Bascom Ventures Team

Bio: Greg is a highly accomplished executive with experience in corporate leadership, business development, startups, M&A, strategic planning, and more. He has spent much of his career growing business in the electrical products, packaging, and chemical industries. Throughout, he has been buying, selling, and combining companies to fit strategic goals. Previously, Greg served as President and CEO of 2D2C, developing safer energy-saving products. Greg was also VP Corporate Development and Acting Division President for a high-tech subsidiary at Woodhead Industries and Director Corporate Development for Tenneco. Greg has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin (’86) and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University.

Bio: Erik has worked with both traditional venture investors and corporate venture teams during his career. He has deep experience evaluating opportunities, structuring investments and advising management on value creation. Previously, he helped build the strategy and make investments for the PGA TOUR’s corporate ventures group. Erik began his career with Deloitte Consulting where he focused on corporate strategy and M&A engagements. He holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with High Honors. He has an MBA in Finance from Kellogg.

Bio: Tim has held executive positions with several technology and healthcare focused companies. Prior to Forecast3D and SenseLabs, Tim managed ISV channel companies for Intel in the IoT, HPC, healthcare and genomics areas as Global Alliance Manager. Tim also grew a $300M business for Sony’s B2B IT sales organization as their National Sales Manager and had previous roles with GE Healthcare and HP. Tim is a member of the Technology Council of Southern California and is active in the Boys and Girls Club. Tim received his BSEE from University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Graziadio School of Business, Pepperdine. Tim resides in San Diego with his wife Cindy and his two children, Michael and Amanda. Tim enjoys golf, traveling, skiing, camping and college/professional sports outside of work.

Bio: Nidhi is an entrepreneur who co-founded cloud configuration management startup qwikLABS. The company was acquired by Google and remains the exclusive platform used by AWS customers and partners worldwide to create and deploy on-demand lab environments in the cloud. Nidhi most recently led Product, Strategy, Marketing and Finance at data integration company Tamr. Previously, she worked at McKinsey & Company, focusing on Big Data and Cloud Strategy. She is also a recipient of an early career achievement award from UW-Madison. Nidhi holds a PhD in Computer Science from Wisconsin and holds six US patents.

Bio: Karen A. Monfre is the Managing Director of Wipfli Corporate Finance Advisors, LLC, a corporate finance entity that works with clients in the active pursuit of business acquisitions and sales. Her time is spent exclusively working with clients on buying or selling their business, due diligence, quality of earnings analysis, and M&A related litigation support. She is a Committee Chair and Board Member of the Wisconsin Foundation & Alumni Association, the Treasurer and Board Member of the Women’s Fund of Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, and a Board Member and past Treasurer of the UW-Madison Alumni Club of Brown County. Karen received her BBA from UW-Madison with a double major in Accounting and Computer Information Systems.

Bio: Dave has over 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and development. He is currently a Senior Director in Translational Medicine at Janssen Research & Development, the pharmaceutical research division of Johnson & Johnson. In his role at Janssen, he is involved in both clinical and preclinical testing of novel treatments for metabolic diseases and in reviewing potential opportunities for in-licensing and partnering. He was a key member of the team that developed canagliflozin (Invokana®), the first SGLT2 inhibitor approved by the FDA for the treatment in type 2 diabetes. Dave has authored nearly 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 100 conference presentations. Dave has a BS in engineering from University of Wisconsin and MS and PhD degrees in engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

