Lang Fund Mentor Network

Lang Fund Mentor Network

Joseph Adipietro

Joe Adipietro is a director in the leveraged finance group at Credit Suisse First Boston. As a capital markets professional, Mr. Adipietro focuses on structuring and syndicating bank financings and bridge loans for financial sponsors and corporate clients in a broad range of industries. The types of financing include leveraged buyouts, refinancings and recapitalizations. Mr. Adipietro has been with the firm since 1996, when he joined Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, which was subsequently acquired by CSFB.

From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Adipietro was a banker in the structured finance group at Citicorp Securities, Inc., where he focused on originating asset-based loans for corporate clients. From 1991 to 1994, Mr. Adipietro was an associate in the global trade finance group at Citicorp, where he provided cross-border financing to large industrial corporations.

Mr. Adipietro holds a BS from Columbia University’s School of Engineering and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Christopher Aidun

Christopher Aidun is a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges. The firm focuses on representing venture capital and strategic investors in high technology, biotechnology and other growth companies. The firm also represents Global 2000 companies in joint ventures and strategic relationships with technology firms and other companies. Venture capital clients include Lehman Venture Capital Partners, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and GE Capital. Strategic investor and joint venture clients include Pirelli, The Reader's Digest Association and RegistryPro.

Mr. Aidun frequently writes and speaks on venture capital, technology law and strategic partnering issues. Recent articles include "Creating Brand Equity in Top-Level Domain Names" in the New York Law Journal (June 12, 2001), "Current Trends in Venture Capital Financing" in Cyberspace Lawyer (April 2001) and "13 Steps for Achieving Successful Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances" in Start-up and Emerging Company Strategist (February 2001).

Mr. Aidun received his JD from New York University Law School, where he was a Root-Tilden Scholar.

Naif Al-Mutawa

The CEO of Mental Charge Media, Naif Al-Mutawa is experienced in both print media and start-ups. Mr. Al-Mutawa wrote a biweekly column for five years in the United States and Kuwait and won a UNESCO prize for children's literature for his first children's book, which he wrote, illustrated and self-published. Since then, his book and its sequel have sold more than 20,000 copies. Mr. Al-Mutawa has also been involved in a venture-backed start-up in Bahrain.

A doctoral candidate in clinical psychology, Mr. Al-Mutawa recently completed his MBA at Columbia Business School. He received his BA from Tufts University in English literature and clinical psychology.

Jim Alterbaum

A lawyer with an accounting and finance background, Jim Alterbaum takes a business and entrepreneurial approach to the law. He focuses on corporate, securities, commercial and computer law, serving a number of public, private and corporate clients in diverse fields. His clients include a number of regional accounting firms.

A dynamic speaker who lectures at Columbia Business School, Mr. Alterbaum has appeared on CNBC's "Money Talk" and "Today's Business” and many other talk shows. He is frequently quoted in newspapers and trade publications and has written numerous trade articles. The Nassau County Epilepsy Foundation voted him "Man of the Year" in 1999.

David Anthony

David Anthony is an experienced entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and management consultant focused on emerging and start-up technology ventures. His functional expertise includes new venture evaluation and creation, scientific and market due diligence, intellectual property, international science R&D and private equity finance. His industry expertise includes nanotechnology, media, and university technology-transfer.

Currently, Mr. Anthony is a partner at Unus Ventures, a firm that invests in early-stage nanotechnology companies. The fund identifies leading nanotechnology research that is incubating at universities and research labs and then provides financial and managerial capital required for realizing commercial application. In 1995, Mr. Anthony launched Notorious Entertainment, a developer of multimedia brands, which published the internationally distributed magazine Notorious. He has also consulted with Fortune 500 clients on capital investments, mergers and acquisitions, and entrepreneurship. Mr. Anthony sits on the board of AccessWorld Solutions, an American Foundation for the Blind business unit focused on adaptive media and assistive technology.

He holds an MBA from the Amos Tuck School, Dartmouth College, and a BA in economics from George Washington University.

Christine Bates ’75

Since 1992, Christine Bates has served as the director of Greenough & Company Inc., providing corporate development and strategic marketing expertise to rapidly growing companies. She is actively involved in assessing client business models and helping entrepreneurs build businesses. She joined Greenough & Company from PP Enterprises, the U.S. subsidiary of a major British multinational where she was responsible for recommending investment opportunities in North and South America. Ms. Bates also has experience as an international banker with assignments in Brazil and South Korea for major financial institutions. Before attending business school, Ms. Bates was project director for Artrain, a national traveling arts program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia, Ms. Bates holds a BA from Oberlin College and an MA in art history from the University of Michigan.

