Board of Directors
Board Members:
- Chairman: Richard A. Bendis - Founder, President and CEO, Innovation America
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- Mel Baiada - Partner, Basecamp Ventures
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- Ernest J. Dianastasis - Managing Director, CAI
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- Stephen M. Goodman - Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP
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- Johanna Hambrose -President, Electronic Ink
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- Brian Keech-Vice President, Government & Community Relations, Drexel University
- Samuel J. Patterson - President and CEO, Veridyne, Inc.
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Richard A. Bendis - Founder, President and CEO, Innovation America
Mr. Bendis is a distinguished and successful entrepreneur, corporate executive, venture capitalist, investment banker, innovation and technology based economic development leader, international speaker and consultant in the technology and healthcare industries.
Mr. Bendis currently serves as the founding President and CEO of Innovation America (IA), a national not for profit, private/public partnership focused on accelerating the growth of the entrepreneurial innovation economy in America. IA has a fourfold mission:
- Global advocate for accelerating awareness of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Early Stage Capital in stimulating Innovation Based Economic Development (IBED);
- Innovation education through public speaking;
- International Consulting on IBED; and
- Publishing innovationDAILY, a daily e-newsletter reporting on Global trends on innovation with a circulation of 5,000+ readers.
Mr. Bendis has been appointed to several national innovation related organizations and committees include the White House U.S. Innovation Partnership (USIP) Advisory Task Force and Co-Chair of the Small Business Innovation Research Committee), the National Governor’s Association (NGA) Science and Technology Council of the State’s Executive Committee, the State Federal Technology Task Force, the National Academies (NAS) committee on “Competing in the 21st Century: Best Practices in State and Regional Innovation Initiativesâ€; National Academies National Research Review of “an Assessment of the SBIR Program; National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National Advisory Board; U.S. Small Business Administration’s Angel Capital Electronic Network (ACENET) Board of Directors; American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Nominating Committee and the American Association Research Competitiveness Program Advisory Committee; Council on Competitiveness – Clusters of Innovation Committee.
Mr. Bendis is currently or has previously served as a board member and representative to the following organizations: National Association of State Venture Funds (NASVF) Founding Board member and Executive Committee; State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) Founding Board member and Executive Committee member; Eisenhower Fellowships Nominating Committee and the Ernst and Young Entrepreneurial Institute as a national/regional Judge.
Mr. Bendis has provided global consulting services to over 16 countries and 22 states, several cities and regions, along with international organizations including the United Nations, NATO, UK Trade and Industry, European Commission, French Embassy, the German Marshall Fund, The Canadian Consulate, METI, AKEA, the International Science Parks and Innovation Expert Group and other global entities. Mr. Bendis is a frequent consultant and speaker to16 International innovation based economic development organizations, as well as over 20 states, regions and cities throughout the U.S.
Mr. Bendis founded the Bendis Investment Group LLC, (BIG), a financial intermediary and consulting firm, along with managing his own angel investment portfolio. Mr. Bendis also founded and served as the founding President and CEO of Innovation Philadelphia (IP), a three state regional public/private partnership dedicated to growing the wealth and workforce of the Greater Philadelphia Region. IP managed a portfolio of programs in four distinct areas: Direct Equity Investment/Financing Assistance; Technology Commercialization; Global/Regional Economic and Workforce Development; and Market Research and Branding. Mr. Bendis currently serves as the Chairman of the innovation Philadelphia, Board of Directors.
Previously, Mr. Bendis successfully leveraged a career in the private sector (with Quaker Oats, Polaroid, Texas Instruments, Marion Laboratories and Kimberly Services) and the venture capital industry (RAB Ventures) to lead the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC). As its president and CEO, he developed KTEC into a globally recognized model for technology-based economic development. Mr. Bendis also successfully built an Inc. 500 healthcare software company, Continental Healthcare Systems, Inc., which he took public on NASDAQ and later sold to an international conglomerate. He was a nominee for the 2005 Ernst and Young National Entrepreneur Supporter of the Year Award (EOY) and was the 1996 recipient of the Regional Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award; he currently serves as an EOY Judge.
Mel Baiada - Partner, Basecamp Ventures
Baiada is managing partner of BaseCamp Ventures, an early-stage venture capital investment company founded by Baiada in 2000.
