Bob is an experienced executive that has spent his career working at the intersection of business and science, building and starting up businesses.  Successful in both the corporate world and in the entrepreneurial world Bob brings strong business development skills and experience across functional areas in a wide range of industries.  He co-founded and successfully started-up Hearts&Minds LLC, a specialty food company offering health conscious consumers the foods they love to eat made better for them. Previously he co-founded and successfully started-up NewNeural LLC, a biotechnology company developing technologies licensed from University of Illinois to treat diseases and injuries of the central nervous system.  In the corporate world he was responsible for the Nutrition business at Ingredion (formerly Corn Products) working with prebiotics and long chain omega-3’s.   At Monsanto he led a fermentation based business to produce a pharmaceutical and feed additive, increasing sales through a global market development program and successfully divesting business to a strategic buyer.  At Monsanto and BASF (formerly Henkel) he developed new businesses and technologies and captured value through strategic agreements with customers and suppliers in the biotechnology and nutrition fields.  Bob has an Masters in Business Administration in Finance from University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University.

Liqun is an experienced executive that has spent his career developing new processes, managing chemical and biological manufacturing processes, developing business utilizing low capital and operating costs in China to provide strategic specialty chemicals to large western companies, and building and operating chemical and biological manufacturing plants.   Liqun has developed, designed and built a new manufacturing facility in China using technology licensed from the US that will produce natural xylitol with an improved method.  He has worked with companies like Dow, Dupont and DSM manufacturing strategic specialty chemical.  At Monsanto he was responsible for operating and improving a fermentation based business to produce a pharmaceutical and feed additive, improving quality and reducing costs.  Liqun has numerous awarded patents, and successfully commercialize several new process and products. Entrepreneur with start-up experience as president of successful specialty chemical Company.  Liqun has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston and a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemical Engineering from Tianjing Univeristy, China.

Dr. Demirjian  is the President and a Board member of zuChem, a company that develops proprietary process technologies for the manufacture of carbohydrates in the food, specialty and fine chemical markets. Dr. Demirjian was previously Founder and President of ThermoGen, Inc., a Chicago-based bioprocess company which was a pioneer of esterase biocatalysis technology for pharmaceutical applications. He is a previous winner of the Research Director’s Association of Chicago “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” (1997) and recipient of the U.S. SBA “Tibbets Award” for successful commercialization of technology developed under the Federal SBIR grant program. He was subsequently Vice President of Technology Strategy for MediChem Life Sciences after MediChem’s merger with ThermoGen in May 2000, where he oversaw the strategic development of MediChem’s R&D technology platform, including the integration of its drug discovery and chemical process technologies. He was one of the leaders of MediChem’s IPO, in which the company raised over $52 MM in October 2000. He also served as a Director of the company until its acquisition in May 2002 to deCode Genetics. He holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from The University of Chicago and B.S.A. in Molecular Biology from The University of Michigan.

Tom is the founder and CEO of ViMedicus, Inc. ViMedicus develops and markets patient centric care coordination solutions. He is also Managing Partner of Midwest Venture Partners and of ARCH Development Partners early stage venture partnerships. Previously, he was President and CEO of Calgene Fresh,  producing and marketing the world’s first biotech food product and  held several senior management positions at the NutraSweet Company.

Jay is an experienced executive that has spent his career working in business development, strategic planning, research and manufacturing culminating in leading Amoco/BP’s Chemical’s business development as Senior Vice President of Business Development.  Most recently Jay was the Director of the Knapp Entrepreneurship Center at Illinois Institute of Technology leading it’s efforts to develop and support the starting-up of new companies utilizing new technologies developed at the University.  Jay is also an active investor in various science based start-ups in the Chicago area.  Jay has Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology.