About Fat Spaniel Technologies
 

Board of Directors

 

Our Board of Directors is comprised of representatives of our founders, management and the following outside directors:

Robert L. Puette

Robert L. Puette

Chairman

Mr. 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, Mr. Puette was President, CEO, and member of the Board of Directors of Centigram Communications Corp., a communications technology company.

From 1995 to 1997, he served as President, CEO and Chairman at NetFRAME Systems, a high-availability computer server company and from 1990 to 1993, 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 Board of several other corporations. Mr. Puette holds a BSEE degree from Northwestern University and a MSOR degree from Stanford University.


Chris Beekhuis

Chris Beekhuis

President & Chief Technology Officer

Mr. Beekhuis is President and Chief Technology Office of Fat Spaniel Technologies. He has 18 years of software engineering and technology management experience. His achievements include: delivery of a real-time e-commerce transaction engine; hosted web applications; and shrink-wrapped, OEM and bundled applications. Prior to founding FST, Mr. Beekhuis was: VP, Renewable Energy Systems Division at Salas O'Brien Engineers Inc.; and VP, Engineering at eFinance Corporation Inc.

He has held management and development positions with Digital Market Inc., Silicon Graphics, AddStor Incorporated, and DynaMedix Corporation. He holds an MS degree in Engineering Management from Santa Clara University as well as a BA in Computer Science from Cornell University. Mr. Beekhuis is LEED 2.0 accredited.


David F. Lincoln

David F. Lincoln

Director

Mr. Lincoln is Managing Partner of DFJ Element. He has been an active investor in venture capital for more than15 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, David was a partner with CMS Companies, a Philadelphia- based private equity and financial services firm. David began his career at UGI Corporation, a diversified energy and utility holding company. David also serves on the Board of Directors of Wasatch Wind, Inc. David holds a BA with honors in Geology from Colgate University and an MS in Energy Management and Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.


Thomas J. Starrs

Thomas J. Starrs

Director

Dr. Thomas J. ("Tom") Starrs is Vice President, Marketing and Sales for the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF). Prior to joining BEF, Tom was Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing and a member of the Board of Directors of RWE Schott Solar Inc., the world's fifth largest manufacturer of solar photovoltaic cells and modules.

Mr. Starrs also spent seven years as co-founder and principal of Kelso Starrs & Associates LLC, an energy consulting firm focusing on the design and implementation of policies and programs to support renewable energy development, with an emphasis on solar and wind energy. He serves on the Boards of the American Solar Energy Society (as Chairman) and the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies. Tom holds a Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group and a law degree from U.C. Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law.


   
John Ludwig Photo

John Ludwig

Partner, Ignition Partners

John is a founding partner of Ignition Partners. He invests in end-user and consumer-facing technology companies.

John represents Ignition Partners as director on the boards of Judy's Book and Network Magic. John previously served on the board of Avogadro (acquired by OpenWave) and Wildseed (acquired by AOL).

Prior to Ignition Partners, John spent 11 years Microsoft where he most recently served at Vice President of Product Development. At Microsoft, John 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; 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 VP of Development for MSN, John had overall responsibility for product development. On behalf of MSN, John's team negotiated MSN partnering deals with Compaq, BestBuy, Costco, and other distribution partners, created the MSN Mobile team and partnership with Nextel ($600 million investment). John 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.

John 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; led the team that created Windows for Workgroups, which grew to 50% market share to become the most widely-used peer networking product worldwide.

John 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.

   
Gregory Sullivan

Mike Walkinsaw

Managing Director, Chrysalix Energy

Mike has been with Chrysalix since the summer of 2002 and has overseen the investment activities of the Fund since that time. Mike is a Board member for H2scan, Fat Spaniel Technologies, Akermin, Inc. and is actively involved in sourcing new investments for the Fund.

Prior to joining Chrysalix, Mike was with Ballard Power Systems, the worlds' leading developer and manufacturer of PEM Fuel Cells for over five years. Mike held a number of 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, Mike also spent six years with Price Waterhouse in Vancouver, gaining his Chartered Accountant status and helping small entrepreneurial businesses grow.

He obtained his C.A. designation with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia in 1993. Mike holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from the University of British Columbia.