Leapfrog Services

Claire Arnold is CEO and co-founder of Atlanta-based Leapfrog Services. Leapfrog provides extraordinary IT services in a remote management model, to small and medium sized businesses and organizations. Prior to founding Leapfrog, Ms. Arnold acquired NCC LP, building it into one of Georgia’s five largest privately held companies.  She also spent nearly 10 years with Coca-Cola USA, in marketing, sales, sales management and long range planning. Ms. Arnold served for many years as a Trustee of Mary Baldwin College, most recently as Chair of its Board of Trustees.  She has been active in YPO, WPO, The National Conference for Community and Justice, Leadership Atlanta, CEO, The Committee of 200, The Georgia Conservancy, the Board of Trustees of The Westminster Schools and as a mentor to younger women in the Atlanta business community.  She currently serves on the  Boards of The Atlanta Rotary Club, EARTH University Foundation, The Shepherd Center Foundation, the Technology Association of Georgia, Spelman College and Chief Executives Organization as well as on The Atlanta Committee for Progress and The Sustainable Atlanta Committee.  Additionally, she is on The Board of Councilors of The Carter Center, most recently as its Chair, the Board of Visitors of The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and the Board of Directors of two NYSE listed firms.  She was named the 2002 Small Business Person of the Year by the Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Atlanta Business Chronicle, received the 2004 Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Award for outstanding performance as a corporate director, is a member of the YWCA of Greater Atlanta Academy of Women of Achievers and recently received Atlanta Rotary Club’s Armin Maier Community Service Award.

Partner, Morris Manning & Martin

David M. Calhoun is a partner in the firm’s Corporate Securities, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Financial Technologies practices.

Mr. Calhoun practices in the areas of corporate finance, securities, and mergers and acquisitions. He has significant experience in public and private securities and corporate finance, including representation of issuers, underwriters, and investors. Representative transactions include debt and equity offerings (public and private), going private transactions, venture capital financings, IPOs, secondary offerings of common and preferred securities, PIPEs (private investments in public equity), and tender offers. Mr. Calhoun has been active in mergers and acquisitions for public and private companies, including acting as counsel in transactions ranging in size from less than $100,000 to over $1 billion. Representative M&A transactions include representation of both buyers and sellers in mergers, asset sales, stock sales, international and cross-border transactions, and leveraged buy-outs. He has represented companies in numerous industries, including technology, biotechnology, green tech, medical devices, business process outsourcing, manufacturing, real estate and financial institutions. Mr. Calhoun’s practice also includes general corporate counseling, corporate governance, audit and special committee representation, and securities law compliance matters.

Atlanta Technology Angels

Mike Eckert’s operating and post-operating careers have been at the nexus of the early stage eco-system. As an operator Mike was on the early-stage start up teams of The Weather Channel of which he was CEO for 14 years and of Pathfire of which he was CEO for 7 years. Mike has been an active angel investor since the mid 1990’s and is a Limited Partner in several Venture Capital Funds. In addition to sitting on many corporate boards Mike currently is the Executive Chairman of the Atlanta Technology Angels, a group of high net worth individuals that invest early stage technology business. Mike is also a Fellow in Georgia Tech’s Venture Lab program and is very active as a mentor, coach and speaker at the Advanced Technology Development Center.

Georgia Tech

Stephen Fleming has more than 15 years of private equity experience at the General Partner level. Prior to his venture capital career, he spent 15 years in operations roles at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Nortel Networks, and LICOM (a venture-funded startup). An Atlanta native and summa cum laude graduate of Georgia Tech, Stephen returned to his alma mater in mid-2005 as Chief Commercialization Officer. In 2009, he was promoted to Vice President, Economic Development and Technology Ventures, and Executive Director of the Enterprise Innovation Institute at Georgia Tech. In addition to his roles at Georgia Tech, he is also a member of the Investment Committee of the Seraph Group, an early-stage venture capital firm. Stephen is active in the "alternative space" industry; he is an investor in three private aerospace companies and is a founding member of the Space Angels Network. Mr. Fleming also serves on the boards of the Technology Association of Georgia, the Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta, and Tech High School, a charter high school emphasizing science, math, and technology in urban Atlanta.

Southeast Region Managing Partner

Rick recently relocated to Atlanta to assume the position of Regional Managing Partner of Grant Thornton's Southeast Region where he oversees offices from Baltimore to South Florida. He has spent the last eight years as a member of the firm’s 10-person Partnership Board. Previously, until July 2011, Rick served as the Philadelphia Office Managing Partner for eleven years. He led the acquisition of a regional accounting and consulting firm in early 2011, which doubled the size of the Philadelphia practice.

