Alan Kligerman is the founder of AkPharma Inc. which makes and markets specialty products centered around food acid neutralization, including Prelief.
In 1974, Alan Kligerman started the business that was to become Lactaid Inc., now the world's leading company in the field of lactose-reduced milk and dairy products. He invented a calcium-fortified milk that is still the largest seller in the U.S. Lactaid Inc. was purchased by Johnson & Johnson in 1991. Mr. Kligerman then developed Beano®, an enzyme-based product for better digestion of numerous vegetables. This company is also the largest in its field and was sold to Block Drug Company in 1997.
Prior to founding Lactaid, Kligerman worked in the family business, Kligerman Dairies, both as a boy on the routes and later as an adult. The dairy was started in 1918 and operated until about 1964. He left the dairy in 1957 to start his own ice cream routes which evolved over some years into a specialty business, SugarLo Company, which made and sold dietary ice cream in most of the U.S. and Canada.
Alan Kligerman attended Cornell University.
Anil K Rajvanshi has been the director of the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) at Phaltan, Maharashtra, India since 1981. NARI is a private non-profit NGO working in rural India. It does pioneering work in the areas of agriculture, renewable energy, animal husbandry and environmentally sound sustainable development.
Rajvanshi is also the trustee and honorary secretary of NARI. He has concentrated his efforts for last 25 years on how to use modern science and technology to achieve environmentally sound rural development. Rajvanshi's research has spanned a whole spectrum of areas affecting the lives of rural population including cooking and lighting, small power generation, water purification and effluent treatment through the use of renewable energy in environmentally sound way.
Anil Rajvanshi was born and raised in Lucknow, India. After obtaining B.Tech. and M.Tech. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from I.I.T. Kanpur in early 1970's, Dr. Rajvanshi went to USA to pursue a Ph.D. degree in the University of Florida at Gainesville, U.S.A. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1979 with specialization in solar energy and then taught at the University of Florida for two and half years before returning to India in 1981 to join NARI.
Doris Buffet is the founder of The Sunshine Lady Foundation which is a private family foundation funded through her generosity. The mission of the foundation reflects the midwestern values and no-nonsense approach to decision-making that Doris grew up with in Omaha, Nebraska. Each Sunshine Lady Foundation grant is considered an investment, and the decision to grant funds is always based on an expected successful return. Doris Buffett is grateful to her father and brother (Warren Buffet) not only for providing her with the wealth to fund the foundation but also for their inspirational examples of integrity and generosity.
Buffett is passionate about her responsibilities as a philanthropist and a good citizen and her energy and enthusiasm are boundless. Among her many other roles, she has been a first grade teacher, domestic violence crusader, political activist, mother and grandmother. She is the self appointed Buffett family genealogist and her avocation is historic preservation.
Since its inception in 1996 the Sunshine Lady Foundation has awarded more than $30 million in grants.
Bena Burda is the founder and owner of Clean Clothes, Inc. and Maggie's Organics, a company that makes cotton and wool socks, men's and women's clothes, and baby apparel, all from organic fibers.
Burda's organic career began with Eden Foods in 1978. As the company's sales manager, she helped introduce the first certified organic soymilk in the United States. Later, when she was sales manager for Bearito's Brand Organic Tortilla Chips, and the company began rotating organic cotton with its corn crops, Burda began experimenting with the cotton. In 1992 she and financial partner Jennifer Mueller co-founded Maggie's Organics, and in 1997 Burda bought out the company from Mueller to create Maggie's Organics/Clean Clothes.
Bena Burda has a background in organic agriculture, and received the 2003 Organic Leadership award from the Organic Trade Association.
Greg Dollarhyde is the Executive Chairman of the board of directors of Pacific Island Restaurants, Inc., a chain of 93 Pizza Hut and Taco Bell locations in Hawaii and Guam, acquired through a successful LBO financed by Bank of America and private equity firm Brentwood Associates.
Dollarhyde is a 36 year veteran of the restaurant industry in the United States, having had hands-on responsibility for all major aspects of that business during his career. He has been Chairman or Chief Executive Officer of five separate restaurant companies and Chief Financial Officer of two publicly-held restaurant companies, among other responsibilities.
