The Advisory Board reflects the unique integration of practice and research that is at the core of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Board of Advisors
- Jeff Barnes, General Partner, Oxford Bioscience Partners
- Danny Briere, CEO, Telechoice
- B. Jefferson Clark, Managing General Partner and Co-Founder, The Aurora Funds
- Wes Cohen, Frederick C. Joerg Professor of Business Administration and Faculty Director, Fuqua's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Josh Felser, Former CEO of Crackle
- Jon Fjeld, Professor of the Practice and Executive Director, Fuqua's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Dan Green, Development Director, HRG Worldwide
- Don Haile, Partner, Fidelity Ventures
- Peter Heffring, Founder, HPW Mortgage
- Jeffrey M. Hurst, General Partner and Co-Founder, Commonwealth Capital Ventures
- Bill Luby, Managing Partner, Seaport Capital
- Cathey Massey, Co-Founder, LawDocsXpress
- Matt Megaro, Former CEO of Quill Medical, and Executive in Residence, Fuqua's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Will Mitchell, J. Rex Fuqua Professor of International Management, Professor of Strategy
- Shep Moyle, President of Stump Shindigz
- Mitch Mumma, General Partner, Intersouth Partners
- Michael Olander, President and CEO, Apple Gold Group
- Bill Okun, Executive Vice President, Capital IQ
- Manju Puri, J. B. Fuqua Professor of Finance
- Howie Rhee, Managing Director, Fuqua's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- David Robinson, William and Sue Gross Distinguished Research Scholar, Associate Professor of Finance, and Research Director, Fuqua's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Terry Tucker, Managing Director of Strategy, NexGen Corporation
- Derek Wilson, Principal, Rearden Steel, Ltd.
Jeffrey T. Barnes
General Partner, Oxford Bioscience Partners
Mr. Barnes joined Oxford Bioscience Partners in 1999 and has over 20 years of operating and investment experience in the life sciences sector. Prior to Oxford, he worked at the investment banking firms of Robertson, Stephens & Co. and Needham & Co. where he was involved in the financing and merger activity of over 20 medical device and healthcare technology companies. Mr. Barnes was a co-founder and CEO of Biosyss Corporation, a cardiovascular device company, and has held management positions in engineering, manufacturing and marketing within the Medical Products Group of Hewlett-Packard Corp. Mr. Barnes is a member of the Clinical Cardiology Council of the American Heart Association, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, and the National Society of Professional Engineers. In addition to serving on the Boards of Directors for many healthcare technology companies in the U.S., Europe, and Israel, he is a member of the Harvard-M.I.T. Health Sciences and Technology Advisory Council and the Board of Overseers of Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, MA. He received a B.S. degree in Physiology & Biophysics and an M.S. degree in Engineering from Duke University and an M.S. degree from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Danny Briere
CEO, Telechoice
Danny Briere is one of the original modern-day telecom strategists, having advised carriers, vendors, regulators, startups, and governments for more than 20 years. A long-time contributing editor for Network World and columnist and contributor to other leading publications such as Telephony, Telecommunications Magazine, and others, Briere is recognized as one of the most creative and innovative telecom strategists in the industry today. He is respected for his insight into competitive strategies and tactics, industry paradigm shifts, end user requirements, and service and equipment capabilities. Danny's ability to identify noteworthy, new, industry trends, well before the industry as a whole recognizes them, has led to early exploitation of opportunities in wireless networking, home networking, DSL, PON, VoIP, VoD, IPTV, and network-hosted applications.
Since founding TeleChoice in 1985, Danny has been intricately involved in some of the largest telecommunications projects in the industry worldwide. As CEO, Danny focuses on strategic positioning issues for customers including mergers and acquisitions, business strategy development, and business development. He frequently appears as an expert guest for industry analysis and commentary at major business and industry events and regularly consults with the leading Wall Street financial brokerage houses, and leading venture capitalist firms. Danny serves on several advisory boards for equipment and carrier ventures. In addition, he is quoted regularly in publications such as USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times.
