ANN ARBOR ? The New Enterprise Forum welcomes three new board members who bring business and venture capital experience to the entrepreneur and economic development group.
Assuming their new volunteer board positions are Sreeram Veeragandham – managing director of Gitega Capital, Lauren Bigelow Reed – director of programs for Cleantech Venture Network and Dr. Gerry Roston, Ph.D. – managing director of Pair of Docs Consulting. The terms of the three board members are effective immediately and will run on a two-year basis each.
?The new board members line up perfectly with NEF?s mission and vision,” said NEF President Carrie Hensel and founder of Ann Arbor-based Inner Circle Media. ?We are all very excited about their joining our board and bringing a vast amount of expertise, wisdom and passion to our organization.”
At Gitega Capital, Sreeram Veeragandham focuses on early stage investments in technology and medical devices. Sreeram has extensive start-up experience including being a founding team member at Juniper Networks, Inc. Sreeram also worked at Sun Microsystems Inc. He has a master?s degree in Electrical Engineering from State University of New York and a Master?s of Business Administration from Ross School of Business at University of Michigan.
Lauren Bigelow Reed develops programs for Cleantech Venture Network, a membership organization that brings together investors and businesses in the clean technology sector. Prior, she had served as the educational director at the Ann Arbor IT Zone. As marketing director of the Richard Hale Shaw Group, she created and executed marketing strategy and brand awareness. She earned a bachelor?s degree in economics from the University of Michigan and a master?s degree in anthropology from Northwestern University, and has authored several anthropological publications.
Dr. Gerry Roston, Ph.D. was one of the founding members of the NASA JPL Mars rover team. He furthered his education at the Carnegie Mellon University?s Field Robotics Center where he earned his doctorate. Subsequent to finishing his degree, Dr. Roston has worked in a number of industries, including transportation, homeland security, and bio-technology, for companies both large and small. Gerry has been a valuable member of NEF?s program committee, which coaches presenting companies.
