Board of Directors

Chair – Guy Fardone

Executive Chairman

Bridgepointe Technologies

Guy has 30+ years’ experience creating highly successful organizations and stakeholder value.  Formerly Evolve IP’s CEO, he helped achieve numerous recognitions such as Inc. and Forbes Magazines’ Best Places to Work, Best Entrepreneurial Organizations in America, an 8 time participant in the Inc. Magazine 500/5000 and has led over three dozen mergers and acquisitions in the US and abroad.

Involved with i2n since 2011, Guy currently serves on various advisory boards and is passionately engaged in helping drive the Southeastern PA business community.  He is a founding advisory board member of the Downingtown STEM school, a mentor in PACT Mentor Connect, was West Chester University’s Entrepreneur in Residence in 2019 and a former Philadelphia Business Journal 40 under 40 recipient.  He lives in Chester Springs, PA, with his wife and 3 children, spends much of his free time at Marsh and French Creek State Parks mountain biking and is currently a coach and board president of the Chester County Crusader CYO Football Program.

Vice Chair – Christopher F. Wright, Esquire

Shareholder

McCausland Keen & Buckman

For more than 30 years, Chris has been contributing to the growth of technology companies and helping educational and research institutions to achieve their research, licensing and alliance objectives.

With prior experience as the General Counsel for a publicly-traded software company and on the General Counsel’s staff at the University of Pennsylvania for Penn’s Center for Technology Transfer, he is able to provide transactional and intellectual property advice grounded in a genuine understanding of his clients’ legal and operational opportunities and challenges. These clients include entrepreneurs and equity investors as well as growth companies and educational and research institutions.

Clients note Chris’ ability to contribute at every stage of the technology commercialization process, including collaborative research initiatives, new company spin-offs, growth and financing of new ventures, licensing and joint venture arrangements, as well as mergers, acquisitions and other exit opportunities.

Carly Meyer Bentley

Founder & Empresaria

The Freckled Strawberry, Inc.

Carly is the CEO, and Founder of The Freckled Strawberry, Inc. A non-for-profit dedicated to empowering independence in women through individual development, career advancement and entrepreneurship; steeped in financial intelligence. She has a diverse background in handling complex financial matters and delivers in a natural conversation style people appreciate. Her light-hearted nature allows exacting conversation in financial matters to reach conclusion. Her focus area is business creation, growth, investment management, financial planning, transition, retirement, trust & estate planning, with concierge style delivery.

Carly holds a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University. She is a registered Investment Advisor with FINRA and holds her Series 7 and 66 securities licenses.

Carly was the recipient of the 2017 Networker of the Year award with Gotham Networking in New York, the past president of the Princeton Merchants Association, a present board member of Gaudeniza, and the Irish Diaspora Center. She is a diligent advocate for entrepreneurship and community economics.

Larry Berran

Entrepreneur

Larry joined iPipeline in 2002 and served as CEO. Larry has been instrumental in growing iPipeline from ~20 employees to 800+ and from ~$1 million in revenue to $200+ and profitable since that time. Larry played a key role in driving 12 strategic acquisitions and expansion into Canada and the UK.

Prior to iPipeline, Larry was a Vice President for ICG, where he played a key role in preparing ICG for its 1999 initial public offering. During this time, Larry was directly involved with organizing and implementing ICG’s finance function, including raising over $1.6 billion through multiple issuances of publicly traded securities, as well as bank and private financings.

Larry has also held management positions with Safeguard Scientifics and worked as a CPA with PWC specializing in insurance and financial services. Larry’s prior board and public service have included The Sycamore Group, Philadelphia Children’s Alliance, ARI Mutual Insurance Company, TrialScop and coaching girls soccer and basketball. Larry currently serves as a board director for Harvest Holdings, LLC and as President of Laurel Ridge HOA.

Jonathan Beschen

Investment Director, Tech Investment Group

Ben Franklin Technology Partners

Jonathan Beschen is Investment Director, IT Investment Group at Ben Franklin where he serves as the first contact with potential investments. Jon has a strong instinct for developing relationships with passionate people and finding ways to collaborate on creative ideas. He serves on many local advisory boards and is a familiar face in the local tech startup scene. Before starting at Ben Franklin, Jon ran local technology consultancy SparkNET Technologies, which developed and invested in cutting edge tech startups. He is also a founding member of a local economic development non-profit, Liberty Valley Initiative.

