Board of Directors
Robert L. Puette
Chairman
Bob Puette is CEO of Puette Capital Management, Inc. (PCMI), a management consulting and investment company. Prior to founding PCMI in 2004, Mr. Puette was a partner with WK Technology Fund, a venture capital firm. Between 1997 and 2000, he was president, CEO, and member of the board of directors of Centigram Communications Corp., a communications technology company.
From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Puette served as president, CEO and chairman at NetFRAME Systems, a high-availability computer server company and from 1990 to 1993, he served as president of Apple USA, Apple Corporation. From 1991 to 1999, Mr. Puette was a director of Cisco Systems. Prior to that, he served as a group general manager of Hewlett-Packard Corp. He is on the boards of several other corporations. Mr. Puette holds a BSEE degree from Northwestern University and a MSOR degree from Stanford University.
Matthew Powell
Chief Executive Officer
With over 20 years of leadership experience and a record of success in high-growth technology markets, Matthew Powell joins Fat Spaniel as chief executive officer (CEO). Matt was most recently CEO at Q-layer, a pioneering cloud computing software start-up which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in January, 2009. Before Q-layer, Matt was president and CEO at Determina, Vernier Networks, and Siliquent Technologies. He has an extensive track record of growing revenues, forging partnerships with industry leaders, and building highly effective global teams at companies such as Cisco Systems, StrataCom, and Netro Corporation. Matt has an MBA from the Wharton School and a B.A. cum laude from Tulane University.
David F. Lincoln
Director
David Lincoln is managing partner of DFJ Element. He has been an active investor in venture capital for over 15 years and has more than 20 years of experience investing in energy and technology companies. His areas of investment focus include renewable and alternative energy technologies, energy storage, advanced materials, resource optimization, and the upstream energy sector.
Prior to forming Element, Mr. Lincoln was a co-founder and managing director of EnerTech Capital Partners, an energy technology venture firm formed in 1996. He also founded and served as president and CEO of Deven Resources, Inc., a private equity firm dedicated to the acquisition and development of energy properties. From 1984 to 1991, Mr. Lincoln was a partner with CMS Companies, a Philadelphia- based private equity and financial services firm. He began his career at UGI Corporation, a diversified energy and utility holding company. Mr. Lincoln also serves on the board of directors of Wasatch Wind, Inc. He holds a BA with honors in geology from Colgate University and an MS in energy management and policy from the University of Pennsylvania.
John Ludwig
Partner, Ignition Partners
John Ludwig is a founding partner of Ignition Partners. He invests in end-user and consumer-facing technology companies. Mr. Ludwig represents Ignition Partners as director on the boards of Judy’s Book and Network Magic. He previously served on the board of Avogadro (acquired by OpenWave) and Wildseed (acquired by AOL).
Prior to Ignition Partners, Mr. Ludwig spent 11 years Microsoft where he last served at vice president of product development. At Microsoft, he led the $400 million acquisition and ongoing operation of Hotmail, the world’s largest email service, growing it from 10 million to 60 million users. Mr. Ludwig also led the $260 million acquisition and integration of the LinkExchange, the most popular ad serving network in the world, and the restart of the MSN Internet Access service.
As vice president of development for MSN, Mr. Ludwig had overall responsibility for product development. On behalf of MSN, his team negotiated MSN partnering deals with Compaq, BestBuy, Costco, and other distribution partners, and created the MSN Mobile team and partnership with Nextel ($600 million investment). Mr. Ludwig directed the development and release of the MSN portal and search and developed the Passport network for authentication and commerce across the entire network of Microsoft and partner websites.
Mr. Ludwig built the 700-member team responsible for the first four releases of Internet Explorer, growing market share from 0% to 60%. He co-managed the development of Windows 95. He also led the acquisition of the initial technology for Microsoft Exchange. Mr. Ludwig led the team that created Windows for Workgroups, which grew to 50% market share to become the most widely-used peer networking product worldwide.
Mr. Ludwig received his M.S. degree in electrical engineering and an M.S. degree with distinction in industrial administration from Carnegie-Mellon and a B.S. degree in electrical engineering, cum laude honors, from Ohio State.
Mike Walkinshaw
Managing Director, Chrysalix Energy
Mike Walkinshaw has been with Chrysalix since the summer of 2002 and has overseen the investment activities of the Fund since that time. Mr. Walkinshaw is a board member for H2scan, Fat Spaniel Technologies, and Akermin, Inc., and is actively involved in sourcing new investments for the Fund.
Prior to joining Chrysalix, Mr. Walkinshaw was with Ballard Power Systems, the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of PEM Fuel Cells. He held several roles within the organization and was the manager of product strategy and a product manager for the Nexa power module, the world’s first commercial fuel cell module, during his final three years with Ballard. Prior to Ballard, Mr. Walkinshaw also spent six years with Price Waterhouse in Vancouver, gaining his chartered accountant status and helping small entrepreneurial businesses grow.
Mr. Walkinshaw obtained his C.A. designation with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia in 1993. He holds a bachelor of commerce (finance) degree from the University of British Columbia.