AWE VENTURES - Key Persons
Agnes Levandowski is the Assistant for Business Development & Investment Group. She provides diverse administrative support to the staff and management in Business Development & IG, especially with the various aspects of the investment application and review process.
Previously Agnes worked in other non-profits, such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America and the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Outside of work, Agnes enjoys the arts, creative endeavors, and a good book. Agnes is also an advocate in protecting bird habitats with the dual purpose of protecting the environment, a passion she shares with family members.
She is a graduate of Temple University.
Job Titles:
- Certified Financial Planner
- Co - Founder and Co - President of Sage Financial Group
Alan is Co-Founder and Co-President of Sage Financial Group, Sage Real Estate Group, Sage Investment Group, and is co-author of "The Sage Guide to Mutual Funds" (HarperCollins). Sage is one of the leading wealth management and multi-family office firms in the Mid-Atlantic region, managing over $2.5 billion in assets.
Alan has been named one of the most influential people in the investment world by The Wall Street Journal and SmartMoney Magazine. He has been quoted in Money Magazine, Kiplinger's Personal Finance and The New York Times. Additionally, Alan was named one of the top 40 business leaders under the age of 40 by the Philadelphia Business Journal, and was recognized by Philadelphia Magazine as one of "100 People to Watch."
Alan co-founded Sage Online in 1995, a leading source of online mutual fund and equity information for individual investors. In March 2000, Multex, a global provider of investment information for the financial services industry, acquired Sage Online. Steve Case, Chairman of AOL Time Warner, said, "Alan and his brother Stephen are democratizing the fund industry," and Cebra Graves, former editor of Morningstar.net, cited Alan and Stephen as mutual fund "visionaries."
Alan is a Certified Financial Planner. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Delaware with a BS in Finance. He attended Temple University Law School and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Graduate Business School.
Alan is active in many civic associations and serves on the Board of Ben Franklin Technology Partners. Alan is a member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's Investment Committee. He resides in Penn Valley with his wife, Darlene, and four children.
Job Titles:
- Founder and President of AM Partners
Mr. Miron has 45 years of experience in leadership, entrepreneurship, technology, and business in the consumer electronics, television, telecommunication and Internet industries. In 1981, Miron joined Philips Electronics in The Netherlands, and later Philips Research in the US. He developed and patented the first commercial Picture-In-Picture (PIP) for Philips under the Magnavox brand name. In 1989 Miron was appointed development director for TV and Video Systems. He developed a system to solve the problem of ghost images on TV. Subsequently, the FCC selected this Ghost Canceling System as the US standard and it won an Emmy Award. Miron led the development of the first Digital High Definition TV (HDTV) system in the US. Subsequently, the FCC selected it as the US standard and it won an Emmy Award.
In 1993, Miron joined General Instrument Corporation (later Motorola, Google, Arris) as Vice President to lead advanced technology and new products for the cable TV market. In 1997, he left Motorola and founded MoreCom Inc. and serves as its Chairman, President and CEO. MoreCom was a software networking company, providing an integrated solution for the delivery of entertainment digital video with Internet content to a television set. Liberate Technologies acquired the privately held MoreCom, Inc. in 2000 and it was later acquired by Comcast. Mr. Miron served as its President till 2001.
Miron is the founder and President of AM Partners. He works with companies, entrepreneurs and Venture Capital funds to develop successful ventures. He serves on the board of The Ben Franklin Technology Partners since 2002 and Chairs its Investment Committee. He served as a Senior Adviser at Wharton Small Business Development Center; as Entrepreneurship Advisory Board at Columbia University; as advisor at Cornell Tech at NYC; as the Upper Dublin School District strategic planning board.
Miron attended the Israel Defense Forces Officers Academy and graduated first in his class. He served for four years (1972-1976) including during the Yom Kippur war of 1973, and in the reserves for 5 years as a Captain. He received a bravery recognition during his service. He earned a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, and an M.S.E.E. from New York University, New York. He received his Professional Degree in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, New York and an executive MBA program at Babson College, Massachusetts. He received seven US patents, and two Technology Emmy Awards.
