Don is the Distribution Center Manager at Tyco Electronics in Menlo Park, California. He is responsible for a regional distribution center including 185,000 square feet of warehouse space, inventory, shipping and receiving operations, value-added services, samples, transportation, training and safety. Don leads a team that has varied from 55 to 104 persons. Tyco Electronics is the world’s largest supplier of passive electronic components and a major producer of active components. Our products can be found in computers, telecommunications equipment, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense applications, automobiles, household appliances, and consumer electronics. Tyco Electronics is a division of Tyco International, Ltd.

Previously he was a project manager and operations manager for Raychem Corporation. Prior to joining Raychem in 1997, Don was a captain in the United States Army. In the Army, he served with the 32nd Signal Battalion in Darmstadt, Germany and with 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Don received his Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Don also serves on the board of directors for the Tyco Electronics Federal Credit Union, volunteers for a local animal rescue nonprofit organization, and coaches a youth baseball team. For leisure, he enjoys playing guitar, exercising, reading, and spending time with family. Don lives in Fremont with Kelly and two children Chad (8 years) and Katie (2 years), two dogs, two cats, one goldfish and one gecko.

Scott Braxton is the owner/artist at Spirit and Soul Photography. He is responsible for all aspects of the business. Scott believes it is a privilege to capture the inner beauty and spirit of another human being. “My job as portrait photographer is not only to create a beautiful physical likeness, but also to capture the outward expression of inner feelings,” says Scott. “I treat portrait photography as an art form and try to record the beauty of one’s soul in an artistic and sensitive way that will evoke emotions and touch the heart.”

Previously he was has held senior management positions at several biotechnology companies, including Gorilla Genomics, Aclara Biosciences, Synteni, and Incyte Pharmaceuticals.

Scott received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Washington State University and a B.S. in Chemistry from Oakland University. Scott holds numerous patents in the area of proteomics and genomics.

Scott is an active practitioner of yoga and meditation. He lives in San Mateo with his two children and several pets.

Narasimha Rao Buddhavarapu is currently working as a Volunteer for Sankara Eye Foundation to raise a million dollars to build an eye hospital for the poor, near the town of Guntur (where he was born), in India.

He has over 11 years of experience (5 years in engineering) in wireless and internet services, enterprise application integration, enterprise collaboration, product knowledge management, and systems engineering industries. Most recently, he was Vice President of Business Development and Sales (and Interim-CEO) at a startup company called Holomage, which created rapid product knowledge creation, dissemination, and enterprise collaboration solutions for the manufacturing industry. Prior to that he was Senior Director of Wireless Strategies at InfoSpace (InfoSpace acquired Saraide, where he worked as Head of Content Business Development). Prior to that he worked at Tibco Software, a world leader in Enterprise Application Integration, where he was involved in strategic business development, channel partners’ management, technical marketing, and product marketing. In addition, he established `TIB University`, Tibco’s training department from scratch and developed it into a profit making business unit. Prior to that he worked as Project Lead in Operating Systems Group at HaL Computer Systems, a pioneer in building the first 64-bit SPARC computer. At HaL, he worked on operating systems’ modules and managed Commands & Libraries Group. He also worked as a System BringUp Software Engineer, in the Hardware Group.

Rao received his M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering (Computer Networking and Operating Systems) from Clemson University, South Carolina, and his B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from Osmania University, India.

Rao serves on the Advisory Board of ObjectNet Technologies, which is building a platform for business process management and workflow solutions. He served as an Advisor to Ybrant Technologies, parent company of USAGreetings.com. He served as an Executive Committee Member of a cultural organization called Bay Area Telugu Association (BATA), where he wrote, directed, and acted in plays among other things.

He lives in Sunnyvale with his wife Sai Lalitha Sista, a scientist in organic chemistry. He enjoys Gardening, Cooking, and Reading; loves Bicycling, playing Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, Chess, and Go. He is wild about White Water Rafting and Sky Diving. He is passionate about meditation. Yosemite is his favorite spot.

Anindya Chakraborty manages a team of technology professionals at Cisco Systems, the renowned networking company. His team is responsible for architecting and developing innovative networking solutions in high speed networking space on Cisco’s flagship routers. He is also actively engaged in defining strategy for his business unit to maintain competitive advantage.

Prior to Cisco, Anindya has managed development teams in a startup firm, Acclaim communications Inc. which was later acquired by Intel Corp. He has served multiple companies in US and India as technical lead and program manager before joining Cisco.

Born in India, Anindya received his Masters in Computer Science from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and Bachelors in Telecommunications and Engineering from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, where he graduated as University Gold Medalist.

