Previously, Alex was President, CEO and co-founder of Luxtera, Inc., a venture-funded company that has completely redefined how optical technologies are used in an array of applications from communications to sensing. Under Alex's leadership, Luxtera developed the world's first CMOS photonics commercial products that rely on using standard CMOS chip processes to modulate, route and detect light for those applications. Previously Alex was CEO and later chairman of Ethentica, a venture-backed company that - in partnership with its investors Philips Electronics NV and Hewlett-Packard - developed and shipped the world's first flat panel display biometric sensors. Earlier, Alex held the position of Director in Lucent Technologies' New Ventures Group where he was responsible for identifying promising Bell Labs technologies and creating venture-backed companies to commercialize them. Alex is also the co-founder of two successful Australian technology companies. Alex began his technology career at AT&T Bell Labs and has been awarded over 50 US and international patents. He holds a PhD from the University of Adelaide, Australia, and an MBA from Columbia University. He is a director of Luxtera, Inc.

Ken Noonan, PhD

As an ATV Technology Partner, Ken Noonan focuses on life sciences, including pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, in-vitro diagnostics, and research products. Ken is currently a Senior Partner at L.E.K. Consulting LLP and the Head of its European Life Sciences Practice. Ken has served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for Applera Corporation and Vice President for the global consultancy Booz-Allen & Hamilton, where he was Head of its European Pharmaceuticals Practice. He currently serves on the boards of Orchid Biosciences Inc. and Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. Past board appointments include Life Sciences International plc and Hyseq Inc. During his academic career, Ken authored more than 50 articles in the area of cancer biology and cell replication. He is a graduate of St. Joseph's University and earned a PhD in Biochemistry from Princeton University.

Tom Rogers

An Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV) principal, Tom joined the firm in 2004 and focuses on investments in the medical device and life sciences sectors. He serves on the Boards of Aperio Technologies and Gynesonics and is also an observer on the Board of Juniper Medical. Prior to joining ATV, Tom had 12 years of operating experience in the healthcare industry, most recently serving as Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Business Development at McKesson Corporation, a Fortune 15 company in the healthcare IT and pharmaceutical/medical device services industries. In this role Tom managed a variety of successful initiatives including the launch of McKesson’s Medicare Prescription Drug Card, the origination of a direct sourcing channel for generic pharmaceuticals from India, the evolution of the company's RFID and e-prescribing strategies, and acquisitions of Moore Medical and Sky Pharmaceuticals. Prior to McKesson, Tom was a product manager at Genentech and was responsible for the successful Nutropin®, Nutropin AQ® and Pulmozyme® franchises. In addition, he managed sales and oversaw healthcare strategy for FitLinxx, a venture-backed startup that pioneered the fitness and rehab monitoring market. At FitLinxx, he was responsible for starting and managing the company's efforts in the hospital market that lead to several million dollars in sales and for initiating a national rehabilitation partnership with HealthSouth. His management background also includes five years consulting at The Wilkerson Group where he focused on medical devices and diagnostics. Tom holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Axel Scherer, PhD, Co-Founder

Axel Scherer is the Bernard A. Neches professor of electrical engineering, applied physics, and physics at California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He specializes in device microfabrication and packaging. He graduated from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in 1985, and has worked in the Quantum Device Fabrication group at Bellcore for the following 8 years. In the past, Dr. Scherer has focused on improving the state of the art of semiconductor microfabrication, which resulted in the development of the smallest vertical cavity lasers (400 nm wide), some of the world's smallest etched structures (6 nm wide), as well as ultra-narrow gratings (30 nm pitch). He has also been working on reducing the sizes of microlasers and changing their emission wavelengths. Dr. Scherer's research laboratory is built around producing nanostructures and applying them to new optoelectronic, magneto-optic and high-speed electronic devices. The aim of his research group is to develop functional devices that use their reduced geometries to obtain higher speed, greater efficiencies, and can be integrated into systems in large numbers. Dr. Scherer is a founder of, and advisor to, Luxtera, Inc.

Sharon Stevenson, DVM, PhD, MBA

Sharon Stevenson is a Co-Founder and Managing Director of Okapi Venture Capital, responsible for the firm's life sciences investments. Prior to founding Okapi, Sharon was Senior Vice President of Technology and Planning for SkinMedica. Earlier, she was a Principal with Domain Associates, serving at the same time as President and CFO of Volcano Therapeutics, a company whose growth she led from product design through clinical trials. Sharon's past and present board affiliations on behalf of Domain include MicroVention (acquired by Terumo Corporation), Neuropace, NuVasive, Santarus, SkinMedica, and GenVault. Prior to launching her entrepreneurial/venture capital career, Sharon was a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopedics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She is the author of more than 130 publications, including two guest editorships, and has made more than 50 presentations at scientific meetings. Her clinical training was in veterinary surgery and she is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS). She has served on the governing boards of the ACVS and the Orthopedic Research Society. Sharon received an MBA from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, a PhD in Comparative Pathology from UC Davis, and a Master of Science in Veterinary Pathology and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University.