Danny serves on several advisory boards for equipment and carrier ventures, and is a contributing editor and columnist in the industry publication, Network World. In addition, he is quoted regularly in publications such as USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times. He is the co-author with Pat Hurley of Wireless Hacks and Mods for Dummies, HDTV for Dummies, Smart Homes for Dummies, Windows XP Media Center for Dummies, Wireless Home Networking for Dummies, Home Theater for Dummies, Smart Homes for Dummies, Internet Telephony for Dummies -- all by John Wiley & Sons -- as well as Long Distance Services: A Buyer's Guide (Artech House Materials Science Library), Virtual Networks - A Buyer's Guide (Artech/Horizon House) and A Buyer's Guide to Long Distance Services (Telecom Publishing Group). He is also the editor for The Guide to Frame Relay Networking: How to Evaluate, Implement, and Maintain a Frame Relay Network (Flatiron Publishing, Inc.).
In addition to his corporate Board duties, Danny also serves on several non-profit advisory boards. He is a member of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Health Communications Advisory Board, which communicates health advisories and disease control programs to the public; a member of the Advisory Board of the Northstar Foundation, which provides assistance dog placement services for children witih autism; and a member of the judging staff for the Connecticut Invention Convention, held annually across the State of Connecticut to promote inventiveness and "thinking outside the box" strategies in children.
Danny earned his Master's in Business Administration from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in 1985, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in telecommunications Policy at Duke University. He has a wife who is a brain researcher, and two sets of twins who keep him busy with debugging computer games and PS2s.
B. Jefferson Clark
Managing General Partner, The Aurora Funds
Jeff Clark co-founded The Aurora Funds, Inc. in 1994 and is currently Managing General Partner responsible for life science investments in Aurora’s five existing funds, which encompass in excess of $234 million. Jeff currently serves on the boards of several of Aurora’s life science portfolio companies, including Aldagen, Argos Therapeutics, Hyperbranch Medical Technology, Metabolon, Regado Biosciences and Xsira Pharmaceutical, assisting in the strategic direction of each. Prior to forming Aurora, Jeff worked in development and external affairs for Duke University. Jeff has extensive strategic planning and operational experience and has overseen more than twenty life science investments since 1995. Jeff is a former Chairman of the Board of North Carolina’s Council for Entrepreneurial Development and is on the board of overseers of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. Jeff holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Wesley Cohen
Faculty Director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Frederick C. Joerg Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Economics, Law and Management
After a year as Research Fellow in Industrial Organization at the Harvard Business School and twenty years teaching in Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Wesley Cohen (Ph.D., Economics, Yale University, 1981) joined the faculty of the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, as Professor of Economics and Management in September 2002 and was named the Frederick C. Joerg Distinguished Professor of Business Administration in April, 2004. He also holds secondary appointments in Duke’s Department of Economics and School of Law, and is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Professor Cohen also serves as the Faculty Director of the Fuqua School’s newly established Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
With a research focus on the economics of technological change and R&D, Professor Cohen has examined the determinants of innovative activity and performance both within and across industries, considering the roles of firm size, market structure, firm learning, knowledge flows, university research and the means that firms use to protect their intellectual property. In recent years, much of his work has focused on the economics and management of intellectual property.
He has published in numerous scholarly journals, including the American Economic Review, the Economic Journal, Science, The Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Industrial Economics, the Administrative Science Quarterly, Management Science, Research Policy and the Strategic Management Journal. He also co-edited the recently published volume, Patents in the Knowledge-Based Economy.
He served for five years as a Main Editor for Research Policy and recently served on the National Academies’ Committee on Intellectual Property Rights in the Knowledge-Based Economy, and on the National Academies' Panel on Research and Development Statistics at the National Science Foundation. He has taught courses on the economics of technological change, industrial organization economics, policy analysis, organizational behavior, corporate strategy, entrepreneurship and the management of intellectual capital.
Josh Felser
Mr. Felser is a seasoned media and communications executive who has built and managed online and traditional consumer businesses. Currently he is an angel investor and advisor in the media and technology sectors. Mr. Felser was the CEO and co-founder of Crackle (formerly Grouper), a leading Internet video community, recently acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment for $65 million. Until February of 2001 he was General Manager of AOL's music brands' Spinner, Winamp and Shoutcast. In October 1997 he became a co-founder and President of Spinner.com, a leading Internet music destination until its May 1999 purchase by America Online for $320 million. From 1994 to 1996 he was Head of business and product development in Qwest/U.S. West's Multimedia Group. From 1990 to 1994 he was an executive with News Corp., working with Fox Inc. in Los Angeles and BSkyB in London. Mr. Felser obtained a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Duke University in 1986 and an M.B.A. in Marketing from Duke's FUQUA School of Business in 1990.
