Dr. Alf Bjørseth - Chairman, SCATEC AS

Alf Bjorseth earned his Doctor Phil. degree in physical chemistry from the University of Oslo, Norway in 1979. He subsequently worked as an associated professor at the Universities of Oslo and Bergen, subsequently he worked for contract research organizations in Norway (SI – today SINTEF) and in the US (Battelle Labs.). Then Dr.Bjorseth went into industrial research and has served as Corporate Director of Research for Norsk Hydro and Director of Technology for Elkem. In 1994, Dr. Bjorseth started ScanWafer, a company specializing in production of multicrystalline silicon wafers for the global solar industry. Later he started another three companies, related to solar cell and module production as well as a solar module installation company. These companies were later merged into one holding company, Renewable Energy Corporation (REC), of which Dr. Bjorseth served as President and CEO from the start. Today REC covers the whole value chain for solar energy and is one of the largest solar energy companies in the world. In 2005, Dr. Bjorseth retired as President of REC. He is now running his private company (SCATEC AS) where the main purpose is establishing new companies based on advanced technologies in the area of renewable energy and materials.

Conrad Burke - President & CEO, Innovalight Inc.

Conrad brings over 17 years of proven expertise guiding innovative semiconductor and optical technologies into the commercial market.

Prior to Innovalight, Conrad was senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing for Bookham Inc. Before Bookham, Mr. Burke was a venture partner at Sevin Rosen Funds, a leading US-based venture capital firm. His career has spanned research and development, product management, marketing, sales, general management and operations in major global organizations, NEC, AT&T, Lucent Technologies and Agere Systems. He was also the first executive hire at OMM Inc., a venture backed startup based in San Diego, California focused on developing MEMS based optical switching systems. He has deep international experience having lived in and run major divisions of these large companies in Germany, UK and Japan.
Conrad represented Innovalight at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland in 2006 to receive The Technology Pioneer Award for Environmental and Energy Technologies.

Conrad is on the board of directors of Capella Inc., a subsystems manufacturer based in San Jose, California. He has a MS in Physics from Trinity College, Dublin, a BS in Physics from University College, Dublin, Ireland and he has also attended The London Business School.

Clinton Bybee - Co-Founder & Managing Director
ARCH Venture Partners

Clinton Bybee is Co-Founder and Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners.
Prior to joining ARCH in 1988, he held a variety of operating roles with Amoco Corporation.

Mr. Bybee concentrates primarily in the area of advanced materials, electronics, photonics, semiconductors, and infrastructure businesses.

He has played key roles in ARCH's founding investments in numerous companies, including Cambrios Technologies, Nanosys, Innovalight, Aveso and Xtera.

He holds a B.S. in engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Bjørge Gretland - Managing Partner, Convexa AS

Bjørge Gretland is the founder and managing partner of Convexa. Since 1997, he has founded 13 venture funds (of which 11 are Convexa funds.) Gretland holds a Master of Economics (Siviløkonom) and a Dr. Oecon (PhD) within strategy and finance from Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH). Gretland was a Research Scholar at Stanford University from 1989-1991. He has broad experience from venture capital, M&A’s and investment banking and is board director of several Norwegian and international growth companies.

Gretland has worked as a venture capitalist over the last 10 years and has been an active investor assisting entrepreneurs and their teams during the development of their young companies. Convexa assist with know-how to go international, operational efficiency, network expansion, strategic planning and financial capabilities (take companies public, strategic sales, etc.). Gretland has predominantly worked with technology companies in the areas of Solar Energy, Oil/Offshore Services and IT.

Michael Janse - Exec VP & Managing Director
Harris & Harris Group, Inc.

Michael Janse is a Managing Director and Executive Vice President of Harris & Harris Group, Inc., based in the company’s Palo Alto office. Harris & Harris Group is a publicly-held venture capital company (NASDAQ: TINY) focused on making investments in “tiny technology,” which includes nanotechnology, microsystems and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

Prior to joining Harris & Harris Group, Michael was a Principal with ARCH Venture Partners in the firm’s Chicago office, focusing on nanotechnology, semiconductors and advanced materials technologies. His role at ARCH included a particular focus on technologies emanating from universities, research labs and national labs. Prior to ARCH, Mr. Janse worked in Motorola’s Semiconductor Products Sector as a process engineer, and later marketed semiconductor components to manufacturers of personal computers and networking products. Michael holds an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University.

Al Schuele - General Partner, Sevin Rosen Funds

Al, a high-tech industry veteran of over 30 years, joined Sevin Rosen Funds in 2000 and now heads up the firm's ventures in Austin's dynamic entrepreneurial community. He has held executive and sales positions in several semiconductor companies including Benchmarq, Crystal, Cypress, and Mostek. Al has played key roles in major mergers and acquisitions and has worked extensively in Asian markets. Before joining SRF, Al was CEO of Benchmarq Microelectronics, managing the company through the turbulent Asian financial crisis before negotiating a merger with Unitrode Corporation, where he then served as president and COO.

At SRF, he focuses on opportunities in the semiconductor, telecommunications, and nanotechnology arenas, working with companies such as Broadband Instruments, Ceterus, D2Audio, InnovaLight, Nanomix, Traq-Wireless and Zilker Labs.

Paul Vais - General Partner, Apax Partners

Paul's career spans fourteen years in leadership roles in technology companies and over 11 years in private equity and venture capital. He is currently founder and managing director of Altalena Ventures. Previously Paul was with the global private equity firm Apax Partners, where he lead the US technology and telecommunications investment team, the Menlo Park California office, and co-chaired the US operating committee. His investment experience spans a broad range of sectors, including semiconductor, infrastructure, software, telecommunications, media and entertainment, both in the United States and abroad. Past investments led include Jamdat Mobile (IPO and acquired by Electronic Arts) Oblix, Inc. (acquired by Oracle), Ravisent Technologies (IPO), and Rendition (acquired by Micron). Paul is currently a member of the Board of Directors of SiliconOptix, TvHead and Innovalight. Prior to joining Apax Partners in 1997, Paul was a vice president with Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, spearheading investments in early-stage technology companies, including Active Software (IPO, acquired by WebMethods). He began his career in software and systems engineering roles later assuming sales, marketing and general management responsibilities. He was a manager of systems engineering with Apollo Computer, a pioneer in the engineering workstation market, and later with NeXT Computer, Inc., where his responsibilities included systems engineering, European operations, and worldwide marketing. He has consulted in the US and abroad for IBM, Olivetti, and numerous early-stage companies, providing expertise in strategic marketing and technology development. Paul received a BA degree in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Bradley J. Gersich - Outside General Counsel
DLA PIPER US LLP

Mr. Gersich is a partner in DLA Piper US LLP's Silicon Valley office and a member of the firm's Corporate and Finance Group.

Mr. Gersich's practice focuses on emerging growth companies who are developing and marketing cutting edge technologies. Mr. Gersich counsels clients in connection with entity formation, significant debt and equity financing transactions and general operations. Mr. Gersich also represents his clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions and advises clients during initial and secondary public offerings of securities.

Mr. Gersich received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.A. from the University of St. Thomas, and served as a law clerk to Michael Kruse, the Chief Justice of the High Court of American Samoa.