Investor Bios for our Angel Investors in New York, Thursday, November 18, 2004 in New York City

Investors at a FundingPost Venture Event

** Click Here to Register for the next Early-Stage VC & Angel Investor events in:

Chicago Venture Capital and Angel Investor Event, April 25, 2013

Las Vegas Venture Capital and Angel Investor Event, May 2, 2013

Stamford CT VC and Angel Investor Event, May 21, 2013

Here are the Investor speakers from our Sold-Out Angel Investors in New York, sponsored by Covington & Burling . This event was in New York City on Thursday, November 18, 2004.

Howard Morgan
Partner (and Angel Investor)
First Round Capital (and NY Angels)
Read the full profile for Howard here!
Howard Lee Morgan is President of Arca Group Inc. in Villanova, PA, a Director of Idealab the Pasadena, CA based creator and operator of internet companies, where was a founding investor in 1996 and served as President of idealab! New York, a partner with First Round Capital, and a member of the New York Angels. He received a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Cornell University in 1968, and a B.S. in physics from City College of the City University of New York in 1965. He is helping to nurture a number of Idealab companies, including CarsDirect.com, the leading internet seller of automobiles, Partsearch, providing back end solutions for finding parts in the electronics field, Evolution Robotics, Enery Innovations, Newbury Networks and Picasa, Inc., offering digital photography acessing and sharing solutions.

Subscribe to FundingPost's Investor
Video Clip Channel on YouTube

Chris Starr, VP of Investments, Innovation Philadelphia

Christopher Starr is a Managing Director and Vice President, investments at Innovation Philadelphia. Starr is responsible for organizing and implementing economic stimulus investments, attracting new companies to the region, evaluating potential investment opportunities, performing due diligence, negotiating and structuring investments, and working with management teams to execute their strategies following an investment by Innovation Philadelphia.

Most recently, Starr was a principal of Lenfest Capital L.L.C., an affiliate of the Lenfest Group, and a venture capital fund based in Philadelphia that invests nationally in early-stage companies in the media, cable and communications industries as well as in other venture capital and buyout funds. Before joining Lenfest Capital, Starr was an Associate at the Eastern Technology Fund, a venture fund for promising seed-stage Internet and technology companies in the Mid-Atlantic region and a feeder fund to PA Early stage, an affiliated private equity fund of Safeguard Scientifics.

Previously, Starr was an Associate at the Innovation Factory, a venture fund and business accelerator focusing on the Philadelphia region. Starr also spent three years in corporate finance with Merck & Co. Inc. Before joining Merck, Starr worked at Dean Witter Discover (now Morgan Stanley Dean Witter).

Additionally, Starr worked at the law firm of Stevens & Lee, handling business transactions and deal processing in the corporate group.

In 2001, Philly Tech magazine selected Starr as one of the 30 Under 30 business executive to watch in Philadelphia's region high tech industry. Also, in February 2002, the Philadelphia Business Journal recognized Starr as one of the Philadelphia region's 40 Under 40 young business leaders.

Starr is an active speaker and panelist at various universities, industry groups and seminars, discussing issues affecting emerging growth companies such as venture financing, management and technology. Starr is also active in the community, participating on the Board of advisors of the Philadelphia Area New Media Association (PANMA), a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and an active member of the Eastern Technology Council and Greater Philadelphia Venture Group. Additionally, he is active with the regions leading universities, participating as a judge and a student mentor in the business plan competition at Wharton, Temple University, and Drexel University.

Starr earned his bachelor's degree in business administration, and a master's degree in business administration with concentration in strategic management and finance from Temple University School of Business. In addition, Starr earned his J.D. with a focus in corporate law from Temple University School of Law.

Ellen Sandles
President
TriState Investors
Read the full profile for Ellen here!
Ellen Sandles, President, brings over ten years of increasingly successful sales and marketing expertise to the capital raising process having worked within various start-up, high-tech divisions of AT&T Corporation, Harris Corporation and Commerce Clearing House. Ms. Sandles has frequently lectured on Business Angel Financing, and was most recently heard at the Harvard Club, the New York City Venture Capital Conference, the Williams Club, the NYU Entrepreneurship Conference as well as the IBC Conference on Roll-ups and Mergers. She has been interviewed on numerous business programs including New Jersey Business News, the Ron Thomas Entrepreneur Forum and Bloomberg Small Business.

Chris Saxman
Former Executive Director
New York Angels
Read the full profile for Chris here!
Chris Saxman is the Former Executive Director of New York Angels, having served as the professional advisor to its predecessor, the New York New Media Association Angel Investment Program. Before joining NYA/NYNMA, Chris was a Principal and founding member of AIG Highstar Capital, a $400 million private equity fund sponsored by AIG Global Investment Corporation. Earlier at AIG he served as an investment analyst in the Latin American Private Equity Group following a stint with SAI Consultores in Mexico City. He was co-founder and owner of The Emerging Markets Companion, an Internet company that attracted 1,000 daily readers within nine months and previously served as trader with The Weston Group and Brown Brothers Harriman & Company. Chris received his MBA in Finance and Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University, and his BA in Economics and Government from Cornell University.

David Rose, Angel Investor, New York Angels

New York Angels' mission is to provide opportunities for its members to obtain outstanding financial returns by investing in early-stage technology and new media companies in the New York City area. We provide seed and early-stage capital in the range of $200K-$1M, an investment range not generally served by venture capital funds. Since 1994, we and our predecessor group have invested over $14 million in 50 ventures.

Salvatore Gaglio, Private Investor

Salvatore Gaglio is a senior executive with over twenty years of success in finance, business development and management of small and middle market public and private companies in the United States and Latin America. His experience includes assignments in information technology, energy and natural resources, financial services, healthcare, biotech and real estate.

Prior to founding SFG Advisors, Mr. Gaglio served as a principal a merchant banking firm where he structured mezzanine financing for growth capital or funding for acquisitions. As a partner with CS Capital Partners a New Jersey venture capital firm, his duties included deal origination, financial and market analysis, business plan development, due diligence review, finance negotiation and development of partnerships and alliances.

Mr. Gaglio served as a board member of ZapLink, Inc. which he co- founded and took public before its acquisition in 1987, Silicate Technology Corporation and Home Décor Products, and as a founder of NIGSA, a gold export company in Nicaragua. Mr. Gaglio was the Managing Director of Bear Brook Village and Golf Club in New Jersey an 18 hole championship golf course and luxury home development.

Mr Gaglio will typically take an active role in a start-up bring management, business development and strategic relationships to validate concepts and attract sector-experienced investors prior to investing himself.

Mr. Gaglio earned his Bachelor of Science degree in finance with a minor in animal science from Ohio State University.

Robert Birnbach, Private Investor

Robert J. Birnbach is a co-founder of DualStar Technologies Corp., a diversified construction company he brought public in 1995. DualStar's construction subsidiaries, such as Centrifugal/Mechanical Associates, Inc., High-Rise Electric, Inc. and Integrated Controls Enterprises, Inc., provide services governing heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), electrical contracting, building control and energy management (BMS), and security and safety. DualStar's communications businesses provided building-centric infrastructure and services, including enhanced local, regional and long distance telephony as a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC), direct broadcast satellite (DBS) and cable television as a System Operator (MSO), and high-speed Internet access as an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Moreover, DualStar owns many innovative trademarked concepts. Since the company's founding, Mr. Birnbach has held various positions at DualStar, including member of the Board of Directors, Chief Financial Officer, and Director of Corporate Development/Mergers & Acquisitions.

In addition, Mr. Birnbach has served as President & Chief Executive Officer, and as a member of the Board of Directors of Starrett Corporation, a leading New York real estate development company. In this capacity, Mr. Birnbach has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of HRH Construction Corp., an affiliate of Starrett. Starrett and HRH are among the oldest and most active real estate and construction firms in New York City, responsible for, among other projects, Starrett City, the Empire State Building, the Met Life Building, the New York Life Building, Peter Cooper Village, Stuyvesant Town, the McGraw-Hill Building, 40 Wall Street, and dozens of other New York landmarks and projects.

Prior to undertaking the roles described above, Mr. Birnbach was with the international financial advisory and consulting firm of Coopers & Lybrand, and provided real estate investment advisory services for Naman, Ltd., New York, NY. He is admitted to practice before the bars of New York, New Jersey, and the U.S. Supreme Court, and he passed the New York State CPA examination. Mr. Birnbach received his Juris Doctor degree from the Fordham University School of Law, and graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.

Mr. Birnbach is a founder, board member, early-stage investor and/or advisor to numerous entities, including an Inc. 500 company that provides mission-critical software and information technology services to military, defense and commercial enterprises; a real estate investment and finance firm; a sports technology company (video, audio, software, data, teaching & fan management solutions for professional & collegiate teams); a leading WebTrust-compliant Internet security firm providing hardware, software, secure messaging and certificate-based security (and which is also now the world's second largest Certificate Authority); a private label 401(k), e-banking & trust services provider for financial institutions; a proprietary real-time Internet-scale search engine services provider; and the NY chapter of Legatus, an international organization of CEOs.

Mr. Birnbach lives in New York with his wife and two sons.

Arun Savkur, Quantum Ventures

An IBM corporate senior management type turned serial entrepreneur and now a venture capitalist/angel investor, matured by launching four successful start-ups and capitalizing them through liquidity events (without “going public”) wooing corporate buy-ins, private sales and spin-offs in the 1980-90s in fields that range from electronics, software and telecom which were based primarily in design/development & OEM manufacturing. Following a strict philosophy of “fully reinvesting of one’s profits, globally and on a cross-industry basis to balance one’s portfolio and mitigate economic risk ”, has been able to leverage rapid equity growth and ownership in large infrastructure projects each exceeding $100 million in areas of power, telecom, mining and media.

Then, since the late 1990s he has worked as a lead investment banker for three private equity, LBO and hedge funds and has a track record in raising major private equity funds and project financing of over $1 billion in last 3 years.

Is an active non-executive Director on Board of Directors of four major global corporations. Also, is an Executive Director on the Board of Directors of 2 major corporations

In addition, to being the Managing Director of Quantum Fund LLP, he also heads his angel fund with a close group of investors, Nanoinvest LLP and has invested over $3 million in 10 start-up ventures over last 2 years in nanotechnology, wireless, media and renewable energy.

He has been on several US governmental and Presidential delegations to Asia , Europe and South America to foster trade and technology transfer with special interest in Greater China , Eastern Europe and West Africa. Has a Masters from University of Wisconsin and Bachelor of Engineering from BITS, India

Moderator: Ellen Corenswet, Corporate Partner, Covington & Burling
Ellen B. Corenswet is a corporate partner in the New York office, whose practice has been focused on representing private and public technology, life sciences, and other emerging growth companies, as well as venture capital firms and investment banking firms for over 25 years.

Ms. Corenswet's practice includes: the structuring of start-up companies, general corporate counseling, venture capital financings, private placements, equity public offerings, mergers & acquisitions, and strategic alliances. Ms. Corenswet has represented companies, venture firms and investment banks in a wide range of industries, including software, hardware, e-finance, Internet, biotechnology, medical device and retail. She recently advised Memory Pharmaceuticals in its IPO.

Ms. Corenswet has practiced in Northern California, Boston and New York and brings together a broad perspective from these three important technology and life science communities. She has been active in helping to build the New York City emerging company community since 1990. She was a founder in 1995 of the New York City Venture Capital Conference, and served as a steering committee member and panelist for six years.

Ms. Corenswet graduated from Stanford Law School in 1975, where she was a member of the Stanford Law Review. She received a B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 1972.