UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Reporting to the Vice President for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Banerjee supports UConn's continued growth as an economic driver for the state of Connecticut by helping to set an agenda that defines the University's program in technology commercialization. He is responsible for all aspects of the University's technology commercialization activities, including patenting, licensing, venture development, and UConn's business incubator, the Technology Incubation Program (TIP).
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Licensing
Amit is responsible for evaluating the marketing potential of life science technologies and supporting them on the path towards commercialization. He serves as an advisor on business plans and startup strategy for companies with UConn IP, and he establishes and fosters productive collaborations with industry.
Ana supports marketing life science technologies from UConn and UConn Health, working with tech scouts from industry. She is also responsible for reviewing life science technologies for market potential and generating Material Transfer Agreements and Confidentiality Agreements for life science technologies.
Job Titles:
- Coordinator, Technology Incubation Program ( TIP ) - Farmington / Storrs
Brandon serves as the point of contact for TIP companies' facilities requests, onboarding, and sponsorship programs. He provides general and technical support, distributes program-wide communications for TIP companies and their staff.
Job Titles:
- Intellectual Property Specialist
Christine coordinates UConn patent prosecution with faculty and external law firms, manages projects and serves as database administrator for TCS. She also supports licensing activities by managing invention disclosures, patenting processes, and is a Notary Public.
Job Titles:
- Director of Licensing, Life Sciences
Chris supports the tech transfer activities of UConn's researchers through invention evaluation, patent process, marketing, licensing, and agreement management and negotiation. He supports university startups by providing guidance on intellectual property and information regarding agreement expectations. Chris also provides valuable connections between internal and external stakeholders to support UConn tech commercialization.
Job Titles:
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
• Take advantage of Eric Knight, who provides weekly office hours at UConn TIP for growth-stage and life-science companies.
• Eric is a business pioneer, futurist, serial inventor, serial entrepreneur, and angel investor. He is the President of Remarkable Technologies, Inc., a company he founded in 1994.
• He has commercialized many products across a wide range of industries. And, as an inventor, Eric has appeared on numerous television programs and talk shows - including a guest appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.
• Eric has been an Entrepreneur-In-Residence in the Connecticut community for more than 10 years, and has assisted literally hundreds of companies throughout various stages of growth. He's particularly adept at marketing, investor pitches, and commercialization strategies.
• Take advantages of Eric's unique blend of experience, ingenuity, and go-to-market savvy. You can book his time via this link to his calendar.
Mentor Experience: Serial Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, Marketing Expert
Job Titles:
- Coordinator, Technology Incubation Program ( TIP ) - Stamford
Erika serves as the point of contact for TIP companies at the Stamford location and provides general support of TIP Digital.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
Howard Krain is a Fellow and Board certified with American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Board Director, investor and advisor to companies. He has been an executive with multiple F500 healthcare companies and start-ups, giving him a deep understanding of the changing landscape within information technology and services.
An experienced healthcare technology leader who enjoys driving growth, building teams, tackling new markets and solving complex challenges. A history of balancing long-term strategic thinking and planning with short-term execution and results. Outstanding track record delivering exceptional top-line revenue growth, spanning 20+ years in challenging and competitive markets.
Specialties: Sales Strategy, Solution Selling, Business Development, CRM / Salesforce.com, Strategic Planning, Executive Leadership, Cloud Computing, Saas< Start-ups, Enterprise Software, Professional Services, Consulting
Job Titles:
- Senior IP Manager, Physical Sciences
Ira works closely with the licensing and business development team for assessing technology related to engineering and physical sciences. He supports UConn inventors through management of intellectual property, managing invention disclosures, and by preparing and filing patent applications. He coordinates UConn patent prosecution with faculty and external law firms. He also supports licensing activities by managing invention disclosures, and patenting processes.
Job Titles:
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
Jim Baxter served from 2007 through 2018 as Senior Vice President of Development U.S. for Boehringer Ingelheim. He also oversaw from 2015 to 2017 all activities in BI Global Development that supported the development of the biological drug portfolio In these roles, Jim oversaw a wide range of non-clinical development activities in support of a portfolio of new drug candidates for the treatment of immunologic and oncologic disorders, diabetes and other medical conditions.
Prior to joining Boehringer Ingelheim, Jim worked from 1989 through 2007 at Pfizer in Groton, CT, where he served in site leadership roles in Global Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics and Metabolism, World-Wide Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Jim earned a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island, and a Pharm D. and Ph.D. (Pharmaceutics) from the University of Buffalo. A long-time resident of Connecticut, Jim attended public schools in Shelton and Seymour, and resides in Waterford.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant to the AVP, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Jan Rockwood
Administrative Assistant to the AVP, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
janice.rockwood@uconn.edu |
Jan provides administrative support for the AVP of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, as well as the TCS team. This includes calendar management, meeting organization and records, payroll management, and procurement needs.
