth, building the company brand, and shaping strategic direction. He's passionate about connecting business leaders and companies together to enable them to grow and be successful.

Lucas Department Board Members

Steve Glaser
Fractional Executive, Advisor and Coach

Steve is a fractional executive, advisor and coach in the areas of strategy, marketing, leadership and communications. He is also the chairman of the San Jose State University Innovation Council and on the Dean's Advisory Board for the San Jose State University business school. Steve is also serving as an Executive-in-Residence at Plug & Play and Berkeley Skydeck start-up accelerators, and is an advisor for the Edge AI and Vision Alliance.

Steve was most recently the original founder and CEO of ComfortZones Digital, providing the Skills and Data for organizational health and productivity, and the prevention of mental health and job performance issues. Prior to ComfortZones, Steve spent 7 years as SVP of Corporate Strategy and Marketing at Xilinx. At Xilinx, Steve was responsible for marketing the company, all product launches, corporate strategy, market development, ecosystem development and community and education support. He was also responsible for all CEO, employee, investor and corporate communications. During Steve’s tenure, Xilinx increased its market value from $7B to $20B.

Bradley Maihack

Brad is a retired Hewlett-Packard executive and currently runs a privately held social venture organization, SocialVentureCafe.org. During his 41- year career at HP, Brad held a wide range of senior Financial & Business leadership positions that spanned across more than a dozen of the company’s most innovative and dynamic enterprise businesses. During this time he also served HP as its SJSU recruiting and campus manager where he helped recruit and place hundreds of talented students into HP jobs.

Since retirement from HP, Brad has worked with SJSU and the LCoB on a range of programs aimed at advocating, incubating and supporting the creation of innovative new social ventures capable of serving our community’s most pressing social needs and challenges. A graduate from SJSU in 1975, Brad holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration with an Accounting concentration.

Mike Todasco
Visiting Fellow, James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence at SDSU

Mike Todasco is an innovation leader with deep expertise in leveraging emerging technologies to drive business growth and empower creativity. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence at San Diego State University. As former Senior Director of Innovation at PayPal, Mike led the company's first Innovation Labs and Blockchain research group. Mike is a prolific inventor with over 100 U.S. patents. He has a BS in Finance from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana, an MBA from UC Berkeley and is pursuing an MFA in writing at Johns Hopkins University.

Lucas Young Alumni Board

Erinne Arias
Senior Employee Engagement Program Manager at PagerDuty

Mrs. Arias is passionate about driving a strong culture, diversity, equity & inclusion in the workplace. She is a well-rounded senior program manager with a background in Human Resources. She graduated from San José State University with a Bachelors in Psychology, then went on to continue her education at Holy Names University where she received her Masters in Forensic Psychology. Her joy lies in providing opportunities in Tech for under-represented youth and returning citizens. She has spent the last few years as a strategic partner with The Last Mile and Black Girls Code. She was recognized by the Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall for her 9.5 years of service, mentoring, and developing programs for young men and women. Her top 5 values are Authenticity, Empathy, Leadership, Collaboration, and Creativity.

Emily Holland Enany
Business Intelligence Analyst II at Google

Emily Holland Enany works at Google as a Business Intelligence Analyst for Google Cloud. Prior to her current role, she was a Senior Strategist in Trust & Safety at Google. Emily stays connected on campus where she continues to mentor students and early-in-career professionals on career development. She is frequently spotted at the LCoB’s professional development events as a panelist or hosting a talk.

Emily graduated San Jose State University with a Bachelor’s in Management Information Systems, was the Lucas College of Business (LCoB) Student Commencement Speaker and was heavily involved on campus with Latino Business Student Association, Management Information Systems Association, and Salzburg Scholar’s Association. She is passionate about helping students and professionals to embrace their 'story' to accelerate their careers and to avoid underestimating their talent.