Baiada founded Bluestone, Inc. in 1989 to provide technology expertise to Fortune 1000 companies and government organizations. Under his direction, Bluestone rapidly grew to a multi-million dollar company, earning its inclusion in the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing, privately held companies in the U.S. for three straight years, from 1994 to 1996. The software arm underwent a successful IPO in 1999, and was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2000. Through his generous contributions, Drexel University was able to add the Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship in Technology to its campus. Baiada currently serves on the Boards of Drexel University, Moorestown Friends School, Innovation Philadelphia, New Jersey Technology Council, and several private companies.
Ernest J. Dianastasis - Managing Director, CAI
Ernest ( Ernie ) Dianastasis is Managing Director of CAI's Delaware Valley Operation and is one of the four principals of the company. CAI is an Information Technology consulting and outsourcing services organization that focuses on IT productivity and has over 2,300 associates world-wide.
In his role, Ernie is responsible for all CAI's start up and continuing operations in the Delaware Valley including Sales and Marketing, Consulting, Delivery and Quality. This operation, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, has grown under Ernie's leadership from 1 to 700 associates, making CAI the largest IT consulting company in the Delaware Valley. CAI's Delaware Valley operations include offices in Lancaster and New Hope, Pennsylvania. The Ohio, Michigan and Texas operations also report into Ernie. CAI is currently evaluating expansion locations in both Wilmington and the City of Philadelphia. In addition to regional expansion in the Delaware Valley, Ernie also oversees CAI's operation in Shanghai, China, which opened in the third quarter of 2005.
Ernie, in addition to being a successful business leader and entrepreneur, has a passion for community involvement and is extremely active within the region. He has been a member of The Delaware Business Roundtable since 2001 and is currently serving as the Chairman. He is also a member of the Delaware State Chamber Board of Directors and serves on the MAREL Board (Mid-Atlantic Regional Education Lab). Ernie also serves on the executive committee of the State of Delaware Vision 2015 effort. This initiative focuses on the future of Delaware's public education model.
He is also on the Board of Directors of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Innovation Philadelphia, and served as a Trust Team Board Member of the Greater Philly Roadmap 2010 Economic Development Initiative.
Ernie is also chairing a federal initiative for the Council on Competitiveness, based in Washington, DC. He is leading a 20-person advisory board made up of public, private and academic sectors in developing and implementing a plan to foster a more entrepreneurial environment in Delaware. The group is called First State Innovation.
Ernie and CAI are also involved in a number of local charitable causes that help the less fortunate. He is an active member of the Board for Easter Seals of Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore. In addition, CAI continues to be the title sponsor for the CAI/ Easter Seals Volleyball Challenge, Easter Seal's major annual fundraising event.
Prior to joining CAI, Ernie was with the IBM Corporation. He earned a B.S. degree in Finance and an M.B.A. in Management from Lehigh University, and remains active in supporting numerous university initiatives.
Ernie and his wife Jennifer reside in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, with their two children, Jack and Paisley.
Stephen M. Goodman - Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP
Background: Stephen M. Goodman is a partner in the Business and Finance Practice at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in the Philadelphia office, and is co-chairman of the firm's worldwide Technology Practice Initiatives. His practice focuses on representing emerging growth companies in the technology and life sciences sectors. He has nurtured from startup such companies as CDnow, VerticalNet, ICG Commerce, United Messaging, AirClic, and AANet.com. Using the firm's vast resources, he coordinates all aspects of the representation of such companies and concentrates his practice on legal aspects of corporate finance and acquisitions. He is a member of the Firm's Advisory Board.
Before joining the firm, Mr. Goodman was a senior partner at Wolf Block, Schorr & Solis-Cohen. While there, he served as chairman of the Corporate Law Department, chairman of the Hiring Committee, as a member of the Executive Committee and as chairman of the Venture Development Group.
Following graduation from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1962, Mr. Goodman received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1965. While in law school, he served as editor-in-chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.
After law school, Mr. Goodman served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. and Chief Judge David L. Bazelon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Mr. Goodman served as a member of the Advisory Board to the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He also served as an adjunct professor of law at the law schools of Georgetown University, the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University.
Active in a variety of civic organizations, Mr. Goodman has been a board member of a variety of arts-oriented groups, including the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers, Arts, Inc., the Philadelphia Theatre Company and the New School of Music.
Johanna Hambrose - President, Electronic Ink
Johanna Hambrose has served as Electronic Ink's Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel since 1995.
