Entrepreneurship Advisory Council

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Bill Andrews assumed the role of Director and Chairman of Executive Committee in July 2008 after serving as CCA's Chairman of the Board since August 2000. Andrews has earned high marks as chairman, president and CEO of five public companies, including three New York Stock Exchange companies. He has also served as chairman of three private companies and on the boards of many public companies. Andrews brings significant experience in financial markets and finance to CCA. He was a member of CCA's board from 1986 until 1998, prior to the company's merger with Prison Realty Trust.

Andrews was former chairman, president and CEO of Scovill Manufacturing. He also served as chairman, president and CEO of Singer Sewing Machine Company; as president CEO of UNR Industries, Inc.; as chairman, president and CEO of Amdura Corporation and chairman of Katy Industries. Most recently, he served as chairman of Northwestern Steel and Wire Company and was a director of Juvenile and Jail Facility Management Services, Inc. He has also served as chairman of several privately held companies: Utica Corporation, Schrader Bridgeport International, Inc., Scovill Fasteners, Inc. and Allied Aerospace Corp.

He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and holds an MBA degree from Seton Hall University.

Christopher Booker is a partner with Frist Cressey Ventures (FCV), a Nashville-based healthcare venture firm.  He joined FCV in 2016 and is responsible for acquisition, divestitures and providing unique value to the fund’s partnerships as a member of the fund’s Investment Committee.  Mr. Booker leads the firm’s investment team and has served on the Board of Directors of numerous healthcare companies.  He is a current director of FCV’s portfolio companies Valify, Monogram Health, Seven Springs Orthopaedics, Regroup Therapy and 180 Health Partners.  In addition to his responsibilities at FCV, he is also a member of the Board of Directors for WhoUWith Ministries and Woodland Street Partners. 
 

Prior to joining FCV, Mr. Booker was a partner at XMi Holdings, Inc. managing its investment funds and President of XMi Capital where he participated in over 50 transactions.  While at XMi Holdings, he was CFO and served as a director to healthcare services firm Criterion Holdings Corporation, Inc. Criterion grew from 3 employees to nearly 600 before being acquired in 2016. Mr. Booker graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Engineering and Economics.  He resides in Nashville, TN with his wife, Katherine, and children, Ella and Jackson. 

Barbara Cannon serves as Chief Operating Officer of NuSirt Sciences Inc., d/b/a NuSirt Biopharma.  NuSirt Biopharma has developed a breakthrough platform technology that combines natural compounds with various pharmaceutical agents.  Areas of focus include diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity and NASH (Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis); the later garnering Fast Track Status with the FDA. IP Portfolio includes 15 US issued or allowed, with broad international coverage. 

Ms. Cannon brings extensive R&D experience to NuSirt Biopharma.  She was responsible for the start-up of ClinTrials Research, one of the early Contract Research Organizations (CROs), providing outsourced clinical research services to the pharmaceutical industry.  She was responsible for the initiation of Phase II-IV research activities and participated in the company’s IPO (NASDAQ: CCRO).  Her role as CEO and Board Director at Celeris (NASDAQ: CRSC) focused on supporting complex medical device, biological products thru FDA approval. 

Ms. Cannon has assisted numerous companies in the evaluation of their technology, business application, regulatory strategy and fund raising.

Ms. Cannon currently serves on several business and healthcare services boards including Nashville Capital Network, the Blakeford, a CCRC and Virsys 12.

She holds a MBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management and a BS from California State University, Sacramento.  

 

Mike Collins cofounded 2nd Generation Capital, LLC (2ndG) in 1993. He was CEO of the company until 2015 when he assumed “Of Counsel” status. 2ndG is a merchant banking firm active as an investment principal, advisor, and placement agent (through its licensed broker/ dealer subsidiary, 2nd Generation Financial (a d/b/a of BrightChoice Financial, LLC). The firm participates in private offerings both as an investor and as a placement agent. Among other services, 2ndG provides assistance in locating, evaluating and negotiating financing alternatives; fairness opinions and other business valuations; acquisition and merger transactions; general business consulting; expert witness and alternative dispute resolution; and industry and specific company investment analysis.

Mike continues to serve as compliance officer for 2nd Generational Financial. He is also managing member of Expert of Counsel, PLLC, a litigation and alternative dispute resolution firm working together with 2ndG to serve client needs. In 2016, Mike was appointed an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University Law School.

Mike is experienced in starting new businesses, developing and implementing their strategic and operating plans, and in obtaining necessary financing. He is a frequent speaker and author on current business and financing issues, healthcare industry investment and trends, corporate governance, negotiation, and litigation consulting and expert witness services.

Mike is an active investor. He has been engaged in the merchant banking and venture capital industries as a principal and senior executive for the majority of his business career. Mike has also served managing partner, partner, or advisory board member of several venture investment partnerships. His investment experience spans many different industries including healthcare services, biotechnology, insurance, financial and business services, aerospace and defense, distribution, manufacturing and publishing.

Mike has served on numerous corporate boards and chaired executive, compensation, audit and other key committees. Among other boards, he is a past Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, LLC, a clinical research organization and clinical trials services company. Mike was also a member of KraftCPAs, an affiliate of and minority investor in 2ndG, from 1993 until he retired from the firm in 2015.

Mr. Dunbar has extensive healthcare and life sciences operating experience, and has served as a Director or CEO with private and public companies in Diagnostics, Specialty Pharma, Cell Therapy, and Biologics, two where he led initial public offerings (IPOs).

George is Managing Partner of The Dunbar Group, LLC founded in 2011 to provide advisory services to the life sciences, recognizing that many venture capital or founder funded companies needed short term or interim industry expertise in order to be capital efficient. Since 2001 he has partnered with investors to mentor and focus management on creating market value and liquidity events for shareholders. His collaborative team includes the spectrum of industry experience including commercial and social media, quality assurance, regulatory, clinical/ manufacturing operations, and international partnering.

His most recent assignment was CEO with ISTO Biologics, a private equity funded orthobiologics company with the roll-up vision initially combining George's prior company, ISTO Technologies with Arteriocyte Medical Systems, and Progenicare.

Prior to joining Isto Technologies, Mr. Dunbar served as a Venture Partner with Arboretum Ventures, a leading healthcare venture capital group, and was a Director of four portfolio companies, two as Executive Chairman.

He has also held senior leadership positions with Ares-Serono, now Merck-Serono, and Amersham International, now GE Healthcare.

Earlier, George has served with companies including Stem Cells, Inc. and CytoTherapeutics, Aastrom ( now Vericel) ; and also DepoTech, Epic Therapeutics, LJL Biosystems, Metra Biosystems, Metrika, Molecular Probes, Quantum Dot, Sonus Pharmaceuticals, and Quidel. He began his career with Motorola’s Communications Division.

Mr. Dunbar is currently an independent Director with Capricor Therapeutics, a public cell therapy technology company, and Progenitor Life Sciences, a private next- gen stem cell and immunotherapy development company.

He has degrees in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Auburn University, and serves on the Harbert College of Business MBA Advisory Board. He is member of the Entrepreneurial Advisory Council with Vanderbilt University’s Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization.

George and his spouse, Betsy live in Franklin, Tennessee and have two daughters; one is a US Navy JAG Officer on assignment with STRATCOM, and her sister, a writer and professional pastry chef living in San Jose, California. They have three grandchildren.
 

Amr El-Husseini is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lodestone Advisory Group, a boutique management consulting and venture capital firm centered around business innovation and transformation, growth and acceleration, entrepreneurial ecosystem development, venture capital, international business and cross-border transactions, market-entry strategy, business and corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and business turnarounds. Throughout his career, Amr has been involved in investments and business transactions in 20+ countries covering sectors such as financial services, technology, healthcare, real estate, telecom, energy, education, and infrastructure. 

Prior to founding Lodestone, Amr was Senior Executive Manager and Head of International Development at QIB, an international banking group with operations across four continents. Amr oversaw the bank’s international operations and strategic investments (M&A, Ventures and Integrations), as well as the bank’s international network stretching from the UK to Malaysia, where he led a number of successful turnaround and transformation assignments. Amr’s role with QIB also included the development and execution of the bank’s international expansion strategy, where he led market entry initiatives into European, Asian, and GCC countries, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, the UK, France, Turkey, Lebanon, China, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt and Sudan. He also led and successfully negotiated agreements with governments and multinational corporations for the development of international business enterprises. 

