The Fifth Third Bank Entrepreneurship Institute's Board of Advisors is made up of leading business and academic professionals from around the country.

Board members work closely with Dr. White and the Entrepreneurship Institute staff to ensure that our programs provide students with "real life" perspectives and that our activities effectively serve the Northern Kentucky area.

Each member brings a wealth of experience and wisdom to the Institute and is actively involved in all areas of the program: marketing, fundraising, strategic planning, curriculum development, community outreach, regional economic development, panel discussions and guest lecturing in our classrooms.

Frank C. Braun

Dr. Biz Management Resources
P.O. Box 75100
Ft. Thomas, KY 41075

Frank C. Braun is president of Dr. Biz Management Resources, Ltd., a business services and technology-consulting firm specializing in Technology Analysis & Use, Business Impact Analysis and Strategic Planning, Technology Risk Management, Disaster Recovery Planning, Information Security & Controls, Process Workflow Analysis & Improvement, Project Management, E-Commerce, & Website Development.

Mr. Braun received his M.B.A. from Xavier University. He received his B.S. in Applied Science from Miami University (Oxford).

He is a faculty member in the Information Systems Department at Northern Kentucky University where he instructs in both the MBA and Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) programs.

Douglas Howe

Douglas Howe is an Executive Coach, Motivational Speaker and Innovator with over 25 years of proven leadership and experience in the business and non-profit sectors.

Mr. Howe founded and owns The HOWe Team, a Leadership Development company which offers Coaching and Consulting solutions to help Companies, Professionals and Families reach their maximum potential. He also reserves a portion of his time for youth organizations and schools.

Mr. Howe serves on several Boards and Committees including the Advisory Board and Academic Affairs Committee of the University of Northern Kentucky Entrepreneurship Institute, the Village of Indian Hill Recreation Commission, the Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy Campaign Cabinet and the Ohio Young Life Buckeye Region Committee. Doug also serves as the Director of Spiritual Growth at Montgomery Community Church in Suburban Cincinnati, and writes for Idol Chatter, a culture blog owned by Fox's Beliefnet.com, headquartered in New York City.

After spending most of his life in Southern California (where he earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees), Doug now lives in the Cincinnati area of Ohio with his wife and four children. His next book, The Missing Ingredient, is due out this Fall.

Jim Kanir

Jim Kanir is the President and Chief Operating Officer for Powerway Inc. an Indianapolis-based company in the Product Lifecycle Manufacturing (PLM) space. Mr. Kanir is focused on global company growth and new initiatives in the US, Asia, and Europe. He has an extensive background in M&A, Sales and Marketing. Prior to Powerway, Mr. Kanir served as President and CEO of Cohesia Corporation where he led negotiations culminating in Cohesia’s acquisition by Powerway in June of 2007.

Mr. Kanir has been involved with many technically-oriented companies and has focused on developing and executing fast growth strategies. He has worked with both large corporations and start-ups. Most recently, he positioned three out of his last four companies for acquisition, two of which were acquired by Fortune 500 firms.

In earlier assignments, he served in global sales and marketing executive positions at Reasoning Corporation, Unify Corporation, CrossAccess Corporation, Pentawave, and Bell & Howell. Mr. Kanir graduated from Wilmington College with a degree in Business Management.

Bill Cunningham

 

Diamond Fiber Composites

5746 Este Avenue

Cincinnati, OH 45232

Bill Cunningham is CEO of Diamond Fiber Composites, an advanced materials company, which manufactures nickel and copper coated carbon fiber for aerospace, electronic, biomedical and defense industries.  Prior to that Bill worked at AT&T, Data General and Apple Computer in sales and marketing positions before launching his first startup,  CollegeView in 1992. He has been involved with 5 startup ventures since 1992. Bill also taught for five years (1995-2000) at Xavier University's Entrepreneurial Studies Department and served as director of the Entrepreneurial Center from 1997-2000. Bill currently teaches as an adjunct professor for the NKU Entrepreneurial Institute. In 1999, Ernst & Young selected Bill as the Entrepreneurial Educator of the Year for the Ohio Valley Region.