For leisure, he enjoys acting and directing dramas in an Amateur Theatre group Anindya has been an integral part of. He lives in Fremont with his 4 year old Son Aritra and wife Anurupa.

Jean-Michel Chardon is Principal System Engineer with Logitech Inc, the leading manufacturer of computer peripherals. He is responsible for defining technology strategies, architecting product platforms and supervising the development of Logitech line of web cameras. In his position, Jean-Michel works closely with General Management and Product Marketing, but also advises various cross-functional engineering teams.

Previously he was Quality Engineering Department manager, in charge of hardware and software quality assurance as well as regulatory compliance for both Video and Gaming business units. At the same time, he was also a main contributor to the definition of Logitech's New Product Process, which resulted in a 50% reduction. Prior to California, Jean-Michel spent the first two years of his engineering career in Logitech Taiwan, where he worked as RF design, testing and manufacturing engineer on Logitech first generation of cordless desktops.

A native of Switzerland, Jean-Michael received his MS in Microtechnology from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. For leisure he enjoys traveling, music, motorcycle riding, rock climbing, alpine sports and car racing. He lives in Livermore with his spouse, Nancy, and their two young daughters, Madeline and Amelie.

Lynn Gahagan is the Director, Engineering & Manufacturing for Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems' San Jose Facility. He is responsible to the Vice President of Engineering & Manufacturing for the Midwestern Region and primarily supports development and production activities under the control of the Defensive Systems Division (DSD), headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.

In his current capacity, Lynn is responsible for the local management of all Engineering, Manufacturing and Quality personnel, and all technical activities supported from DSD's San Jose, California facility. Markets of focus address a wide variety of tactical airborne radar warning and situational awareness (RW&SA), electronic support measures (ESM), and airborne self-protection (ASP) opportunities. Programs supported span a mix of domestic and international contracts, having values up to $80M, and with all combinations of new development and volume production. Staff has ranged between approximately 150 and 250 predominantly technical personnel, with annual budgets of between $1M and $4M.

Current activities include the management of the execution of various RW / ESM / ASP Suite development contracts, engineering support to other (non-San Jose-based) Electronic Systems development and manufacturing programs, and pursuit of new business activities focused on growing San Jose Electronic Warfare (EW) business by leveraging the world's largest legacy installed base of RW and ESM systems, both domestically and abroad.

Lynn has been on staff at the San Jose facility since leaving college, initially hiring into what became and remained for almost 20 years Litton's Applied Technology Division (ATD). Lynn began in sustaining engineering and rapidly moved to the system engineering department, where he worked in various capacities, ranging from contributing system engineer to chief project engineer on many different EW systems. In 1993, Lynn transitioned into a systems engineering management role and has held positions from department manager through Director, Systems Engineering and Test Equipment Development. In 1999, Lynn assumed the role of Director Of Engineering for ATD. Shortly thereafter, Northrop Grumman Corporation acquired Litton, and Lynn was given control of all San Jose engineering, manufacturing and quality directorates, the position he holds currently.

Lynn received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University in 1982. In 1988, he received his Master of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering, also from Santa Clara University. Since receiving his MSEE, Lynn has attended several compressed programs addressing advanced technical issues, general business management, and finance, at institutions including the Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, Santa Clara University, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, and the Harvard University School of Business.

Lynn currently makes his home in San Jose with his wife, two children, a dog and a cat. Lynn actively participates in his church and children's school, and is serving as the Committee Chairman for Cub Scout Pack 204. For leisure, he enjoys spending time with his family.

Suresh Kumar is Director, Strategic Business Development at Satyam Computer Services - a global IT and Technology services company. He manages business development in large and strategic accounts in Communications and Semi conductor industries. Besides business development, he is also responsible for developing marketing alliances and partnerships with industry majors in the respective market segments.

Previously he was Vice President at a bay area startup Intoto, Inc., responsible for product management and business development. Prior to Intoto, Suresh ran a professional services company Technology Rendezvous, Inc. as its COO. Suresh's international experience includes his role as Manager- Professional Services for Far East Computers, a leading Systems Integration firm in Singapore; and his extensive experience in India as Manager (marketing services) with a global IT services firm Wipro.

He received his Bachelors degree in Electronics engineering and Masters in Science from Birla Institute of Technology & Science India. For leisure, Suresh enjoys listening to music and spending time with his family and friends.

Suresh lives in Fremont, CA along with his wife Sai, 8-year-old son Aditya and 5-year-old daughter Anjali.

Jerry Lamm is Senior Pilot Plant Manager at ALZA Corporation in Mt. View. ALZA Corporation is a pharmaceutical drug delivery company. Jerry is responsible for overall production strategies for all pre-clinical and clinical materials manufactured in the OROS Pilot Plant. He also provides support to Process Development and Engineering to ensure that experimental, pre-clinical and clinical campaigns are produced according to plan. He is also accountable for the Pilot Plant facility and all upgrades or modifications to the facility. Jerry also maintains a contract manufacturing service relationship with an outside client.