Rick has served as Audit Partner on many prestigious clients, and his clients have included public and private companies that are both industry leaders and growing companies in the Service, Lending, Real Estate, Manufacturing and Technology Industries. He regularly represents the firm at various Audit Committee and Leadership Meetings.

Within Grant Thornton, Rick has served in a number of National Leadership roles and has been involved in the firm’s Partner Candidate Development Program, the LEADS Career Development Program and the Grant Thornton Partner Leadership Program.

Metro Atlanta Chamber

Named the vice president of technology industry expansion for the Metro Atlanta Chamber in August 2006, David B. Hartnett leads the bioscience and technology arm of the Chamber’s economic development division. Hartnett has more than 19 years of senior management experience in medical device, pharmaceutical and telemedicine IT health care. Prior to joining the Chamber, he served as the managing director of Medical Device Marketing, a privately held professional service consulting and strategic execution company. His diverse experience has contributed to the success of six premier medical device companies receiving international recognition. Prior to Medical Device Marketing, Hartnett served as the president and CEO of United Pharma, a privately held medical device/pharmaceutical company based in Duluth, Ga. Prior to United Pharma, Hartnett was president and CEO of SteriFx Corporation, a specialty chemical company. Prior to SteriFx, he was the executive vice president and co-founder of the North American headquarters of Given Imaging, Inc. Given Imaging redefined gastrointestinal. He holds a B.S. in speech communication from San Diego State University with a master’s equivalent in marketing through post-graduate studies. He is currently affiliated with:

• Georgia Bio (GABIO), Board of Directors
• Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), Board of Directors
• MIT Forum, Board of Directors
• Drake Beam & Morin (DBM), Executive Advisory Board
• Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI)
• American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors
• SE Medical Device Association (SEMDA), Board of Directors
• Venture Atlanta Coalition, Co-Founder, Board of Directors

Hartnett is married with four children and is active in the Atlanta business community.

2010 Conference Chairman, Forte Ventures

Tom is currently managing investments in a $200 million fund with Arcapita Ventures. He joined Arcapita in 2005 to launch its Venture Capital line of business and has more than 22 years of operational, entrepreneurial and alternative asset management experience. Prior to joining Arcapita, Tom was an Investment Partner with the Corporate Fund of Siemens Venture Capital ("SVC"), the $850 million venture capital arm of Siemens AG (NYSE: SI), where he managed investment activity in the areas of information technology, communications and industrial automation & control. Prior to SVC, Tom was a General Partner with Cordova Ventures, a $250 million venture capital firm in Atlanta, where he focused on enterprise and infrastructure software, communications and industrial technology. Prior to Cordova, he managed Strategic Business Development at Radiant Systems (NASDAQ: RADS). Tom is also a member of a general partner of Industrial Technology Ventures, L.P., a $56 million Atlanta-based fund focused on innovative technologies for core industries. He is an active leader of the venture capital community in the Southeast through his leadership positions over the years including Chairman of Venture Atlanta, Chairman of the AeA Southeast Venture Forum, Co-Chairman of the Southern Capital Conference, member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Venture Forum and the North Carolina Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), and member of the Board of Advisors of the Atlanta CEO Council. Tom has also taken active community leadership roles with The Adaptive Learning Center, the Woodruff Arts Center and the Georgia Alzheimer's Association.

2009 Conference Chairman, TTV Capital

Mark A. Johnson joined Total Technology Ventures, LLC (now TTV Capital) in September 2008 as a Partner with the firm. Mark is the former Vice Chairman of CheckFree Corporation. His responsibilities included overseeing mergers and acquisitions, evaluating strategic growth opportunities for the company, developing strategic corporate relationships and supporting long term business strategies. He was also a member of the CheckFree Board of Directors. Johnson first joined CheckFree in 1982 as Vice President of Operations. He held numerous positions within the organization and was responsible for the development and launch of CheckFree's commercial and consumer electronic funds transfer services and CheckFree's electronic bill payment and bill presentment businesses as well as the development of key strategic alliances and marketing initiatives. In 2000, Johnson left his position as Vice Chairman of Corporate Development and Marketing to form e-RM Ventures, a private investing consultancy focused on early-stage payments-related companies. He continued to work with CheckFree executive management on strategic issues through his Board of Directors position, and returned to CheckFree as Vice Chairman in February 2003. Prior to joining CheckFree Corporation, Johnson worked for the Federal Reserve Bank and Bank One. He currently serves on a number of private companies Board of Directors, and he is currently the Chairman of Venture Atlanta and on the Board of Directors of the Technology Association of Georgia where in 2007 he was the chairman. Johnson holds an undergraduate degree from Miami University and an MBA degree from the Ohio State University.

