
innovation labs
Dennis Berman has been co-founder and/or seed investor in six companies, all of which went public, achieving a combined value over $7 billion. The most well known of these was Intervu Inc, one of the first software-as-a-service companies which delivered 50% of all online video traffic when it was acquired by Akamai in 2000. Other companies Dennis was involved with include two life sciences groups, Gensia Pharmaceuticals and Viagene, and Kintera, a pioneer in Internet fundraising. Dennis is co-founder and Executive Vice President Corporate Development of Tocagen Inc., a gene therapy company developing treatments for cancer patients.Dennis holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in Economics and a B.S. from The Wharton School in Accounting and Economics. He also holds a General Course Certificate from the London School of Economics and received his JD from Harvard Law School. Industry Knowledge: computer services and software, medical industry, venture capital, life and health sciences, and online fundraising
Steve was President and CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America from 1999-2013, and continues as a strategic advisor at CTCA. He is an adviser to healthcare PE firms, and an investor and board member for healthcare innovation companies. He is a mentor to students, helping them figure out their entrepreneurial path, whether it's their own idea, or as part of another's venture. A passionate advocate of patient-centric, quality-driven healthcare, he championed putting patients in control of their medical decisions by empowering them with comprehensive, unbiased information about their conditions. His commitment earned him a place on Modern Healthcare's prestigious list of the "100 Most Influential People in Healthcare." Steve served in executive roles at Keyport Life Insurance, McGraw-Hill, and Prudential Insurance. While at Prudential, he created their consumer banking operation. He earned a B.A. in Pol. Sci. from Amherst College and a JD from William Mitchell College of Law.
Mr. David Cancel is a Co-Founder at Buzzster!. He is also a Co-Founder and serves as Chief Executive Officer at Driftt. He served as Chief Product Officer at HubSpot. He co-founded Performable and served as its Chief Executive Officer. He is a Venture Advisor at NextView Ventures. He serves as Advisor of Visible Measures Corporation. Mr. Cancel was the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Lookery. He co-founded Compete, Inc. in 2000 and served as its Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Engineering until September 18, 2007 and Advisor since September 18, 2007. Mr. Cancel served as a Vice President of Technology and Chief Technology Officer of BuyerZone. He was a founding member of the Lycos Advanced Product Development group (LAPD). Mr. Cancel served as the Chief Software Architect and a founding member of Bolt.com. He sits on the advisory boards of Visible Measures, Sonian Networks, Yottaa and Shareaholic. Mr. Cancel holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and Accounting from Queen's College in New York. He also serves as an Advisor at NextView Ventures. He also serves as Mentor at Rough Draft Ventures.
Dr. Teresa Chahine is the author of "Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship," based on her course at Harvard. She is the Innovation Advisor at Alfanar Venture Philanthropy, which she helped launch in her home country of Lebanon. Alfanar provides tailored financing and technical support to social enterprises serving marginalized populations in the Arab world. Dr. Chahine divides her time between Beirut and Boston, where she leads the social entrepreneurship program at the Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Together with her students, she has published a series of research articles and incubated a number of social ventures at the Center. An open access version of her course is available at www.teresachahine.com
David (HBS-01) is an entrepreneur and angel investor in Boston with product, marketing and software development experience at internet and mobile startups. He has a successful track record in operating roles at direct-to-consumer and enterprise companies, six of which were acquired or IPO'd. Prior Experience: Recently led the PayPal Boston office and co-founded the Start Tank innovation space. Previously co-founder of SnapMyLife, marketing at m-Qube, and product for TripAdvisor. As an active member of the entrepreneurship community, he holds several advisor/board memberships and has made 30 angel investments. Skills & Expertise: Product management, marketing, strategy, corporate development, angel and early-stage venture capital fundraising. Interests: As a community builder, he is currently focused on helping founders grow their startups and connecting them with great investors.
Tom Clay (HBS-97), CEO of Xtalic Corporation in Marlborough MA, specializes in the commercialization of advanced technology in design, manufacturing, and materials. Xtalic develops high performing metal alloys that address large, high-value problems in mobile electronics and other fields. His primary interests include sourcing and commercializing advanced technologies and building leading businesses around these technologies. Tom is also interested in education and workforce development to ensure we are prepared to maintain leadership in these fields. Prior Experience: Before joining Xtalic, Tom was CEO of Z Corporation, a leading pioneer in 3D Printing. Tom served the board of Z Corp and Sensable Technologies (3D Design) and currently serves on the board of Xtalic and Mcor (3D Printing.) Tom is also a member of the School Committee in Westford MA and serves as a Trustee at Mount Wachusett Community College. Tom served as a US Army Ranger before attending HBS.
Sam (HBS-04) is Founder and Chief Product Officer at InsightSquared in Cambridge, MA. He specializes in product management and development for B2B software startups. Before InsightSquared, Sam was VP Product at Hubspot, VP Product at BzzAgent, and on the initial team at Elance.com. He also had stints in venture capital with Greylock Partners and management consulting with Booz Allen Hamilton. He has a B.S. in Applied Math from Yale. Skills & Expertise: Product Management, Agile software development, B2B business models, Marketplace business models, Early and growth stage startups, B2B marketing Interests: Rebreather/decompression diving on New England area shipwrecks.
Dr. Coggins founded Teach Plus in 2007 to create leadership pathways that retain & empower excellent teachers in urban schools. In ten years, Teach Plus has grown from 16 founding teachers in MA to a nationwide network of over 25,000 teachers. She has grown the organization to an $8M annual budget with nearly 60 staff. Celine started her career as a middle school teacher in Worcester, MA. She earned her PhD from Stanford Univ. and has received Fellowship appointments with the Aspen Institute and The Mind Trust. She is the author of more than two-dozen reports & journal articles and editor of three books. A nationally-recognized expert on teacher leadership, education policy, and union politics, Celine has addressed audiences at the Philanthropy Roundtable, the Askwith Forum at Harvard, and on NBCs Education Nation. She is quoted regularly in major media outlets. Industry Knowledge: Teacher quality policy, unions, education accountability, nonprofits
Kerry (HBS-97) is CEO of Choose Energy, an energy marketplace, in San Francisco. Choose Energy is the leading retail energy marketplace where businesses and consumers can shop for electricity and natural gas. Kerry has leveraged deep expertise of digital consumer businesses, building businesses within large companies and several successful startups. Kerry has a broad background in retail, software and e-commerce (Levis, Walmart.com, ModCloth) and loves consumer businesses. She has raised several rounds of VC (>$30m) at ModCloth and Choose Energy. Prior experience: Choose Energy, CEO; COO & CMO ModCloth, CMO Walmart.com. On the board of Weddington Way, advisor to Narvar. Skills & Expertise: business plan evaluation, adapting to new industries/markets, dual-career couples, evaluating business models and concepts, B2C products and services, raising capital, digital marketing/marketing strategy, work/life balance
Mia is the CEO of Cambridge Global Partners, advising companies and private equity firms on growth, strategy, innovation, scenarios, M&A and financial structuring. She also recently became a Senior Advisor to McKinsey. Prior to this she was the Chief Strategist and CFO of Pepsi-Cola International, where she played a leading role in starting up international operations in China and India. Mia was also an executive at AT&T, where she was at the forefront of internet investments and network strategy; an executive at Royal Dutch Shell; and a Senior Managing Director on Wall Street (Morgan Stanley, CS First Boston). Mia is a graduate of GSAS (Economics PhD), HBS and HKS; and a fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge University, and the London School of Economics. She is also author of Profit Power Economics; a New Competitive Strategy for Creating Sustainable Wealth (OUP). Industry Knowledge: Consumer Products, Telecommunications, Networks, Oil and Gas, Metals and Mining, Investment Banking, Strategy Consulting, University Education