Jon Fjeld
Executive Director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Professor of the Practice of Management
Jon Fjeld has spent over twenty years in marketing, engineering and general management in start-ups and public companies, as well as five years in academia.
From December, 2000, until July, 2004, he served as vice president of engineering for Align Technology in Santa Clara, CA. Between 1995 and 2000, he served as CEO of two RTP venture backed firms: Geomagic, a 3D software company and NetEdge Systems, a data networking equipment company. Prior to that, Fjeld spent 13 years at IBM, where he served in a number of management and executive positions within the networking and software business units. He began his professional career as an assistant professor in the philosophy department at Duke University.
Fjeld holds a Ph.D. and MA in philosophy from the University of Toronto, an MBA from Duke University, an MS in computer science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a BA in mathematics and philosophy from Bishop's University.
Dan Green
Bio coming soon…
Don Haile
Partner, Fidelity Ventures
Fidelity Ventures invests in technology companies at the "Go-To-Market" stage. Don works with partners in the organization to evaluate and initiate new investment opportunities in the information technology and telecommunications fields.
Prior to assuming his current position in October 2005, Mr. Haile was Fidelity Investments’ Chief Information Officer, responsible for computer operations, the global communications networks and enterprise-wide applications support and development.
Mr. Haile joined Fidelity in 1998 as executive vice president of Enterprise Solutions responsible for the worldwide development of infrastructure and application products that support the processing needs of Fidelity. He moved to the position of CIO in January, 1999 and in that position reported to Fidelity’s Chairman, Edward C. Johnson until October, 2005.
From October, 2005 to the end of 2007, Mr. Haile was the site General Manager for Fidelity’s operations in NC. During that period, Fidelity grew from 1000 NC employees to nearly 3000 people.
Prior to joining Fidelity, Mr. Haile spent the first 34 years of his career with IBM, where he held various executive positions in hardware and software development, with responsibilities for telecommunications, systems management and IBM operating systems.
Mr. Haile received a BA degree in mathematics from St. Vincent College in 1963 and a BS degree in electrical engineering from Penn State in 1964. He is currently serving as a Trustee on the Board of Directors for St. Vincent College, and is an advisor to the Information Science and Technology College at Penn State. He has served as a director for the Catholic Schools Foundation of Boston and on the board of Siemens Communications, North America.
Don is married to the former Mary Higgins and they have three children, Matthew, 40, Kathryn, 38 and Andrew, 36. They have five grandchildren .
Peter Heffring
President, Alera Financial
Alera Financial was founded in 1996 as Southeastern Residential Mortgage. The company came under new ownership in 2003 with Peter Heffring as President and a new name, Southeastern Lending.
In 2006, the company name was changed to Alera Financial with Peter Heffring still at the helm to reflect the increased expansion of his mortgage business across the United States. Today, the company operates as a correspondent mortgage lender in multiple states and closes over $300 million in loans per year. Prior to his mortgage lending experience, Peter spent many years in the software industry.
As founder, driving force, and Chief Executive Officer of Ceres – and then as President of Teradata CRM Division, Peter Heffring lead his CRM solution to remarkable revenue growth and industry acclaim. Founded in 1996, Heffring’s young organization gained strong momentum and attention by winning CRM contracts from top-tier companies including Wal-Mart, Office Depot, JCPenney, Lowe’s, Neiman Marcus, National Bank of Australia, Eddie Bauer, and Wells Fargo.
Founded in 1996, Ceres Integrated Solutions quickly became a leading provider of Intelligent Operational Software and analytical services. In 1998, Ceres became an NCR Teradata strategic partner, and NCR bought Ceres for $90M in April 2000. Dedicated to meeting the growing demand for high-performance target marketing and CRM software, Heffring and his team helped Teradata further expand and enrich its analytical solutions across all industries worldwide.
Prior to founding Ceres, Heffring rose through the IBM organization, taking on a series of leadership roles in marketing, manufacturing, corporate finance, forecasting and international management – crossing many professional disciplines and residing in the U.S. and Europe. In 14 years with IBM, his range of responsibilities spanned many products, from PCs to mainframes.