Before QIB, Amr served as a Project Manager at Path Solutions, where he led large scale consulting projects for global and regional clients in areas of strategy, international expansion, technology transformation, product development, fund management, treasury, e-commerce, and risk management. He also held various banking and consulting roles with international groups including Fransabank, Ernst & Young, HSBC and Audi Bank.

Since 2015, Amr has been a board member at the International Business Council of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, an advisory board member to the Tennessee World Affairs Council, an investor and mentor for a number of start-ups, a mentor at Vanderbilt University’s innovation center (the Wond’ry), and has served on the selection/investment committees for a number of local and international accelerators. Recently, Amr also served a two-year term as a board member for an international bank, and was selected to Leadership Connect’s inaugural cohort. 

Amr is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s General Management Program. He also received an MBA from the University of Wales and a B.S. in Finance and Accounting from RHU, where he was presented with the Lifetime Alumni Achievement Award. 

Katie Gambill was the youngest of a small group of principals who purchased Equitable Securities from American Express in 1972. When Equitable Securities was sold to SunTrust in 1998, she was President of Equitable Securities and its second-largest shareholder.At Equitable, she was Chief Investment Officer with primary responsibility for the direct investment of the firm's capital in both public and private emerging growth companies, including both healthcare and financial services businesses.

From 1972 to 1998 Katie had primary responsibility for building and leading Equitable's equity business. When the company was acquired from American Express in 1972, revenues acquired were over 90 percent corporate and municipal bond sales and underwriting. When the company was ultimately sold to SunTrust in 1998, revenues were over 90 percent from the equity business. In addition to her position as President, Katie was a member of the Executive Committee and a member of the Board of Directors of Equitable Securities. She was Chairman of the Investment Policy Committee governing all research recommendations and investment banking underwriting commitments; the Founding Managing Director and member of the Board of Directors of Equitable Asset Management, a mutual fund management company; and member of the Board of Directors of Equitable Trust Company. Combined assets under management were over $1 billion at the time of the sale to SunTrust. After the sale to SunTrust, Katie became President and a member of the Board of Directors of the newly formed SunTrust Equitable Securities. She remained with SunTrust Equitable Securities until co-founding Council Capital in 2000.

Katie is on the Board of Directors of Council Capital portfolio companies Lancope and Reach Health and is a member of the Executive Council of the Harvard School of Public Health. She was previously a member of the board of Council Capital portfolio companies Advanced Academics, Benefit Informatics, iKobo, NotifyMD and Senior Whole Health. Katie received her BA cum laude in Economics from Vanderbilt University in 1968 and her Chartered Financial Analyst (C.F.A.) designation in 1976.

Mark founded Concert Genetics (formerly NextGxDx) in 2010 to bring efficiency to the genetic testing market. He has over 15 years of experience in molecular biology, technology commercialization, and executive leadership. Today, as Chief Innovation Officer, Mark leads a dynamic team of software engineers, data scientists and clinicians to advance the company’s product suite and outline its roadmap for the future.

Deeply involved in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, Mark has been a mentor for several accelerator programs and an advisor for startup companies and investment groups. He frequently speaks at healthcare, genetics, and technology industry events.

In 2010, before founding Concert Genetics, Mark worked for Athena Diagnostics, leading a team that designed one of the first implementations of a Next Generation Sequencing platform for a commercial lab. He earned his PhD in Cancer Biology and a Master of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University.

Adam Jay Harrison is an entrepreneur, inventor, and senior executive who has worked extensively with the US Department of Defense and national security community on topics related to technological innovation and competitiveness. He has founded and led multiple technology startups in the aerospace and defense sector and currently manages a boutique venture capital fund, Dead Run Ventures. Jay is the John R. Boyd National Security Innovation Fellow at New York University, where he researches the efficacy of national innovation policies that capitalize on collaboration between the Federal government, universities, and the private sector.

Jim has more than 33 years of device, diagnostic, drug, and biologics experience.