Bio: Joe currently serves as Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Studio VC, a New York City based early stage Venture Capital firm. Prior to joining Studio VC, Joe helped build Samsung Electronic’s Venture Capital team in New York City as part of the Global Innovation Center. While at Samsung, Joe performed all aspects of deal sourcing, diligence and negotiation, with a focus on early and growth stage software and services investments. During his tenure at Samsung, Joe’s initial investments realized two exits, Automated Insights sold to Vista Equity backed STATS Inc. and LoopPay was sold to Samsung Electronics to create the technical backbone for Samsung Pay. In 2009, Joe joined Bain Capital Ventures Investments in Boston, Massachusetts. While at Bain Capital, Joe worked on both early-stage and growth-equity investments in a variety of industries, including business services, consumer technology, marketing services, eCommerce and digital media. He also worked closely with numerous portfolio companies on strategic planning, business development and company exits. Earlier in his career, Joe worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at Merrill Lynch in New York, where he advised clients across diverse industries on a variety of strategic and financial transactions. Joe received his BBA from University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where his studies concentrated on investments, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Bio: Joe currently serves as Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Studio VC, a New York City based early stage Venture Capital firm. Prior to joining Studio VC, Joe helped build Samsung Electronic’s Venture Capital team in New York City as part of the Global Innovation Center. While at Samsung, Joe performed all aspects of deal sourcing, diligence and negotiation, with a focus on early and growth stage software and services investments. During his tenure at Samsung, Joe’s initial investments realized two exits, Automated Insights sold to Vista Equity backed STATS Inc. and LoopPay was sold to Samsung Electronics to create the technical backbone for Samsung Pay. In 2009, Joe joined Bain Capital Ventures Investments in Boston, Massachusetts. While at Bain Capital, Joe worked on both early-stage and growth-equity investments in a variety of industries, including business services, consumer technology, marketing services, eCommerce and digital media. He also worked closely with numerous portfolio companies on strategic planning, business development and company exits. Earlier in his career, Joe worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at Merrill Lynch in New York, where he advised clients across diverse industries on a variety of strategic and financial transactions. Joe received his BBA from University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where his studies concentrated on investments, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Bio: Eliot works on acquisitions at Angelo, Gordon & Co., a $27 billion alternative investment manager. He has been directly responsible for, or overseen, in excess of $2 billion of assets and currently manages a portfolio of 11 deals with six different joint venture partners. In addition, he is an investor and involved with fintech, big data, CRM, and consumer finance technology companies. Eliot received BBA degrees in Entrepreneurship and Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also received MBA and MRED (Master of Real Estate Development) degrees from the University of Southern California.

Bio: For the last 15 years, Gretchen has held the title and responsibilities of CEO at Séura, a company recognized by the world’s largest hotel brands and leading custom integration specialists as the premier provider of design-centric technology products. She also serves as an advisor, mentor, and ambassador on the International Board of Directors for the Network of Executive Women in Hospitality (NEWH). Prior to starting her company, Gretchen was employed by Kimberly-Clark Corporation in various market research and product development roles. She graduated with a BA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and participated on the UW Spirit Squad as a cheerleader for the Badger football and basketball teams. During her time at the UW she met and married her college sweetheart – Bucky Badger.

Bio: Bryan has 16+ years of executive leadership experience in early and growth stage tech businesses. As CEO, he led GradeBeam.com to industry leader in B2B Construction Communication Network—and then a successful exit (acq. by Textura), followed by an IPO and acquisition by Oracle of the integrated company. Bryan now aids companies in developing growth strategies in C-level, consulting, board member, and advisor roles. He is Chief Operations & Revenue Officer at Arrow Payments and CEO of ROI Magnet Strategic Advisors. He graduated from UW (’97)—starting four years for the Badgers, as well as playing in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts.

Bio: Sara has been a private investor for over twenty years. As a former Vice President and Director of Toronto Dominion Bank and TD Securities in New York, she specialized in Real Estate Construction Finance, Health Care Finance, Debt Restructuring, and Institutional Equity Sales. Balancing out the intensity of finance and investing, Sara has been a student and practitioner of yoga for over 20 years, taught for 13 years, and in 2003 became certified to apply yogic tools and technology to working with those living with life-threatening diseases. Sara graduated with a BBA in Finance from UW Madison.

Bio: Jaal is currently the Grainger Professor of Sustainable Energy and the Chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin. He has been recognized as a Fellow of both the Society of Automotive Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for his contributions. Jaal has published widely in this field. He has served as Director of the Wisconsin Small Engine Consortium and is currently the Director of the Direct-injection Research Consortium. Jaal received a PhD from Princeton.

Bio: Scott is a partner at the law firm of Williams Mullen on their Corporate and Securities team and serves as a strategic advisor to boards and C-suite executives. He also represents issuers and underwriters in initial and secondary public securities offerings, as well as private placements of debt and equity securities. Previously, Scott was a partner at LeClair Ryan in a similar role. In 2015, he was named Richmond’s Lawyer of the Year for Securities Regulation by Best Lawyers. Scott earned his JD degree from Wisconsin and a BBA degree in Management from the College of William & Mary.