Thomas J. Burke

President & CEO

AOIC, LLC

Tom Burke is President & CEO of AOIC, LLC –a medical and scientific communications company providing content-driven initiatives for biopharmaceutical and non-profit organizations.  AOIC shares i2n’s mission of innovation by advancing medicine and patient care; collaborating with healthcare professionals and biopharmaceutical companies to communicate clinical trial data to the research community.  They also help nonprofit partners educate patients and caregivers about treatment advancements for specific diseases.

Tom has a BS in Chemical Engineering and a Bennett S. LeBow College of Business MBA, both from Drexel University.  He became President & CEO of AOIC in 2016, serving in several marketing and management roles previously.  Prior to that, Tom spent 15 years in business and engineering management for several pharmaceutical drug delivery and chemical manufacturing companies including FMC, Colorcon, and Allied Signal. A native of Pennsylvania and a resident of Chester County, Tom has served in community service for West Whiteland Township, Chester County, and the state of Pennsylvania for 18 years.  He serves on the Board of the Chester County Economic Development Council (CCEDC). Tom also served on the Eastern PA Board of Trustees for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and was President of the Board.  Tom is married to Sheri, and they have one son who loves sports, science, and math.

Leo Daiuto

Director & Entrepreneur-In-Residence

Penn State Great Valley Launchbox

Leo Daiuto is an accomplished and highly-creative entrepreneur and technology leader with 20+ years’ experience solving complex problems and leading teams to design products and brands. He’s most passionate about discovering the “why” behind user behavior and defining product strategies and unique user experiences based on those discoveries. With extensive experience in building teams and advising entrepreneurs, he thrives on helping startups define and execute new strategies. In addition to his role at PSU Great Valley, Leo is co-founder and Partner at The Revolt Group, a boutique IT consulting firm.

Other Interests:

Owner @ The 71 Company (Creative Business and Product Consulting)
Owner @ Studio 71 (Music Production and Sonic Branding)

Patricia Diggin

Director, The Cottrell Entrepreneurship Center

Adjunct Professor of Management, West Chester University

Pattie Diggin earned an MBA from West Chester University in 1996. She joined West Chester University in 2011 as an Adjunct Professor of Marketing and currently serves as the Director of The Cottrell Entrepreneurship Center. Pattie sits on the Board of Directors at the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls where she heads up the Development and Marketing committees. She is also a member of the Ambassador and Education Foundation committees at the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce and sits on the i2n Board of the Chester County Economic Development Council. Since 2014 she has been a SCORE volunteer and works collaboratively with organizations in the region that are committed to expanding the impact of entrepreneurship programming and supporting development of small businesses.

As a member of the i2n Board of Directors,  Pattie has continued to develop the relationship with the CCEDC to foster and support the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the county. The Cottrell Entrepreneurship Center and i2n have worked collaboratively on Startup Weekends, internship programming, the WCU Business Idea Competition and the annual WCU Women’s Entrepreneurship Conference.

Steve Figgatt

Founder & CEO

Sycamore International Inc.

Steve Figgatt is the Founder and CEO of Sycamore International Inc, an information Technology Asset Disposition (ITAD) company that reclaims value from high volumes of unused and end-of-life IT assets through secure, zero-waste processing and sustainable business practices. Steve started Sycamore in a garage and managed its growth into a leader in the ITAD industry. Sycamore’s team of over seventy employees process millions of pounds of obsolete hardware a year for responsible recycling and refurbishes tens of thousands of devices every month for reuse.

Steve is a pioneer in distributed renewable energy development, installing one of the earliest solar powered microgrids in the United States coupled with an ESS Energy Warehouse Iron Flow Battery. ESS Iron Flow Batteries will last for over 25 years, are safe, water based, fully recyclable and have a low carbon footprint.

