HTC - Management Team

Photography generously donated by Steve Lee Photography www.steveleephoto.com	HTC Leadership
	Walter Ulrich, President and CEO Appointed by Governor Rick Perry, Walter Ulrich served a two year term as one of 17 founding members of the Texas Emerging Technology Fund Committee that was responsible for awarding $200 million to foster the commercialization of innovative emerging technology within the State of Texas. In addition to his leadership of the HTC, he now serves as Chairman of the Gulf Coast Center for Innovation and Commercialization. Prior to joining the Houston Technology Center, he was CEO of several technology companies and an executive with two major global management consulting firms. He serves on several Boards and is active in major community organizations. Early in his career, he was responsible for the development of the first successful email service and he founded a major regional IT leader. He has a master and bachelors degree from Stevens Institute of Technology and served proudly in the US Marine Corps.
	Paul M. Frison, Executive Vice Chairman Founder of the Houston Technology Center, Paul Frison served as its President from 1999-2007. He has been President and/or CEO of three public, technology based companies: LifeMark (1975-1984), NYSE; ComputerCraft (1984-1999), NASDAQ; and LifeCell (1986-1999). He has been involved in numerous other start-ups by serving on the Board of Directors. His broad experience includes many mergers and acquisitions. He has raised multiple rounds of venture capital, two IPOs, and more than a dozen follow-on rounds of public financing. In 2004 he was honored by the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year program and by the Kauffman Foundation as a national finalist for his achievements as Supporter of Entrepreneurship.
	HTC Executive Staff
	Maryanne Barker, Development Director, Energy Ms. Barker is the Director of Development of the Energy Practice at the Houston Technology Center (HTC). She provides strategic and tactical management, as well as investment-related advice to Houston-area early stage companies developing innovative technologies applied in the energy industry. Ms. Barker assists in recruiting and screening new energy clients, further growing the renewable energy/clean tech area and direct special energy-related projects at HTC. Prior to joining HTC, Ms. Barker presided as Head of Trade and Investment and Head of the International Energy Team for UK Trade and Investment, based in Houston. Previous to working with the United Kingdom, Ms. Barker served as Trade Commissioner for the Canadian Consulate-Houston, following several operational and regulatory positions with oil and gas companies. A native of North Carolina, Barker holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree from LeTourneau University in Longview City Texas.
	Maggie Joplin, Director, Marketing and Communications Ms. Joplin is the Director, Marketing and Communications at the Houston Technology Center (HTC). She leads all marketing, public relations, and branding activities for the organization. She brings over 15 years of marketing and public relations expertise to the HTC. She has served in multiple marketing and development roles in the civic, non-profit, and healthcare fields. In addition, Ms. Joplin is an active member and participant in the community, having volunteered and served on the board of directors for a number of agencies including Pasadena South Rotary Board of Directors, YWCA Hamilton, Ohio Chapter Board of Directors and City Employees Federal Credit Union Board of Directors. She is also an active member of the American Marketing Association Houston Chapter. She received her Masters of Business Administration with dual concentrations in Finance and in Marketing from The University of St. Thomas in Houston and an undergraduate degree in Public Administration from The Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio.
	Deborah Mansfield, Development Director, Life Sciences and Associate Director, Gulf Coast RCIC Ms. Mansfield has an extensive background in management, non-equity funding, entrepreneurship, compliance, and research in the Life Sciences sector. She has provided operations support to the Governor’s Council on Science and Biotechnology Development and currently acts as associate director for the Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization, Texas Emerging Technology Fund. Prior to joining HTC, Deborah served in a number of management and research roles at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is an avid participant in a variety of entrepreneurship enabling groups such as Bio/Medical Technology Club of Houston, Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, and MIT Forum, as well as, functions in an advisory capacity to ACCION Texas, Research Valley Partnership, Laser Tissue Welding, Inc., Fairway Medical Technologies, Inc., and Rice Alliance. Ms. Mansfield holds a Masters of Business Administration from Our Lady of the Lake University, MS from Pennsylvania State University, and BS from California State University of Pennsylvania.
	Bob Prochnow, CIO and Director, Gulf Coast RCIC Bob Prochnow has served as an executive in energy and IT technology companies ranging in size from startups to Fortune 500. In 2001, he was honored by COMPUTERWORLD as one of their Premier 100 IT Leaders. Bob is an honors graduate with BSEE and MEE degrees from Rice University, specializing in computer hardware and software. Bob has been active helping early stage companies, working with the Austin Technology Incubator, Houston Technology Center, and the Rice Alliance, and as the Director of the Gulf Coast RCIC has helped early stage companies receive funding through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.
	John W. “Jack” Sim, Director, Finance and Administration Jack Sim has served as the Director, Finance and Administration for Houston Technology Center since 2005, and has been active with entrepreneurial start-up companies for over twenty years. While serving as HTC's CFO and handling the company’s HR functions and contract management, he was named 2010 Celebrate!Enterprise "Best CFO of The Year" in the Small Nonprofit category. Prior to joining HTC, he helped found and served as Vice President of several companies developing environmental and chemical technologies. His first environmental company, NECO Technologies, Inc., patented a technology responsible for the world’s finest CO2 facility which removes CO2 from cogeneration exhaust gases. Earlier in his career, he was Vice President of Operations for a worldwide chemical distributor for over 12 years, and he has helped found his wife’s successful retail florist operation. Jack is originally from Chicago, where he received his undergraduate degree in Mathematics from St. Xavier University. He is active in his community and has served on the board of the Brazos Bend Exchange Club, on a retail trade association, and on the Pastoral Council of his church.