Miron has four children: Ben MD (NYU '07; NYU Med-School ‘14), Jon (Cornell '10 Engineer), Michelle PhD (Colgate University '13; Columbia University PhD. 19') and David (Cornell '19 Engineer).
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Associate
Annmarie Rutherford is Ben Franklin's human resources associate. She works in all areas of HR including recruiting, onboarding, training, employee relations, performance management, training and development, workers compensation, benefits, and safety.
In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family and friends, cooking, doing word games, puzzles, watching television and travel.
Annmarie earned a Bachelor of Science in Business and majored in Human Resource Management while receiving Magna Cum Laude honor from Capella University.
Job Titles:
- Venture Capital Analyst, Information Technology Investment Group
Anthony George is a Venture Capital Analyst for the IT Group where he assists with sourcing, due diligence, and deal administration. Anthony enjoys evaluating companies from multiple perspectives to reflect his diverse background in financial analysis, entrepreneurship, and consulting. Over nearly a 10-year period, Anthony was involved with the launch, management, and growth of five small businesses in several different industries, including information technology. These businesses achieved nearly $12 million in annual sales in 2019. Most recently he held a position at the University of Delaware's Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships. In 2006, he started his career as a Financial Analyst for Murray, Devine & Company where he served the valuation needs of leading private equity funds.
In his spare time, Anthony is developing a growing interest in data science, statistics, and decision science through his pursuit of graduate coursework in those areas. Anthony holds a BS in Finance, Summa Cum Laude, and a MS in Finance both from the University of Delaware.
Operating within our finance department, Anthony takes on a wide variety of fiscal responsibilities to keep Ben running smoothly. He manages invoices through to completion and obtains signatures for payment approval. Anthony then codes these approvals into to our general ledger. He also runs financial reports in the form of projects, reconciliations, and analyses. He is known for his exceptional responsiveness, making sure he can resolve any pop-up issues and emails as quickly as possible.
As a graduate of Peirce college (formerly Peirce Junior College), Anthony holds an Associates Degree in Accounting. He began his career inside the banking industry, where he worked in investment banking for BHC, now known as Fiserv Securities.
Anthony attributes his ongoing success to a strong sense of personal values. He has great respect for and strong faith in humanity-and in Philadelphia sports teams, when scores permit. He cherishes both his professional role at Ben Franklin and his personal role as husband, father, and grandfather.
Anthony P. Green, Ph.D. has over thirty years of experience in the biotechnology industry with a track record of success in the development and commercialization of cutting-edge technologies from immunodiagnostics to monoclonal antibodies to gene vaccines/gene therapy. Dr. Green leads the Business Development Group, which brings pipeline opportunities to Ben Franklin and creates pathways to commercialization for companies and researchers by building consortia with universities, government and private partners.
Dr. Green also leads Ben Franklin's university co-investment partnerships and region-wide technology partnerships and major initiatives, including the Nanotechnology Institute™, the Energy Commercialization Institute, and the Philadelphia Region Integrated Medicine Alliance (PRIMA).
Dr. Green earned a Sc.B in Immunology with Honors from Brown University, and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology at Temple University School of Medicine.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Board Chair / Managing Director, Fairmount Partners
Charles M. Robins heads Fairmount Partner's Technology practice. Mr. Robins focuses on serving middle-market and emerging-growth companies, providing strategic and financial, merger and acquisition and private financing advisory services in technology-related sectors including software and telecommunications. As Fairmount's senior technology expert, Mr. Robins has over 40 years of experience as an entrepreneur, executive, strategic consultant and investment banker.
Previously, he was Managing Director, co-head of Corporate Finance and led the technology practice in the U.S. for Investec Inc., an international public diversified financial services company. Mr. Robins was also a member of Investec's commitment committee and management committee. Prior to Investec, Mr. Robins was a principal with PMG Capital where he was head of Technology Research and the Technology Investment Banking practice.