Born in Canada, Heffring graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a BS degree in Engineering. He is an auto-racing enthusiast, plays hockey, and coaches youth basketball. Heffring currently serves on the North Carolina Museum of History Board, serves on the advisory board at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business Entrepreneur Center, and serves on the Pastoral Council for St Francis. Heffring resides with his wife and two children in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Jeffrey M. Hurst
General Partner and Co-Founder, Commonwealth Capital Ventures
Jeffrey M. Hurst is a general partner and a co-founder of Commonwealth Capital Ventures. Jeff has more than 25 years of venture capital and private equity experience. Before co-founding Commonwealth in 1995, Jeff was a senior vice president with GE Capital’s Corporate Finance Group. Jeff previously served as a managing partner of Cox Partners, a private equity firm in Dallas, after starting his career with Bankers Trust Company in New York City. Jeff earned a BA in History and Economics from Duke University and an MBA from Tulane University. Jeff is also a member of the Trinity College Board of Visitors of Duke University. Mr. Hurst resides outside of Boston.
Bill Luby
Managing Partner, Seaport Capital
Bill Luby has been investing in private equity for 20 years. Currently, he is the Managing Partner of Seaport Capital, a private equity firm which he co-founded in 1996. Seaport Capital specializes in investing in communications, media and information services companies,. Prior to this, Mr. Luby was a Managing Director at Chase Capital, the equity-investing arm of The Chase Manhattan Bank. In that position, he was responsible for the firm's investments in media and telecommunications. Prior to joining Chase Capital, Mr. Luby was a Managing Director in Chase's Merchant Banking Group, where he financed leveraged buyouts. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Switch & Data Facilities, and sits on the Boards of numerous private companies. Mr. Luby holds an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a BA in economics from Trinity College. He is married and has 4 children.
Catherine E. Massey
Co-Founder, LawDocsXpress
Catherine E. Massey has more than 15 years experience as Owner & President of Legal Resources, Inc., a legal temporary and placement service in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, she has more than 10 years experience in corporate management with emphasis in human resources. She has a BA from Duke University and an MS from Georgia State University.
Matt Megaro
Executive-in-Residence, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Matt has extensive experience in starting and developing biotechnology and medical devices ventures. Most recently, he was President and CEO of Quill Medical, Inc., a medical device company that he co-founded in 2000 in Research Triangle Park, NC. The Company achieved profitability in 2006 following the successful commercialization of a series of minimally invasive cosmetic surgery devices. Quill was sold to Angiotech Pharmaceuticals in 2006 in a $200 million structured acquisition. Prior to this, he was President of Trimeris, Inc., a Durham, NC biotechnology company focused on treatments of infectious disease. At Trimeris, he led the Company’s business development and financing initiatives including private and public stock offerings and an IPO in 1997. Prior to Trimeris, he was Chief Financial Officer of Athena Neurosciences which developed treatments for neurological disorders. At Athena, he was responsible for various product licensing and acquisition programs and for financing initiatives including Athena’s IPO in 1991. He was also a co-founder of Transprobe, Inc. (later named Signal Pharmaceuticals), a transcription factor inhibition company located in San Diego, CA that was sold to Celgene, Corp. in 2001. Matt is an inventor on numerous issued and pending U.S. and foreign medical device patents. He serves as a board member of several life science companies and is currently engaged as an entrepreneurship advisor to the US Embassy and Consulates in Italy. He received his B.S. in Finance from the University of California, Berkeley.
Will Mitchell
J. Rex Fuqua Professor of International Management, Professor of Strategy
Background: Will joined the Duke faculty in 2001. Will earned a Ph.D. in Business at the University of California at Berkeley and a BBA at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. Before joining Duke, Will was a faculty member of the University of Michigan. Will is co-editor of the Strategic Management Journal, an associate editor at Management Science, and is on the editorial board of several other academic journals. Will is active in the Strategic Management Society and Academy of Management.
Teaching: Will teaches MBA courses in corporate strategy, business change, and pharmaceutical strategy, as well as Ph.D. courses in strategy & research methods.
Research: Will studies business dynamics, focusing on how businesses overcome constraints to change and, in turn, how business changes influence performance.
Projects: Will’s current research projects investigate business changes in several international industrial sectors, including the medical, trucking, telecommunications, auto, and retail sectors.