Job Titles:
- Business Executive
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
Jeff is a business executive with over 30 years of experience in the areas of corporate taxation, accounting, business finance, financial operations, and business strategy. After spending over 10 years as a practicing CPA and more than 15 years in industry, Jeff co-founded Rallybio in January 2018 and served as its Chief Financial Officer through his retirement in February 2023. Rallybio is a public development-stage biotechnology company focused on identifying and accelerating the development of drug candidates to transform the lives of patients with devastating disease. The Company was named by FierceBiotech as one of its "Fierce 15" Biotech Companies of 2018 and recognized among "the most promising private biotech startups" of the year. With Jeff's leadership, the Company raised $183 million in private funding and over $146M as a public company.
Prior to co-founding Rallybio, Jeff was the Vice-President & Chief Tax Officer for Alexion Pharmaceuticals, a global biotechnology company acquired by AstraZeneca, leading the Company's corporate tax function. Jeff also led teams on numerous business development projects and facilitated multiple acquisitions and integrations with several transactions valued at over a billion dollars. He was the lead architect of a global business reorganization that drove the valuation and market cap of Alexion by more than six billion dollars in a single day. Jeff began his career in 1992 at Coopers & Lybrand which ultimately merged with Price Waterhouse to become PwC. He has since logged almost a million airline miles traveling on business throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Jeff has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Bryant University and a Master of Science in Taxation from the University of Hartford. He has served as an adjunct professor and lectured at several universities and professional conferences on various finance and tax related topics. Jeff currently serves as Chairman of the Bryant University Dean's Advisory Council for the College of Business and has held numerous positions on the Boards of primary and secondary educational institutions. He also serves as an advisor or on the advisory board of several private start-up companies, guiding them on financial operations and strategy.
Outside of his professional life, Jeff enjoys acting and has both credited and uncredited roles in more than a dozen Indie, LIFETIME and Hallmark Channel movies, as well as in series on both ABC and Discovery Channel. He taught as a Professional Ski Instructor for over 30 years, loves riding his road bike, boating, scuba diving, pickleball, snowmobiling, philanthropy, and spending time with his family. Jeff has been accepted by Virgin Galactic as a Future Astronaut and is anxiously waiting and preparing for his flight to space in the next few years. Jeff and his wife have 2 sons, a Cavapoo. He resides in South Carolina and spends time throughout the year in Vermont and Connecticut.
Pamir Alpay is UConn's interim Vice President for Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He oversees the University's $375 million research enterprise at the main campus in Storrs, the UConn Health campus in Farmington, the School of Law in Hartford, and the regional campuses at Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, and Waterbury. He was appointed interim vice president following a successful tenure as executive director of the Innovation Partnership Building at UConn Tech Park, where he served as the University's chief advocate for industry-informed research and prime liaison between the research community and government collaborators. A professor of materials science & engineering and physics, Alpay was also the associate dean for research and industrial partnerships for the UConn School of Engineering.
Job Titles:
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
- Founder and CEO of Back Bay Life Science Advisors
Jonathan P. Gertler, MD, is Founder and CEO of Back Bay Life Science Advisors, a leading global life science strategy and investment banking firm. He is also Managing Director, BioVentures Investors MedTech Funds, has over 30 years of clinical and scientific experience, and has extensive advisory work with biotechnology, diagnostic, medical device, and health care IT companies in both the private and public sector. A former vascular surgeon and founder of several life science companies, Dr. Gertler is a frequent speaker and writer on strategic issues facing life science companies at all stages.
Mentor Experience: BioPharma and MedTech pipeline and lifecycle advisory; franchise, business unit, and therapeutic area strategy; M&A; therapeutic area development; fund guidance; board development; private and public equity development; fund-raising.
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Executive
- Member of the Board
- Board Member With a Better Chance
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
Kirti Patel is a seasoned executive, board member and advisor with 20+ years global experience in forming, growing and transforming companies/divisions.
Currently, Patel serves as a Board Member with A Better Chance - Simsbury, a non-profit organization. Patel was President, CEO and Board Director at Eppendorf Manufacturing Corporation/Eppendorf, Inc., the North American subsidiaries of Eppendorf SE, a premier life science company, from 2013-2023. Prior to Eppendorf, Patel was General Manager and VP at Siemens Molecular Imaging where he led a global business serving the preclinical PET/SPECT/CT imaging market. Kirti came to Siemens after a medical device company, Sensant, which he co-founded in 1998, was acquired by Siemens Healthcare in 2005. Prior to co-founding Sensant, Patel worked at Intel for four years in various Engineering and Management positions.