Senior Vice President of Business Development, Silicon Valley Bank

Dale Kirkland is Senior Vice President of Business Development at Silicon Valley Bank. He is responsible for business and partner development in the southeast, and focuses on technology lending. Kirkland joined SVB in 2003 and, since that time, has provided strategic financing to over 150 companies, with credit commitments ranging from $1 million to $50 million. Through his tenure at SVB and his industry operating experience, he has developed a deep knowledge of the software, telecom, mobile, and internet industries. Kirkland has built and led teams of over 40 professionals at various organizations. He began his professional career with SunTrust in 1988, has held sales leadership and financial management roles at several telecom companies including MCI, XO Communications and Broadwing Communications. He was also chief financial officer of BroadBand Technologies. At SVB, Kirkland has built relationships with numerous notable accounts, including CipherTrust, JBoss, iContact, Endgame Systems, Brightree, Cross Match Technologies, and eVestment Alliance. Kirkland is on the board of directors, as chair of the finance committee, of TechBridge, an Atlanta based nonprofit dedicated to providing technology support to other nonprofits. He is also on the board of directors of the Florida Venture Forum, an Advisory Board member of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Atlanta, a Board of Advisors member of Venture Atlanta, and in 2009, he chaired the Venture Atlanta Selection Committee. In 2006, Kirkland was recognized as one of Georgia's most influential figures in banking and finance by the Atlanta Business Chronicle on their Who's Who list, and in 2011, he was awarded SVB's President's Club distinction. Kirkland has spoken at a number of venture and tech industry events including Venture Atlanta, The Florida Venture Forum, the Technology Executive Roundtable, and at ATDC. Kirkland earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in finance and graduated summa cum laude from Georgia State University.

DLA Piper

Jeffrey Leavitt works with emerging growth companies, venture and growth capital investment entities and mature technology companies.

Mr. Leavitt is a graduate of the Kauffman Fellows Program, a highly competitive national fellowship akin to a Rhodes Scholarship for venture capital professionals (www.kauffmanfellows.org). He was the first J.D. ever accepted into the program. Kauffman Fellows receive two years of specialized training in venture capital investment techniques and develop an extensive network throughout the private equity industry. Mr. Leavitt is the only practicing attorney in the country to have completed the Kauffman program.

Mr. Leavitt’s Fellowship was hosted at Alliance Technology Ventures, where he focused on investment assessment, deal structuring, company fundraising strategies and exit modeling. Mr. Leavitt was a board observer with several ATV portfolio companies, including SecureWorks, RF Solutions, Omniguide and Xytrans.

Before moving to Atlanta, Mr. Leavitt co-founded Axiom Legal, Inc., a venture backed software company in New York City. He began his career at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York, where he helped consummate several high-profile transactions, including the merger of the Qwest and US West corporations and the merger of the Exxon and Mobil corporations, each the largest in history when announced. He also negotiated several transactions for Morgan Stanley's and CSFB’s private investment arms.

Mr. Leavitt is a regular speaker and panelist in the Southeast technology community and was named one of Atlanta’s “Top Twenty Techies to Know” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. He was appointed in 2006 to the faculty of the Venture Capital Institute, a worldwide education foundation and training program for venture and private equity professionals. He has also authored "Burned Angels: The Coming Wave of Minority Shareholder Oppression Claims in Venture Capital Start-up Companies," published in the North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology, which is now required reading at several US law schools. Mr. Leavitt has also had publications appear in The New York Times and the Venture Capital Journal.

Partner, Cherry, Bekaert, & Holland L.L.P.

Matthew May is a certified public accountant and a partner with Cherry, Bekaert, & Holland L.L.P. He joined CB&H in 2009 to serve the technology community in Atlanta. Matthew has 15 years of experience adding value to venture backed companies by helping them navigate tax and accounting rules. Prior to coming to Atlanta, Matthew was a part of the Austin technology community both as an advisor and as a part of a start-up that had a successful $100 million exit in November 2000. He is an active leader in the Georgia technology community and serves on the selection committees for Venture Atlanta, the Technology Association of Georgia’s Top 40 Innovators, and the Association for Corporate Growth’s FAST 40 of Georgia. Matthew has also taken community leadership roles as the Chairman of the Georgia Aquarium’s Next Wave Society and as the Finance Chair of Refugee Family Services.