Bio: Steve has deep experience growing cross-functional teams to deliver world-class design and digital transformation services for some of world’s most successful companies. As the Managing Director of North American Strategic Accounts for Fjord, Accenture’s Design & Innovation studio, Steve is driving key growth initiatives with major clients. Previously, Steve was the Managing Director of R/GA San Francisco and opened their Los Angeles office. He previously led the SF Studio and global headquarters for Frog Design and held several key digital leadership roles with the Publicis Groupe/Leo Burnett in Chicago. Steve has an MBA from Michigan and a BBA from Wisconsin.

Bio: Chris is Managing Director of ORD Advisors, providing advisory, consulting, and quality assurance services. He also serves as a Director of the University of Wisconsin Foundation & Alumni Association Board, and was a founding member and Director of the University of Wisconsin Accenture Undergraduate Leadership Center Advisory Board. Previously, Chris served as President, Chief Executive, and Chairman of Coors Distributing. Chris holds a Master’s in Education, Globalization, and Educational Policy from the University of Illinois and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, Investments & Banking, Real Estate & Urban Land Economics from Wisconsin.

Bio: Ryan is an entrepreneur, team-builder, and business advisor. He is Managing Partner at Blue Sky Partners, a boutique advisory firm offering sales and strategy expertise in the banking, investment, and financial technology space. Previously, Ryan spent ten years at BAML in the Global Corporate and Investment Banking division in a variety of roles in Chicago, Hong Kong, Denver, and New York. Ryan received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, Investments, and Banking from the University of Wisconsin.

Bio: Josh currently serves as the manager of strategic sourcing and contracting for the pharmacy supply chain at Centura Health, an integrated delivery network system of 17 hospitals and multiple clinics across Colorado and Western Kansas. In 15+ years, Josh has worked in clinical, operational, business/finance, and leadership roles across inpatient, outpatient, and managed care settings. He is interested in improving the health care delivery experience through improved efficiencies and solid business and financial decisions. Josh received his PharmD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has completed pharmacy residency training at the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of Colorado. He also received his MBA and Finance Certificate from Colorado State University. He enjoys racing bicycles and fly fishing.

Bio: Mike has extensive experience scaling business development and sales efforts in the technology industry. His focus includes channel sales, enterprise software sales, strategic partnerships, and architecting the global sales force. As the Vice President of Business Development for S2 Security, Mike helped grow the business over 30-fold from 2007 until present. In late 2018, S2 Security had a successful exit via a strategic acquisition by United Technologies. Mike is currently an executive at LenelS2, and is an active angel investor for early stage technology companies. His education includes a BBA from Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Bio: For over 40 years Ric has been an executive in healthcare software, clinician provider structures and during the last 10 years as an angle investor. As a serial entrepreneur and co-founding operating partner he has help lead three different startups to successful exits with an aggregate 39X return on invested capital. For 10 years Ric has been lecturing at UCLA’s MPH program and he has co-authored two textbooks on IT in Healthcare with his focus being business/clinical intelligence, analytics and AI. He co-founded The Healthcare Summit at Jackson Hole 10 years ago which draws together 80+/- C-level healthcare executives. He earned an Economics degree from the of University of Wisconsin with graduate course work in finance at the University of North Carolina.

Bio: Zach Bower is currently a Design Quality Engineer for Medtronic Neurovascular in Irvine, CA. He has previously held engineering, product management or business development roles in multiple medical device or biotechnology companies. Zach received his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Biomedical Engineering.

Bio: Jenni UW MBA’20 currently serves as the Director for gBETA Madison at gener8tor, a nationally-ranked startup accelerator that invests in high growth startups. Prior to her career in venture capital, she spent several years as a science writer and policy analyst for the Illinois and Wisconsin state governments. She also worked for a conservation non-profit where she collaborated with farmers and ranchers promoting voluntary conservation on private working land and innovative land management practices. Jenni holds a BS in Biology from Bradley University and will complete her MBA from UW-Madison in May 2020.