Kirti Patel holds an MBA from the Wharton Business School, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, an MS in Chemical Engineering from University of California at Davis and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Mangalore University in India.
Patel has a diverse cultural perspective having spent his early years growing up in Zambia, followed by a decade in India. He immigrated to USA in the early ‘90s and has resided in California, Tennessee and Connecticut.
Job Titles:
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
• MaryJane currently serves as the interim CEO for Cavtherx based in New Haven and for SemaThera based in Montreal and serves on the board of SemaThera, Cavtherx, QBioMed, Wombat Capital and Asta Pharma.
• Served as the SVP of an ophthalmology venture group in MA.
• Co-founded Jade Therapeutics in 2011 after leaving Pfizer and was instrumental in the acquisition of Jade Therapeutics by EyeGate Pharma of Waltham MA in 2016.
• Served as an early asset lead at Pfizer in ophthalmology, Neuroscience and Pain division and also interned at the Pfizer Venture Fund.
• Chief Medical Officer for Fovea Pharmaceuticals in Paris, which was successfully acquired by Sanofi in 2009.
• Held several executive roles at Bioenvision Inc. an oncology focused publicly traded company acquired by Genzyme as well as the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and LifeCycle Pharma all based in New York City.
• MaryJane has a PhD from Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom in NeuroOphthalmology and an Executive MBA from INSEAD in Paris France and a Master of Science in Immunology from Stanford University, Palo Alto. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA.
Mentor Experience: Startup Funding, Venture Capital, Mergers & Acquisitions, Asset Evaluation & Licensing, and Business Plans
Job Titles:
- Senior Licensing Manager, Physical Sciences
Michael is responsible for assessing engineering and physical science related invention disclosures for patentability and market potential. He supports UConn inventors through management of intellectual property, the creation of invention-tailored marketing plans and outreach, and agreement negotiation and management.
Job Titles:
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
As a recently retired senior executive of a Fortune 100 company, Mike brings a unique perspective for aspiring entrepreneurs and business builders. Having spent roughly half of his career in private entrepreneurial firms and the balance in large financial institutions, Mike can call on his experiences both building businesses and providing financing for a wide array of businesses.
Relevant Entrepreneurial Endeavors:
SVP for an entrepreneurial healthcare finance company, which was acquired.
President and COO of Coronet Funding, a private healthcare finance firm; company's primary originator, brand builder, leader, and manager.
Day-one member of the leadership team at US Express Leasing, a private equity funded start-up that was acquired by EverBank in 2010, and in turn TIAA in 2017. As SVP Originations, led the company's business development and sales organization through a period of significant growth to become a billion dollar plus enterprise.
SVP, QuickFi, a FinTech with a digital equipment finance solution, developed and implemented a business development strategy.
Relevant training:
Extensive leadership training, formal mentorship training and executive coaching training, credit analysis communication techniques to the financial community, sales and marketing strategies.
Education:
BA Business, Long Island University
MBA, UConn School of Business
Mentor Focus:
Financial forecasting, business plan development and review, effective communication techniques to the financial community, sales and marketing strategies.
Job Titles:
- Director of Licensing, Physical Sciences
Neeraj is responsible for assessing engineering and physical science related invention disclosures for patentability and market potential. He supports UConn inventors through management of intellectual property, the creation of invention-tailored marketing plans and outreach, and agreement negotiation and management.
Job Titles:
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
Job Titles:
- Interim Vice President for Research
- Vice President for Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Pamir Alpay is UConn's interim Vice President for Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He oversees the University's $375 million research enterprise at the main campus in Storrs, the UConn Health campus in Farmington, the School of Law in Hartford, and the regional campuses at Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, and Waterbury. He was appointed interim vice president following a successful tenure as executive director of the Innovation Partnership Building at UConn Tech Park, where he served as the University's chief advocate for industry-informed research and prime liaison between the research community and government collaborators. A professor of materials science & engineering and physics, Alpay was also the associate dean for research and industrial partnerships for the UConn School of Engineering.
Job Titles:
- Director, Technology Incubation Program ( TIP ) - Farmington / Storrs
Paul oversees the Technology Incubation Program (TIP) by discovering, vetting, and recruiting new technology based startups to the program. In addition to managing TIP lab and office facilities, Paul provides support from entry through graduation by preparing TIP companies for funding and mentors them on creating compelling pitches to potential investors, partners, and customers. Paul also recruits new business service suppliers and sponsors to support the TIP community.
