Alan Salzman
CEO & Managing Partner, VantagePoint Capital Partners
Alan Salzman is cofounder of VantagePoint Venture Partners and serves as CEO and Chair of the Investment Committee. As a leading venture investor for over 20 years, Salzman has had hands-on involvement in more than 300 companies and has held overall management responsibilities for a dozen venture funds with over $5 billion of committed capital. As CEO of VantagePoint, he oversees the country's largest CleanTech investment team, a portfolio of innovative CleanTech companies and strategic partnerships with a dozen leading companies focused on CleanTech commercialization. Salzman is a frequent contributor and speaker on CleanTech, innovation and global competitiveness. He has served as Finance Chair of the World Business Summit on Climate Change, on the BP Alternative Energy Advisory Board and held a decade-long faculty appointment as Adjunct Professor for Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Companies at Stanford University. He currently serves on the Leadership Council of The Climate Group, and the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Selection and Green Investment Committees. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. He is a graduate (GC, BA, JD, LLM) of the London School of Economics, the University of Toronto, Stanford Law School and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
Bill Watkins
Chief Executive Officer, Bridgelux Inc.
Bill Watkins is the Chief Executive Officer of Bridgelux Inc. He was appointed CEO in January 2010, bringing more than 30 years of experience in the technology manufacturing industry. Before joining Bridgelux, Watkins served as CEO of Seagate Technology, the world's leading disc drive and storage solutions company, from 2004 through January 2009. During his tenure as Seagate's CEO, Watkins was named Forbes magazine 2006 CEO of the Year. Prior to this, he was the company's president and chief operating officer for four years. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Texas. He currently serves on the board of directors of Maxim Integrated Products, Flextronics and Vertical Circuits Incorporated in addition to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Daniel Chandler
Sr. Vice President, Fairchild Semiconductor
Dan has spent most of his career in the pursuit of new technology for improved electronic and electrical products. After earning a BS degree in polymer engineering in 1980, he joined Raychem Corporation as a research associate and spent several years developing high-performance polymeric materials. In 1989, he earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin, and resumed his career with Raychem as a research scientist and technical director. At Tyco International, he was the director of marketing and business development for the Circuit Protection Division. During his combined tenure with Raychem and Tyco, he developed and commercialized products with annual revenues in excess of $200M, and was awarded over 20 patents. In February, 2006 Dan joined Fairchild Semiconductor, where he leads the global quality organization, operational excellence and has P&L responsibility for the Standard Products Group.