Mr. Cunningham received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.

Robert B. Daly

Bluespring Software
1128 Main Street
Cincinnati, OH 45210

Robert B. Daly is president and CEO of Bluespring Software, the leader in pre-sale opportunity assessment solutions for telecommunications service providers.

Mr. Daly is a serial entrepreneur. He was Co-founder of Catalyst, a business accelerator focused on early stage companies in the communication and software industries. Pre Catalyst, he built the largest Competitive Local Exchange Carrier in Ohio.

Mr. Daly served as the COO of US Shoe Corp and began his career at the Procter & Gamble Co.

Mr. Daly is President of the greater Cincinnati Venture Association and serves on the boards of Resolution EBS and Spotlight Solutions and Emerging Concepts Inc.

Christopher L. Fister

Castellini Management Company
312 Elm Street Suite 2600
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Chris Fister is a partner in the Castellini Management Company, a private equity and venture capital firm. Prior to joining Castellini, Chris was a tax specialist with Deloitte and Touche concentrating his practice in closely held businesses and high net worth individuals.

He is a certified public accountant obtaining his BS degree from the University of Kentucky (Summa Cum Laude) and an MS in Taxation from the University of Cincinnati.

Michael Gentry

Joseph Decosimo and Company, LLP Atrium One Suite 1515
201 E. Fourth Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Michael Gentry has 26 years of experience in public accounting with 23 years specifically in the tax services area.

He joined Joseph Decosimo and Company in 1988 to lead the tax practice in the Cincinnati office after 11 years with other regional and local accounting firms. His tax consulting experience includes comprehensive corporate, partnership and individual research and planning, review and compliance, and representation before the Internal Revenue Service as well as other state and local tax authorities.

Mr. Gentry is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA). He has served as Chapter President and Taxation Committee Chair of the Cincinnati Chapter (OSCPA).

Mr. Gentry served as President of Board of Trustees for Santa Maria Community Services, a United Way supported, community based social service organization serving the Price Hill area. He was also an instructor of the Dale Carnegie Course. He graduated from Indiana University in 1977 and became a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Ohio in 1981.

Roger D. Griggs

Union Springs, LLC
P.O. Box 276
Union, KY 41091

Roger D. Griggs is a local entrepreneur and businessman. He has founded numerous businesses including Union Springs LLC (investment organization), Xanodyne Pharmacal (a cancer/pain management company), Richwood Pharmaceuticals (currently Shire Pharmaceuticals), Integrity Pharmaceuticals, PediaMed Pharmaceuticals and DECA (Drug Enhancement Corporation of America).

Mr. Griggs began his professional career as a teacher and football coach in northern Indiana. He has a master's degree in secondary education from Indiana University. He was named the 1997 Entrepreneur of the Year for Greater Cincinnati and finished among the top three in the national competition and was named "Deal Maker of the Year" (2003) by the Greater Cincinnati Association for Corporate Growth.

He is a co-founder with his wife, Kathy, of the Griggs Family Foundation. Roger and Kathy have three children and are members of the Florence Baptist Church.

Vickie Buyniski-Gluckman

5151 Pfeiffer Road, ML 400
Cincinnati, OH - 45242-4805

Ms. Gluckman is an accomplished entrepreneur. She is founder, President and CEO of United Medical Resources, Inc., a managed care third party administrator for employers who self-fund their benefit plans. Since Ms. Gluckman founded the company in 1983, it has grown to over 250 corporate customers with over 400,000 plan members located throughout the United States. Located in Cincinnati, UMR has over 400 associates managing over one billion dollars in healthcare services.

Ms. Gluckman also currently serves on the boards of US Bancorp, Ohio National Financial Services, Xavier University, The Christ Hospital, Junior Achievement of Greater Cincinnati, TPC at River’s Bend, and Playhouse in the Park.

Dawn is the founder, President and CEO of Observatory Group, Inc., (
www.observatory.com). A nationally recognized brand expert, she has
assisted businesses in creating and implementing powerful brand strategies that drive bottom-line performance. She has led her firm through successful expansions over the last 15 years, including the development of a health care/life science division as well as an educational subsidiary, Digital Educational Publishing.
 

Ms Hornback earned her B.S. in Finance with an emphasis in Economics from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio where she currently sits on the Business Advisory Council of the Richard T. Farmer School of Business.

Dawn's professional and community responsibilities include service on
numerous profit and non-profit boards and committees as well as serving as a mentor to young professionals. She and her husband have two children.

Giles T. Hertz

Northern Kentucky University
BEP 404
Highland Heights, Kentucky 41099

Professor Hertz is a 1983 graduate of the University of Kentucky (B.A., Political Science) and a 1989 Graduate of the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University (J.D.).

Prior to joining the faculty at NKU, Professor Hertz maintained a general civil practice as a partner in the Florence, Kentucky law firm of Monohan, Hertz & Blankenship, then later as an associate with the Cincinnati law firm of Finney, Stagnaro, Saba & Klusmeier. He is licensed to practice law in Kentucky and Ohio.

Professor Hertz began teaching at NKU as a part-time faculty member in January 2000. He was hired as a full-time Lecturer of Entrepreneurship in the fall of 2001.

Professor Hertz teaches Fundamentals of Management and Marketing at the graduate and undergraduate levels, Legal Environment (Business Law), New Venture Creation, Emerging Enterprise Law, Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Field Studies in Entrepreneurial Firms, the Entrepreneurship Institute's rapidly growing internship program. Professor Hertz also serves as the faculty sponsor for NKU's chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (CEO).

Professor Hertz has served on the Institute's Advisory Board since its inception and is a member of the Board's marketing committee.

Dr. Donald F. Kuratko

Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship
Professor of Entrepreneurship
Executive Director, The Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Dr. Donald F. Kuratko is the Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship; Professor of Entrepreneurship; and Executive Director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University-Bloomington. Previously he was the Stoops Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship and Founding Director of the Entrepreneurship Program, Miller College of Business, Ball State University. In addition, he was the Executive Director of The Midwest Entrepreneurial Education Center. Dr. Kuratko was the first professor ever to be named a Distinguished Professor for the College of Business at Ball State University and held that position for 15 years.

The academic program in entrepreneurship that Dr. Kuratko developed at Ball State University earned national acclaim with such honors as The George Washington Medal of Honor (1987); the Leavey Foundation Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise (1988); National Model Entrepreneurship Undergraduate Program Award (1990); the NFIB Entrepreneurship Excellence Award (1993); the National Model Entrepreneurship Graduate Program Award (1998) and the National Model Innovative Pedagogy Award for Entrepreneurship (2001).

The Midwest Entrepreneurial Education Center (which Dr. Kuratko developed at Ball State University) received the Quality Improvement Award from the state of Indiana (1998, 1999, & 2000) and the NASDAQ Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award (2000). In addition, Ball State University's Entrepreneurship Program continually earned national rankings including: Top 20 in Business Week and Success magazines; Top 10 business schools for entrepreneurship research (Journal of Management); Top 4 in U.S. News & World Report's elite ranking (including the #1 public university for entrepreneurship); and the #1 Regional Entrepreneurship Program in Entrepreneur magazine.

Richard L. McGraw

RGI Design, Inc.
2245 Gilbert Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45206

Richard L. McGraw is president of RGI Design, Inc., a Cincinnati-based communication-design company conducting business in 23 states and 5 countries.

Mr. McGraw founded RGI Design, Inc. in 1988; previously he was the advertising manager of the Kroger Co.

Mr. McGraw serves on various charitable organizations, including the board of Kick for Kids and The Point ARC of Northern Kentucky. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University.

John C. McIlwraith

Blue Chip Venture Company
1100 Chiquita Center
250 East Fifth Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Mr. McIlwraith has been active in various aspects of the venture capital industry for fifteen years.

