"Wherever people work together or play together they do so as a team. Which team to use for what purpose is a crucial, difficult and risky decision that is even harder to unmake."   ~Peter Drucker

Venture capitalists state that they only invest in great teams, yet the NVCA estimates that 40% of venture-backed companies fail, 40% return moderate amounts of capital, and only 20% produce high returns. This data reinforces the inherent risk in start-ups,  underscores the need for superior teams ,  and reinforces the need to actively monitor and manage your career.  Join us on December 4th as Clark Waterfall of BSG Ventures presents the results of a recent survey of Venture Capitalists that defines the reasons why CEO's fail, which will lead into a panel discussion on:

·         Operational and executive leadership --career inflection points & failure points
·         Board Director profiling for emerging/growth stage companies
·         Executive compensation for emerging/growth stage co's

SPEAKERS

Clark Waterfall, Managing Director/co-founder, BSG Team Ventures
BSG Team Ventures is an international leader in retained executive search and human capital consulting for emerging, high-growth companies. Their mission is to build deep, "trusted adviser" relationships with their clients, and to do so with a keen appreciation for the unique requirements of entrepreneurial ventures. Over the past decade BSG principals have completed more than 200 board and senior management searches, for a slate of clients that includes venture capitalists private equity investors, their portfolio companies, and public companies with a strong commitment to entrepreneurship and technology. Through the BSG Team Ventures partnership, they also help both European and North American clients as they expand abroad.

Jim Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer, Novomer

Mr. Mahoney brings a strong track record of driving new innovations in chemistry into high growth markets - having most recently served as the CEO of Surface Logix. Mr. Mahoney brings more than 20 years of executive experience at various biotechnology, healthcare and specialty chemicals companies to Novomer. In addition to his tenure at Surface Logix, he previously held senior executive positions at Dade Behring Inc, Baxter International, and FMC Corporation. Mr. Mahoney has an MBA degree from Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg School of Management, an MMA degree in international economics from the University of Southern California and a BS degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Steven Gullans, Ph.D., Managing Director, Excel Medical Ventures
Dr. Gullans is an experienced investor, entrepreneur, and scientist.  He began his career as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School where he applied advanced new technologies to develop human diagnostics and therapeutic interventions for diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's. In 1998, he joined CB Health Ventures as a Senior Advisor to provide advice on portfolio company selection, technology development, and market and exit strategies. In 2002, Dr. Gullans stepped in as a senior executive at U.S. Genomics to play a role in operations, strategic planning, and product launch. As an early stage entrepreneur, he launched RxGen, Inc., a pharma services company where he served as CEO from 2004-2008. He also co-developed the technology that launched CellAct Pharma GmbH, a drug development company in Germany. In 2008, he co-founded Excel Medical Ventures, a broadly focused venture fund dedicated to the life science industry.  He was an active advisor to GeneOhm (acquired by Becton Dickinson) as well as many other biotech companies. He has published more than 120 scientific papers, lectured internationally, and co-authored many patents. Dr. Gullans received his B.S. at Union College, Ph.D. at Duke University, and postdoctoral training at the Yale School of Medicine.