 Frank Adams
General Partner and Founder
Phone: 703-637-9555
fadams@grotech.com
Frank Adams is the Managing General Partner and founder of Grotech Ventures. He is the principal architect of the Grotech Ventures structure, investment strategy and portfolio management. Frank’s investment activities focus on Information Technology including healthcare IT, e-commerce, and Digital Media. He is responsible for a number of successful Grotech Ventures investments, including but not limited to DIGEX, Global Software, HealthScribe, Interspec, Master Power and USinternetworking. Frank is also active on several current portfolio company boards, including Bluefire Security, Hillcrest Labs, iBiquity Digital and United BioSource Corp. He previously served on the board of Sagittarius Brands (holding company for Captain D’s and Del Taco restaurants).
Prior to joining Grotech Ventures, Frank had hands-on operating experience with small and moderate sized firms in start-up, rapid growth, turnaround and international situations. He has held senior executive positions with NYSE/OTC public and private firms including PHH Group, Inc.; RLC/Matlack, Inc.; Westinghouse Electric Corporation; and TMS, Inc.
Frank is Chairman Emeritus of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association (MAVA), which he co-founded and managed as president from 1986 to 1999 and as chairman from 1999 to 2002. Under Frank’s leadership, MAVA became one of the most active and influential venture organizations in the nation, growing to 375 venture professionals in 127 firms and 265 service provider leaders. In addition, Frank has also served as the Chairman of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), an organization fostering technology commercialization in the state of Maryland.
Frank graduated from the University of Baltimore in 1967 and 1972 with a B.S. in Business Administration and a Juris Doctor degree, respectively, and has also successfully completed advanced management programs at Stanford University in Finance and the Harvard Business School in Information Technology. He is a past member of the Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations and the Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland at College Park, UMBC and the University of Baltimore, as well as a director of the University of Maryland, University of Baltimore and Lyric Opera Foundations.
Assistant: Vicki Kegris | 703-637-9555
 Chuck Cullen
General Partner and Chief Financial Officer
Phone: 703-637-9555
ccullen@grotech.com
LinkedIn
Chuck Cullen joined Grotech Ventures in 2000 and is a General Partner and Grotech Ventures’s Chief Financial Officer. Chuck is responsible for all financial, accounting and administrative functions for the Grotech Ventures funds and works on selected investments. Chuck’s investment activities focus on technology-leveraged services, e-commerce and healthcare IT. Chuck is active on several portfolio company boards, including buySAFE, Biotix Inc, and OpenQ. He previously served on the boards of MEDecision (Nasdaq: MEDE), Brandywine Senior Care, Entek and Sagittarius Brands (holding company for Captain D’s and Del Taco restaurants). He has also worked closely with management at HealthScribe, First Service Networks and SimonDelivers.
Prior to joining Grotech Ventures, Chuck served as the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of Avatech Solutions, Inc., an IT solutions provider serving the design automation market. Prior to Avatech, he was the Director of Finance for Packaging Resources, Inc., a $125 million plastic packaging manufacturer. He previously worked as a management consultant on Fortune 500 engagements for A.T. Kearney, Inc., practiced law with Hogan and Hartson and began his career in public accounting as a CPA with Ernst & Young.
Chuck received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting (Magna Cum Laude) from Loyola College. He received his Juris Doctor (Magna Cum Laude/Notre Dame Law Review) from the University of Notre Dame Law School and his Master of Business Administration (Beta Gamma Sigma) from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Chuck is a past member of the Maryland State Bar Association and the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants. He currently serves on the board of Mount Saint Joseph High School.
Assistant: Vicki Kegris | 410-891-5518
 Lawson DeVries
Principal
Phone: 703-637-9555
ldevries@grotech.com
LinkedIn
Lawson DeVries joined Grotech Ventures in 2005 and is a Principal at the firm. He focuses primarily on investment opportunities in software, communications, digital media and IT services. Lawson currently serves on the board of Biotix Inc. and works closely with a number of Grotech Ventures portfolio companies including Aztek Networks, Broadsoft, Clarabridge, Collective Intellect, Hillcrest Labs, LogiXML, LogRhythm, Rebit, SkyeTek and TRAFFIQ.
Prior to joining Grotech Ventures, Lawson was an Associate in the Institutional Equity Sales division of The Buckingham Research Group. Previously he was an Associate in the Equity Research division at Deutsche Bank, covering industrial companies.
Lawson is a graduate of Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature.
Assistant: Betsy Klingbeil | 703-462-1347
 Steve Fredrick
General Partner
Phone: 703-462-1343
sfredrick@grotech.com
LinkedIn
Steve is a General Partner with Grotech Ventures where he leads investments in the software, wireless, and digital media sectors. He is active on several portfolio company boards, including LogiXML, Omnilink Systems, RollStream, Invincea and TRAFFIQ.
His career spans engineering roles, entrepreneurial company building, and early stage investing. Prior to Grotech, Steve was a General Partner with Novak Biddle Venture Partners where he made significant contributions to the success of numerous companies. He began his career in research and development with IBM, and then joined a venture-funded software company in the document imaging space called Vantage Solutions, which was acquired in 1994.
