Bernie Brenner
Bernie Brenner specializes in securing and expanding strategic partnerships and is a frequent
speaker about business development (BD) to entrepreneurs and venture investors. Bernie is the
Co-founder and EVP of Business Development of TrueCar Inc., a company focused on changing how cars
are sold. Under Bernie’s direction, True Car secured more than 100 BD deals, including partnerships
with USAA, American Express, Geico, Nationwide Insurance, Consumer Reports, and AAA. Bernie is also
a partner at the Capital Factory, an accelerator in Austin, Texas, where he is a mentor to early stage
entrepreneurs. Previously, Bernie ran business development at Carfax, Inc., where he secured
partnerships with Toyota Motor Sales, AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, and many other giants in the auto
industry. Bernie lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and three children.
David Crane
(dcrane@mdchat.com)
David B. Crane is CEO and Board member, Mobile Health One, Inc.. David is a successful
technology entrepreneur and business operator with 25 years management experience. He is a
proven CEO with a strong background in technology, strategy development, marketing, business
and product development, and finance and fundraising. David has participated in two corporate
turn-around efforts as a senior management team member (one public company and one
privately held company). David also founded and managed five companies and raised several
million dollars in funding for new ventures primarily in the Internet/e-commerce, Software as
a Service (SaaS), healthcare IT, and business process outsourcing industries. David has been
a volunteer business consultant with the Citizen’s Development Corps based in Washington,
D.C. serving as a consultant to companies in Guatemala and Ukraine. He has also been a regular
speaker and “in-class” volunteer with Junior Achievement for over 30 years. .David earned his
Bachelor of Science in Business degree and his MBA from the Carlson School of Management
at the University of Minnesota. David can be reached at dcrane@mdchat.com.
Burke Liburt
(Burke Liburt@me.com)
(631-379-1627)
Burke Liburt is the co-founder and CMO of SynchroPET,
a biomedical device company that has licensed patented
nuclear imaging technologies from Brookhaven National
Laboratories; the company is now entering the preclinical
research market with innovative devices. He has developed
marketing strategies at television groups (Dun & Bradstreet/
ABC Television) and at his own multi-media company; he
understands the challenges-financial, psychological and
emotional—of overcoming the hurdles of building a successful
commercial enterprise. Because of his wide experience and
contacts, he has recruited many clients for MBA projects at the
Innovation Center.
Philip F. Palmedo
(pfpalmedo@gmail.com)
Philip Palmedo has had careers in physics, entrepreneurship, corporate management
and finance. After working at Brookhaven Lab , Mr. Palmedo founded and was
Chairman of the International Resources Group (IRG), an international consultancy in
energy, natural resources and economic development, until its sale in 2008. Mr. Palmedo designed and was the first President of the Long Island Research
Institute formed by Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory,
and Stony Brook University to facilitate the commercialization of technologies. In
1988 Mr. Palmedo joined in the formation of Kepler Financial Management, Ltd., a
quantitative financial research and trading company. He was President and Managing
Director until 1991 when Renaissance Technologies Corporation acquired the company.
He has a PhD from MIT.
Yun Zhang
Yun Zhang, CEO and Founder of Mobileware Inc., has more than 18
years of experience in application development, and has successfully
developed products from idea stage to commercialization. Recognizing
the mobile computing revolution in 2007, Yun published one of the
first 800 apps when the iTunes App Store launched in 2008. His
companies have sold millions of copies of apps worldwide, got featured
in TV commercials and received awards. Prior to becoming a serial
entrepreneur, Yun has worked for major financial companies for over 12
years and helped create and manage in house application systems. Yun
holds a Master of Science degree in Management of Technology and a
Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. In his spare time,
Yun is an avid investor.
Jake Schmigelski
Jake Schmigelski,19, is a serial entrepreneur and student at Stony Brook University. Mr. Schmigelski began working on his first company, an investment group for young adults, at the age of sixteen. By the age of seventeen, he had founded Gale International Trading LLC, a wholesale food and beverage brokerage that currently works with numerous national and regional accounts. When not in class or studying, Mr. Schmigelski works to build his existing holdings and promote growth his new ventures. He has previously done work as an independent agent for CRC Logistics, a 3PLP located in Rockville Center, NY, along with acting as an intermediary Chief Executive for an Israeli tech-startup. One of his latest initiatives is Private Equity consulting, where he sources real estate and corporate assets for private institutional and personal buyers.
Douglas Whitcomb
Douglas Whitcomb is President of Whitsons Culinary Group, which provides a wide range of highly
customized dining services to corporations, public schools and residential facilities, and manufacturing of
prepared meals for customers across the country.Doug plays a leadership ll areas of the company’s operations, with a concentration on managing the support services teams of purchasing and marketing, as well as corporate and residential dining operations.
Mr. Whitcomb started Whitsons in 1979, along with his father and several other family members. Over the
years, he has played an instrumental role in growing Whitsons from a small local business to a successful multi-
million dollar corporation. Doug earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Auburn University in Auburn,
Alabama and is also a Food Management Professional (FMP). He is a member of the Society for Foodservice
Management (SFM) and World Presidents Organization (WPO), for whom Mr. Whitcomb established the first
Long Island WPO chapter.
Amal Chaudhuri
Amal Chaudhuri is a co-founder and Executive Chairman of TraqFast, a software startup which automates the collection and delivery of operating and financial metrics to entrepreneurs and the leaders of small to mid-size businesses. Enabling these businesses to have access to the same insights available at much higher costs to Fortune 50 leaders. He is also the Chief Technology Officer for BondFactor, a municipal bond insurance startup, using a patented financial capital structure to radically change the risk and return profile of the bond insurance market.
Gadi Capela
Following military officer training and business education, Gadi Capela became an experienced project manager. He started his professional career as a Business Analyst for Société Générale Investment Bank in Manhattan. Between 2000-2004 he helped save millions of dollars through creating a global Contract Management department and streamlining other banking processes. He moved on to Management Consulting where he managed projects for clients in various private industries and government agencies, using technology to build strategic relationships. During that time Gadi also completed a Masters degree in Jewish Philosophy and began teaching a Jewish-Christian adult education program--Project Genesis Interfaith, now an incorporated non-for-profit organization. In 2008 Gadi decided to “take his passion and make it happen” and traded his corporate job for rabbinical school. Since his ordination in 2012 from the Jewish Theological Seminary, Gadi Capela has been serving as the rabbi of Congregation Tifereth Israel in Greenport, NY. He is also the current President of the East End Jewish Community Council.