2011 Conference Chairman, TechOperators

Glenn McGonnigle is a General Partner at TechOperators, an Atlanta-based early stage venture capital firm. Prior TechOperators, Glenn was most recently Chairman and CEO of Atlanta-based VistaScape Security Systems, where he was recruited by the company's board to raise capital and grow the business. He subsequently oversaw the successful sale of the company to Siemens Building Technologies. An authority on IT and physical security convergence and a frequent contributor and expert speaker for numerous industry publications and events, Glenn helped shape President Bush's 2005 National Strategy for Maritime Security. Previously, Glenn was a co-founder and top executive of Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems (NASDAQ: ISSX) where he helped raise initial venture capital and launch the business. For 7 years, he led the business development team in developing sales channels and entering the managed security services market. During his tenure, the company grew from startup to a public company with revenues of over $225 million and was acquired by IBM in 2007 for $1.5 billion. Prior to ISS, he was President and co-founder of Data Integrity Services Corporation. Throughout his 24 year career, Glenn has held a variety of sales and marketing executive positions during the high growth stages of EMC, Epoch Systems, Borland, and Wang Laboratories. He is an active member of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and sits on the board of the Venture Atlanta Conference. In addition, he has served as Entrepreneur in Residence and CapVenture coach supporting Georgia's Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). McGonnigle holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia.

BLH Ventures

Ashish Mistry is Managing Partner of BLH Venture Partners, a private investment firm focused on early-stage technology companies. In his role, Ashish functions as an investor and adviser to young companies. His experience includes leadership positions with high-growth companies in the technology-enabled services, enterprise IT, e-commerce, and consumer markets. Ashish's first entrepreneurial role was as co-founder of Virtex Newtorks (Acquired by Leapfrog Services), then as an early team member of AirDefense (Acquired by NYSE: MOT), followed by a senior leadership role with RCMS Group (Acquired by NYSE:ARC) and ultimately as President and CEO of KontrolFreek. Mistry spent two tours as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Georgia Tech's Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), working with start-ups across Georgia. Ashish is active in non-profit organizations that foster entrepreneurship, including board positions with Venture Atlanta and the Atlanta CEO Council, as well as serving on committees with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Mistry is a graduate of Emory University and resides with his wife and daughter in Atlanta.

2008 Conference Chairman, Noro-Moseley Partners

Allen Moseley joined NMP in 1998 and leads the firm's healthcare practice focused primarily in healthcare services, healthcare information technology and medical devices. He currently represents NMP on the boards of Bloodhound, Diabetes Care Group, Navitas Lease Finance, RemitDATA, Renal CarePartners, Senior Whole Health, U.S. Radiosurgery and Valor Healthcare. Allen also oversees the Firm's investment in Direct Insurance and Lanx. Prior to joining NMP in 1998, Allen was in the corporate finance group at The Robinson-Humphrey Company, an investment banking firm previously owned by Citigroup and most recently acquired by SunTrust. Allen worked extensively in the healthcare and business services industries, advising on a number of initial public offerings, M&A transactions and private placements. He was also involved in R-H Capital Partners, the private equity investment arm of the firm. Previously, Allen held investment banking positions with Bowles Hollowell Conner & Company and Merrill Lynch & Co. Allen was recently Chairman of Venture Atlanta and Chairman of the Technology Association of Georgia, the State's largest entrepreneur-focused organization. He has also served on the board of North Carolina's Council for Entrepreneurial Development, one of the largest entrepreneur organizations in the country. Allen is also a member of the Nashville Healthcare Council. Allen received a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Silverpop

Bill Nussey has 20 years of experience as a chief executive for technology companies. Previously, Nussey was president and CEO of iXL Inc., a publicly traded e-business consulting firm. During his tenure, iXL executed its initial public offering, grew revenues from $10 million to $120 million per quarter and served multiple Fortune 500 customers including General Electric, JP Morgan and Delta. Prior to iXL, Nussey was an investment professional with Greylock, where he worked on investments including DoubleClick, MediaMetrix and iXL. Before Greylock, Nussey was the co-founder and CEO of Da Vinci Systems. When he sold the company to ON Technologies in 1994, Da Vinci was the third most widely used email product in the world with more than 3 million customers in 45 countries. Over the years and under Nussey's guidance, Silverpop has been the originator of many industry best practices and innovations. As CEO, he has consulted with numerous marketing executives on the use of email as a strategic communications channel and uncovered solutions to many of the challenges marketers are facing. Nussey shares these insights in his groundbreaking book, "The Quiet Revolution in Email Marketing." In 2004, Nussey received the Direct Marketing Association's Marketing Technology and Internet Council Annual Award of Excellence, and was named Marketer of the Year by the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association. Nussey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.