Selection Committee

Ruchir Sehra, M.D., is a medtech executive with extensive experience in early (private), mid (public), and late stage (acquisition) medical device companies in various health and disease areas. Dr. Sehra currently serves as the CEO…

Bill Northcott is the Chief Innovation Officer at Agrible. He works on developing and researching the science and feasibility of new products. Bill is a sixth generation farmer and currently manages a 500 acre corn/soybean…

Surekha Trivedi is VP Strategic Development at Danaher. She is a Senior Strategy, M&A, and Product Development Executive with a deep understanding of the life sciences, diagnostics, and healthcare markets. Recognized as a strategy expert…

Chris Harbourt, Ph.D., co-founder of Agrible, Inc., is a world-class scientist and engineer with an eye on innovation and growth. Chris brings over 25 years of agricultural experience to Agrible and is heavily involved in…

Jill Davies is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer for GeneMatters. Jill has more than 20 years’ experience in the genetics field, with leadership in clinical services, telehealth, product development, business development and operations. Prior to…

Dr. Anthony J. Tether, also known as Tony, Ph.D., is the Chief Executive Officer at The Sequoia Group (TSG). He served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of The Sequoia Group from 1996 to…

Mr. Tom Willis serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Conestoga Energy Partners LLC. Mr. Willis is responsible for all aspects of the business. He joined Conestoga in November 2006. He possesses widespread knowledge in…

Todd is a recognized expert in functional genomics, bioinformatics, and plant systems biology, and is focused on accelerating discovery and development by more accurately predicting plant performance. He has built capabilities and toolsets that manipulate…

Tim is Vice President of G.M. Lawerence and Company, with a demonstrated history of working in the farming industry. He is skilled in management, agricultural production, precision agriculture, agribusiness, and strategic planning. Tim graduated with…

Susan Johnson is a seasoned manager known for her organizational acumen and expertise in change management and disaster response. The American Academy of Project Management has certified Susan as a Master Project Manager (MPM) and…

Mr. Steve Barr is a Co-Founder of Osborn & Barr Communications, Inc. and served as its Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Barr has more than 35 years of marketing and communications planning experience. He is a…

Vice President of Research at Matatu, Nathan McNulty is microbiologist with a passion for addressing complex problems in healthcare, nutrition, and agriculture using innovative technologies, carefully conducted science, and teamwork.

Dr. DiNicola has over 20 years of experience in the agri-food industry and a decade of experience in sustainability and agriculture development. Through DiNicola LLC, she consults for established and emerging companies and public institutions…

Kevin has over 20 years experience in the grain and livestock industry. He is the publisher of The Van Trump Report, a daily agricultural newsletter that contains some of the best and most comprehensive agricultural…

Eric is the Chief Executive at Pipeline Foods. Eric started his career at The Pillsbury Company where he received his classic commodity merchandising training and became the Manager of Market Development for their Speciality Commodities…

Emily Fassi is a board-certified genetic counselor with experience counseling adults and children about genetic diagnoses and predisposition to genetic conditions. She currently works at the Mountain States Tumor Institute with patients who have a…

Dr. David Messina has spent the last 20 years in computational biology and genetics. He worked on the Human Genome Project at Washington University in Saint Louis, mapped disease genes at the University of Chicago,…

Dr. Bruce German is a Professor and Chemist of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis and researches the role of fats and other components in the diet. He develops ways to…

Jean Roberson is CFO of Appistry, a big data analytics company focused on supporting precision medicine and next generation healthcare. She has over 25 years of experience in all areas of finance from early-stage venture-funded…

A regulatory professional with over 27 years of experience in the medical products industry, Melissa currently serves as Founder, President and CTO at Graematter, Inc. and Senior VP Regulatory at Topera. Specialties include regulatory intelligence research and reporting,…

Andy Daniels is a seasoned business executive and successful entrepreneur, an active angel investor, and serves on multiple governing boards with companies in the areas of venture capital, wealth management, agriculture, healthcare, technology innovation, commodity…

Trey Sherman is President of Oak River Farms

Rachel is a Senior Associate at The Context Network, a business management and strategy consulting firm providing services to the world’s leading agriculture, biotechnology and food companies. She was previously an International Sales & Project…

Dr. Paul D. Olivo, M.D., Ph.D., has been the Chief Scientific Officer of Apath, LLC since 2000 and served as its President. Dr. Olivo is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at BioGenerator, where he previously served as a…

The founding president of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri where he served as Emeritus President and Director for 10 years. Roger is currently Executive Director at World Food Center at University of California,…

Bobby Sandage is currently President and CEO of Euclises, Chairman of the Board of Immunophotonics, member of the board of directors of EDIS, and a member of the Cultivation Capital life sciences fund investment committee. He was…

Gian Cavallini oversees the development and execution of Advanced ICU Care’s medical staffing growth strategy and leads the implementation of various initiatives to position the company for continued growth. His expertise in development and operations,…

Mr. Don Imholz is a business executive/leader with diverse experience in Operations and IT, extensive Board involvement, and a strong track record of creating sustainable competitive advantage. His expertise in cybersecurity, big data, digital transformation,…

Presently leading Arch Cancer Care as Medical Director, Dr. Beat is a local expert in collaborative prostate cancer management. At a national level, he contributes to physician leadership committees within the US Oncology Network. Having earned an executive…

Mr. Beuttenmuller possesses over 30 years experience in Corporate Finance with Emerson Electric, Esse Health, Essence Healthcare and Innovare. He is experienced in financial analysis, risk management, mergers and acquisitions, new business development, start-ups, strategic…

Professor of Internal Medicine – Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation at UUniversity of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and former Professor of Medicine and Genetics at Washington University…

Dr. John Talley, Chief Science Officer for Euclises Pharmaceuticals and SARmont,  brings over thirty years experience and a record as one of the world’s most successful medicinal chemists. He is best known as the co-inventor…

Dr. Rutter is founder and CEO of Metaphase Design Group, a design firm serving industrial, commercial and consumer product and packaging clients internationally.  He is an acknowledged specialist in ergonomic product design and a leading…

Tom Adamitis is Managing Director at Yield Lab. He formerly served as the Global Vice President of Raw Materials and Energy Procurement for Anheuser-Busch InBev, one of the world’s largest consumer product companies. He supported…

Mark has served as ProteoSense’s CEO since 2013. Previously, Mark served as CEO/COO of several startups, including Assurex Health (2006-09). Mark earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Univ. of Dayton and an M.S….

Matt Blunt is the President of the American Automotive Policy Council and the former governor of Missouri. He was elected Missouri’s 54th governor in 2004, carrying 101 of the state’s 114 counties. In 2011, Governor Blunt…

Mr. Charles Norris, also known as Chuck, CFA is a Co-Founder of Nelnet Capital, LLC. Mr. Norris has been part of Nelnet organization for more than 20 years. During this time, he helped start Infovisa….

Chris is the president of Eckert’s Inc., a family farm in southern Illinois. The Eckert’s farm has been in the family for seven generations. They farm 600 acres of fruit and vegetable crops as well…

Before joining OTMIR in 2016, Brian Buntaine worked for more than 15 years in the life sciences industry. He began his career as a lab manager at Washington University in St. Louis. In 2003, Brian joined…

Dr. Brendan A. Niemira is the Research Leader of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research Unit. He leads a team of 30+ scientists, engineers, technicians, postdocs and students in Wyndmoor,…

Dr. Bob Whitaker joined Produce Marketing Association (PMA) in 2008 as Chief Science & Technology Officer, responsible for food safety, technology, supply chain management and sustainability. Bob has served on the Center for Produce Safety…

Bob began his 20+ years of marketing and international business development at ABKO, Inc. where he sourced product, created programs and merchandised those programs to big-box retailers throughout the Americas. He segued that experience in…

Bill has spent his career helping clients around the world drive value within their operations and across the supply chain and has long been recognized as a leader in the aerospace and defense industry. Bill…

Berwick Settle is a Dairy Farm Management Specialist, managing a large scale dairy operation in Beijing, China.

Barry Goldman is the Vice President and Head of Discovery at Indigo. Using novel computational, sequencing and laboratory technologies, he is responsible for identifying the microbes that enable Indigo’s first generation of products. Barry brings more than…

Dr. Raghavan brings several years of experience managing preclinical safety and efficacy studies for biologicals and small molecule therapeutics and managing strategic alliances with biotech and pharmaceutical companies. His expertise includes postdoctoral research in opioid…

Edwards was employed for 42 years in the pharmaceutical and life sciences arenas. From 1990 to 2010, he held Regulatory Affairs positions of increasing responsibility at TAP/Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Lake Forest, Illinois. …

In 1981, with a vision for how the microcomputer would impact the world, Mr. Sullivan created his own company, G.A. Sullivan. His goal was to provide custom software to businesses using the then fairly new…

Brian Fielding has over 30 years experience as an attorney, business executive, and consultant in digital media, broadcasting, technology and licensing. He was on the senior leadership team for 15 years at Audible.com, during its…

Mr. Piper has extensive experience in start-up company development in founder, investor, board member, and executive roles. His experience encompasses intellectual property assessment, building strong development and management teams, raising private investment and government funding,…

Michael Nichols, Ph.D. presently serves as an investor and C level management for various startups. He serves as an Analyst for Vinlogx, a platform that acquires, stores, and analyses internal vehicle information enabling solutions across…

Mr. Waserstein is currently the Founder and Managing Partner of SOIL Funds Management, LLC. The firm targets control and semi-control investments in resource efficiency, renewable energy, and other sustainable businesses. It’s inaugural fund, Sustainable Opportunities…

Dave Gray is a leader and manager with a background in design. He has worked with many of the world’s largest companies, as well as mid-sized businesses, startups, executives and individuals. He is the founder…

Glenn Swanson serves as the President of Daniels Trading. He brings a well-rounded commodity and foreign exchange background to the firm’s day-to-day operations. Glenn has an in-depth knowledge of trading technology and the order execution…

Braden Hudye is a managing partner of The Hudye Group, a 3rd generation family owned company involved in Agriculture, Commercial Real Estate, Multi Family Residential Real Estate, Development Property, as well as other equity investments…

David Christenson joined BioGenerator as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence in 2015 focusing primarily on healthcare and specifically in information technology, care delivery and payment, and services. Over a 30-year career, David has developed a substantive background in…

Ron is a biotech consultant primarily focused on agricultural biotechnology with knowledge of pharmaceutical product development. He has extensive, successful experience in product characterization of products improved through modern biotechnology Able to provide guidance at any level…

Mr. Conser has very deep and broad experience in emerging energy technology, and is an expert in both theory and practice corporate innovation and venturing. Russ currently serves as a board member to StarRotor Corporation,…

Mr. Ware is the founder of Advance Capital Markets, Inc. a private investment firm with a long and successful track record in the energy and power industries. He served as a financial advisor and then…

Mr. Nelson has over 20 years of energy, entrepreneurial, business management and technology development/research experience.  He is currently managing partner at Saoradh Energy Partners LLC and was recently president of Ward Alternative Energy (a Saoradh…

Co-founder & CEO of LaserBand from January 2001 through July 2012, Sanjay led the sale of the company to Zebra Technologies Inc. From 1996 to 2001, he was founder, Chairman and CEO of WorkNet Communications,…

As Managing Director of the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Ken has led the Center to become a top-five ranked university in entrepreneurship and innovation offering over 80 entrepreneurial courses and numerous co-curricular programs that connect…

With 30+ years of experience in the software industry as a CEO and Angel Investor.  Hal founded, served as CEO and ultimately sold two successful software businesses, Gentry Systems and GridLogix.  He is currently a partner…

Jim has 30+ years of entrepreneurial, management, marketing, sales, and investment experience with technology-based companies. Since 2008, Brasunas has served as Executive Director of ITEN (The St. Louis Information Technology Entrepreneur Network) providing tech start-up…

An accomplished senior executive with start-ups, growth, and turn-around organizations, Renato developed a healthcare technology corporation, HealthTech Solutions, from a small start-up of 3 people to a national provider of technical solutions to health care…

Ewin Barnett is a life-long entrepreneur who specializes in information and big-data opportunities. He is best known for founding Carfax, a company that today employs over 500 people. He is an active investor and advisor in many…