Prior to joining Blue Chip Venture Company as its third Managing Director in January 1997, Mr. McIlwraith was the Senior Vice President, Business Development of Quantum Health Resources, a publicly-traded provider of health care services. Prior to Quantum, Mr. McIlwraith was a Partner with Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue where he represented early stage companies and venture capital firms.

At Blue Chip, Mr. McIlwraith has led investments in 22 portfolio companies totaling over $100 million. Mr. McIlwraith is also a member of the Advisory Boards of Ohio Innovation Fund, Gazelle TechVentures, Arbor Partners and Fund Isabella. He has been a frequent speaker on venture capital matters.

Mr. McIlwraith received a B.A. degree from Hillsdale College in 1981, and a J.D. degree magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1985, where he was a member of the Law Review.

Timothy P. Rawe

Fifth Third Bank of Northern Kentucky
8100 Burlington Pike
Florence, KY 41042-1294

Tim Rawe is President and CEO of Fifth Third Bank, Northern Kentucky. He is accountable for the performance of the Northern Kentucky affiliate of Fifth Third Bank, a diversified financial services company.

Mr. Rawe serves on the finance council for the Diocese of Covington and is a member on the Boards of Tri-County Economic Development Foundation, Brighton Properties, and Catholic Social Services.

He is the Chair Elect for the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. He is also on the College of Business Advisory Board for Northern Kentucky University, and the NKU Foundation.

Mr. Rawe received a B.S. in Management from Northern Kentucky University.

Mr. Rawe, a life-long resident of Campbell County, is married to Barb and they have two children: Jeff, 17 years old; and Sara, 14 years old.

Christopher Sturm

Capital Software, Inc.
1881 Dixie Highway, Suite 220
Ft. Wright, KY 41011

Mr. Sturm is the co-founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Capital Software, Inc.

Prior to creating his own company in 1998, Mr. Sturm worked for Donald R. Frey and Company, Inc. as a software sales specialist. Mr. Sturm was able to surpass prior company revenue records by $160,000 and expand customer base by 40% by concentrating his sales efforts in local and county government.

His current research focuses on conflict in franchise organization and the performance of publicly held franchisors.

Mr. Sturm successfully leads Capital's development and expansion efforts. Capital Software has product installations in over 17 states and its applications are used internationally. Capital Software was awarded the Emerging 30 award in 2003, 2004, and 2005 by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce as one of the 30 fastest growing organizations in Northern Kentucky. The Chamber also recognized Capital Software in 2005 by awarding Capital Software with the Small Business Success Award. The awards program recognizes small businesses that have shown growth, community service, financial stability, resourcefulness and creativity to excel in their industry.

Mr. Sturm is a NKU Alumni, obtaining his BS degree in Marketing/Oral Communication. He and his wife Jill are members of Calvary Christian Church in Covington and reside in Erlanger with their four children.

Raymond J. Stewart

Greenebaum Doll & McDonald, PLLC
50 E. RiverCenter Blvd., Suite 1800
Covington, KY 41011

Mr. Stewart is a partner in the greater Cincinnati offices of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald, PLLC, for which he serves as chair of its Corporate and Securities Practice Group and managing partner of its Washington, D.C. office.

He has over 20 years of experience in providing legal, financial, tax, merger & acquisition and capital formation services industry. Also a certified public accountant, he combines a strong legal background with a solid understanding of the financial consequences of business transactions.

He has assisted businesses in a number of different industries execute growth strategies through acquisition and integration. Mr. Stewart was a partner with Deloitte and Touche until 1990 and also served as an adjunct Professor in the Georgetown University Masters of Tax Program from 1986-1990.

Mr. Stewart is a member of the American Bar Association, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, and Texas Bars, the United States Tax Court, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Texas and District of Columbia Institutes of Certified Public Accountants.

A 1975 graduate of Thomas More College with a B.A in accounting, Mr. Stewart received his law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1978, and his Masters in Tax Law from Georgetown University Law Center in 1985.