Previously, Jerry worked at Avocet Medical Inc. and Cygnus Therapeutics where he developed and implemented manufacturing strategies. He was instrumental in launching Nicotrol,® an over the counter transdermal nicotine patch. He has also been a Product Manager and a Client Manager to a major Canadian pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Jerry received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from National University in Santa Clara.

Jerry volunteers his time with Cub Scouts, is an AYSO soccer coach, and recently served as Manager and Coach for his son's Little League baseball team. Jerry enjoys writing, reading, snow-boarding, and spending time with his family. Jerry lives in Cupertino with his wife and two sons, ages 14 and 10.

Laura McLeod is a Program Manager Lead for Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s Software Marketing group, where she manages cross-functional projects driving developer initiatives. In addition to creating strategic plans for Sun's newly re-branded developer program, she is currently implementing projects to streamline internal processes and reduce costs.

Laura brings to Sun eleven years experience in marketing, and has managed over three dozen product introductions and promotions for world-class brands such as Sony, Procter&Gamble and Microsoft, demonstrating the ability to quickly comprehend complex marketplace situations and confidently frame a vision for how to solve them.

Prior to Sun Laura held the position of Associate Director of Product Management at Makeover Networks, an imaging technology firm specializing in the personal care and beauty markets. Other experience includes acting as Account Director for Flair Communications, a promotion agency whose clients included Jamba Juice, Balance Bar and Dole Foods.

Laura received her B.A. in (Third World) Development Studies from U.C.L.A., with a minor in Business Administration. During her studies, she spent a year abroad at the University of Costa Rica, where she became fluent in Spanish and developed a ongoing interest in world travel.

Steve Morris was formerly a Vice President for a wealth management firm with $85 billion in assets. For three years he managed a group that was responsible for the operations and development of all client-facing systems for the firm, including web-based systems used by private clients and their financial advisors.

Previously Steve worked for 14 years as an engineer, manager and consultant developing software for a variety of industries, often working with startup companies. His software product credits include the original versions of Harvard Graphics which he co-authored in the mid-1980s.

He graduated from Stanford University with a BSEE degree in 1985. He also attended Stanford's Advanced Management College in 2000.

Steve enjoys playing basketball and working with computers. He lives with his wife Karen and two cats in Los Altos, CA.

With over 13 years of enterprise sales and executive management experience, Kenneth Philipp possesses extensive knowledge of networking and Internet technologies as well as a proven track record of successfully establishing new market segments. At Ensim Corporation, Ken built the team that established a new category of data center provisioning applications and established a multi million dollar revenue stream. His knowledge of networking and systems integration comes from his experience working with the communications division of Siemens AG.

Mr. Philipp received his Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University.

Frederick Shaul brings diverse hands-on and management experience to his current role as President and Chief Technical Officer at Shauker Enterprises, which he founded in September, 2002. He combines in-depth technology expertise with powerful execution to plan complex projects and drive them to successful completion. To achieve flexibility and increase the effectiveness of the company's operations, he has assembled a virtual team of qualified technical professionals that he can call upon for specific projects.

Before establishing Shauker Enterprises, Mr. Shaul gained valuable experience in both small startup companies and large corporations. As Director of Software for San Francisco-based Cacheon, Inc., he directed a software development team of 12 people and managed a staffing budget of approximately $1.0 million, annualized. Earlier, he served as a Product Manager for NVidia Corporation of Santa Clara, where he interacted with cross-functional teams to ensure on-time delivery of product to market. His technical and leadership contributions provided strong support as the company prepared for its successful IPO.

For three years prior to NVidia, Mr. Shaul worked at 3Dlabs, Inc., in San Jose. As a Program Manager, he developed strategic relationships with leading 3D technology companies, including Apple, Autodesk, Silicon Graphics, Microsoft, and Sony. During the time Mr. Shaul worked for 3Dlabs, they completed an IPO that was rated "Best IPO" by Red Herring magazine. Creative Labs later acquired the company.

Mr. Shaul is a founding Professional Member of Web 3D Consortium, an international body established in 1997 to define and formally submit rich-media sharing and interaction standards for ratification. He has also actively researched ways in which the appropriate use of emerging techniques for software development can add significant ROI to organizational operations while improving the quality and utility of software and services.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.

On a personal note, Mr. Shaul takes an active interest in preserving the heritage and quality of life in the city of Santa Clara, California. His involvement includes creating and managing an online community forum (www.oldquad.org) for the historic Old Quad area near Santa Clara University. For recreation, he enjoys windsurfing, golf, and walks with his wife and son in the foothills around Santa Clara Valley.

