Klaus Besier
Mr. Besier is Chief Executive Officer and President of Neoware, Inc. and a member of its Board of Directors. Neoware is a Nasdaq listed company specializing in thin client computing. Prior to Neoware, Mr. Besier has held numerous executive positions with high growth, global technology companies including as President and Chief Executive Officer of FirePond, Inc., a global provider of e-business solutions from 1997-2003 and as the President and Chief Executive Officer of SAP America, Inc from 1991-1996. Prior to SAP, Mr. Besier was General Manager and Corporate Vice President of a subsidiary of Hoechst Celanese, a global chemicals and fiber conglomerate. He holds a bachelor's degree in business management and finance from the University of Economics in Berlin.

Joy Lindsay
Joy Lindsay is President and Co-founder of StarTec Investments, LLC, a private venture capital firm focused on early stage companies based in the Midwest. Prior to founding StarTec, Lindsay was a Senior Vice President in the Westlaw division of West Group (now Thomson West). In her 19 years at West, she held numerous executive and management positions in technology, product development, sales and marketing. In 1996, Lindsay was actively involved in the sale of West Publishing to the Thomson Corporation for $3.45 billion. Following the sale, in addition to her Westlaw responsibilities, she was a member of the transition team to help integrate West and Thomson Legal Publishing. Lindsay has served as Secretary and Vice-President of the Minnesota Venture Capital Association, is a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Minnesota, and is a member of the Investment Committee for the St. Paul Capital Fund. She participates on the planning committee for the annual Minnesota Venture Finance Conference and has served on a Technology Transfer Advisory Council at the University of Minnesota. She has a B.A. in mathematics from Carleton College and an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota.

Christian Misvaer
Mr. Misvaer has been Co-Founder and Managing Director of Pontus since its founding in 2005. Prior to Pontus, from 1998 until 2005, Mr. Misvaer held various leadership roles including as General Counsel of 2 public companies traded on the NASDAQ - Intelligroup, Inc. and Firepond, Inc. In each case he was responsible for building and managing worldwide legal operations across US, Europe and Asia. In these roles he developed cohesive processes across disparate teams and utilized technology to integrate the practices, significantly reducing costs while increasing the capabilities of the departments. His legacy was to seamlessly integrate the legal departments with the overall business, enabling the departments to take on greater strategic roles in the organizations. In addition, Mr. Misvaer has served in non-legal roles including as Secretary to the Board of both companies indicated above as well as serving as the Vice President of a $15m+ business unit at Firepond where he was responsible for software sales, professional services and account management across US and Europe. Mr. Misvaer is a licensed attorney, holding a Juris Doctor degree, and also holds degrees in International Relations and History.

Praful Saklani
Mr. Saklani has been Co-Founder and Managing Director of Pontus since its founding in 2005. A management veteran of 3 different startup companies, Mr. Saklani brings a strong track record of entrepreneurial success and management experience to Pontus. His biggest success was as a founder and, later, Chief Executive Officer of Yatra Corporation where he focused on using artificial intelligence techniques and internet technology to optimize travel management processes at large corporations. He was instrumental in guiding Yatra from idea to reality, raising venture funding and culminating with the successful acquisition of Yatra in 2002. Prior to Yatra, Mr. Saklani was Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the consulting firm Invotech Systems from 1995 to 1998, where he was responsible for developing Invotech’s Groupware and Intranet practice, working with Fortune 100 companies to introduce and implement collaborative technologies. Following Yatra, Mr. Saklani focused on social causes, serving as a key executive with WaterHealth International, a World-Bank and UC-Berkeley supported social start-up focused on bringing affordable drinking water purification solutions to developing countries. Mr. Saklani is a graduate of Swarthmore College, where he received High Honors in Economics and Political Science.

Advisory Board

Ken Cutler
Mr. Cutler is a Partner of Dorsey & Whitney LLP and the Head of the Transactions Group. Dorsey is a full service law firm with over 650 attorneys located across 19 offices internationally. Mr. Cutler practices in the areas of mergers & acquisitions, emerging growth companies, venture capital financing and corporate finance. In addition, he represents private and public companies on general corporate matters, financing transactions and SEC-related offerings. Mr. Cutler has a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law where he graduated with honors, Order of the Coif. In addition he holds an M.B.A. and a B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Erwin Kelen
Mr. Kelen has been a successful venture investor for the past decade as president of Kelen Ventures and as a partner in Camir Investments. Prior to becoming a venture capitalist, Erwin was president and CEO of DataMyte Corporation, a manufacturer and distributor of factory data collection systems. From 1963 to 1983, Mr. Kelen was president, then chairman and CEO, of Electro- Craft Corporation, a manufacturer of precision DC Servomotors and intelligent motion control products. Mr. Kelen currently serves on the board of several public and private companies, including Computer Network Technology, Inc., CyberOptics, Inlet Medical, Inc. and Printronix, Inc. Mr. Kelen is also an active community member, serving on the boards of the Walker Art Center and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Kelen holds an MSEE from the University of Minnesota and a BSEE from the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary.

Dennis McIntosh
Mr. McIntosh is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for SBLI USA, where he leads the finance organization, including accounting, financial planning, analysis and reporting, as well as internal audit, budgeting, cost reduction, cash management, treasury and investment management. Since joining SBLI USA in 1999, Mr. McIntosh has led the development of the company's complete technology reorganization. He orchestrated the selection and development of operating platforms to support corporate-wide insurance operations, and spearheaded the development of a state-of-the-art call center that integrates telecommunications, PCs and the entire human resources organization. In cooperation with the board of directors and the senior management team, Mr. McIntosh also crafted the company's strategic plan which has laid the groundwork for marketing SBLI USA products in all 50 states. Mr. McIntosh earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Connecticut in 1981 and a bachelor of arts degree with honors from Andrews University in 1977. He is a Certified Public Accountant. Currently, he serves on the board of directors of SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, Inc.

Gary Smaby
After ten years as a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Smaby joined the Minneapolis-based investment banking firm of Piper Jaffray as a Vice-President /Senior Analyst in 1981. During his six years at Piper, he built an international reputation as a Wall Street analyst in the IT sector and was promoted to Managing Director, Technology Research. He then joined the New York investment firm of Needham and Co. as Managing Director, eventually leaving in 1989 to form his own firm, Smaby Group, Inc. In 2000 Mr. Smaby co-founded Quatris Fund, an early-seed stage venture capital fund formed with St. Paul Venture Capital. He now serves as its managing partner and is Board Chair of three portfolio companies: Algos Therapeutics, finEye and Iconoculture. He is also Managing Director and VC-in-Residence of the Carlson Venture Enterprises at the Carlson Graduate School of Business at the University of Minnesota. Mr. Smaby served two terms on the board of trustees for The Science Museum of Minnesota ending in 2005 and continues as chair of its invesment committee. He recently completed a five-year term on the External Advisory Board for the Deep Computing Institute at the IBM TJ Watson Research Laboratory. Mr. Smaby was the 2003 president of the Minnesota Venture Capital Association.