As an avid entrepreneur, Steve seeks to startup and grow technology and renewable energy related businesses. Holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Applied Sustainability from Ithaca College, graduating in 2008. Enjoys mountain biking and hiking in open space, snowboarding, international travel, forest ecology, entrepreneurship and tinkering with technology. Through Sycamore, Steve actively supports local non-profit environmental and socially underprivileged groups through financial and technology donations.

James P. Forgione, CPA

Partner

Stephano Slack LLC

Jim brings a deep client service focus and steady leadership to the Accounting and Auditing Department at Stephano Slack. Highly experienced in all aspects of audit, accounting, financial management, operational analysis and internal controls, he commands expertise and trust when it comes to financial reporting and project planning.

As a partner, he supervises a wide range of engagements and ensures clients can always rely on him to anticipate and respond to their changing needs with a thoughtful approach. His innovative and goal-oriented work ethic allows him to facilitate business development as an opportunity to help potential client businesses succeed. Jim extends his vision to the rest of the team. As part of the practice leadership, he enjoys the firm’s energy, team-first attitude, and providing support, training, and mentoring to help staff develop.

Jim is a CPA and earned his B.A. in Business and Economics from Lafayette College.

Michael S. Harrington

Partner

Duane Morris LLP

Michael S. Harrington represents early- and growth-stage companies in the technology, life sciences, healthcare and clean tech sectors.  Mr. Harrington’s experience includes advising institutional, strategic and private investors on structuring, negotiating and managing investments; representing private equity funds in raising capital and advising on requisite disclosures and federal and state securities law compliance; assisting growth companies in investment banking, accounting, management, private investor and other critical financing relationships; negotiating and documenting corporate transactions such as equity and debt financing, acquisitions, joint ventures and employment compensation and benefit arrangements; leveraging a company’s intellectual property through licensing, joint venture or development relationships and establishing distribution channels or similar means; and advising early-stage companies and investors on the opportunities and complexities of equity crowdfunding enabled by the JOBS ACT.

Mr. Harrington is a graduate of Villanova University (LL.M., Taxation, 1995; J.D., 1994) and Niagara University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1991).

Terrance Kerwin

Partner

Fox Rothschild LLP

Terry is a partner in the Corporate Department and advises startup and growth-stage companies across a range of industries. He works with clients on a variety of matters from formation to exit, including: choice of entity, corporate governance, corporate finance, private equity/venture capital transactions, securities, commercial contract prep/review, employment issues, buy-sell agreements and shareholder disputes, intellectual property protection and transfer, mergers and acquisitions.

He is also member of the firm’s Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Practice Group, and a founding member of the Technology Practice Group. He is actively involved in the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technology (PACT) and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG). Terry frequently represents both sellers and buyers in acquisitions.

He is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude) with a B.A. from Pennsylvania State University.

Josh Maxwell

Chester County Board of Commissioners

Commissioner Josh Maxwell serves as Vice-Chair on the three member Chester County Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Maxwell currently serves as board member for the Transportation Management Association of Chester County, Chester County Conservation District, Pennsylvania Convention Center, West Chester Business Improvement District Authority, and as Ex-officio Board Member for Chester County Economic Development Council and Coatesville 2nd Century Alliance, Community and Economic Development.  The Chester County Commissioners created the Restore Chester County initiative that brought together business, economic, education and government leaders to form a core team of the COVID-19 Business Task Force that focused on providing businesses with best practices for reopening and restoring Chester County’s quality of place.  Josh continues to work to bring rail service back communities throughout Chester County that will support economic success and business growth in the region.

Michael V. McCann

President & Founder

MVM Associates, Inc.

MVM Associates, Inc., is a leading economic incentive management firm. Mike previously worked for the U.S. Department of Energy as a grant specialist where he managed multi-state energy conservation grant programs. Using this experience, he started MVM Associates in 1997, the first consulting firm in Pennsylvania to specialize solely in economic incentives such as grants and tax credits for private companies. Since then, Mike has overseen MVM’s expansion into the sales brokerage of transferable tax credits in Pennsylvania.

To date, Mike has helped hundreds of companies sell over $100 million in state tax credits. Mike is a board member of the Pennsylvania Film Industry Alliance. Mike holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in environmental studies with a minor in computer science from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Richard McFadden, Ph.D.

