John Kinzer
John is a seasoned finance professional and entrepreneur with over two decades of experience, principally working with technology enterprises. Prior to architecting Tomorrow, John was a Managing Partner at Gramercy Hill Partners.
Before that, he spent over 13 years with SVB Financial Group working with global technology companies where he helped form, hire and lead three new business units, as well as fund and advise numerous companies ranging from seed stage startups to large multi-national corporations.
In his last role at SVB, he helped establish and lead their cross-border business between Asia and the U.S. Prior to SVB, John began his finance career at ABNAMRO/LaSalle Bank. John received his bachelor’s degree from Westminster College.
Dr. Scott Kohl, PhD
Chemistry instructor in the university setting before entering the private sector. Nearly 20 years in grain processing and biofuels production. Six years in day-to-day operations at fuel ethanol production facilities overseeing optimization and incremental process improvements.
Thirteen years in applied research for the biofuels and wastewater industries. Dr. Kohl has over a dozen issued patents, most of which have been successfully commercialized. The resulting products from these inventions have been installed in 65 biofuel plants representing over $400 million in capital expenditure and returning $500 million in annual value creation.
Instructor for biofuels training courses presenting at dozens of domestic and international training events, both in the academic and industrial setting for the past 14 years.
Mike Healy
Mike has 30+ years of financial and operational experience and over 20 years as a CFO across a wide variety of organizations, including large technology companies, four start-ups, “Big 4” public accounting firms and lead two successful IPOs. Most recently Mike has provided CFO and Board advisory work for Blue Cedar Networks, Quanergy Systems, McAfee, and Instant Autographs. Prior to that Mike served as CFO of Quanergy Systems, a private Lidar company in Silicon Valley for almost two years. Mike served as the SVP and CFO of ShoreTel (IPO in 2007- Nasdaq: SHOR), Inc. for 10 years.
Mike also previously served four years as the CFO at Genesis Microchip (NASDAQ: GNSS) and two years as CFO of Jamcracker. Mike held senior finance positions at Exodus Communications (IPO in 1988), where he was instrumental in driving Exodus to a Nasdaq record of 13 consecutive quarters of revenue growth over 40%, with annual revenues over $800M. Prior to Exodus, Mike worked 10 years at Apple in different senior financial positions, including Controller of the Apple Business Division. He started his career in public accounting at Deloitte, where he became a Certified Public Accountant (inactive). Mike holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Santa Clara University.
Dr. William Lanier, PhD
Dr. William Lanier is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in high-impact leadership roles, including his tenure as Chief Science Officer at Eltron Research & Development. Throughout his career, he has made significant contributions to the fields of genetics, bioinformatics, and comparative genomics with a focus on plant and algal systems biology.
Dr. Lanier’s work has led to breakthroughs that underpin sustainable industrial applications, and he has authored or co-authored numerous patents that highlight his innovative approach and dedication to advancing science and technology.
Currently, as a key leader at Visionary Fiber Technologies (VFT), Dr. Lanier directs a team of principal investigators in pioneering fiber reactor technology for applications across a range of industries. His role at VFT is strategically oriented towards fostering an innovative intellectual property strategy, overseeing the entire patent prosecution process, and ensuring a robust portfolio that supports VFT’s vision for future growth.
Dr. Lanier’s focus also includes identifying and cultivating new commercial pathways, enhancing the company’s competitive edge, and forming partnerships that drive the commercialization of fiber reactor technology.
Pamela Martinson
Pam is a business-focused advisor with over 30 years of finance and legal experience. As a partner with major law firms in Silicon Valley, she represented technology companies across their life cycles, and the institutions that finance them. She was most recently a partner of the global law firm Sidley Austin LLP, resident in that firm’s Palo Alto, California office.
While practicing with Sidley, Pam received multiple awards as “Best Lawyer” and continues to speak and write on commercial law topics. She is a past president of The American Association of Commercial Finance Lawyers. Pam currently serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations and has extensive experience advising directors and executives with respect to risk, strategy, and governance.
Pam earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School, and her M.B.A from The University of Denver.
Kevin Cate
Kevin is an entrepreneur with 25+ years outside sales experience, and currently serves as VFT’s Director of Sales.
Prior to VFT, Kevin founded Four Teams, a professional marketing group specializing in distribution of FinTech products to a wide range of middle and large market companies.
He also spent 17 years as an enterprise health and welfare benefits Producer, where he won several company and industry awards.