Berkeley Entrepreneurs Forum

February 2007 Program:

Whether you are young or old you have an interest in keeping your mind sharp and healthy, and in fixing any problems that might arise in the next years of your life. Now, advances in neuroscience are paving the way for a revolution in health care for your brain. Come see how an exciting crop of new companies are creating drugs, devices and therapies to help ensure your brain’s future health. Our panel will be:

John Doback, M.D., Founder of Innercool. Dr. Dobak was the founder of InnerCool Therapies and from 1998 to 2005 serve as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Dobak is currently the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Leptos Biomedical, Inc., a medical technology company developing a novel treatment for obesity. He is also the President of JAKK Group, a biomedical technology company engaged in the development of medical technologies in the areas of heart failure, cellulite therapy and sleep apnea. Prior to joining InnerCool, Dr. Dobak was the founder, Vice President, Research & Development and Chief Technology Officer of CryoGen, Inc. Dr. Dobak earned his B.S. in Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles and received his M.D. from University of California, San Diego. He completed post-graduate training at the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla and UCLA-Harbor Medical Center, Los Angeles.

Zack Lynch, Founder of Neurotechnology Industry Organization. Zack Lynch founded NIO to give the neurotechnology industry a collective voice. He is the managing director of NeuroInsights, a market research firm covering the neurotechnology industry, and a social forecaster advising global organizations on the impact of neurotechnology on business, government and society. Mr. Lynch serves on the advisory boards of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Center for Neuroeconomic Studies, Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics, the Institute for Global Futures and Socialtext, a software company. Zack is also the publisher of the investment newsletter, Neurotech Insights, editor of Brain Waves, an industry weblog providing commentary on the intersection of neuroscience and society, and co-author of NeuroInsights’ annual report on The Neurotechnology Industry Report. Previously, he was an executive and founder of several enterprise software companies in profit optimization and collaborative forecasting. Zack received an MA in Economic Geography and double BS in Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science, all from UCLA.

Jim Glasheen joined Technology Partners from CIT Venture Capital, where he served as Managing Director, leading the Group's efforts in Life Science investing. Previously, Jim was a leader within McKinsey & Company's Pharmaceutical and Medical Products Practice. Over the course of several years, Jim worked extensively with a broad range Life Science Companies on M&A, business development and strategic issues. Jim earned a B.S. from Duke University in Biology / Mechanical Engineering and a M.A. and a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Biology. He also was a Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst (DAAD) fellow at Universitaet des Saarlandes, Germany and a post-doctoral fellow at University of California, Berkeley.

David Summa, CEO of Acumen Pharmaceuticals. Acumen Pharmaceuticals is a pre-clinical drug development company that is developing the first effective therapeutics and diagnostics that prevent Alzheimer's disease. Prior to joining Acumen, Dave was the President and CEO of Mendel Biotechnology, a successful genomics company that was the first to functionally characterize all the transcription factors in arabidopsis thaliana. Mendel's traits now form the core of the Monsanto product pipeline. Before joining the ranks of Bay Area biotech entrepreneurs, Dave was a Vice President at Monsanto where he created a joint venture between Cargill and Monsanto named Renessen. Also, prior to joining Monsanto, Dave was a partner at McKinsey & Company, Inc. where he was the global leader of the Innovation Practice. Dave received his BS and MS from MIT in the department of Chemical Engineering.

Jim Zimman, CEO of Posit Science Corporation. For the past two decades, Jeff Zimman has been involved with healthcare, information technology, and consumer products companies in implementing strategies leading to successful funding, high growth, and liquidity. Jeff is a former Venture Partner of VSP Capital, a former Managing Director of Lazard, where he founded and ran the investment bank's early stage advisory business, and a former partner of Cooley Godward, where he headed the corporate and securities practice in the law firm's San Francisco office. In addition to running these high-growth service businesses, Jeff has served on the boards of several start-up companies. Earlier in his career, Jeff was an award-winning newspaper reporter, covering business and technology. He earned his AB degree at Bowdoin College and his JD and MBA degrees at Stanford University.

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