Michael Becker ’93

Michael Becker is the managing director and a cofounder of Broadsword Partners, a New York-based merchant bank involved in private equity and advisory transactions. He has served in senior level positions over a number of years with Wall Street firms, most recently as the director of equities at UBS Warburg, senior vice president at Smith Barney Shearson, and vice president at Kidder Peabody. His responsibilities included institutional and retail equity analysis and raising capital. Mr. Becker has been an active private equity investor for many years.

In addition to receiving an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School, Mr. Becker earned a BS in finance at the University of Arizona.

Robert Berne ’62

Throughout his real estate career that spans more than 30 years, Robert Berne has been involved in management, construction and contracting in both the private and public sectors. At Milstein Properties, he is the principal responsible for the development activities of more than 5,000 residential units, overseeing site selection, acquisitions, design supervision and management of related financial activities.

As an independent developer, Mr. Berne constructed a 200,000-square-foot shopping center, planned and processed a planned-unit development of 500 acres for 4,000 units and built a 30-story 280-unit luxury apartment building in New York City.

In the public sector, Mr. Berne served at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., where he supervised the financing of the nine Operation Breakthrough prototype sites and developed and managed innovative programs to rescue depressed subdivisions and multifamily projects. He also worked on experimental financing techniques in the office of Innovative Financing Research under the assistant secretary for policy development and research. Earlier in his career, he coordinated multifamily applications with FHA including experimental and demonstration programs for the City of New York.

Mr. Berne received a BA from Columbia College and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is an active alumnus of the University and a member of the Business School’s Real Estate Program Advisory Board.

Darren Blumenfeld ’98

Darren Blumenfeld is currently a strategy consultant at the firm Opera Solutions. He previously worked at an economics consultancy start-up implementing complex auctions. He is also founder of the company iMusicWorks, a marketplace for music services.After graduating with his MBA, Mr. Blumenfeld worked for the Mitchell Madison Group on strategic engagements for such companies as News Corp., American Express and Credit Suisse First Boston. He has also authored business plans for various media companies. Mr. Blumenfeld moonlights as a singer, songwriter and producer and has performed at venues around the New York City area, including Le Bar Bat, Village Underground and Shine. He started his career as a software programmer.

Mr. Blumenfeld received his engineering degree from Tufts University, where he graduated summa cum laude, and earned his MBA at Columbia Business School.

Peter Boyd ’73

Peter Boyd is president of PDS Services, a management advisory firm offering assistance to early-stage and underperforming companies on strategic, marketing, product introduction, capital formulation and restructuring issues. Mr. Boyd is a highly entrepreneurial, experienced general manager with significant P&L experience and 25 years of start-up and turnaround experience in both VC-funded and Fortune 500 settings. Mr. Boyd's consulting experience has concentrated on early-stage and turnaround companies with an emphasis on positioning, go-to-market strategies and fundraising for technology-based service companies. Some of his clients include a satellite advertising distribution start-up, an online clearinghouse for education verifications, a national background-checking security firm, a nuclear waste company and a firm offering learning technologies for the deaf. He also has experience in online distribution strategies and new product development. Currently, Mr. Boyd is working with a variety of software and technology-based initiatives.

In addition to his MBA from Columbia Business School, Mr. Boyd holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame.

Catherine H. Brandt

Catherine H. Brandt has over 16 years experience in industrial and media marketing. She was an executive at Merck during a 13-year career covering sales, international training, management and international marketing management. In 2000, she created C. Hocquel Inc., a marketing and sales consulting company. Her list of clients includes Volk Enterprise (United States and Brazil), Carrefour, Doux Europe, E.Leclerc, Celvia, Ronsard, Anaflor and Safeway. In 2003, with several partners, Ms. Brandt created Memnon Group LLC, a division of Somerset Capital Group and C. Hocquel Inc., a marketing and investment banking company specializing in media and communications. The Memnon Group partners with MediaPoint In-Store Television Network, the largest private television network in the United States, which caters to more than 120,000,000 weekly viewers. Memnon Group also is involved in several ventures, including the worldwide promotion of Le Rallye des Gazelles, an annual international women’s sporting event in Morocco; the launch of a teen/“tween” natural cosmetics line in the United States; the launch of an international trading platform for organic produce and building a partnership between several U.S. supermarket chains and the United Nations for the sourcing of organic products.