Job Titles:
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
- Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Digital Surgeons
Pete Sena is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Digital Surgeons, a creative consultancy that helps brands spark and design new opportunities for growth. He has built and led cross-functional teams that have delivered a number of successful, award-winning, multi-channel programs and activations, ranging in scale from venture-backed startups to Fortune 50 organizations. Pete prides himself on partnering with CEOs, CMOs, and creative leaders to help them set, plan, and achieve their visions.
Mentor Experience: Digital Branding. Designing Demand for Startups. Business Model Innovation & Transformation, Design Thinking, Demand Generation
Job Titles:
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
Richard has over 45 years business experience in Finance, Operations, Marketing and General Management within both technology and consumer industries. He has been CEO of a Fortune 100 company, Chief Marketing Officer of two others, led several start-ups, consultant to about one third of the Fortune 500, Board Member and past investor in startups. He is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at Sacred Heart University, and Mentors at Yale and Cambridge Universities. He is an expert in Networks, both virtual and actual. He has been Chairman of several Networks, including IERG and others. He has consulted to Vistage, and several other online groups. He has been named in several books and articles.
He has a Bachelors' degree in Math, Physics, Chemistry and Fluid Mechanics from the University of Cambridge, and also a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Cambridge.
Joined Procter & Gamble, (following a period as a Chemical Engineer at ICI Plc, and studying a number of process industries), in Consumer Marketing, before moving to Mars, Inc., in the UK, and several other countries. He worked in multiple countries. He then went into Strategy consulting at Marketing Corporation of America, where he worked largely for F500 companies in Agri-business, CPG, Financial Services, Manufacturing and Process Industries, High Tech, and Telecommunications. He re-entered corporate life as CMO of US West and its cable business, where he named and launched the first "Broadband" product offering. He has been the SVP Marketing and Business Development of Remedy/BMC enterprise software, and President of Reliant Energy, a Fortune 100 company. Richard has also been involved in over 2,000 startups since 1992. His roles have included founder, CEO, investor, Board member (over a dozen positions) and Mentor. He has lived in ten countries on four continents and worked in many more via global responsibilities in his day to day life.
Job Titles:
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
Roger Neal‘s experience spans senior roles at pioneering digital technology firms including AOL, eBay, Gazelle (Used device marketplace), and GoHenry (FinTech) where he is currently VP of US Partnerships. As founding executive director of NYC Media Lab for the Bloomberg Administration, Roger built a sustaining public/private organization that connects top technology and data researchers at New York's universities with digital media and technology companies to grow the innovation economy of New York City. While heading BusinessWeek Digital, he led a partnership and Series D investment in LinkedIn prior to their IPO. As an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, he raised over $22 million in Venture Capital. As a consultant and advisor to numerous digital technology firms, he has helped emerging companies grow, scale and secure strategic partners and investors. He has written for Forbes and Adweek and has taught at Columbia Business School.
Job Titles:
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
Job Titles:
- Entrepreneur - in - Residence
Vijay is a Fortune50 trained senior executive with over two decades of experience in engineering, operations, marketing and strategy. He likes to sit at the intersection of infrastructure assets that power humanity, and digital technologies that can take them to the next level of performance.
• Ex-VP of Product Development from United Technologies Corporation / Otis Elevator Company.
• Consistent track record of using business innovation and lean execution to deliver top-line and bottom-line growth
• Shepherded numerous products through the full life cycle of concept, design, manufacture, installation and service
• Domain expertise in advanced simulation and analytics, electro-mechanical systems, sensing, industrial IoT, and smart buildings.
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Masters and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from University of Delaware, Masters in Acoustics from Penn-State, and MBA with concentrations in Finance, Operations and Strategy from Carnegie Mellon University.
Mentor Experience: Product and Business Strategy, Technology Development, Program Management
Job Titles:
- Senior IP Manager, Life Sciences
Vinay works closely with the licensing and business development team in assessing life science related invention disclosures for patentability and other IP related aspects. He supports UConn inventors through management of intellectual property, managing invention disclosures, and by preparing and filing patent applications. He coordinates UConn patent prosecution with faculty and external law firms. He also supports licensing activities by managing invention disclosures, and patenting processes.
Job Titles:
- Director at UConn Ventures
- Director of Venture Development
Vivek Ramakrishnan, is a Director at UConn Ventures. He has extensive experience in private equity and venture capital investing, starting his career at Intellectual Ventures, a $6B fund based in Seattle. Before joining UConn, he was Managing Partner, New Ventures at Ventech Solutions where he focused on Private Equity transactions. He has extensive experience in medical device development, technology transfer, intellectual property management, and fund raising for early-stage companies.