He is currently CEO of Relay Life Science. Most recently he served as COO for BioMimetic Therapeutics for 12  years; leading growth from four to 100 employees.

He has broad experience in commercial operations, supply chain management, product development, tech transfer, quality, regulatory, IT, and facilities management for drug, device, biologics, combination products, and bulk drug products. His experience spans early stage research through all phases of development, product launch, and routine commercial operations. Jim is also head of the LifeScienceTN Mentor program and a member of NueCura, an angel investment network in Brentwood, TN.

Brian is a tech entrepreneur, founder, board member and advisor.  He is listed on the Nashville Business Journal’s 2020 and 2021 Power 100 list of most influential business leaders in Nashville and ranked #5 on the @RiseGlobal Top 100 Thought Leaders in IT. 
 
Brian studied Economics and Engineering Management at the Missouri University of Science and Technology before leaving to launch his first startup.  He is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information & Management Systems and is a HIMSS Fellow. 

Glenn Perdue is the managing member of Kraft Analytics, LLC which provides valuation, forensics, and transaction advisory services.  Glenn began his professional career in the venture capital industry and later became the president of a technology company. He has experience with business transactions involving equity investments, debt financing, licensing, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, buy‐outs, joint ventures, financial distress and bankruptcy. Glenn's valuation experience includes the valuation of businesses, equity interests, intellectual property, and other intangible assets for transactional, managerial, compliance, accounting, tax, and litigation purposes.  His forensic experience includes work with attorneys related to business valuation, transactional disputes, intellectual property, economic damage analysis (lost profits, unjust enrichment/disgorgement, reasonable royalty, loss/diminution of value, etc.) licensing, antitrust, insurance recovery, and investigative analysis.   

Glenn has been retained as an expert witness in over 100 cases.  Industry experience includes work in information technology, life sciences, healthcare, media/entertainment, manufacturing and a variety of service industries.  Glenn holds an undergraduate degree in finance, and MBA (Vanderbilt '95) and professional credentials as a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), Master Analyst in Financial Forensics (MAFF), and Certified Licensing Professional (CLP).

Joe Rando’s career spans over 30 years and includes work at all levels of management with Fortune 1000 companies, as well as the founding of and leadership of early stage start-ups.  Mr. Rando has managed companies through the early years of development, during fast-paced years of explosive growth, through the challenges of acquisitions, and through the later stages of maturity, optimization, and stabilization.   

 

Mr. Rando has held the title of GM, SVP, COO, CEO and Founder in numerous companies in industries such as computer software, high-tech consulting, market research consulting, management consulting, insurance, manufacturing, wireless, real estate, restaurants, and retail.  As an investor in several seed capital and growth capital funds, he has advised dozens of start-ups and high growth companies through the early years of formation and high growth.   

 

Today, Mr. Rando is the Director of Vanderbilt’s Managerial Studies Program and is an Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship.  Past and present board service consists of for-profit and non-profit boards including the Middle Tennessee YMCA in Brentwood, the TJMartell Cancer Research Foundation, the Dunkin Brands Community Foundation, the Wrigley Foodservice Advisory Board, Vanderbilt Student Media, and Learning Matters Inc. 

 

Mr. Rando earned his bachelor’s degree from Tufts University (Biology) and his MBA from the F.W. Olin School of Business at Babson College (Finance). 

Dr. Readnour is a Managing Partner at Mountain Group Partners in Nashville Tennessee leading the firm’s Ag Tech investments. Dr. Readnour currently serves on or has visitation rights for eight Animal and Human health biotech companies. Prior to joining MGP, Dr. Readnour worked at Elanco Animal Health for 27 years. During his Elanco tenure, he held several senior management positions in which he was responsible for developing and executing Elanco’s Research and Development strategies for entering several new business areas (companion animal pharmaceuticals, vaccines and enzymes).

Jackie Shrago's career spans 30 years in technology-based executive management positions. These include two start-up companies that became multi-million entrepreneurial enterprises - ThinkLink Learning in education acquired by Discovery Channel in 2006 and Telco Research in telecommunications acquired in 1986 by NYNEX (now Verizon). Her current activities are centered around volunteer activities that make a difference in our community, state and nation. Most recently she has been involved at Martha O'Bryan to get Internet access into several housing projects within Nashville and working across the state to implement the Affordable Care Act through Get Covered Tennessee.

