Our Mentors

• Brenda Gilchrist, co-chair

Brenda is the Co-Chair of the SMBC Board of Mentor program. She is one of the originators of the mentor program concept and process. As an expert in Organization Development and Human Resources, she helps coordinate and facilitate a meaningful process for the incubator clients and the mentors. She has extensive experience working with start-up's from seed stage to pre-IPO. Brenda is the Co-Founder and Principal of The HR Matrix, LLC. She holds a BA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, a Master's in Organizational Dynamics from University of Pennsylvania, and is a certified SPHR.

• Nils-Michael Langenborg, co-chair

Nils-Michael has over 25 years of marketing and brand-building experience. He began his career at the international advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson where he honed his skills in creating results-driven marketing campaigns for companies like Chevron, Sprint, Dole, Castle & Cooke, Bumble Bee Seafoods, Sun-Maid, Sunsweet, Sheraton Hotels, and a host of others. For the past 16 years he has been intimately involved in the natural and organic products industry, more recently with Lundberg Family Farms, which specializes in organic rice products. He has worked for Traditional Medicinals, Spectrum Organic Products, Straus Family Creamery, Whole Foods Market, and is currently President and CEO of Whole Health Marketing, a marketing consultancy for triple-bottom line brands. Clients include Numi Organic Tea, Good Earth Natural Foods, Pantropic Sustainable Palm Oil, Alter-Eco and Practice Greenhealth. He received a greenMBA from Dominican University of California, which focuses on the total enterprise and its requirement to adopt sustainable business practices. Prior to that he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing (Advertising minor) from San Francisco State University. He currently holds faculty positions at Dominican University of California where he teaches entrepreneurial finance in the Green MBA program, and at the University of California at Berkeley Extension program where he teaches a course in green leadership based on the work of Adam Smith.

• Michael F. Adler

Michael was the founder and CEO of the largest franchise, retail photo chain in North America with 450 stores. Michael has served as CEO of six public and privately held firms. He was involved with three venture capital firms. He is engaged in community economic development, Angel investing activities and advising startup and early stage companies in the areas of strategic planning, financing, marketing and franchising.

• Bruce Blinn

• Alan Bouverat

• Paul Bozzo

Paul has more than 20 years of experience in entrepreneurial strategy, private equity financing, commercial banking and business planning. Currently Paul serves as a Certified Master Instructor for NxLeveL sponsored by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at SRJC. Paul is also the founder of the 10X Consulting Group; a boutique consultancy focused on development of strategic business plans for startup and fast-growth companies.

• Bob Carstens

Bob spent most of his career in a highly competitive Fortune 50 company during his tenure in big business, Bob started several new technical businesses and quickly gained a passion for building companies. He left the corporate world to pursue his love for working with startups, small, and medium size businesses. In doing so, Bob quickly learned that the CEOs of these types of companies struggle with understanding their financial performance. For the past 2 years Bob has been working with his partners to develop financial trending software to help Startups like those at SMBC as well as estabished small and medium size business.

• Raj Desai

Raj Desai has advised the world’s leading professional services and industrial companies on strategy, restructuring, pricing, growth and M&A. In addition, he has started several businesses, consulted to entrepreneurs, and is an early stage investor in several companies including Twitter. Mr. Desai has an MBA from the Wharton School.

• David Fain

David has sat on the Board, invested in and been advisor to several high technology companies and has been successful in raising first round and venture capital financing. He founded four high technology companies Including Integrated Automation, providing factory automation and inspection systems; Exotech, performing aerospace and military programs; Working Machines, a warehouse automation systems provider; and Radiation Electronics which lead in infrared thermal imaging. Many important "firsts" in optical imaging systems, ultrasonics and warehouse automation were pioneered that formed the basis of current, established technology. The companies were highly profitable, debt free and were either sold to larger companies or had an IPO.

• Jerry Gladstone

Jerry Gladstone retired at the end of 2005 from Agilent Technologies (formerly Hewlett-Packard Company) where he was VP & GM of Worldwide Technology Operations. He was the Founding Executive Director of the Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster. Currently he is a business and technology consultant for startup and smaller companies.

• Nigel Hartley

Nigel is a certified coach and mentor and as president of Commonwealth Advisors, combines business advice and coaching for executives, entrepreneurs and business owners to achieve their goals. Nigel has over 35 years of senior management experience both in the US and UK, with extensive global exposure. This experience runs the gamut from a start-up that literally started in his garage to a publicly traded multi-national professional services company. Nigel's commitment to the local community includes Santa Rosa Chamber Vitality Committee, Sonoma County Alliance and North Bay Angels.

• J. Roy Martinez
  

• Richard C. O'Hare

An Attorney since 1993, Mr. O’Hare has substantial experience in complex Business Litigation, Intellectual Property procurement and transactional matters. He has represented Fortune 100 international corporations as well as small businesses, startups and individuals; and has successfully litigated multi-million dollar infringement cases involving technology licensing, Trademarks, Patents, Copyrights and commercial agreements.? Mr. O’Hare is also a registered Patent Attorney and provides Intellectual Property protection services to clients of all sizes. 

• M. David O'Rourke

Dave is an Investment Advisor and Member of Bell Investment Advisors' Investment Committee. He began his investment career with Dean Witter & Co. in 1978. His experience in the securities industry includes time with Sanford Bernstein & Co., Inc., myCFO.com, and a boutique San Francisco investment firm, where he was Managing Director. His background also includes a long stretch in the software industry as an entrepreneur and executive. In 1994, he successfully merged a business he co-founded into a leading, publicly traded company. Dave received a Bachelor of Science from U.C. Berkeley. He is on the board of directors for the 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa, Leadership Santa Rosa's Alumni Association, and the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce's LSR Steering Committee.

• Bill Rider

• Paul Roberti
  

• Paul Schwartz

• Lomesh Shah

Lomesh, co-founder of IQR Consulting, has more than 20 years of experience providing tactical solutions that bridge gaps between a company's technology and its business goals. Lomesh leverages his hands-on knowledge of technology and analytics to drive change, increase efficiencies, and foster growth in companies of all sizes from privately-held to Fortune 500. Lomesh played an instrumental role in three startups before founding IQR consulting and his volunteer activities led him to develop NonProfitEasy.

• Tom Sheppard