Steve subsequently co-founded software development firm MartinScott before making his transition to the venture business in 1997. He has served in interim-operating roles with several portfolio companies upon request. Steve has also been instrumental in the launch of StartUpHire, a much needed online job board listing thousands of opportunities at venture-backed companies.
Steve earned his BS and MS in Electrical Engineering, magna cum laude, from Virginia Tech and served for several years as an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business. He is a frequent speaker on entrepreneurship and venture investing.
Assistant: Mary Anne World | 703-462-1351
 Sharon Gogol
Controller
Phone: 703-637-9555
segogol@grotech.com
Sharon Gogol is Grotech Ventures’s Controller. Sharon joined Grotech Ventures in 1988 and has performed a multitude of administrative and financial functions for the firm. Her current responsibilities include handling the day-to-day financial, accounting and tax issues for the Grotech Ventures funds and management company.
Sharon graduated with high honors from Villa Julie College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. Ms. Gogol received her Certified Public Accountant license in 1997 and is a member of the AICPA and MACPA.
Assistant: Debbie Coleianne | 410-512-5514
 Bobby Ocampo
Associate
Phone: 703-637-9555
bocampo@grotech.com
LinkedIn
Bobby Ocampo joined Grotech Ventures in 2009 and is an Associate at the firm. He focuses primarily on investment opportunities in software, internet and digital media, communications, and IT services. Prior to joining Grotech Ventures, Bobby was an Analyst with Piper Jaffray’s Technology Investment Banking group. Previously, he was a Research Associate with Lux Research, a strategic advisory firm providing emerging technology market intelligence.
Bobby is a graduate of Middlebury College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics.
Assistant: Betsy Klingbeil | 703-462-1347
 Meghan Pfeifer
Senior Finance Associate
Phone: 703-637-9555
mpfeifer@grotech.com
LinkedIn
Meghan Pfeifer joined Grotech Ventures in 2002 and is a Senior Finance Associate at the firm. As a member of the Finance and Accounting team, Meghan focuses on accounting for Grotech Ventures investments in portfolio companies and coordinating special projects. Prior to joining Grotech Ventures, she began her career as a Certified Public Accountant with Ernst & Young in Baltimore serving both public and private clients in an audit capacity.
Meghan graduated from Loyola College in Maryland with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting (Summa Cum Laude/Lybrand Accounting Medal). Meghan is a member of the MACPA.
Assistant: Debbie Coleianne | 410-512-5514
 Don Rainey
General Partner
Phone: 703-462-1348
drainey@grotech.com
LinkedIn
Don Rainey joined Grotech Ventures as a general partner in September 2007. With over $1B US under management, Grotech focuses on early stage information technology companies. Don currently serves on the boards of Grotech portfolio companies ARPU, Clarabridge, LivingSocial and Zenoss, as well as the Northern Virginia Chapter of the March of Dimes.
In Fall 2008, Don was appointed for a second term as an emerging technology consultant to the Chief Information Officer of the US Department of Defense through the DeVenCi Program. The DeVenCi Program consists of a handful of venture capitalists who research and nominate companies to solve the US Department of Defenses's unmet technology needs.
Don is also an Organizing Board member of the prestigious MindShare forum. In this role, he helps CEOs from the Greater Washington Metropolitan region’s most promising start-ups build long-term sustainable companies. This invitation-only group provides its annual CEO class with an opportunity to meet peers, Organizing Board members and prominent speakers in an intimate setting to exchange ideas and discuss current issues facing start-up companies. To date, more than 400 CEOs have graduated from the program, including some of the area’s most notable entrepreneurs.
Don's long history in the tech industry includes serving as president at Attitude Network, one of the first online entertainment networks, which was sold to TheGlobe.com in 1999. He also managed channel distribution and brand marketing in 50 countries for IBM's $2 billion network hardware division and served as COO of DaVinci Systems where he spearheaded the company’s acquisition by ON Technology. Don designed and launched Novell’s much-emulated global Authorized Dealer Program in the late 80's. He currently heads the Capital Formation Committee for the Northern Virginia Technology Council.
Don earned a B.B.A. from James Madison University and a M.S. in Bioscience Management from George Mason University. He serves on the Executive Advisory Council for the College of Business at James Madison University and he is an adjunct professor at American University where he teaches graduate courses entitled "New Venture Finance" and "Venture Capital and Private Equity".
Don previously served on the Enterprise Investment Advisory Committee for the State of Maryland, and the Investment Advisory Board of the State of Virginia’s Growth Acceleration Program (GAP) as well as the board of the Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Foundation.
Read Don’s latest "VC in DC" blog entry.
