University-Based Incubation: Speakers

UTEN Training Week #3:
University-Based Technology Business Incubation
24-25 May 2010
Avepark, Guimarães
Speakers | Program | Photos

Laura Kilcrease (Austin Technology Incubator -ATI)

With more than 25y ears of hands-on experience in commercializing technology,Ms. Kilcrease has a deep understanding of how to cultivate new opportunities to “grow businesses around businesses” as well as how to deconstruct and reconstruct business models to achieve significant results.

From 1992 to 1997 Laura served as executive director of The University of Texas IC2 Institute’s Center for Commercialization and Enterprise (C2E), which developed commercialization strategies or universities, government laboratories and research consortia, and R&D departments of major corporations. The largest of these projects, the NASA Ames Technology Commercialization Centerin Sunnyvale, California, spun out 32 new businesses that raised over $55million in venture capital in three years.

While at IC²Institute, Ms. Kilcrease also co-developed and launched the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI), serving as its founding executive director from 1989 to 1996. Ms. Kilcrease also launched The Capital Network ,one of the largest“ business angel” invest or networks in the United States with over $150 million in completed transactions, and co-founded and launched the Austin Technology Council, a premier networking organization that cultivated the growth of the Austin economy.

The ATI was one of the country’s first technology business incubators, designed to identify and build innovative new business models commercializing technology developed in university research, start-up companies spun-out from Fortune 500 companies, and other emerging businesses. Under her leadership,the ATI selected and established over 70 technology-based companies that created nearly 1,500 jobs and secured approximately $170 million in funding. ATI won NBIA Incubator of the Year Awardin 1994, Justin Morill Technology Transfer Society Award in 1996 and NBIA Company Graduate of the Year Award in 1996.

Ms. Kilcrease founded Triton Ventures in January of 1999 to provide management and operational leadership to emerging technology-based spinout companies formed to acquire and commercialize technology developed by Fortune 500 companies and other large domestic and foreign corpations, universities, and government or private research institutions. Asmanaging director of the firm, she sources, structures, performs due diligence for, negotiates, and manages venture capital investments focused on information technology, energy-related technologies, advanced materials, and communications. She provides on going counsel to portfolio companies regarding management teams, industry and financial market place issues, introduction of strategic and investment partners, and positioning the company for public offering, merger, or sale. She has served as director on the boards (including audit and compensation committees) of portfolio companies Applied Science Fiction, Charity gift, Exterprise, HartIntercivic, and LNNi. An active member of the community, Ms. Kilcrease has given her time and expertise to a number of nonprofit boards, including the Women’s Leadership Advisory Board of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, the Beyster Institute, World Congress for Information Technology 2006, and the IC² Instituteat The University of Texas at Austin, among many others. Laura has often been recognized for her out standing achievements and has received numerous honors and awards, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Austin Business Journal’s Profiles in Power Award, and UT’s Mc Combs School of Business Women in Business Leadership Conference Trailblazer Award.

Aruni Gunasegaram (Austin Technology Incubator -ATI)

Aruni Gunasegaram joined ATI in June 2008 to manage operations and finance. She is responsible for the internal operations of ATI as well as supporting ATI companies from an operational perspective across all verticals–IT, Wireless, Clean Energy, and Biosciences.

She is also responsible for management of ATI’s budgets which includes assistance with funding proposals and grant compliance with ATI’s external fuding sources. In addition, she coordinates internal networking events via educational lunch & learns, social gatherings, as well as spearheaded the implementation of social media tools (e.g., ATI blog, website).

Aruni is a serial entrepreneur who is well networked in the Austin community. She is the founder of Babble Soft, accompany that offers web and wireless based solutions to new parents, and she blogs at entrepreMusings.com. Previously, she was the founding CEO of a venture funded ATI alumni company, Isochron Data Corporation, which sold we band wireless solutions into the well-established soft drink vending industry.

She coordinated the raising of $ 15.5 million in equity financing, built the board, closed the first $1 million in revenue, and grew the company from 2 to 35people. Isochron was sold in 2002. After leaving Isochron, she helped launch the undergraduate entrepreneurship course and taught the class for four semesters at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School Business. She also consulted for small businesses and is a published author on the topic of success and entrepreneurship in two university alumni magazines. Previously she worked as a staff accountant at Dresser Industries (now Halliburton) and KPMG Peat Marwick. Aruni received her undergraduate degree and her MBA from The University of Texas at Austin.

Omar Hakim (Research Valley Innovation Center)

Omar Hakim is an entrepreneur and management consultant with over 20 years of experience. He is currently the General Manager of the Research Valley Innovation Center, an emerging technology business incubator providing management consulting services and fun draising assistance to over 18start-ups in the life sciences, clean energy, information technology and advanced materials domains. Mr. Hakim also founded the Aggie Angel Network, one of the nation’s first alumni-based networks of accredited investors. Prior to leading the Innovation Center, Mr. Hakim was co-founder and VP of Business Development for IP Knowledge Ventures, Inc., an intellectual property monetization and professional services firm. While at IPKV, Mr. Hakim identified promising IP acquisition opportunities, performed extensive patent valuation analysis and presented his recommendations to investment groups and hedge funds including Fortress Investme Group, Goldman Sachsand Plainfield Asset Management. As an entrepreneur, Mr. Hakim also leads even fundraising rounds totaling $1.9 million in equity investments and convertible debt. His consulting clients included Arbitron and Freescale, and he provided support to Vinson & Elkins, LLP in their patent litigation efforts against Google.

Prior to co-founding IPKV, Mr. Hakim was with Accenture (formerly known as Andersen Consulting) for ten years. Mr. Hakim’s last role at Accenture was establishing and leading their Asian network consulting practice which supported all networking and telecommunications infrastructure proposals and engagements across 15 Asian countries. Mr. Hakim was responsible for regional account planning, alliance management, sales support, training development and implementation, proposal development, project reviews and quality over sight, opportunity pipeline tracking, relationship management and communications with senior client and Accenture executives. He grew the consulting practice’s annual revenues for professional services from zero to $4 million in under two years. His personally provided consulting services to Sing Tel, Telekom Malaysia, Time Telekom, China Railcom, the Malaysian Ministry of Defence and the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Office.

Prior to relocating to Asia, Mr. Hakim worked in Accenture’s New Business Models group, providing technical, business and intellectual property consulting services to technology start-ups. Mr. Hakim also served for one year as Accenture’s Ventures & Alliances liaison to Cisco Systems. His responsibilities including identifying joint venture opportunities, performing due diligence and reporting investment recommendations to senior management and to Accenture Technology Ventures-Accenture’s internal $ 1 billion venture capital fund. Mr. Hakim also managed one of Accenture’s five patent portfolios which was made up of over 500 awarded and pending patents.

Mr. Hakim earned his BS in Applied Mathematics with a minor in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico in 1990 and he earned his MS in Technogy Commercialization from The University of Texas at Austin in 2004 .He has been awarded three patents and has numerous patents pending.