Ms. Brandt graduated with a degree in sciences and biology from Rennes University in France. She is also a graduate in industrial marketing from ESCP (Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris). As an executive at Merck, Ms. Brandt attended the executive marketing program at Columbia Business School.

Steve Brotman ’95

Mr. Brotman founded Silicon Alley Venture Partners in 1998. The fund's institutional investors control over $2 billion in venture capital and include TL Ventures (a Safeguard affiliate), TD Capital and the principles of Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Boston Millennium. Prior to founding SAVP, Mr. Brotman was the founder, CEO and chairman of AdOne Classified Network, his third start-up and the nation's leading classified ad Web site and provider of turnkey solutions to daily and weekly newspapers. Mr. Brotman was a finalist for the 2000 Entrepreneur of the Year Award sponsored by Ernst and Young. He also was among Crain's 2001 “Tech 100” and, in 1997, he was selected for Crain's “Top 25 Players Shaping Silicon Alley.” In 1995, he was among Crain’s “Top 40 under 40” New York business leaders. In 1997, Mr. Brotman was #32 in the Silicon Alley Reporter’s “Top 100.”

Mr. Brotman received his undergraduate degree in economics from Duke University and a joint JD/MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. He completed a final year of graduate studies at Columbia University in both law and business.

Brendan Burns ’95

Brendan Burns is the co-CEO of PowerOne Media, Inc., and in 1995 was a founding executive of PowerOne’s predecessor, AdOne Classified Network. PowerOne is a service and software media company that works with local newspapers to run successful online businesses. The company is a pioneer in dynamic Internet classified advertising. PowerOne’s goal is to help newspapers simplify and localize the Internet in order to allow consumers to make smarter decisions and purchases in their own local communities. Backed by 12 major U.S. media companies including Advance, Hearst, Scripps, MediaNews and Pulitzer, AdOne is affiliated with over 1000 of the top U.S. newspapers. PowerOne is one of the few Internet survivors. The company has raised both venture capital and strategic capital, made several acquisitions and is today a profitable entity with revenues exceeding $12 million per annum.

In addition to his MBA in finance and entrepreneurial studies from Columbia Business School, he holds a BS from Fordham University.

Joan Camins ’77

Joan Camins is 1) founder and cochair of JaM.com, an Internet-based business aimed at using current technology to deliver simple-for-the-consumer solutions to common problems in the travel and health arenas; 2) general partner of Camesque Realty, a private real estate company focused on single-family residential development; and 3) a director for the Morocco Fund, a limited partnership with equity investments in Morocco. Until January 1998, Ms. Camins served as a managing director at Salomon Brothers Inc., where she managed investment banking relationships with private sector and governmental entities in the United Sates, Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. She assisted the World Bank in the creation of the first global bond. She also was a member of the screening committee for Salomon Investment Bank’s, served as a trustee of the Salomon Inc. Retirement Plan and was named to YWCA’s Academy of Women Achievers.

Ms. Camins is a director and treasurer of the New York Landmarks Conservancy and a supporter of several other New York–based cultural and civic organizations. Her love of the city inspired her collaboration on “New York Selections,” a neighborhood-focused guide to New York City.

In addition to her MBA from Columbia Business School, Ms. Camins holds a BA from Wellesley College.

Christopher Caputo

Mr. Caputo is the cofounder of Fortress Group, Inc., a boutique merchant banking firm specializing in private equity investment and raising capital for private equity funds. Until 1998, Mr. Caputo was a managing director and cohead of the private equity group at the Bank Austria Group. During his seven-year tenure at the Bank Austria Group and its predecessor, Creditanstalt, Mr. Caputo was instrumental in developing a private equity capital–raising and merchant banking business, targeting investment in U.S. and European companies. Industries in which Mr. Caputo has some experience include health care and life sciences, telecommunications and e-commerce, plastics and packaging, natural resources and automotive components manufacturing. Mr. Caputo is a board member of Fortress-Chistapak Ltd., a principal investment made by Fortress Capital. Prior to his employment with the Bank Austria Group, Mr. Caputo worked as an associate in the equity group of Goldman Sachs & Co. and as an analyst in the corporate finance department at Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc.
Mr. Caputo holds a BA in economics from Colgate University and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.