Shep Moyle
President of Stump Shindigz
In 1990, Shep and Wendy Moyle purchased Stumps. Since that time the company has moved aggressively to focus on 100% customer satisfaction, exceptional quality, and solid product values. Stumps has grown to include Stumps Spirit, ShindigZ, and BirthdayZ by ShindigZ catalogs. In 1996, Stumps pioneered a new concept for the Prom and party industry by developing the first Prom-focused website, StumpsProm.com. In 1999, Stumps expanded its on-line presence by unveiling the world's first on-line party superstore -ShindigZ. com. Because of great demand for more birthday-related items, in 2003 Stumps introduced BirthdayZbyShindigZ.com. Additional product-line focus web site launches followed in 2005 and 2006 with BannerZbyShindigZ.com and CostumesbyShindigZ.com. ShindigZ was named "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Ernst and Young in 1999 and one of "Indiana's 100 Fastest Growing Companies" by the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. In 2000, Forbes Magazine named ShindigZ.com one of the "Top 400 Websites in America." In the July 2002 issue, Catalog Success magazine named five catalog industry professionals as winners of the first-annual Catalogers of the Year awards. Winners demonstrated innovation in cataloging, measurable company growth, and a dvancement to the catalog industry as a whole. According to Donna Loyle, editor of Catalog Success, the Business-to-Business Catalogers of the Year award was given to the Moyles because of their impressive business acumen. Since their purchase of Stumps in 1990, the Moyles have taken the company from a one-catalog company with 40 employees to a 14-title firm with seven websites and 425 employees. In 2006, the company officially changed its name to ShindigZ to symbolize the fun and delight that it brings to both its employees and customers.
He currently serves on the Athletics Advisory Council and is on the Alumni Admissions Advisory Committee, a volunteer service to interview prospective undergraduate students in the alum's home community.
Shep graduated from Duke Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude. When a student, he was a member of BOG living group, student council president, member of the Chronicle staff, and Bench and Bar. He received his MBA from Harvard in 1986.
Mitch Mumma
General Partner, Intersouth Partners
Mitch is primarily responsible for Intersouth's information technology portfolio. He joined Intersouth in 1989 at the inception of Fund II. Mitch has full-cycle venture investment experience and has held management positions with various companies throughout his career, including three start-up companies, all of which subsequently went public.
Mitch is known for board and syndicate leadership as well as tireless focus on portfolio company success. He has provided early financing and venture leadership for numerous successful companies. He currently serves on the boards of five portfolio companies. He also served as CEO of an Intersouth portfolio company.
Prior to joining Intersouth, Mitch worked in finance and operations for a high growth computer hardware and software company. Previously, he worked as a manager in the high growth business practice at Touche Ross & Co. (now Deloitte & Touche).
Mitch is a leader in the entrepreneurial community and a sought-after speaker. He is an adjunct professor at the UNC Kenan-Flagler School of Business and has long held leadership roles in the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) and North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA). He also has served as a mentor to the Kauffman Fellows Program. He earned a degree in Management Science from Duke University.
Bill Okun
Executive Vice President, Capital IQ
Since 2000, Bill Okun has been Executive Vice President of Capital IQ, a Standard & Poor’s business that provides information and workflow solutions to financial institutions, advisory firms and large corporations. In his role, Bill provides senior leadership and guidance to both the Client Development and Product Development teams globally.
Prior to joining Capital IQ, Bill was a director at Sapient Corporation where he helped clients design and implement technology solutions focused on customer acquisition/retention and sales effectiveness. Before joining Sapient, Bill was a senior consultant for Gemini Consulting and a senior account executive for The Forum Corporation.
Bill received a B.A. from Amherst College in 1988 and an MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in 1995.
Michael D. Olander
President, Apple Gold Group
Michael D. Olander is the president and owner of the Apple Gold Group, which he founded in 1979 after graduating from law school. The Apple Gold Group currently owns and operates a total of 80 restaurants in four states. Over the years the Apple Gold Group has also divested itself of another thirty restaurants in two states.