	Sheila Whanger, Director, Special Events Sheila Whanger serves as Director of Special Events for Houston Technology Center (HTC) and has been affiliated with HTC since their inception in 1999. A seasoned event planner, with more than 30 years of experience in Houston, Sheila manages all of HTC’s major events, driving increased revenue and visibility for the organization. These include the Energy Technology Venture Capital Conference (ETVCC), the annual Gala: and the Gulf Coast Innovation Conference & Showcase (GCIC&S). Sheila acts as liaison with the Mayor’s and Governor’s offices when either of these two officials participates in an HTC event. She acted as HTC’s project manager during the construction of the two buildings that house HTC and its’ tenants. Prior to joining HTC, Sheila was in advertising sales at PennWell Publishing Company (1988-1999), her role there also included planning and coordinating OTC related events. Sheila was Assistant Executive Vice President of the Houston Association of Realtors (1976-1988), the largest membership trade organization in Houston. While there, she was elected to serve as Chair of the Texas Association of Realtors Executive Officers Committee. She has been a member of the Willow City Ranch Owners Association for over four years.
	HTC Entrepreneurs in Residence
	Andrew Clark, Entrepreneur in Residence Andrew Clark has more than 25 years experience in health care, technology, and energy-related fields. His corporate experience extends from roles at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Compaq Computer, and Reliant Energy. Currently, he provides investments in and consulting to start-ups and early stage companies through the Houston Angel Network, where he is past president, and The Castell Group, where he is a principal. He has assisted numerous HTC clients and has been instrumental in the formation and raising of capital for early stage companies.
	Bill Crow, Entrepreneur in Residence Bill Crow joined the Houston Technology Center as an entrepreneur-in-residence focusing on nanotechnology after retiring as Chief of Staff for Congressman John Culberson, Texas CD #7. Mr. Crow focused on the Congressman’s key goals in traffic congestion reduction, nanohealth and nanoenergy for five years after retiring from 42 years in the private sector. Mr. Crow has extensive experience with start-ups, small companies as well as major corporations after having served several senior executive positions with companies such as Exxon, Seismic Computing Corp., Swanson & Crow, GPS Technology Corp., and the Tobin Group of Companies. Mr. Crow received his B.S. in Geological Engineering and a M.S. in Geophysics from Kansas University, located at Lawrence, Kansas.
	Bill Sidwell, Entrepreneur in Residence Bill Sidwell is a world-class brand marketer, a talented practitioner of brand management. He led the efforts that transformed HP into the world’s leading information technology company, creating a powerful, trusted and respected iconic brand for the 21^st century. Bill held the same position at Compaq and worked on the HP/Compaq merger integration. Prior to joining Compaq, he was Senior Vice President and Director of Strategy & Planning for Ogilvy & Mather. While at Ogilvy, Sidwell was part of the initial team that led the transformation of the IBM brand. He led the re-launch of Shell Oil Company’s highly successful “Come to Shell for Answers” corporate campaign after an almost twenty-year hiatus. He also led the development and highly successful launch of the first ever co-branded gasoline credit card, the Shell MasterCard. Bill has broad brand marketing and brand management experience across a number of sectors, including retail, technology, petroleum, transit, automotive, telecommunications, and financial services experience.
	Doug Strahm, Entrepreneur in Residence Doug Strahm spent over 25 years working with CEO’s and senior management teams in business start-ups, Inc. 500 firms and Fortune 100 companies such as Siemens and Honeywell in the US and Canada. He has held leadership positions including EVP of US Sales and Operations, VP of Sales, and Program Manager in private and public companies with annual revenues from several millions up to $3.5 billion. Doug's passion is accelerating the growth of companies and their leadership teams. His range of experience includes information technology, aerospace, biomedical electronics, communications, industrial processing, upstream, midstream, and downstream oil and gas, pipelines, research and development, field service, real estate management, electronics manufacturing, software development, and consulting.
	Carl Walker, Entrepreneur in Residence Carl is an angel investor focused on early-stage technology companies. He is an investor and Board Member with the Houston Angel Network and an investor with the Central Texas Angel Network. He has an MBA from Wharton, an MSEE from Stanford and a BSEE from Purdue. Previously, he ran an investment management firm, worked as a senior equity research analyst for Neuberger Berman, was a junior equity research analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein and a senior product manager at Lucent Technologies.
	HTC Staff
	Diane Askins, Accounting Coordinator
	Melissa Fritsche, Administrative Assistant
	Crystal Martinez, Administrative Assistant
	Sue Moore, Executive Assistant and Admin. Services Manager
	Steve Smith, Facilities Manager
	Kendra Trueba, Property Manager and Leasing Agent