Prior to entering investment banking, Mr. Robins was an executive at Safeguard Scientifics, a high-technology investment firm and was co-founder of Rabbit Software Corporation, a publicly traded pioneer that developed and marketed software-based communications products for enterprise networks. In addition, he was president of Atlantix Corporation, a Perot Investment Group company and managed advanced technology development for Shared Medical Systems (healthcare) and SEI Corporation (financial services). Mr. Robins was also co-founder of Multiple Funding Pension Inc., a developer of financial analysis software.
Mr. Robins has served on a number of public and private Boards of Directors, including Ben Franklin Technology Partners, where he currently serves as Chairman, and the Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies ("PACT"), of which he was a founding member and where he served as lead judge of that organization's annual Enterprise Awards for numerous years.
Mr. Robins was a Ph.D. research fellow at New York University where he also earned master's degrees in computer science and mathematics. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brooklyn College and is an honorary member of Sigma Xi in sciences and Pi Mu Epsilon in mathematics. Mr. Robins has lectured in computer science and mathematics at the college level and authored a number of articles as well as published a book on computer software.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Controller
- Assistant Controller for Ben Franklin
Cynthia Banaszak serves as Assistant Controller for Ben Franklin. She leads the grant management process including compliance oversight as well as the general ledger among other critical accounting functions.
Banaszak has been with the organization for over 15 years and is responsible for key finance and accounting activities. She has over 25 years of finance experience in the administration of non-profit finance as well as holding leadership positions in for profit organizations including manufacturing, distribution, and banking.
Her business acumen and attention to detail make her a key asset to the Ben Franklin team and a valued leader.
In addition to her natural love of numbers, she enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and traveling around the world. When she is not analyzing data, you may find her on a yoga mat or at the beach.
She is a graduate of the School of Business at Rutgers University.
Job Titles:
- Independent Director
- Founder & CEO, FNB Holdings, LLC
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FNB Holdings
- Independent Board Director
Denise L. Devine is an experienced independent board director as well as experienced Compensation Committee Chair and Audit and Risk Committee Chair under whose leadership an inaugural Enterprise Risk Assessment was initiated and ongoing organization wide monitoring processes established. Ms. Devine is also a qualified financial expert. Her leadership experience includes general management, operations and finance. A proven innovator, she has developed technology platforms with resulting commercialized product applications, and executed IP strategy, licenses, and strategic alliances. Her experience spans from entrepreneurial start-ups to Fortune 100 corporations.
Ms. Devine is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FNB Holdings, LLC, a company dedicated to initiatives in the health and wellness space. She is also a Founder, CAO and CFO of RTM Vital Signs, LLC an early stage medical device company. As Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nutripharm, Inc. Ms. Devine led the development of a technology platform that generated a portfolio of patents resulting in innovative natural food, beverage, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. The company also had manufacturing operations. Ms. Devine has executed strategic alliances and licenses with pharmaceutical and food companies as well as research agreements with the United States government.
Ms. Devine's prior business experience includes executive positions at Campbell Soup Company where she was responsible for executing over a billion in financings, devising and implementing investment strategy, structuring and negotiating various capital markets transactions, acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures in the food business, CFO of Energy Solutions International, a global software company serving the oil and gas industry, Columbia Gas System and Arthur Andersen & Co.
Ms.Devine serves as an independent director and on the Executive Committee of the following Boards: Fulton Financial Corporation, Chair - HR and Compensation Committee and Vice Chair - Audit Committee (NASDAQ - FULT), AgroFresh Solutions, Inc. Chair - Compensation Committee and Audit Committee Member (NASDAQ -AGFS),AUS, Inc. Chair - Audit Committee and Compensation Committee Member (ESOP owned),and Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Audit and Investment Committee member. Ms. Devine is also an independent director of Cubic Corporation (NYSE - CUB), serving on the Audit and Compliance Committee and Technology Strategy Committee, and SelectQuote - serving on the Audit and Nominating and Governance Committees. She has completed a ten year tenure on the Villanova University Board of Trustees, where she served as Chair - Audit and Risk Committee and as a member of the Investment Committee and Executive Committee.
