Board Members
Board of Directors
Miles Flamenbaum, Esq., CEO
David Cohen, Executive Vice President and co-owner of Standard Oil of Connecticut.
Charles Manning, PE, founder of VersaTrans Solutions and Creighton Manning Engineering, LLP (CME)
Christopher Harris, Senior Associate of Advantage Capital Partners
Allen "Pete" Grum, CEO of Rand Capital Corporation
Advisory Board Members
Debashis Sahoo, Ph. D
Neil Schaffer, Longview Consulting
John Linderman, Partner, NorthStar Partners
Mike DeMaio, President, Media Nexus
Brian Holliday, Executive Recruiter, APA Search Board of Directors
David Cohen: Mr. Cohen is Executive Vice President and co-owner of Standard Oil of Connecticut. Standard Oil of Connecticut is a $100+ million company that distributes heating oil, provides heating and cooling system installation and repair, and installs and monitors home security systems. The Company serves over 35,000 customers in the Connecticut marketplace. Mr. Cohen is also an active investor in early stage companies, including Higher One, Imedx, Friendent, and SOMS Technologies. Mr. Cohen is also a limited partner in a variety of venture capital and real estate investment companies. Mr. Cohen serves on the board of directors of Imedx (a medical software system provider), gomembers (a provider of enterprise system software for the non-profit sector) and on the Jewish Community Foundation of Eastern Fairfield County (a charitable endowment). Mr. Cohen is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.
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Charles Manning, PE: Mr. Manning is a founder of VersaTrans Solutions and Creighton Manning Engineering, LLP (CME). Mr. Manning was President and CEO of VesaTrans from 1995-2000, growing annual revenue from less than $1 million per year to $5 million per year. He continued to serve on the VersaTrans Board of Directors until 2008 when the company was sold to Tyler Technologies. Mr. Manning was also the managing partner at CME from 1992 to 2002. During this period, the firm quadrupled its annual revenue. At CME he is responsible for the management of a wide range of transportation and traffic engineering studies as well as many of the firm's special projects. Mr. Manning has over 38 years of experience working with public agencies and private clients. He has been a Project Manager responsible for directing the completion of six projects for the NYSERDA. Mr. Manning is also an active owner/advisor of Northeast Biogas, LLP, a start-up company developing alternative energy projects in the Northeast. Finally, he is an active member of the Tech Valley Angel Network, an angel investor group based in Albany, NY.
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Christopher Harris: Mr. Mr.
Harris is a member of the investment team at Advantage Capital Partners. As a
member of the firm's investment group, he is primarily responsible for managing
the firm's current portfolio and analyzing prospective investments. Chris
actively works with several boards and has been involved in SOMS Technologies
since 2009.
Prior to joining Advantage Capital, Chris spent several years at GE Capital in
leveraged finance underwriting and investing. Mr. Harris received his M.B.A.
from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a bachelor's degree in
economics from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
Back to top Allen "Pete" Grum. Mr. Grum is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Rand Capital Corporation. He is a seasoned financial services executive with over 20 years of experience with financial services organizations. Mr. Grum oversees Rand's investment activities and takes an active role in the investment process from deal sourcing to fund marketing. He earned his Master of Business Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Eisenhower College
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Advisory Board Members
Debashis Sahoo, Ph.D.: Dr. Sahoo received his B. Tech. in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India and his M.S. and Ph.D. In Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has expertise in fluid mechanics, thermal and structural engineering, material science, engineering mathematics, and operation research. Dr. Sahoo has published seven technical peer-reviewed conference papers and another technical paper and a patent are being published. He is currently leading the Research and Engineering group at Medical Instill Technologies in advanced research on design and development of medical and nutritional dispensing devices and their filling systems. Dr. Sahoo has been instrumental in the laboratory and on-the-road validation testing of the microGreen filter, and in formulating the theoretical models for better understanding and optimization of the filter. Dr. Sahoo is advising the company on product development, testing and validation.
