Board of Directors
James P. Ashman
Chairman of the Board
James P. Ashman has more than two decades experience as a venture capitalist and finance executive. Among the seed and early-stage companies in which he has invested and been involved are Amici LLC, which was sold to Xerox Corp., and CAI Wireless Systems, Inc., a publicly-traded wireless telecommunications company acquired by MCI/WorldCom.
His career in corporate finance at Prudential Securities Inc. included executing public offerings of debt and equity, private placements and merger and acquisition advisories for companies in a wide-range of industries. He also served as executive vice president, chief financial officer and member of the board of directors of CAI Wireless Systems, Inc. Currently, Ashman is a member of the board of directors of Starfire Systems, Inc., a Malta, N.Y.-based developer and manufacturer of nano-structured ceramic materials and finished products.
He holds a BA degree in economics and an MBA, both from Columbia University.
Myron Bond
Director
Myron Bond is currently a senior vice president – investments of UBS Financial Services Inc. in Dallas. He holds bachelor and master of science degrees in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma. Before joining UBS Financial Services in 1968, Bond worked as an engineer for ExxonMobil in Houston. He also serves as president and chairman of Four Bees Ranch Inc. and as director of Bond Family Inc.
Bharat S. Chahar
Director
The former director of the Advanced Technology in the Emerging Technology Group of ConocoPhillips Inc. in Ponca City, Okla., Chahar currently serves as the company’s manager, Composite Graphite in Houston. He has 22 years of industrial R&D experience with Conoco and ConocoPhillips, including technical support, process development and product development. For the past five years, Chahar has played a leadership role in the development of carbon products based on ConocoPhillips carbon upgrading core competency. He holds a doctoral degree in chemical engineering.
Anil Gollahalli
University of Oklahoma Designee
As General Counsel for the University of Oklahoma, Cameron University and Rogers State University, Anil Gollahalli oversees all legal and compliance issues for all three universities. Prior to becoming General Counsel he was University Vice President for Technology Development, directing the commercialization operations of the Intellectual Property Management Office, the office for Commerce Information and Venture Opportunities and the Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth. A Norman native, Gollahalli returned to OU in 2006, after practicing law in Dallas, first with Jenkens & Gilchrist P.C. and later Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP. Mr. Gollahalli has extensive experience in the intellectual property fields of patent, copyright and trademark law, and has additional expertise in licensing.
Gollahalli earned his chemical engineering degree from OU in 1997 and his law degree from the University of Chicago in 2000. After law school, he served as law clerk to the Hon. Lee R. West, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Gollahalli also is licensed to practice before the U. S. Patent & Trademark Office and is active in the American Bar Association and American Intellectual Property Law Association.
M.R. (Merl) Lindstrom
Director
Merl Lindstrom is general manager of downstream research and development for ConocoPhillips. Lindstrom began his career with Phillips in 1978 as a research chemist in research and development. In 1984, he was promoted to section supervisor with R&D in the polymers and materials area. Three years later, he became director of industry analysis in planning and budgeting for Phillips 66 Co., a division of Phillips. In 1988, Lindstrom became director of alloys, blends and compounds in plastics.
He served as director of plastics/chemicals in planning and budgeting for Phillips 66 Co. before being named manager of the chemicals division for the R&D staff in 1991. From 1998 to 2001 he served as Woods Cross business unit manager for Phillips 66 Co. In 2001, Lindstrom returned to Bartlesville, Okla., as manager of technology services and facilities in the technology and project development division of Phillips Petroleum Co.
Joe Nathan
Insight 2811 Technology Entrepreneur Fund LP Designee
Mr. Nathan is a Founder and Managing Partner of Insight Technology Capital Partners. In his current capacity he oversees Private Equity, Venture Capital, M&A and Valuation areas. Prior to forming Insight Technology Capital Partners, Mr. Nathan served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Compuware. In the 23 years he was at Compuware he was responsible for developing and implementing strategy to grow the company from $9 million annual revenue to more than $2.2 billion.
Mr. Nathan participated in the public and secondary offerings and was responsible for investor relations, mergers and acquisitions. Following his career at Compuware, Mr. Nathan “retired” for two years before co-founding Insight Technology Capital Partners. During this period, Mr. Nathan established a high tech computer software startup and at the request of Michigan’s Governor developed a successful strategy to make the Michigan Broadband Development Authority
Daniel Pullin
Director
As University Vice President for Technology Development and Business Development, Daniel Pullin directs the commercialization operations of the OTD and manages Business Development efforts for the University including the administration of OU’s Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth (CCEW). CCEW provides an interdisciplinary environment where researchers, entrepreneurs and students collaborate to grow and diversify Oklahoma’s economy through the nurturing of technology-based enterprises.
Prior to joining OU in 2006, Pullin served as vice president of strategy and business development for Home Interiors & Gifts, a $500 million manufacturer and direct seller of consumer products, where he established a new division focused on product sales to fundraising organizations, served as director of operations for the company’s retail group, and led the company’s merger and acquisition, intellectual property licensing and product development activities.
Pullin previously worked at Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst, a private-equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts, and McKinsey & Company, a global strategy consulting firm. He holds undergraduate degrees from OU in finance and accountancy and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.
George Wilson
Director
George Wilson, President of Hitachi Computer Products (America), Inc., has spent the last 22 years with Hitachi. He is the first American president of the company and in that role is responsible for the company’s transformation from a captive manufacturing operation to a full service Electronic Manufacturing Service company, competitive in the global marketplace.
Wilson joined Hitachi Computer Products (America), Inc. in 1987 as an Engineer in the Production Engineering Department. Throughout his career at Hitachi he has assumed increasingly responsible positions covering all aspects of operational management including Production Engineering, Facilities Planning, Test Engineering, Production and Quality Assurance.
Wilson received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. He is also a graduate of Oklahoma City University with a Masters of Business Administration.
George serves on the Board of Advisors for the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. He also serves on the Boards of Directors of the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University, Norman Economic Development Coalition, and the United Way of Norman. He is a past member of the Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Excellence.