Melissa Smith is the Western Regional Sales Manager for The Watt Stopper, Inc. She is responsible for the sales of energy-efficient lighting controls throughout the twelve western states. In order to accomplish her sales goals, Melissa manages five sales people and seventeen manufacturer's agencies throughout the region. Managing these sales people includes hiring, firing, and training responsibilities. She also teams with the Marketing Department to develop training programs for the representatives, sales promotions for customers, and general marketing materials for new products. Throughout her eight years at The Watt Stopper, Melissa has achieved many milestones including playing an instrumental role in creating a new product for the company in 2002 for which she currently has a patent pending.

Previously Melissa was the Training Coordinator for Lutron Electronics, Inc. This position involved developing training programs to make technical lighting products easier to understand. Melissa interfaced with multiple disciplines in the electrical industry through this position including electrical wholesalers, engineers, contractors and end users. She was responsible for developing the materials and organizing over forty seminars per year.

Melissa received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Grove City College in Pennsylvania. She achieved a double major in Communications and Literature while also earning a Secondary Education certification to teach English and Communications.

For leisure, Melissa works with students at First Presbyterian Church in Burlingame as a volunteer in their youth program. Other activities include playing golf, softball and basketball, as well as reading and learning to play the guitar.

Theresa Strickland is the Executive Vice President at Syratech Corporation. She is responsible for Product Development, Design, Marketing, and Visual for all Syratech brands. Syratech is a wholesale company that deals in home merchandise. They are the corporate holder to ten individual companies. They produce and sell merchandise from mass merchants such as Wal-Mart, to the upper end stores such as Neiman Marcus. Theresa is responsible for the branding, developing, and marketing of 8 merchandising seasons throughout the year. Her teams are located on the east and west coast as well as around the world.

Before Theresa went to work for Syratech, she was the Senior Vice President of Pottery Barn. She took the company from $170.0 million dollars to over $1billion dollars in sales. She was responsible for building the Pottery Barn name and Brand within the stores, catalog, and Internet sales. Before Pottery Barn, Theresa spent the majority of her career at Macy’s West. Where she was the creator of the “Tools of The Trade” private brand name for all home products, and then went on to become the Vice President of Tabletop, Decorative, and Home Accessories.

Theresa received her BA at Chico State University. Her interests were a combination of merchandising, marketing, and design. Because this major did not exist, she worked with the dean of the business school to write a special major that set the foundation for her future success.

Theresa serves as a board member and partial owner to “Beauty Market and Just Kids Cuts”. A retail establishment that combines upper end beauty, hair, make-up, bath products, and a convenient and affordable location to get your children’s hair cut. She serves as the Auction Chair to Burlingame High School’s Taste of the Town event, which annually makes over $150.0 thousand dollars for the school. And Theresa sits on the board of directors for her temple in her community where she is actively involved.

For leisure, Theresa enjoys playing golf with her husband on Sunday mornings, and attending a good game of football on Friday nights. She is dedicated to exercise in the forms of running, weight lifting, and yoga. She lives in the town of Burlingame Hills, California. Theresa has been married to a wonderful man for 19 years, and has two teenage children, Julian and Toni, and a beloved Basset Hound named Norman. Her first priority has always been her family. And it shows when you meet them.

Allen Wen-Hui Tang is the co-founder and Chief Operation Officer of Bookoo Inc., a California company publishes, distributes Chinese e-books and provides e-library solutions. Due to their creative work at Bookoo, Mr. Tang and his partners are recognized as the forerunners of the Chinese e-publishing industry. Mr. Tang is also the Founding Member and Board Director of Beijing Zhong-Guan-Cun IT Professionals Association.

In 1990, Mr. Tang started his career as a Computer System Engineer at the Institute of Computing Technology (ICT), The Chinese Academy of Sciences. At ICT, Mr. Tang was honored by the Ministry of Machinery and Electronics of China for his outstanding achievements. In 1993 Mr. Tang founded his first company in Beijing with his classmates, providing computer consulting and integration services.

In the end of 1995, Mr. Tang immigrated to the Silicon Valley, California and started his career from scratch. First he joined Mighty Mircro Inc., a computer product distributor and became one of the top sales persons. In 1997 Mr. Tang was recruited as the Sales Manager by Polishing Corporation of America, a company provides special materials and processing services for the semiconductor industry.

Mr. Tang received his Bachelor's Degree of Computer Science from the Harbin Institute of Technology, China. He has been practicing meditation since high school and is also a master swimmer. He lives in Santa Clara with his wife and a newborn son.