Dean of Business, Computing, and Social Science

Delaware County Community College

Ernie Post, D.Ed.

State Director

Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center

As State Director of the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center (PASBDC), Ernie holds certificates in international trade and exporting from Thunderbird Management School. His specialties include entrepreneurial learning, online learning effectiveness, international trade, and economic development. He assisted in launching the CIM program that provided the primary PC and CAD/CAM training for a Fortune 100 Company and initiated the launch of the international trade program at Gannon University.

Ernie provided strategic direction for the launch of a blended learning program for nascent entrepreneurs at KUSBDC and also taught MBA and undergraduate courses in international trade and marketing research. He has over 20 years of senior level management responsibility in a higher education management consulting group.

Adam Salamon

CEO & Co-founder

Pression LLC

Adam Salamon is the co-founder and CEO of Pression LLC. An entrepreneur at heart, Adam has spent his life thinking of ways to do simple things better to make a real impact in people’s lives. He formed Pression in 2016 to further that goal. Pression is developing a non-invasive treatment for heart disease and intends to enter the market initially focused on Coronary Artery Disease. Adam originally developed the technology at Lockheed Martin for enhancing endurance within the US military.

Adam was previously Deputy Corporate Chief Scientist of Lockheed Martin. He oversaw the programmatics for research efforts spanning the USA, Canada, UK, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Belgium, and Turkey. He focused on high-risk, high-reward research at international universities and businesses with a focus on creating new business entities who could create sustaining impact in customer nations.

Adam began his career as a robotics and autonomy researcher at the Advanced Technology Laboratories at Lockheed Martin. His research focus was in the area of unmanned and autonomous vehicles operating in complex teaming environments. Most notably, he was the lead of the autonomy team for the Marlin underwater vehicle, an autonomous system designed to inspect offshore oil and gas platforms. In 2012, he joined Corporate Engineering, Technology and Operations as the Technical Lead for the Corporate University Research Program and then transitioned to Deputy Corporate Chief Scientist. Mr. Salamon has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, both from Drexel University.

Susan Springsteen

Vice Chair

Chester County Industrial Development Authority

Susan Springsteen cofounded nth Solutions LLC, a vertically integrated product development, business incubation, and manufacturing company that advances innovation from concept to commercialization with “Made in America” products that save lives, save money, and preserve natural resources. She leads the Company’s QOZ initiatives and is part of a team transforming a vacant historic Lukens Steel office building located in Coatesville into nth Innovation Center. Now a Keystone Innovative Zone, this project will serve as nth Solutions’ new headquarters and support the growing entrepreneur community in the region.  

Susan is also President and CEO of H2O Connected, LLC, an early revenue company whose multi-patented product line can detect every type of water loss problem that can occur in the 350+ million North American tank-based toilets.  H2O Connected was recently spun off from nth Solutions LLC as an independent company in March 2019, making it the first QOZ Business in Chester County. 

A graduate of Wheaton College, Susan spent over 25 years in wealth management and corporate finance. She provided daily stock market and business commentary for KYW NewsRadio 1060 for over a decade. 

Susan is also President of the Chester County Library Trust and Vice Chairperson of the Chester County Industrial Development Authority. 

Lois Stephens

Director, Membership

Life Sciences Pennsylvania

Lois Stephens serves as Director, Membership at Life Sciences Pennsylvania (LSPA), the statewide trade association for the commonwealth’s life sciences industry, representing medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, investment organizations, research institutions, and myriad service industries that support the life sciences in Pennsylvania.   In her role, Lois works closely with innovative biotech and medical device startups, building strong relationships and facilitating key strategic connections to help advance their organizations.  

Prior to joining LSPA, Lois spent more than 20 years in the legal profession working for law firms throughout Southeastern PA.  Her legal experience includes assisting in loan transactions involving loan programs under the Small Business Administration, as well as economic development initiatives with local governments and regulatory agencies.  

As a life-long resident of Chester County and part of a second generation, family-owned-and-operated small business, Lois is committed to serving the region’s entrepreneurs, innovators and startups through the work of i2n.