David Poirier
Career Experiences and Internship Specialist at SJSU Career Center

David earned his bachelor’s degree and MBA from the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business. He spent three years in HR before joining the SJSU Career Center full time. Looking ahead to 2025, he is enthusiastic about pursuing his doctorate degree, focusing on the application of Human Resources in the educational sector. In his free time, he enjoys astronomy, journaling, and hiking.

Former Board Members

We extend our sincere gratitude to all former LCOB board members for their valuable contributions over the years!

James Bareuther James L. Bareuther
Former Chief Operating Officer, Brown-Forman
BS Business Administration, SJSU

James L. Bareuther retired from Brown-Forman in September 2010 after serving as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Brown-Forman, headquartered in Louisville, KY is one of the world’s top ten wine and spirits companies. Bareuther was responsible for Brown-Forman’s spirits and wine business in more than 140 countries across the globe. Bareuther, who reached the company’s mandatory retirement age in September, 2010 served as COO for the company since 2003.

Prior to joining Brown Forman as director of U.S. sales in 1994, Bareuther was executive vice president of sales and marketing for the Seagram Classics Wine Company in New York and California. He previously worked for Beringer Vineyards, a leading wine firm in Napa Valley, California. Bareuther earned a B.S. degree from San Jose State University in 1967 and served as a Naval Flight Officer in the United States Navy from 1968-1973.

Bareuther served three terms as chairman of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), a national trade association based in Washington, D.C. representing producers and marketers of distilled spirits sold in the U.S. and around the world. Jim also chaired The Century Council, an organization designed to fight underage drinking and drunk driving.

Currently, Jim serves in an advisory capacity for two leading, multi-state beverage alcohol distribution companies, two Napa Valley wineries, on the board of First Beverage Group , a full-service financial services firm dedicated exclusively to the beverage industry, a board member of Windy Hill Spirits, and is a member of the global advisory council for the College of Business at San Jose State University College. Additionally, Bareuther serves on the board of Share Our Strength, a non-profit organization that works to eliminate childhood hunger in America.

Jenny Dearborn

Jenny Dearborn
Chief People Officer, Klaviyo

Jenny is Chief People Officer at Klaviyo, a company that helps growth-focused ecommerce brands drive sales. She previously served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Learning Officer of SAP, where she was responsible for aligning and driving all corporate learning and enablement activity for SAP’s 75,000 employees worldwide. This was her fourth Chief Learning Officer role at a major technology company.

Recognized as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by the National Diversity Council in 2014 and 2015, Jenny Dearborn is a thought leader in learning, human capital management and business culture. A regular contributor to Forbes, Huffington Post and Fast Company, Jenny has also written for Tech Republic, USA Today and industry publications including CLO Magazine, HR Executive and Talent Development Magazine. Her book, Data Driven: How Performance Analytics Delivers Extraordinary Sales Results, published by Wiley in February of 2015 is #1 on Amazon.com in the “new business releases” category.

Sara Macdonald
Partner, Assurance Services, EY

Sara is a Partner in EY’s San Jose office. She has extensive experience providing assurance services to companies in the technology and aerospace and defense industries. She has served companies in all stages of development and growth, from private VC-backed companies to multinational public industry leaders. She tailors her approach to the unique needs of each company, and values continuous communication while providing effective technical interaction and relevant insights.

Sara is involved in the development of professionals through formal training facilitation, counseling, and mentoring. She leads the EY recruiting efforts for San Jose State University, participates in the EY Professional Women’s Network, and volunteers through EY charity events.

Prior to joining EY, Sara served in the U.S. Air Force. Sara received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from San Jose State University. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Naresh Malik
Transformation Partner and Leadership Coach

Naresh is a consulting partner and leadership coach to senior executives for accelerating transformations, innovation and scaling growth. He has been a catalyst for performance improvements at numerous organizations by helping them shift from functional silos to collaborating as 'one team' with shared accountability.

