Dinesh Patel, Ph.D., Managing Director, vSpring Capital (chair)
Dinesh Patel has been at the forefront of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals in the Intermountain Region for the past two decades. He co-founded and served as Chairman and CEO of TheraTech, a biotechnology company that he took public and eventually sold for $350 million to Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:WPI). Dr. Patel was also a co-founder and founding CEO and chairman of Salus Therapeutics, which was acquired by Genta (NASDAQ:GNTA) for $30 million in August 2003.

Dr. Patel is well known for his refreshing approach to positioning promising business ideas for the future. He serves on several boards, including the Utah Life Science Industries Association, and has won numerous awards, including the 1998 Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Mountain West Venture Group), the 1997 Scientific Technology and Development Pioneer of Progress Award (State of Utah) and the 1996 Governor's Medal for Science and Technology Award (State of Utah). Prior to vSpring, Dr. Patel was an active angel investor, having invested in 12 companies in the biotechnology and life sciences sectors.


John Bessone, Vice President and Regional Director, FW Capital
Mr. Bessone is vice president and regional director — private equity for Fort Washington Capital Partners Group (FW Capital), the institutional private equity arm of Cincinnati-based Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. He manages the Santa Fe, New Mexico office for FW Capital, serving investment needs by assembling portfolios of direct investments that are diversified by stage and industry.

Bessone is responsible for sourcing and evaluating various funds and direct investment opportunities for New Mexico Co-Investment Partners, L.P., a direct co-investment fund in which the New Mexico State Investment Council is the sole limited partner, as well as pursuing business development opportunities for Fort Washington in the Western part of the United States.

Prior to his position at Fort Washington, Bessone previously served as executive vice president for KTLindustries, Ltd., a private investment banking firm. In this position, he initiated discussions with several New Mexico-based private companies on behalf of private equity firms. Prior to KTLindustries, Ltd., Bessone was senior vice president at Stevenson & Company, a full service private investment banking firm. Bessone is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire and Williams College in Williamstown, Mass.


Brian Birk, Managing Partner, Sun Mountain Capital
Mr. Birk has over 20 years experience as an operating executive and investor. In 2006, Mr. Birk co-founded Sun Mountain Capital with a team of other senior investment professionals with over 60 years of combined private equity investing experience. Sun Mountain Capital currently manages two direct investment funds and provides private equity advisory services its clients.

Prior to forming Sun Mountain Capital, Mr. Birk was a Vice President at Fort Washington Investment Advisors where he managed New Mexico Co-Investment Partners and oversaw the New Mexico and Utah in-state Private Equity investment programs. Mr. Birk was a founder or senior executive at several high profile start up companies including Applied Minds and BiosGroup. He was a Senior Manager at Boston Consulting Group and a Finance Manager at GE Capital.

Mr. Birk is currently on the Board of Directors for the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association and is Chair of the Marketing Committee. Mr. Birk serves on the Board of Directors or is a Board Observer for several of Sun Mountain's portfolio companies, including Exagen Diagnostics, Lumidigm, Advent Solar, Aspen Avionics, and Eclipse Aviation. Mr. Birk has an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management where he graduated first in his class and a BS in Economics from Carleton College.


Todd Stevens, Managing Director, Wasatch Venture Fund
Mr. Stevens is the Founder and Managing Director of Wasatch Venture Fund as well as the Manager of the Zions Bank Venture Capital Department. He has been working in venture capital investing since the inception of Wasatch Venture Fund in 1994. Prior to founding Wasatch, Mr. Stevens worked as a Consultant, Treasurer of a Utah-based publicly traded company and as a Real Estate Development Executive. He has raised capital and invested more than $500 million in private and public companies. He received his B.S. in accounting and management from the University of Utah, cum laude. He also received a M.B.A. from Harvard University, graduating with honors.


Waneta Tuttle, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Dr. Tuttle was founding CEO of Exagen and served in that capacity until 2005. She is the owner and CEO of Southwest Medical Ventures (SMV), a life sciences venture development and advisory services company. Through SMV she previously was the founding CEO of Indigo Medical, (now owned by Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon Endosurgery), Patient Technologies, PhDx Systems. SMV is the managing member of Puente Partners, LLC a venture development company in Albuquerque.

Until its sale to Eisai Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in January of 2008, Dr. Tuttle served as a Director of NASDAQ listed MGI Pharma, Inc., an oncology and acute care focused biopharmaceutical company. She is a Director of Health Care Service Corporation, a mutual legal reserve company operating Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. She continues as a Director of PhDx Systems and is a Member of the Corporation at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratories in Boston.

Dr. Tuttle's Ph.D. is in biology with a concentration in physiology. She also holds an M.B.A. from the R.O. Anderson Schools of Management at the University of New Mexico where she serves on its National Advisory Board. She has been inducted into the Anderson Schools Hall of Fame.