EDUCATION
College: Graduate of Cornell University, School of Arts and Sciences, B.A. 1974
Law School: Graduate of University of Buffalo Law School, J.D., Cum Laude 1977
Admitted to New York Bar in 1978
CAREER
BURGER KING Franchisee since 1979
- Has owned and operated 24 Burger Kings - currently owns/operates 6 in Wake County
- Currently is not developing Burger Kings
APPLEBEE’S Franchisee since 1984
- One of Applebee’s first franchisees
-- Owns and operates 69 Applebee’s in 3 states - OK, AR, NC
- One of five largest Applebee’s franchisees
Past RIO BRAVO Franchisee
- owned and operated one Rio Bravo in Charlotte, NC
- was highest volume franchised Rio Bravo
Developed and opened SYZYGY, an upscale casual dining restaurant in 1997 –closed in 2000
JOHNNY CARINO’S Franchisee since 2002
- Development Agreement to develop forty Johnny Carino’s over seven years in NC, SC and VA
- First Johnny Carino’s opened September 8, 2003
- Five locations currently open
PROFESSIONAL
- NCRA Board of Directors for fifteen years: Past Chairman 1999, Current Director
- National Restaurant Association Board of Directors: Current Director
- Past Chair of Burger King Regional Franchise Association
- Past Member of Applebee’s Franchisee Business Council
COMMUNITY
- Communities in Schools of Wake County Board of Directors for eleven years: served as Chairman for five years; currently is immediate Past Chair
- Triangle Wine Experience Board of Directors: co-founder and Chairman for six years of a major charity fundraiser; currently a major sponsor.
- Wake Education Board of Directors: currently Vice Chair in charge of strategic planning
- Triangle Leadership Academy: currently on Board of Advisors
OTHER
- Apple Gold is currently (2006) ranked #28 in 2006 on Restaurant Monitor’s List of 200 largest restaurant franchise operators
- Apple Gold received the National Restaurant Association “Good Neighbor” award for North Carolina in 2000
- Michael Olander was recognized as the North Carolina Restaurant Association “Restaurateur of the Year” in 1999
- Michael Olander received the North Carolina Restaurant Association “Distinguished Service” award in 2000
- Apple Gold is currently (2006) ranked #9 in the Raleigh/Durham area in listing of top fifty privately held companies based in the Raleigh/Durham area
- Apple Gold has been a member of the “Fast Fifty” since 2003
Michael lives in Raleigh with his wife and two young sons. He also has an older son who is displaying entrepreneurial qualities, having started his own chain of health clubs.
Manju Puri
J. B. Fuqua Professor of Finance
Manju Puri is the J. B. Fuqua Professor of Finance at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. Puri was earlier Associate Professor of Finance at Stanford Business School, which she joined after earning her Ph.D in finance at New York University. Her research interests are in the area of financial intermediation, in particular, commercial banks, investment banks, venture capital and entrepreneurship.
Puri has published widely in the leading finance journals including Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics and Review of Financial Studies. Her research has won multiple awards including two Western Finance Association best paper awards, and the Fama-DFA best paper prize in Journal of Financial Economics. Puri is a co-editor of the Journal of Financial Intermediation, and serves as associate editor of several journals including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of Financial Research and Journal of Financial Services Research. She is a Research Faculty affiliate with the National Bureau of Economic Research. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and Sloan Foundation Fellowship.
Howie Rhee
Managing Director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Howie Rhee is the Managing Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. In his role, he develops and maintains the relationship between the center and the entrepreneurial community both locally and globally.
Prior to coming to Fuqua, Howie developed extensive entrepreneurial experience in a variety of industries including software, media, energy and biotechnology, and executive search. For several years, he has worked on technology startups. He helped over a hundred entrepreneurs develop and grow their companies, while at the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation. Previously, he co-founded Internet Games Corporation, a leading games provider, that was acquired by Go2Net in the late 90s. Howard also worked in marketing and strategy for TechTrader, a software company based in Washington D.C, and earlier in his career, he worked at MicroStrategy in product development. Howard is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Howie was the president of the MIT Club of RTP (2004-2007), and is now a board member of Leadership Triangle, a non-profit created to build leadership capacity to foster regional awareness and cooperation in the Triangle. He is on the Board of Directors for the Global MIT Enterprise Forum which has 24 chapters around the world.
David Robinson
Research Director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
William and Sue Gross Distinguished Research Scholar and Associate Professor of Business Administration
David Robinson is the William and Sue Gross Distinguished Research Scholar, is an Associate Professor of Business Administration, and is the Research Director in the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where he teaches Entrepreneurial Finance in the daytime MBA program. In 2007, he was awarded the Daimler-Chrysler Award for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching, Fuqua’s highest teaching honor. He has published numerous research articles in leading academic journals in finance and economics, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, and the Journal of Law and Economics.
Professor Robinson earned an MBA and PhD from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, a Master of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Bachelor of Arts with highest honors in economics from the University of North Carolina. Prior to joining the faculty of Duke University, he was an Assistant Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia University.