Ms. Devine is also a passionate children's nutrition and health advocate. She is Chair of The Advisory Board of the MacDonald Center for Obesity Prevention and Nutrition Education at Villanova University Nursing School, served as a member of the Health Innovations task force of the CEO Council of Greater Philadelphia, served for ten years on the Board of Lourdes Health System and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Marketing and Consumer Insight at Villanova University School of Business. She is also Co-Chair of Women Corporate Directors - Philadelphia Chapter and serves on the Philadelphia Chapter Board of NACD.
Ms. Devine has received numerous Honors and Awards including the "Best 50 Business Women in Pennsylvania" Governor's Award, the Gold Medal Alumnae Award from Villanova University, the Take the Lead Award from the Girl Scouts and the Iris Newman Award from the Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs. Ms. Devine has also held numerous professional leadership positions. She served on the American Institute of CPAs Board of Directors, President of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs and was appointed by the Governor of Pennsylvania to serve on The State Board of Accountancy, the ethics and licensing Board for the 25,000 CPA's in Pennsylvania, serving several years as Chair of that Board. She was also appointed by the Governor to serve on the Pennsylvania Blue Ribbon Business Tax Policy Reform Commission. Ms. Devine, a co-inventor on over twenty U.S. and international patents, is also co-founder of The Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE).and has served as an "Entrepreneur in Residence" at The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.
Ms. Devine, a CPA, received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in Taxation from Villanova University and a B.S. in Accounting from Villanova University, where she graduated summa cum laude and first in her class.
Thea Chrupcala is primarily responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Executive Office at Ben Franklin. With that focus, she is the "gatekeeper" to the President & CEO, as well as the liaison to the Board of Directors. Thea manages our CEO's calendar, travel arrangements, and inner office workings. As Chief of Staff, she provides high-level support to the organization overall, especially to the senior management team. In addition, as the Assistant Corporate Secretary, Thea maintains the Governance functions within the organization.
Outside of work, Thea has fun planning community events for her town, including one of the best Independence Day celebrations in South Jersey. Her event planning interests carry through to Ben Franklin as she assists with coordinating Ben events.
Job Titles:
- Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, SVP, EPAM
Ms. Shekhter heads up EPAM's global marketing and strategy, working to integrate a variety of functions that have a material influence on the company's global strategy, positioning, and messaging. She has held a number of leadership roles within epam, including most recently as the global head of business development and, prior to that, as the global head of the travel and consumer business. Ms. Shekhter is an advisory board member for the Mach alliance, a group of independent tech companies dedicated to open, best-of-breed ecosystems. She is active in the software startup and emerging technology community, representing EPAM in its investment in the GO Philly Fund-to support regional venture funding for seed and early stage companies-and as a board member of the recent EPAM seed investment, Sigmaledger. Additionally, Ms. Shekhter takes a special interest in artificial intelligence and sustainability initiatives.
Prior to joining EPAM, Ms. Shekhter was with the travel and marketing giant, Carlson Companies, in various Operational and Business Development roles, including Head of Retail and Entertainment for 24K, a spin-off of Carlson Marketing Group. Prior to Carlson, she was a leader with Ernst and Young Consulting, specializing in CRM and Analytics engagements for notable clients, such as 3M and GE. Ms. Shekhter is a recipient of numerous professional achievement awards, most recently she was recognized by the Stevie Awards for Women in
Business as Female Executive of the Year. And in 2019, Ms. Shekhter was named one of the Top 25 Women Leaders in Tech Services and Consulting, by the Software Report, and received a Gold IT World Women in IT award. In her role as an executive Corporate Social Responsibility sponsor, Ms. Shekhter is an advocate and supporter of EPAM's global education, environment, and community initiatives. She also helps foster a culture of growth and talent development as an executive mentor and leader in EPAM's diversity program, speaking frequently at many Women in IT events. Ms. Shekhter holds an MS degree in Information Systems and BS/BA degrees in Economic Theory and Political Science from The American University.
Elaine Fulton is the Operations Associate at Ben Franklin.
