Team Bios
Gordon McConnell
Executive Director for Venture Acceleration
Gordon McConnell is the Executive Director for Venture Acceleration at Arizona State University. Gordon was Deputy CEO of the Dublin City University (DCU) Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship in Ireland from 2009 until May 2011.
As part of his role at DCU Ryan Academy, he co-founded, and was the first director of the Propeller Venture Accelerator in Dublin and a charter member of the Techstars Network. Gordon worked for DCU over eight years, including the previous position of Head of Strategy and Administration in the DCU President's Office from 2005 until 2009. Gordon also taught graduate courses, including entrepreneurship, in a number of higher education institutions such as All Hallows College and Dublin Institute of Technology.
Prior to working at DCU, Gordon worked in industry, venture capital and was a senior consultant in the Andersen Consulting (Accenture) strategy practice in Europe. Gordon has also been part of the founding group of two funded start-up companies in the late 1990’s. He now serves as an advisor to a number of startup ventures in Ireland including GreenEgg Technologies and Associate Mobile. Gordon has produced research in a number of areas including the development of high technology clusters, innovation in social entrepreneurship and the digital media sector.
Charlie Lewis
Director
In addition to directing the Catalyst, Charlie Lewis manages the creation and growth of new Arizona State University (ASU) spin-out companies for Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE), ASU's technology transfer organization. Charlie brings 20 years of entrepreneurial and private equity experience to AzTE.
Prior to joining AzTE, he served as general partner for two Arizona venture capital funds, Arris Ventures and Paradise ’94. He directed the investment committee responsible for analyzing due diligence findings and appropriating more than $25 million in private capital with an emphasis on early-stage technology companies. Prior to his venture fund experiences, Charlie was vice president of sales and marketing for Tritium Technologies and also served as International Director of Distribution for ANVT, Inc. He was a founding partner of Midas Computers after graduating from Arizona State University. The company designed software tools for small retail businesses and was acquired by POS Systems in 1993.
Email: CLewis@azte.com
Jim Cook
Global Business Development Director
Jim is a seasoned professional with over twenty-five years of successful sales and business development expertise in both domestic and international arenas. He leads the development and execution of global business strategies and go-to-market activities at the ASU Venture Catalyst at ASU SkySong, the Scottsdale Innovation Center. Jim offers a unique, solid background with excellent operational acumen for global environments.
Jim’s previous experience includes Network Appliance (NetApp), Sunnyvale, CA; Wipro Technologies, Bangalore, India; Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA; Sun Microsystems, Mountain View, CA; Nihon Sun Microsystems KK, Tokyo, Japan; Convergent Technologies, San Jose, CA; and Be Inc., Menlo Park, CA. Jim is highly skilled in establishing successful, mutually beneficial executive business relationships with companies from the United States, India, ASEAN, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, and Australia.
Jim holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Missouri - Rolla, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. Jim is a member of Tie Silicon Valley, Seattle and Arizona.
Jim’s profile is located on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcook82 and he can be reached at jim.cook@asu.edu.
Jessica Groeneveld
Program Manager
Jessica Groeneveld has been a part of the Venture Catalyst team since December 2010, and works closely with client companies to help them accelerate their businesses and achieve significant growth. The programs Jessica manages are SBIR/STTR Proposals and the ASU online mentoring system.
Jessica received a Bachelor’s degree in International Business from the School of Global Management and Leadership at Arizona State University and is currently completing her Master’s degree in Political Science at the ASU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Jessica previously served as a Program Manager from 2007 to 2010 with ASU Technopolis where she assisted various companies with early stage market research and strategic planning. Jessica also managed events such as Commercializing Life Sciences Forum, Invest Southwest Capital Conference, and SBIR/STTR Phase I Writing Workshops.
Wiley Larsen
Venture Manager
Wiley Larsen joined Venture Catalyst in November 2011 and assists ASU faculty, staff, and alumni with commercializing their technologies.
Wiley has 5 years of experience as a marketing and business development consultant for new ventures. Wiley has extensive experience managing projects for startups including; evaluating business plans, preparing entrepreneurs for pitch events, and coaching SBIR/STTR applicants on phase I and phase II commercialization planning. In addition, Wiley has managed strategic planning initiatives for economic development clients and non-profit organizations.
Prior to joining Venture Catalyst, Wiley served as Director of Strategic Partnerships for Development Capital Networks, where was responsible for venture and licensing forums, business plan competitions, and entrepreneurial training workshops. From 2005-2006, Wiley served on the district staff for U.S. Congressman Tom Osborne, where he specialized in agriculture, clean tech, and entrepreneurship initiatives. Prior to that appointment, he spent 8 years in public education and 3 years in agribusiness.
Wiley is originally from Minden, Nebraska and has a M.S. in Education Administration from Kansas State University, and a B.S. in Mathematics from Sterling College.
Barbara O’Connell
Senior Venture Manager
Barbara joined the Venture Catalyst Team in July 2010 and works directly with premium clients of the program. Barbara is responsible for screening applications to the program and outreach to the funding community, in addition to her hands-on involvement with premium level clients.
Before joining the Venture Catalyst, Barbara worked for three years as an Investment Manager with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). At RBS, Barbara was responsible for identifying, analyzing and delivering international investment opportunities for high net worth clients. Her specialty is in the area of financial modeling, risk assessment and product development. Barbara also lectured for the Dublin Institute of Technology where she designed and delivered a module on “Financial Decision Making” specifically catered for engineers on the Masters of Energy Management Program. Prior to Barbara’s work in the investment space she worked for five years in new product development and design engineering for Eircom; Ireland’s leading telecommunications company.
Barbara holds an MBA from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, an MSc in Building Services Engineering from Brunel University in London and a BE in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin. Barbara is also a Qualified Financial Advisor (QFA).
Brent Sebold
Venture Manager
Brent Sebold is a Venture Manager for the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative within the Venture Catalyst at Arizona State University.
Brent earned a Doctor of Education degree from Arizona State University in 2011. His research focused on leadership and innovation, collegiate co-curricular engagement marketing strategies, and student retention. Brent also earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Ohio University in 2001 and a Master of Education degree from Arizona State University in 2006.
Additionally, Brent is co-founder of Small Victories, a children’s book publishing start up that allows aspiring children’s book authors and illustrators to create, test-market, and sell their books via crowd-sourced feedback and democratic innovation. Prior to joining the Venture Catalyst, Brent served as an Assistant Director within the Undergraduate Student Academic Services Office at Arizona State University’s School of Nutrition and Health Promotion.