Terry T. Tucker
Managing Director of Strategy, NexGen Corporation
Terry T. Tucker Managing Director of Strategy for NexGen Corporation, whose activities include business and marketing strategy development, complex project management, systems implementation and integration projects, and public affairs and legal consulting. Mr. Tucker's expertise include developing data portals that retrieve cross-system business intelligence in order to drive strategic decision making.
Born in Troy Alabama, Mr. Tucker has served as a consultant to senior management of both large national and international organizations as well as small start-up companies for over 15 years. His depth of experience in business strategy and media consulting is widely sought after by private, non-profit and political organizations and individuals. Mr. Tucker 's ongoing research include exploring cost-efficient media production and communication strategies utilizing emerging digital technologies. Since its inception, NexGen’s businesses have grown to include management, legal and technology consulting, media solutions and public affairs consulting.
In 2004, Mr. Tucker brought former legal client and Emmy award-winning producer and writer Bridget Dobson to NexGen and led the launch of her new luxury lifestyle company and the Bridget Dobson™ brand, which successfully positioned the company's products nationwide. Mr. Tucker oversaw all major business functions including financial, administrative and accounting activities, product development, international sourcing, and marketing and communications strategy development and execution. As the company’s chief legal officer, he was also responsible for international licensing, trademark, copyright and patent acquisition, monitoring and protection as well as all other legal activities. In the fall of 2006, Mr. Tucker lead the transition of day-to-day management of Bridget Dobson Studios to former Mikasa C.E.O., Jean-Rene Gougelet. Prior to joining Bridget Dobson Studios, he served as an associate with the international law firm Troutman Sanders LLP focusing primarily on intellectual property law.
Prior to joining Troutman Sanders, Mr. Tucker served as an engagement and project manager with Ernst & Young LLP Consulting. There, he served as a account manager to senior level management regarding corporate strategies and large scale project management within Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Tucker oversaw planning, structuring, staffing, and managing engagement economics for projects ranging from $10 to $200 million. Before joining Ernst & Young, Mr. Tucker served as a financial accountant and auditor with Coopers & Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouse Coopers). He was in-charge of financial statement and technology audits, including evaluating and testing financial and computer control procedures.
Mr. Tucker began his consulting career with Radio Shack’s Tandy Computer Division providing hardware, software, networking and programming consulting services. In that position, he oversaw the development of the curriculum and served as lead instructor for Troy, Alabama’s Center of Technology. Mr. Tucker is a member of both the American and Georgia Bar Associations and is admitted to practice law in all Georgia Courts. He has authored several articles regarding trademark and copyright law. Mr. Tucker also served as an Ad-Hoc professor at Duke University’s School of Law. He has served on several boards including those of IMAGE Film & Video, as finance committee chair, and the American Association of Gifted Children as programs committee chair. Mr. Tucker has also served as counsel for One World Youth Foundation.
Mr. Tucker earned his B.A. degree with honors from Troy University and his M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He later earned a J.D. degree from Duke University’s School of Law.
Derek M. Wilson
Principal, Rearden Steel, Ltd.
Derek M. Wilson is Principal of Rearden Steel, Ltd. Rearden Steel is a privately held investment company engaged in starting, consulting with and owning investments in small to medium sized companies.
Mr. Wilson has extensive entrepreneurial and managerial experience and has helped to successfully build several businesses.
Mr. Wilson is Chairman and Co-Founder of NeoSpire, Inc., a profitable internet services company.
Under his leadership, NeoSpire was one of the first profitable businesses within the Managed Web Hosting Industry.
Mr. Wilson was an Analyst and Partner in Wings Holdings LP, the leading partnership of the $4 billion Leveraged Buyout of Northwest Airlines, and worked in the Strategic Planning Group at The Walt Disney. Mr. Wilson holds an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and BA in Economics from Duke University.
Mr. Wilson serves as Chairman of the North Texas Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). He is on the Board of the Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Fuqua School of Business and serves on the Executive Committee of The Duke University Alumni Association. Mr. Wilson is also a member of The Dallas Chamber of Commerce, The Dallas Museum of Art, The Nasher Sculpture Center and The Nasher Museum at Duke University. Mr. Wilson has served on corporate advisory boards including My Data Vault and Bay2Peak Strategies. He has also served on many other non-profit boards including the Young Entrepreneurs Organization (YEO), The Dallas Internet Society, The Dallas Museum of Art, The Dallas Arts District Friends.