Johanna continues to manage the day-to-day growth of the company, which has doubled in size and profits every year since its inception.
In addition to her responsibilities as COO, Johanna acts as General Counsel for the firm, managing Electronic Ink's trans-Atlantic legal and regulatory affairs. In 1999, Johanna was one of a few select appointees to Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell's e-Commerce Commission, which seeks to further advance Philadelphia as a premier technology and e-Commerce center, bolster the region's economy, and attract, train and retain high-tech talent.
Johanna also co-founded the ePhiladelphia Technology Alliance, an organization comprised of owners, key executives and senior management of information technology companies in the Greater Philadelphia Area. Its goal is to create and foster a vibrant technology community within the city through an environment of shared knowledge, ideas and communal strength.
Johanna was recently named to the 2,000 Women of Distinction by the Philadelphia Business Journal, the Forum of Executive Women and the National Women Business Owners. The honorees were selected based on their professional excellence and community involvement. Johanna was one of 25 women chosen for the award.
Provides executive leadership to:
Pennsylvania/Delaware as State CEOe
Full name:
Hugh Calvin Long II
Joined First Union:
1973
In current position since:
April 2003
Previous positions at First Union:
- Atlanta Regional President
- President First Union Mid Atlantic
- President First Union Georgia
- President, First Union Washington, D.C.
- Regional EVP Eastern Region of Georgia
- Sr. President and Manager, Corporate Banking Group, Atlanta
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Education:
B.A., Virginia Military Institute
Born:
November 2, 1951
Community Leadership:
- Boy Scouts of America Cradle of Liberty Council Board of Directors
- Central Philadelphia Development Corporation Board of Directors
- The Committee of Seventy Board of Directors and Executive Committee
- Drexel University Board of Directors and Executive Committee
- Girl Scouts of Southeastern Pennsylvania Advisory Council
- Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce—Board of Directors
- Executive Committee
- Member of the CEO Council for Growth
- Chairman of the Council's Select Greater Philadelphia
- Oversight Committee
- Innovation Philadelphia—Board of Directors
- Kimmel Center—Board of Directors
- Pennsylvania Business Roundtable
- Philadelphia Orchestra Association—Board of Directors
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Samuel J. Patterson - President and CEO, Veridyne, Inc.
Samuel J. Patterson is President and CEO of Veridyne, Inc. (formerly Shepard-Patterson). He is a classic example of the American Success story. Born and raised in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, one of nineteen children, his parents instilled family values long before the phrase became chic. In 1982, after receiving a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Cheyney University, he began his career at the E.I. Dupont Company as a Computer Programmer Analyst. In 1985, Mr. Patterson received an MBA in Marketing from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. Mr. Patterson is also a graduate of Dartmouth University's Amos Tuck School's Minority Business Executive Program.
In 1986, Mr. Patterson co-founded Shepard, Patterson and Associates, Inc., an information management and technology consulting company. The company developed a substantial commercial customer base initially, and later expanded into the Federal, State and Municipal marketplaces. In 1995, Mr. Patterson became Chairman, CEO, and sole-owner of Shepard-Patterson and in 2001 changed the name to Veridyne, Inc. Today, Veridyne's customers include Lockheed-Martin, Deloitte, Accenture, IBM, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Commerce, the State of Pennsylvania, the State of New Jersey, the City of Philadelphia, and the School District of Philadelphia.
Mr. Patterson's professional and civic affiliations include the Wharton Alumni Association, the Cheyney University National Alumni Association, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and the Men of BACA. Mr. Patterson's board appointments include Innovation Philadelphia, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, African American Chamber of Commerce, Franklin Institute, and the Council of Trustees at Cheyney University.
Mr. Patterson has received numerous awards including "Entrepreneur of the Year" from Ernst and Young, an award for Technology Leadership from the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania, and was named "Minority Small Business Person of the Year" by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education presented Mr. Patterson with the coveted Ebberly Award for Community Service.
Mr. Patterson has a long history of charitable giving. Sam donated $250,000 to his alma mater, Cheyney University, which remains the largest gift from an Alumnus in the School's history. In addition, Mr. Patterson donated $50,000 to Simon Gratz High School to establish a Robotics Institute. In 2003, Mr. Patterson established the Veridyne Private Foundation to assist in a variety of community outreach programs.
Sam is married to the former Deidre Lyons. The couple has two daughters and resides in Bryn Mawr, PA.