Jackie's career also includes commercializing ground-breaking research conducted at Vanderbilt's Peabody College, including a portion of time with Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. With 20 years of experience in education, ThinkLink Learning designed a new state-specific approach to formative assessment until its acquisition. She continued to expand the scope of products and nationwide distribution with an emphasis on assessment with proven strategies for improving instruction and education student outcomes.

Other education projects Jackie spearheaded include: implementation of the ConnecTEN project, making Tennessee the first state to provide Internet in all of its K-12th grade schools; assuring the effective use of the technology, she was responsible for the design of web-based professional development tools used by 20,000 teachers in 1998. These education projects received recognition from the National Information Infrastructure and Smithsonian Computer World Awards.

A former teacher, Jackie has served in education technology advisory capacities to the National Governor's Association. Council of Chief State School Officers, and CEO Forum. Her education includes an MBA and BS from Vanderbilt University and Peabody College.

Jim Stefansic is the Director of Corporate Development at Cumberland Emerging Technologies (CET). His responsibilities include sourcing, evaluating, and negotiating for new biopharmaceutical product and technology opportunities, in addition to contributing to the management and expansion of CET's university collaborations.

An accomplished healthcare entrepreneur, Dr. Stefansic has years of experience launching and growing numerous healthcare technology businesses.  Dr. Stefansic was previously Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Pathfinder Therapeutics, Inc., where he helped bring two industry-leading image-guided surgical products to market. He was instrumental in raising more than $17 million in venture capital and SBIR funding to support Pathfinder’s growth, as well as in the eventual sale of the company to Analogic (NASDAQ: ALOG). Dr. Stefansic was involved in every facet of the business, from investor road shows, R&D, clinical trials and regulatory approval to business development, financial management, pricing and commercialization.  He currently serves as a Director at Raiven Healthcare, an artificial intelligence healthcare company he co-founded in 2015.

His experience also includes serving as the Director of Commercialization at Launch Tennessee, where he led the statewide SBIR program and assisted numerous technology businesses in their growth and development. He was also a Research Professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques in image-guided neurosurgery, and was critical in the initiation of this technology within the Vanderbilt Vision Research Center. He has authored or co-authored more than a dozen peer reviewed scientific articles.

Dr. Stefansic received his BS degree in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and his MS and PhD from Vanderbilt University. His MBA is from Belmont University, where Dr. Stefansic was named the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2011 and currently serves as an Adjunct Instructor of Business.

Stryker Warren, Jr. is an accomplished executive with extensive experience and accomplishments in medical device and specialty healthcare services companies to include capital formation, product and program development, strategic planning and execution, FDA compliant manufacturing and operations management, sales and marketing leadership, market research, research and development, reg/qual, regulatory filings, company and programmatic turn-arounds, and M&A.  Specific business cases include physician practice management (multisite, multistate); minimally invasive medical devices; specialty pharmacy programs; prepaid health plan development, management, turn-around; specialty managed care program development, implementation and scaling; HCIT innovation and deployment; ancillary services development and management in Stark compliant structures; business process outsourcing; cost containment; innovative "value proposition healthcare" (eg. Medical tourism/off-shore surgical centers-of-excellence); provider relations; quality assurance program management; legal/regulatory oversight; and, investor relations and public markets reporting.

Mr. Warren has always sought to introduce innovative methods to address unique health care issues, beginning with one of the earliest “population health” programs for Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic diseases in greater Oakland, CA; he also founded a novel, nationwide specialty workers’ compensation medical and disability management company acquired by United Healthcare, and created a first-of-its-kind nationwide corporate on-site primary care and occupational health care company working directly with Fortune 500 companies which was acquired by Walgreens; he is an advocate of evidence-based medicine, best practices, clinical research, and properly aligned incentives for all constituents in the delivery and receipt of healthcare; he received the Upjohn Achievement Award for leadership, academic achievement and undergraduate research; the McKesson & Robbins President’s Award; and, received his BS from the Oregon State University School of Pharmacy.