Authority for the SEGF resides with an eleven member Board of Directors. The SEGF Board members have relevant experience and background in early-stage investing, managing high-growth small businesses, development of technological innovation, commercial lending, and securities law. The board works closely with prospective and current portfolio companies to provide invaluable advice, resources, and support.
Collectively, the SEGB has 115 years of experience as direct investors in companies, has 173 years of experience in management positions in companies, has been involved in over 170 merger, acquisitions or company sales and has been a direct investor in over 120 companies!
Matthew A. Hoffner, SEGB Chair, came to Maine in 1987 after 10 years as an engineer and manager for Exxon Corp. He was one of the original managers for Wright Express Corp. and was the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for 10 years. He was then the founder of Integra Associates, a sales and marketing outsourcing company based in Westbrook, Maine with clients throughout the US. In 2000, he joined two other partners to start JobsInTheUS.com (JiUS), the parent company for JobsInME.com and fifteen other state-specific job boards. As President and CEO of JiUS, the company grew to become the largest job board in the Northeast and was sold to the Journal Register Corp. in 2006. While president, JiUS was selected as a top finisher in the “Best Places to Work” competition sponsored by the state HR association. Mr. Hoffner stayed on as President until July 2007. In October 2008, Mr. Hoffner joined with a partner in the UK to start Jobg8, Inc. an online marketplace for job boards worldwide. Mr. Hoffner is the current president of Jobg8 Americas headquartered in Portland ME.
Howard A. "Skip" Bates, SEGB Vice Chair, is a Business Banking Officer with Bangor Savings Bank, is responsible for the business development efforts in the mid-coast Maine area. He focuses on businesses ranging from start-up companies seeking working capital to established enterprises approaching $10 million in revenue. Mr. Bates is active in the economic development community, serving as Board Chair of Midcoast Magnet, a networking organization for creative entrepreneurs. He is a founder of the Juice Conference, a statewide organization taking action to support the creative economy in Maine. Previously, Mr. Bates spent eleven years with MBNA America as an operations manager responsible for several different aspects of the credit card industry. He has lived and worked in Japan where he founded a language school and earned a masters degree in U.S.-Japanese relations.
Stephen R. Goldberg, SEGB Vice Chair, is currently the Principal at Stephen Goldberg Consulting, an establishment that provides Strategic Consulting for the Retail Food Industry including retailers, as well as manufacturers and vendors specializing in Natural, Organic, Specialty and Prepared Foods. Previously, Stephen served with Whole Foods Market from 1988 until 2007, ending his tenure there as Regional Vice President, UK. Before his position as Regional Vice President, Mr. Goldberg served as the Prepared Foods Director for the North Atlantic Region. Stephen has over 20 years of experience in the industry and is an accomplished chef and avid food enthusiast.
Kimberley A. Niles, CPA, SEGB Treasurer,, is currently the Chief Financial Officer of North Atlantic Capital. North Atlantic Capital is a Maine based venture firm investing in technology oriented companies, primarily on the east coast. Prior to joining North Atlantic, Ms. Niles held various roles in public accounting and private industry. Ms. Niles has a BS from the University of New Hampshire and is an active committee member for the Whittemore School of Business and Economics Alumni Association. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Maine.
Corson “Corky” Ellis is Chairman and Founder of Kepware Technologies (www.kepware.com), a Portland company that writes industrial communications software for the factory, Smart Grid, Building Automation and oil and gas sector. Mr. Ellis is very involved in technology economic development in Maine. He is a board member of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development, TechMaine, and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Mr. Ellis graduated from Amherst College and received a Masters in Business Policy degree from Columbia University.
Gregory S. Fryer is a Partner in the law firm, Verrill Dana LLP. Mr. Fryer’s specialty is corporate and securities law and venture capital. He joined Verrill Dana in 1986, after having practiced in New York and Atlanta.
Mark D. Kaplan, CFA, Managing Director, MerchantBanc LLC. Prior to joining MerchantBanc in April 2011 he served as Managing Director of CEI Ventures, Inc., based in Portland, Maine. He joined CEI Ventures in 1999 after serving as founding Chair of its Board of Directors for five years. He has significant executive, financial and investment industry experience spanning more than twenty-five years. Prior to CEI Ventures, he served as Managing Director of Forum Financial Group, a mutual fund company, Managing Director and Director of Research for HM Payson & Co, an investment advisory and trust services firm, and as a member of the investment department of Unum Life Insurance Company, now Unum. Mr. Kaplan has served on the boards of numerous portfolio companies at CEI Ventures. Presently he is a board member or observer of Chemogen, Inc., and NextMark, Inc. He is also active in community service, serving as a board member of the Maine Center for Enterprise Development, a Portland based incubator, and on its Top Gun Advisory Board. Mr. Kaplan serves on the investment committees of the Maine Health Access Foundation and United Way Foundation of Greater Portland. He is a past president of the boards of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine and Congregation Bet Ha’am. He earned his BA from the University of Michigan-Flint and MBA from Boston University Graduate School of Management. He was awarded the Charter Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1986. He also participated in the NVCA-NASBIC Venture Capital Institute Certificate and Graduate Programs.
Charles G. "Kip" Moore created Little Diamond Island Enterprises in Portland in 1993 to make early-stage investments in technology companies, with a focus in the areas of software, computer services and data communications. A majority of Mr. Moore’s recent investments have been in early-stage Maine companies. Prior to moving to Portland Mr. Moore was a General Partner of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a New York based venture capital firm that has been making investments in information processing and health care companies, from 1981 through 1994.
Deb Neuman currently serves as Deputy Commissioner for Maine’s Department of Economic and Community Development. Prior to her current position she served as the Director of the Target Technology Center at the University of Maine. A renowned small business expert, coach, trainer, broadcaster, columnist, and public speaker - she has appeared on radio, tv and in publications from Maine to Spain offering business advice and tips. Ms. Neuman produces and hosts the award winning “Back To Business” talk radio show on WVOM in Maine and affiliate stations through out New England. She was named the 2007 "Small Business Journalist of the Year" by the US Small Business Administration for Maine and New England and the "Small Business Financial Services Advocate of the Year" in 1999. She has owned and operated a number of successful businesses in Maine. A graduate of the University of the Pacific, she has called Maine her year round home since 1986.
Christopher S. Pizey has held various management positions, over the past 20 years, involving computing technologies, interactive media and new business development. While at Andrews McMeel Universal, Mr. Pizey led corporate new media ventures, including the founding of uclick LLC. While CEO of uclick he engineered new business initiatives including digital content syndication, web publishing, wireless content licensing and distribution deals with over 300 of the Web’s premier publishers, portals and mobile phone networks. Mr. Pizey recently returned home to Maine where he is assisting his family’s business, Hissong Development Corp., to grow their real estate development and construction businesses to include heavy construction materials and services, such as ready-mix concrete and aggregates.
Susannah Swihart serves as a director of the Dead River Company, Maine Medical Center, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine, and Common Good Ventures. Formerly she spent twenty years at BankBoston Corporation, where she was Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer. Earlier BankBoston responsibilities included running banking units that financed industry specific and technology companies, serving on the bank's venture capital boards, managing the development of corporate credit information, overseeing brand development, and serving as chief of staff to the CEO. Ms. Swihart has an MBA from Harvard Business School, an AB from Harvard College, and a high school degree from Lake Region High School, Naples, Maine.