Patti Gillenwater is President, CEO and owner of Elinvar, a highly innovative executive search firm. She is an experienced business leader who has extensive nonprofit and professional association board experience. Patti’s experience as an entrepreneur is highlighted by her successful navigation of major changes in the industry and her creative approach to reinventing the business model of her firm with the result of sustaining business success while evolving and growing the firm’s capabilities and focus. As a trusted advisor to executives of entrepreneurial and middle market companies in North Carolina, many organizations have benefited from her business savvy. Her firm is frequently selected to conduct key leadership searches for foundations, institutions of higher education and nonprofits that have significant impact on NC and its residents. As a result, Patti has an extensive network of relationships with leaders in our state.

Peyton Anderson is CEO of Affinergy, a Duke spinout commercializing peptide linkers as coatings for medical devices. Previously, Peyton was founding CEO of SciQuest, Inc. and raised over $175 million in capital prior to the company’s IPO in 1999. Peyton currently serves on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and the NC Biosciences Organization. Previously, he served on the executive committee of the Board of Directors for the Council for Entrepreneurial Development.

Greg Brown is President and Owner of Cardinal Finance which provides fractional CFO and other financial advisory services to small and mid-sized businesses. He is also the Administrator of Charlotte Angel Fund, one of the most active angel investor funds in North Carolina. Greg has served as the Chief Financial Officer of multiple venture capital backed private and early stage public companies, as well as having ten years of experience in the venture capital industry. His career has been devoted to serving entrepreneurs and the companies that they create as a trusted business partner and investor.

Linda Hall is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina. She has led the oversight and management of the Foundation’s finances, investments, human resources, IT and real estate operations for over 12 years. Linda has over 25 years of experience in both public accounting and in private sectors where she has assisted mid-sized partnerships and corporations in financial, tax and strategic business planning.

Dr. Garrett Hinshaw currently serves as president of Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC). Under his leadership, CVCC has continued its history of empowering individuals to aspire, dream and achieve. The College serves as a leading entity in redefining the region’s economy through his collaborative efforts to develop partnerships at the local, state and national levels. In 2015, Dr. Hinshaw was named as President of the Year by the State Board of Community Colleges. In addition to joining the NC IDEA board, Dr. Hinshaw serves as a presidential representative on the National Junior College Athletic Association and serves on the boards of the National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) and the Catawba County Economic Development Association Board, among other organizations.

Karen LeVert is CEO and Co-Founder of Southeast TechInventures and Ag TechInventures. Both business models focus on commercializing early stage technologies from research. Karen’s business experience encompasses both corporate and entrepreneurial worlds with over twenty five years of successful leadership experience in startups, technology commercialization and executive management. She started her career at a Fortune 500 insurance company in positions of increasing responsibility from computer programmer, to controller, to general manager of a 500-person Property & Casualty service center. Her first entrepreneurial venture was launching a franchise bioremediation company in 1998 that she later sold in 2001. Before co-founding STI, Karen co-launched a Silicon Valley venture-funded software company where she served as Executive Vice President of Business Development. Along with her professional duties, she serves as a Board member for Ag TechInventures, Southeast TechInventures, North Carolina School of Science and Math, NC IDEA FOUNDATION and LCBA Life Insurance company.

Sean O’Leary is the CEO of FoodLogiQ, a company that provides traceability, food safety compliance and supply chain transparency software solutions. Previously, he was President and CEO of KnowledgeTree. Prior to KnowledgeTree, Sean was CEO and President of RTP-based StrikeIron, acquired by Informatica in June 2014. Sean has over twenty years of technology sales and operations related experience with a proven track record in building and leading global organizations for both Fortune 500 companies and venture-backed enterprises. Sean currently serves as a Board member for KnowledgeTree, inMotionNow and NC IDEA FOUNDATION.

Luke Walling is the founder of Temprano Techvestors, a group of technology industry experts that acquire, consolidate, optimize and grow information technology sales and distribution companies. The group’s flagship brand, Corporate Armor, provides IT security and infrastructure products to tens of thousands of companies, organizations, schools and reseller partners around the world. Luke began his career in the IT industry when he founded Walling Data, a technology business he originally started in his parents’ basement in the 1990s. In 2010, it was acquired by AVG Technologies, a global pioneer of freemium anti-virus technology, which lead to the creation of over 75 new jobs in North Carolina alone.  He then served in executive leadership roles at AVG and Avast Software from 2010 to 2016. He currently serves as a board member for the Charlotte Angel Fund, SCORE Association and formerly Sharpspring, where he was an early-stage investor. Luke is a passionate supporter of programs that improve engagement in public schools, with an emphasis on self-paced learning principals and entrepreneurial thinking. In his home market of Catawba County, North Carolina, where his past and current ventures have been founded, Luke and his company support powerful vehicles for education advancement including the K-64 Learning initiative, and are actively working together with local stakeholders to build a solid entrepreneurial community for current and future startup founders.

Stelfanie Williams is Vice President for Durham and Community Affairs at Duke University.  In this role, Williams leads and coordinates Duke’s diverse and innovative community efforts in areas such as economic development, affordable housing, early childhood, K-12 and workforce education, student engagement, neighborhood relations and community health.  She builds connections between Duke and partners including educational, governmental, non-profit and community-based organizations. Prior to joining Duke, Williams served as president of Vance-Granville Community College. Among other honors, Williams was awarded the I.E. Ready Distinguished Leadership Award by NC State University and was named President of the Year by the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges. A noted presenter and consultant on topics related to workforce development, Williams also is active on a number of public and private boards, civic organizations, and commissions.