Naresh's career spans leadership roles in large multinationals and startups. Previously he was Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships at Leeo, a VC funded startup in Silicon Valley. Prior to that he was Director of Strategy and Planning for Cisco's Industry Solutions Group and Associate Partner for the Emerging Business Opportunities practice at IBM. He has extensive cross-cultural experience having worked and lived in London UK, The Netherlands and Bangalore, India. He holds an MBA from City Business School London and a D.Phil in Physics from University of Oxford.

Bob Monsour

Now retired, Bob spends his time managing his family’s personal investments,advising young technology companies, reading, and playing tennis.From 2006 to 2009, Bob served as the inaugural Associate Director of PrincetonUniversity’s Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, supporting entrepreneurial activities among other duties. Prior to joining Princeton, Bob was a private investor in early-stage technology companies, and was a founding member of the Jumpstart New Jersey Angel Network.

Bob has served as an executive officer in two publicly held technology companies: Stac, the maker of the Stacker disk compression software popular in the early 90's, which Bob co-founded in 1983, and Hifn, a fables semiconductor supplier specializing in compression and encryption chips. Bob’s operational experience has included product development, sales & marketing, and mergers & acquisitions. Bob also served for eight years on the Board of Trustees at Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, an independent boys school. Bob received a B.A.S. and M.A.S. in computer science from Florida Atlantic University and an MBA from UCLA.

Reshma Nigam
Founder and CEO Markable Solutions
MBA, BA, SJSU

Ms. Reshma Nigam is Founder & CEO of Markable Solutions – a digital marketing company. Prior to that she was Co-Founder & CEO of aMarketForce, a leader in B2B sales, marketing and lead generation services. Ms. Nigam has worked with RightWorks Corporation, Xporta and nthOrbit, when they were startups. She was also VP of Medical Market Research for Frost and Sullivan. Her expertise includes digital marketing, business management, business strategy development, start-up marketing, market research, consulting, sales operations, product launches, global marketing, direct marketing

Ms. Nigam is an advisory board member of the Global Leadership Council at Lucas Graduate School of Business, SJSU. She is also the Chairperson of Art Forum at San Francisco, Bay Area

She holds MBA and BA degrees from San Jose State University, a Post-Grad diploma in Communication and Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communications, and BA in English Literature from India.

Tim Ome Tim Ome
Managing Director, Synergy Advisors, LLC

Mr. Ome's career spans over 20 years as an investment banker, management consultant, venture capitalist and senior financial officer. His experience involves a full range of corporate finance, corporate development, strategic advice and operating management for technology companies from start-up's to global multinational electronic firms.

Timothy Ome began his finance career with Lehman Brothers as an investment banker. He rose to Senior Vice President and Principal in the firm and was recognized as being the key architect and executive that built Lehman Brothers' Asia operations. He then joined Bank of America and was a key contributor for the establishment of its investment banking subsidiary BancAmerica Securities. At BancAmerica Securities he was a Managing Director, and head of its technology practice. Mr. Ome was also with Arthur Anderson's Corporate Finance Group as co-head of its national technology practice. He was also a senior investment banker with C.E. Unterberg, Towbin. He left investment banking and joined APPRO International as Senior Vice President Corporate Development where he restructured the company and engineered the acquisition of VA Linux systems hardware business. He transitioned to venture capital as a venture partner with Profile Venture Partners and later joined Star Capital Partners now known as Boston Biotech, as a General Partner. He was also at Genyous Biomed International, an early stage oncology company as its Senior Vice President Corporate Development. He was last with Trenwith Securities as the Managing Director of the firm's Silicon Valley Office.

He received his BA in American Studies and Applied Mathematics from the University of Hawaii. He holds a graduate degree from the Japan America Institute of Management Science, Tokyo, Japan with concentrations in Computer Science and International Management. He received his MBA with emphasis in Finance and International Business from the George Washington University Graduate School of Business and Public Policy. In his academic career he received the Times Scholarship, the Fujitsu Fellowship and the Scottish Rite Fellowship. He is currently a board member of the Software Business Cluster, the Environmental Business Cluster, and the HiveGroup.com.