Bruce L. Crockett
Crockett Technology Associates

Mr. Crockett holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and Economics from the University of Rochester, a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Maryland, and an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Maryland.

Raul J. Fernandez
Chief Executive Officer,
Dimension Data North America

Mr. Fernandez founded Proxicom in 1991 with $40,000 of his personal savings. Under his leadership the publicly traded company evolved into a leading global provider of sophisticated e-business solutions for Fortune 500 companies. Today, Dimension Data/Proxicom utilizes its expertise in e-business consulting and development along with the newly integrated skills of networking services and managed services to provide integrated solutions to a blue-chip client base, which includes AOL Time Warner, Marriott International, General Electric, General Motors, Merrill Lynch and Renault, among many others. 

In January 2000, Mr. Fernandez became one of the owners of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.  Mr. Fernandez, a native Washingtonian, has been profiled in many international and national media venues, including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, CNBC, The Industry Standard, The Washington Post, and CNNfn. He gave a nationally televised prime-time address at the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. In December 2001, Mr. Fernandez was named to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Prior to founding Proxicom, Mr. Fernandez was director of Emerging Technologies for a Washington, D.C., technology firm.  From 1984 to 1988, he also served as a legislative assistant to former Rep. Jack Kemp, R-N.Y.  Mr. Fernandez holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland.  He serves on the Boards of Directors of Liz Claiborne (NYSE:LIZ) and Critical Path (Nasdaq:CPTH), St. John’s College High School, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington and the Northern Virginia Technology Council.  Mr. Fernandez is a founding member of Venture Philanthropy Partners, an organization committed to helping develop and define the process of venture philanthropy to increase the level and effectiveness of giving in the National Capital region.

He resides in Potomac, Md., with his wife Jean Marie.

Arthur J. Marks
Chairman, 
Mid-Atlantic Venture Association

Art is currently a General Partner of Valhalla Partners, a private equity firm that aims to assist and invest in world class entrepreneurial companies.

Art was a General Partner with New Enterprise Associates from 1984 until 2001.  As of June 2001, more than 140 of NEA’s companies have had initial public offerings.  Some examples of companies funded by NEA include Advertising.com, Amisys (HBOC), Ascend Communications (Lucent), Corvis, Cyras Systems (CIENA), Cirrus Logic, Clarify (Nortel), Dallas Semiconductor, HEALTHSOUTH, Immunex, INTERSOLV (MERANT), Juniper Networks, Progress Software, UUNet (WorldCom), Bay Networks (Nortel), Xros (Nortel), Vitesse Semiconductor, and 3Com. 

From 1975 until 1984, Art was with General Electric where he served as President of the Software Products Operation at GE Information Services and previously as General Manager of the X-Ray Products Department of GE Medical Systems.  From 1971 to 1975, he held various marketing, sales and finance positions at Baxter-Travenol Laboratories.  He received a Master’s in Business Administration with high distinction (Baker Scholar) from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Mario Morino
Morino Institute

Mario Morino, a former software entrepreneur, is chairman of the Morino Institute, chairman of Venture Philanthropy Partners, and a special partner at the private equity investment firm General Atlantic Partners. 

Under Mario’s leadership, the Morino Institute works to enhance the lives of children of low-income families by helping to foster innovation in the nonprofit and philanthropic organizations that serve their needs. Founded in 1994, the Morino Institute operates as a catalyst organization, launching entrepreneurial nonprofit organizations to put ideas into action. 

Entrepreneurial organizations created and incubated by the Morino Institute include:

Venture Philanthropy Partners, which provides sustained financial and management assistance to boost the strength and impact of youth-focused organizations; the Netpreneur program, a learning community dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship in the National Capital region; the YouthLearn Initiative, which provides tools and resources to strengthen technology-enriched learning programs and is now run by the Massachusetts-based Education Development Center, Inc.; the Youth Development Collaborative Pilot, which helped create networked learning centers in low-income neighborhoods of the District of Columbia; and the Potomac KnowledgeWay, an organization that worked in the mid-1990’s to build the National Capital region’s potential as a technology power in the global economy. 

Prior to establishing the Morino Institute, Mario enjoyed a 30-year career in the information technology industry during its developing years. In 1973, he co-founded Morino Associates, a software firm that merged with another firm in 1989 to become LEGENT Corporation.  LEGENT was acquired in 1995 in what was then the largest transaction in the computer software and services industry. 

Mario serves as a trustee of Case Western Reserve University, The Brookings Institution, and The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region; and as a commissioner of the National Commission on Entrepreneurship.

Mario’s honors and awards include: induction into the Washington Business Hall of Fame (2001), National Ernst and Young Supporter of Entrepreneurship (2000), Washingtonian magazine’s Washingtonian of the Year (1999), American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award (1999), Greater Washington Area Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year (1998), and KPMG High Tech Entrepreneur of the Year (1993).

Jonathan P. Shames Partner,
Ernst & Young

Jon serves on the board of directors/steering committee of the following organizations: Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, Northern Virginia Technology Council, Mindshare, Mason Enterprise Center, TechVenture Partnership, CEO Team Solutions and Mid-Atlantic Venture Fair/Capital Connection 2001.  He is also chairperson of the Capital Formation Committee of NVTC. Jon has a BA in Economics from Colgate University and an MBA in Finance from New York University.

 

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