Assistant: Mary Anne World | 703-462-1351
 Joe Zell
General Partner
Phone: 703-637-9555
jzell@grotech.com
LinkedIn
Joe Zell joined Grotech Ventures as a General Partner in 2002. At Grotech Ventures, Joe focuses on investment opportunities in the communications, networking, software and outsourcing sectors. Joe currently serves or has served on several portfolio company boards including Aztek Networks, BroadSoft, Collective Intellect, Hatteras Networks, SkyeTek, Rebit, Logrhythm and USinternetworking.
Prior to joining Grotech Ventures, Joe built an extensive, 20-year operating background in communications and data networking, including nine years with US West Communications (which is now Qwest Communications), where he was instrumental in building US West’s Data Networking Division from startup to $2.5 billion in revenue and was the President of the division for four years. While at US West, Joe was also responsible for managing a $30 million strategic investment fund. It was in this capacity that he began his relationship with Grotech Ventures as a result of US West’s investment and his board seat at a Grotech Ventures portfolio company, USinternetworking. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Convergent Communications. Prior to US West, he held a variety of management positions at WilTel, LDXNet, United Technologies Communications, MCI Communications and Xerox Corporation.
Joe graduated Magna Cum Laude from Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is an active member of the Chesapeake chapter of the WPO (World Presidents Organization).
Assistant: Betsy Klingbeil | 703-462-1347
 Betsy Bernard
Advisor
Betsy Bernard is an accomplished CEO, experienced public company Board Director and popular speaker. As President of AT&T, she led more than 50,000 employees in a $27 billion business that served the needs of four million global business customers. For three consecutive years, Bernard appeared on Fortune Magazine’s list of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business".
Bernard has served over the past ten years on the Boards of Directors of major public companies, including United Technologies, Principal Financial Group, Serco Group plc, URS, and Zimmer Holdings. She chairs the Nominating and Governance Committees at Principal Financial Group and Telular. She serves on other audit and compensation committees. She was a member of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on board leadership.
Bernard started her business career in AT&T’s management development program and culminated it 25 years later by being appointed the President of AT&T. During those 25 years, she held C-level positions in B2C and B2B enterprises throughout the telecommunications industry, including serving as Executive Vice President at U S West, Division President at Pacific Bell and Executive Vice President at Qwest Communications. She also served as President and CEO of Avirnex Communication Group, a venture-funded international telecommunications services company.
Bernard currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Principal Financial Group, Telular and Zimmer Holdings. She also serves on the Advisory Boards of GroTech Ventures and Silverfern LLC. In addition, she is a member of the International Women’s Forum.
Bernard received a BA from St. Lawrence University, an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University, an MS degree in management from Stanford University’s Sloan Fellowship Program, and a Doctor of Laws (Honorary) from Pepperdine University.
 Dawn Hudson
Advisor
Ms. Hudson is Vice Chairman of the Parthenon Group. She has extensive experience in executive leadership spanning consumer goods, foodservice and communication companies. Her focus has been on strategic analysis and vision setting, share growth through brand building and industry-leading innovation, and negotiating sports and customer deals. She recently completed an 11-year stint at PepsiCo, most recently as the CEO of the $6 Billion North American beverage business. Previously, she spent 13 years in the marketing, advertising and branding strategy arena with leadership positions at major agencies such as DMDB (D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles) and Omnicom. She has been on the board of the LPGA for nine years and is the out-going Chairman of the Board.Her other board positions include Lowe’s Home Improvement Company, Allergan Inc., and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. Ms. Hudson is a graduate of Dartmouth College.
 Preston Padden
Advisor
Preston Padden enjoyed a long year career in the media and communications business holding the following positions: Assistant General Counsel, Metromedia; President, The Association of Independent Television Stations; President, Network Distribution, Fox Broadcasting Company; President Telecommunications and Television, News Corporation; President, ABC Television Network; and Executive Vice-President, Government Relations, The Walt Disney Company. Mr. Padden served on the Boards of The National Association of Broadcasters and The Motion Picture Association of America. Mr. Padden is an Adjunct Professor at the University Of Colorado School Of Law and the University’s Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program (a joint venture of the Law School and the Graduate School of Engineering). Mr. Padden also serves as a Senior Fellow and Board Member at the University’s Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship.
 Berge Ayvazian
Advisor, Senior Consultant, Heavy Reading
Berge Ayvazian joined Heavy Reading as a Senior Consultant, following more than 20 years as a senior telecom industry analyst and strategy consultant with Yankee Group. Ayvazian is conducting research and consulting projects on the convergence of broadband and mobility and the business strategies of mobile broadband technology and service providers. He is now leading a new integrated research and consulting practice on 4G Networks and Mobile Internet Evolution. This practice helps operators to develop their 4G technology roadmaps – building on existing Heavy Reading research in packet core, service platforms, and mobile backhaul – and build a complete mobile Internet business case leveraging Pyramid's regional demand-side research on 4G and mobile Internet service adoption. Ayvazian served as Yankee Group's CEO from 1999 through 2001, and later served as strategy director for the Reuters Research and Advisory Unit. Ayvazian is a frequent speaker at telecom industry events and was contributing editor of 4G Trends and co-chairman of the 4G World, WiMAX World, and Mobile Internet World conference programs.
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