Prior to his current endeavors, Dollarhyde was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Fresh Enterprises, Inc. , the holding company of BAJA FRESH, a rapid growth, "fast-casual" Mexican food chain headquartered in Southern California. Dollarhyde, in partnership with Catterton Parters, Oak Investors and others, purchased the company in November 1998 and, after accelerated growth exceeding 40% CAGR, sold the company to Wendy's International in July 2002 for $275 million; more that seven times their original investment.
Pursuing other entrepreneurial ventures, Dollarhyde is currently lead investor and Chairman of the board of Riot Games, Inc., an early stage, MMORPG video game development company, and is a principal of B Cellars, a newly emerging winery specializing in Napa Valley appellation blends. Additionally, Dollarhyde is a private investor and liaison to private equity funds seeking investments in the restaurant and service retail sectors.
Dollarhyde has been an alumnus of restaurant concepts that are household names such as TGI Fridays (CFO, Initial Public Offering in 1983), Pizza Hut (VP & GM New Concepts, VP Acquisitions), and Kenny Roger's Roasters (Exec. VP & Vice Chairman). Additionally, he has led regional favorites Rusty Pelican Restaurants (CEO 1990 and CFO 1987, Southern California) and Country Harvest Buffets (CEO 1995, Seattle), stewarding the sale of both of these companies to industry competitors.
Greg Dollarhyde is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and The Johnson School of Business.
Martin Tang is currently chairman of global executive-search firm, Spencer Stuart, in Asia.
Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, Tang ran another international executive search firm in Hong Kong. He was an executive director of Techno-Ventures (Hong Kong) Ltd., a leading venture capital firm from 1986 to 1988. Early in his career, he was with the Bank of America in San Francisco and Taiwan. He then worked as an executive director of the publicly listed South Sea Textile Manufacturing Co., Ltd., in Hong Kong and Indonesia.
Martin is a trustee of Cornell University, a member of the MIT Corporation and the 112th president of the MIT Alumni Association. Martin has been appointed by the Hong Kong government to a number of positions, and is currently a member of the University Grants Committee and the Professional Services Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
Martin Tang holds a B.Sc in electrical engineering from Cornell University and an M.Sc from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Wendy Brawer is Green Map System's Founder and Director. She has been an eco-designer, public educator and consultant since 1990. Brawer created the first Green Apple Map of New York City in 1992 and published the 5th citywide edition in 2006. Wendy initiated the global Green Map System in 1995 and leads its development. She is founder of a small eco-design firm, Modern World Design, focused on energy generation and waste reduction. She has taught at NYU, Cooper Union and presented at more than 25 universities and conferences. Recognition includes Woman of Earth/Terre de Femmes (Yves Rocher Foundation 2005), Designer in Residence, (Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum 1997) and a Sea Change Award (Gaea Foundation 2003). To learn more about Wendy Brawer, please visit her website.
Paul E. McManus is the Director of Portfolio Company Executive Resources at Millennia Partners. Paul works closely with portfolio companies on team development issues, including executive recruiting, compensation planning, and organizational design and development. He has significant experience in executive search for emerging, high-growth technology companies and has close working relationships with the leading executive search firms.
Prior to joining Millennia, Paul spent six years conducting executive level search assignments for high-tech companies as President of his own firm and as Vice President with Aubin International. Previously, Paul spent four years as founder and Managing Director of the Bell-Mason Group, a management consulting firm, serving venture capital firms and their portfolio companies. Prior to Bell-Mason, Paul spent fifteen years at Digital Equipment Corporation in various engineering, product management, and new venture development roles.
Paul McManus holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Wentworth Institute of Technology and an MBA from Boston University.
Susan Ward is the founder and CSO of ThoughtLynx, a start-up software company providing dynamic knowledge content applications to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Previously, Ward was EVP at Infinity Pharmaceuticals and Senior Vice President of Strategy and Productivity at Millenium Pharmaceutical, Inc. She started her professional career at Sterling Drug where she held a number of positions of increasing responsibility before joining Wyeth Research as head of their UK facility, and subsequently became VP Project and Portfolio Management, responsible for Wyeth's drug development portfolio. Susan Ward earned her Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees in Pharmacology from the University of Manchester, UK. and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota.