U-M Tech Transfer Adds Four to National Advisory Board

ANN ARBOR—Four national leaders in entrepreneurship, technology transfer and venture capital investment have joined the University of Michigan’s Tech Transfer National Advisory Board. The sixteen-member board met on Thursday November 11th to guide the University’s efforts in commercializing its technologies.

The four new members are:

• Richard Douglas, senior vice president for corporate development at Genzyme in Cambridge, Mass.
• Carl Stjernfeldt, partner, Battery Ventures in Wellesley, Mass.
• Jack Turner, associate director of the Technology Licensing Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.
• Tom Washing, partner, Sequel Venture Partners in Boulder, Colo.

Rick Snyder, CEO of Ann Arbor-based Ardesta LLC and chair of the UM Tech Transfer National Advisory Board, says a main objective for the board is to provide strategic direction and connections to resources for U-M’s start-up companies and licensing opportunities.

"The National Advisory Board has proven to be an effective resource for the UM tech transfer effort,” Snyder said. ‘They have provided hands-on assistance and increased the range of options available for all of our University of Michigan technologies."

The National Board of Advisors also includes: Board chair Rick Snyder, chief executive officer, Ardest a; Thomas Bumol, vice president, Research Technologies and Proteins, Eli Lilly and Co.; David Canter, senior vice president and director, Pfizer Inc.; John Denniston, chief operating officer, Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield and Byers; Jan Garfinkle, Managing Partner, Arboretum Ventures; Sabrina Keeley, President, Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce; Tom Kinnear, executive director, U-M’s Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies; Ken Pelowski, Pinnacle Ventures Management; Thomas Porter, Trillium Ventures; Doug Rothwell, Executive Director, Worldwide Real Estate, General Motors Corporation; Chuck Salley, CAS Ventures; Michael Staebler, partner, Pepper Hamilton;

About U-M Tech Transfer

The University of Michigan has one of the largest, most diverse and most successful research programs in the world. U-M Tech Transfer actively seeks partners to assist in getting the benefits of this research to the public. During fiscal year 2004, the University recorded 285 new invention disclosures from U-M researchers, 13 new business startups with U-M technologies and $11.7 million in license revenues. (A PDF of U-M Tech Transfer’s newly released annual report can be downloaded at: www.techtransfer.umich.edu/aboutus/annrep.html)

On the Web

www.techtransfer.umich.edu