Job Titles:
- Coordinator, Business Development & Investment Group at the Ben Franklin
Gloria Sanchious is the Coordinator, Business Development & Investment Group at the Ben Franklin. Ms. Sanchious has held several positions at Ben Franklin for the last 30 years, and is the most experienced Ben Franklin employee. She serves as the organization's archivist to address organizational requests for information and data on historical deals. She also works to ensure the accuracy of data reports that assist in evaluating the Investment Groups portfolio.
Ms. Sanchious came to Ben Franklin Technology Partners in June 1989 after 20 years of experience in small business lending activities with First Pennsylvania Bank.
Ms. Sanchious has an Associate Degree in Business Administration from Keystone Business School and a Principles of Bank Operations certification.
Job Titles:
- COO
- First Vice President
- First Vice President & COO, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
James D. Narron joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in April 2016 as first vice president and COO. Previously, Narron was a senior vice president and product manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and senior vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Before joining the New York Fed, Narron worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., and in consulting.
Narron speaks Spanish and has published a number of articles for the New York Fed's Liberty Street Economics blog. He is on the board of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the Sunday Breakfast Club, and previously served on the board of the Maura Clarke and Ita Ford Center in New York, as well as Chair of the board of directors for the Keep A breast Foundation.
Narron has a master's degree in international business administration from the University of South Carolina and a bachelor's degree in finance and economics from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, MO.
Job Titles:
- Board Vice Chair / Executive Partner, Paradigm Associates, LLC
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Healthcare Investment Group
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- Investment Director, IT Investment Group
Job Titles:
- Client Engagement Manager
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- Venture Capital Analyst, Healthcare Investment Group
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- Chief Executive Officer, EREflow
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- Vice President, Strategic Initiatives
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- Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives Group
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- Founder & Board Director, Botanix Pharmaceuticals
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- Audit Partner - Retired, Deloitte & Touche, LLP
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- Co - Chief Executive Officer, Permit Capital Advisors
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- Board Corporate Secretary / Managing Director, Golden Seeds
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- Managing Partner, Osage Venture Partners
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- Founder & CEO, Wilkinson Advisory Services
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- Art Director / Manager, Marketing and Creative Services
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- Managing Director, IT Investment Group
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- Investment Director, IT Investment Group
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- Board Corporate Treasurer / Co - Founder and Vice - Chairman, Broad Street Angels
- Co - Founder and Vice - Chairman of Broad Street Angels
Robert J. Ciaruffoli is a co-founder and vice-chairman of Broad Street Angels, a 100 member Philadelphia based angel investor network which invests in early-stage entrepreneurial businesses with high growth potential. He also serves as an advisor to entrepreneurs and their firms.
Bob is a CPA and previously served as the chairman and CEO of the Parente Beard/Baker Tilly accounting and advisory firm. During his tenure as chairman and CEO, he and his team transitioned the firm from a Pennsylvania practice to a multi-state super-regional firm: Under Bob's leadership, revenues grew from $30M to $200M through organic growth, strategic acquisitions and new lines of business. In 2014, he orchestrated a merger of the Parente Beard and Baker Tilly Virchow Krause firms to create the 12th largest US accounting and advisory firm.
Throughout his career, Bob has served on numerous for-profit and not-for-profit boards. Presently, a board member of Ben Franklin Technology Partners; a board member of eureQa - a SaaS cloud based automated platform for testing digital applications; a board member of Yellowdig, a community building edtech company; a board member of Prosperoware, a SaaS based software platform that provides companies with privacy and regulatory compliance solutions; and a member of the audit and finance committees of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He was also the past chairman of the Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy and past president of The Pennsylvania Society.
Bob holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Kings College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and has proudly served in the United States Marine Corps (1970 - 1972).
Job Titles:
- Venture Capital Analyst, Healthcare Investment Group
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- President
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- Investment Director, Healthcare Investment Group
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- Operating Partner, Board Member, Advisor
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- Managing the Day - to - Day Operations of the Executive
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- Chief Executive Officer, Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System
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- Director, Portfolio Administration
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- President, Option Signs & Environmental Graphics
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- President & CEO, the Sharp Financial Group
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- Chief Operating Officer
- General Counsel