Elon Musk is CEO and Chief Technology Officer of SpaceX, a company which focuses on space exploration technologies.
Prior to founding SpaceX, Musk founded a company Zip2, which helps newspaper companies put classified ads and other local information on Web sites. He sold it to Compaq for $307 million in cash.
Musk used that to start his next business, PayPal, which enabled e-mail payments. Months after taking it public, he sold it to eBay for $1.5 billion.
Born in South Africa, Musk came to North America at age 17. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned undergraduate degrees in physics and business.
Dan Miller is Managing Director of the Roda Group. He is the former president of Ask Jeeves, Inc., a Roda Group affiliate company. He is currently working with a number of Roda Group affiliated companies to assist them with their business development efforts.
At the end of 1994, Mr. Miller retired from his position as Executive Vice President of TCSI Corporation (Nasdaq: TCSI), a company he co-founded with his Roda Group partner, Roger Strauch. Mr. Miller retired from the Board of Directors of TCSI in June of 1997. TCSI is a leading provider of integrated software products and services for the global telecommunications industry.
Prior to TCSI, Mr. Miller was a systems engineer at Hughes Aircraft's Space and Communications Group where he was responsible for designing communications payloads for commercial communications satellites.
Dan Miller received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, with distinction, from Cornell University and his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He holds three patents in the areas of compression technology and wireless communications systems.
Dr. Ashfaq Ishaq founded the International Child Art Foundation (ICAF) in 1997 and serves as its executive director. Today, ICAF is recognized internationally as a leading cultural and educational organization preparing the next generation for a creative and cooperative future through the arts.
Dr. Ishaq has a diverse professional background as entrepreneur, economist, educator and civil society leader. He opened his first business at the age of thirteen, and years later established an international project development company in Washington, DC. He started his career as an economist at the World Bank, investigating entrepreneurship and small business development.
He received a Ph.D. in Economics from the George Washington University, a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Punjab, and a BA in economics and statistics from Government College, Lahore, Pakistan.
Miguel Morales is an area market manager with Monsanto. Miguel Morales is a veterinarian from Mexico who graduated with honors from the National University in Mexico City. After 3 years in practice focusing on milk quality and research, he joined the Monsanto Company in 1990. He currently resides in California where he serves as a technical services specialist with Monsanto. One of his roles is to support dairies with employee training and development.
Dan Simpkins founded Hillcrest Labs in 2001 with a team of experienced technical and business professionals to create a revolution in entertainment.
Prior to founding Hillcrest, Simpkins was vice president and general manager of the SALIX Switching Division of Tellabs, Inc., which was established in 2000 when he sold Voice over IP leader SALIX Technologies to Tellabs for $300 million. Simpkins founded SALIX in 1990 and continued as president and CEO through the sale.
Dan Simpkins received undergraduate and Master's degrees in engineering from Cornell University.
Christopher Totman is a fashion designer based out of New York City's NoLita neighborhood on the Lower East Side. Totman is a 10-year industry veteran who has been designing under his own name since 1997. He has translated ecological awareness into some adorable, feminine clothing. He uses recycled materials and vintage fabrics as well as natural fibers.
<p>MacLaren "Mac" Cummings is the co-founder and CEO of Terakeet Corporation which focuses on providing voice automation solutions. </p> <p>Prior to founding Terakeet, Cummings created and served as CEO of Mindshark Software, a software and consulting group founded in 1998, guiding it to profitability within the first year of operation. </p> <p>Cummings holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University.</p>
<p>Joe Benevento is an associate in Thomas H. Lee Partners in Boston, Massachusetts. Previously, Benevento worked at Goldman Sachs in Investment Banking. </p> <p>Joe Benevento is a graduate of Cornell University. </p>
<p>Ron Vos is a young entrepreneur who started the company, Hi Frequency in 1995. Hi Frequency is an independent music-marketing firm that promotes for labels, concert halls, and distributors. The company uses over 60 field representatives (that are unpaid) to perform promoting in 50 markets across the country. Ron educates his reps so that they will have not only use the position as a resume builder but also gain a strong understanding of the music industry to help further their careers.</p>