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Neil Schaffer, Longview Consulting: Neil is founder and CEO of Longview Consulting, a strategic advisory group focused on assisting emerging and middle-market companies with marketing, sales, financial and operational issues. Neil is an experienced finance executive and began his career with Price Waterhouse. He has held senior roles in financial operations and as CFO for both public and private companies, including companies involved in product development, manufacturing and distribution. Neil is advising the Company on financial planning and operations.
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John Linderman, Partner, NorthStar Partners: John has over 25 years senior management experience, with a proven growth track record in marketing and business management at companies including Scott Paper, Quaker Oats, Vlasic and RJR Nabisco. As a founding partner at NorthStar, John is responsible for managing strategic consulting primarily related to optimizing route-tomarket/ channel development strategy, new product innovation, organization/infrastructure optimization, and category management. John commercializes new technologies supporting the business development practice within NorthStar Partners. His industry experience spans consumer packaged goods, automotive, healthcare, and multinational industrial companies competing across conventional retail and business-to-business channels. John is a graduate of the University of Delaware and Cornell University. He is advising the company on strategic marketing, commercialization strategy and execution, and channel development.
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Mike DeMaio, Pesident, Media Nexus: For 20 years, Mike DeMaio has utilized innovation, creativity, multiculturalism, globalism, influence networks and technology as the dominant forces shaping the decisions and companies he has built and the clients he has advised. In 1984 deMaio developed the dealer coop marketing network for Cadillac Motor Division; forming over 100-dealer associations across the US. For 15 years he provided strategic and tactical marketing platforms for associations representing 1500 dealers and 40% of Cadillac sales nationwide. In 1988 he launched Motorola's MicroTac, the first palm sized cell phone in history. It was a leap in innovation that established a multi-billion dollar wireless industry and revolutionized the field of personal communication. In 1990 he took over General Motors marketing in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait and the U.A.E., blending the power of direct to consumer marketing with the subtlely of cultural differentiation. In 1999 he took the Chief Operating Officer's job at Burrell Communications -- the largest African American Marketing Agency in the world. Supervising on global brands such as P&G, Coke, McDonalds & Verizon, he launched the YurbanTM network, a youth marketing initiative that tapped the persuasive influence African American youth exert on general consumer behavior. Over the years he has helped build mega brands such as Kahlua, Pennzoil, Corona, Neutrogena and Adidas with innovative marketing platforms that catalyze the forces of culture, fashion, entertainment, sports, music, and technology. In 2005 DeMaio developed the experiential lifestyle marketing matrix for Scion, Toyota's youth-oriented lifestyle brand and one of the most successful new product launches in recent automotive history. In 2006 recognizing the technological tsunami that was overwhelming longstanding companies, Mike launched Media Nexusâ -- a digital media lab consultancy dedicated to developing new media solutions for global brands. Media Nexus represents Dolce and Gabbana, MTV Italy, Bacardi and the Los Angeles Times and develops mobile branded applications that are shifting the way consumers interact, exchange and consume media. Mike has been featured in Crain's Chicago Business, the Chicago Tribune, Advertising Age, Adweek and Backstage. He is a graduate of Yale University and a licensed attorney.
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Brian Holliday, Executive Recruiter, APA Search: Brian has over 18 years experience in the automotive aftermarket industry. He originally worked at First Brands Corporation (Glad/STP chemicals/Prestone antifreeze) as a Division Sales Manager and then moved to corporate headquarters to lead marketing efforts. In 1994, First Brands sold the Prestone brand to Vestar Capital Partners for $150,000,000. Brian was one of the 18 managers that participated in the management buy-out. The next 3 years were spent growing the Prestone car care business as Director of New Product Development. During that time, Brian's team launched 75 new products resulting in sales increases of 250%. In 1997, Allied-Signal purchased Prestone Products for $415,000,000 and combined the business with their other brands; Fram filters, Autolite spark plugs and Bendix brakes. Allied-Signal retained Brian to lead the world-wide Prestone business and became vice-president of the business from 1998 to 2002. In 2002, the same year that Allied-Signal purchased Honeywell (and switched to entire company to the Honeywell name); Brian was promoted to lead their biggest automotive brand, Fram. From 2002 to 2007, the filtration division grew operating income 65%, sales 8%, and increased retail market share to 45%.
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