Bio: Kevin (MS ’09, MBA’10) is an experienced consultant and entrepreneur having managed organizations averaging $300 million in revenue, reduced operating costs by $112 million (138 process improvements, 4 industries) and starting 5 companies (with exits in 3 of them). Kevin currently has consulting and faculty responsibilities with Mayo Clinic and Mayo Clinic Medical School, a small strategy consulting firm, and leading an Integrative Medical products startup, Infinitum Health, LLC. Kevin has received his MS-Biotechnology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and MBA from the University of Arizona.

Bio: Liam (UW’19) is currently finishing up an MBA in Corporate Finance & Investment Banking at the Wisconsin School of Business. He recently completed an internship in sell-side M&A advisory for middle market companies in Harris Williams’ Food & Beverage practice. Prior to attending UW-Madison, Liam worked as VP of Finance and Marketing at American Athletic Courts, Inc., working to improve net working capital management and develop new marketing initiatives. He received a BSBA in both Finance and International Business at Elon University and is looking to enter the financial services industry upon graduation.

Bio: Christian (UW ’16) works on the Account Management team at VTS, the leading Leasing and Asset Management platform in commercial real estate. Previously, while in school, he worked at 100state, helping it become Wisconsin’s largest co-working community, and cofounded Madventures Coworking, a student co-working space. He received a B.A. degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin.

Bio: Alex (UW’12) serves as in-house legal counsel at Markable, an AI company identifying fashion products in photos and videos via computer vision. Previously, she worked at a Midwest law firm, helping clients identify strategic opportunities to grow their business. She was also a campaign finance attorney for a political consultant, assisting with one presidential and three successful Congressional campaigns. Alex has a BA from Wisconsin and JD from Marquette.

Bio: Prakash (UW’06) is a Senior Global Product Manager in Patient Care and Monitoring Solutions at Philips, driving product strategy and global commercialization of clinical analytics and decision support solutions for critical care. Earlier, he held marketing and R&D positions at Neuronetics, Boston Scientific, GE Healthcare, and St. Jude Medical. He received an MBA from Michigan’s Ross School of Business and BS in Biomedical Engineering from Wisconsin.

Bio: Keaton (UW ‘17) recently returned to Wisconsin after a five-year career playing professional basketball around Europe. He has international experience after spending years living in Germany, Spain, Latvia, and Italy. He originally attended Wisconsin from 2007-11 and returned in 2017 to complete his degree in Kinesiology.

Bio: Prior to joining AVG, Chris was a Customer Advocate at Graphic Packaging and in Sales & Marketing at Putnam Investments, where he created materials for reps and investors. He’s a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Manning School of Business, where he studied Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Studies.

Bio: Previously, Anne was an Applied Behavioral Analysis Counselor for Melmark and a medical biller for Physicians Resources. She is also a certified Certifiied Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor, with her own clientele. Anne has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire.

Bio: Prior to joining AVG, Jenna was an Investor Service Representative at Putnam Investments, where she provided customer support to both clients and brokers. Jenna is a graduate of Merrimack College, Girard School of Business, where she studied Business Administration with a dual major in Management and Marketing.

Bio: Prior to joining AVG, Jordan worked in consumer and commercial lending with New Hampshire based firms. A Massachusetts native, Jordan graduated with honors from Plymouth State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management with a focus in business law.

Bio: Taylor graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a B.S. in Finance/Economics. Prior to joining Alumni Ventures Group, Taylor spent the early part of his career at Fidelity Investments as a licensed Financial Advisor, providing existing 401k clients with financial planning advice.

Bio: Prior to joining AVG, Hilary was a Staffing Executive and Program Manager at Robert Half. Previous positions include Retirement Planning & Guidance Consultant for Fidelity and an Investor Assistant for an independent investor. She has a Bachelor of Science, Business Management & Marketing from Fisher College.

Bio: Jamie was the Clinical Secretary Sr for Pediatric Gastroenterology at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Earlier, he served as a Claims Processor Associate and then a Senior Associate at Cigna Health. He has also served in multiple church youth ministries for over 15 years throughout Ontario, Canada, in many different cultural contexts. He was part of the adjunct faculty in the youth ministry department at Tyndale University College. He has a BA in Psychology from York University, a Masters of Divinity from Tyndale Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.