Several NACET clients are closing funding rounds including Ambature who completed raising a $2 million round.  Their CEO Mr. Joe Byers was the first speaker in our new Executive Speaker Series that occurs every quarter at the College of Business at NAU.  Mr. Byers not only spent the last 31 years as Vice President at Hewlett-Packard overseeing all of their international technology commercialization but was the lead inventor of the 32-bit computer chip.  Mr. Michael Zervas, CEO of Mountain Heart Cardiology will be our next executive speaker on April 19th at 6:00pm at NAU.
During the next quarter, NACET will continue to identify appropriate clients for its facility and further develop its Mentor’s Council.  The Mentor’s Council is an opportunity for business people to provide pro-bono time and seminars to companies in the community.  So far, over 25 individuals have signed up for this program including attorneys, CPAs, marketing experts, commercialization specialists and others.  You can find the list at http://www.nacet.org/about/core-consulting-team/mentor-2/

Joe Beyers as Chairman & CEO

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. Dec. 18, 2009 – After thirty-four years with Hewlett-Packard (HP), licensing and Intellectual Property expert Joe Beyers departs HP to turn his focus on a leadership role with a new energy efficiency company, Ambature.

Ambature was founded in 2007 for the purpose of developing technologies that can significantly improve the efficiency of electrical energy generation, distribution and usage. These technologies will have an impact on electrical transmission lines, electric motors, integrated circuits as well as a broad range of other electrical devices. The company intends to develop these technologies and license the intellectual property to other companies, as well as create partnerships in the development of innovative products that use these technologies.

Beyers possesses a rare combination of tremendous strategic insight, keen business judgment and deep technical knowledge,” said Ambature co-founder, Doug Gilbert. Co-founder Neal Mody agrees, “Beyers’ depth of experience, his ability to drive effective decisions in the midst of complexity and rapid change as well as the respect he has earned industry-wide, will help bring our technology to the forefront.”

Beyers served as vice president of Intellectual Property Licensing at HP. In this role he established the HP Intellectual Property Licensing function that was responsible for licensing HP’s intellectual property spanning multiple product lines and technologies.  He authored chapters in two books on intellectual property and was inducted into the international IP Hall of Fame.

“From my years in Silicon Valley, I have learned that it’s a rare opportunity to join a company such as Ambature, that has the technology to make such a revolutionary advancement,” said Beyers. “The United States needs to embrace potential high-impact companies in the energy field in order to relax the grip of oil dependency and to meet its goals for reduction in carbon emissions. I look forward to leveraging my entrepreneurial and licensing expertise to help ensure Ambature’s success.”

Larry Udell, founder of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society, commented, “Ambature has the ability and technology to dramatically change the way energy is created and used in the world today, and in the future.  With Joe’s leadership and Ambature’s experienced team, this venture has tremendous business upside and the potential to positively affect all our lives.”

Beyers has served in a number of other vice president and executive management roles, including vice president of HP’s Internet Business Unit, a group of eight innovative start-up businesses that addressed several Internet related product segments. Additional leadership roles were in planning and strategy, and corporate development, as well as technology development of operating systems, computer systems and integrated circuits.  Beyers is also a Distinguished Alumni from the University of Illinois.

About Ambature:

Ambature’s mission is to create and license materials which will increase the efficiency of generation, distribution and use of electricity.

Ambature is supported by the Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies (NACET), a small-business assistance program founded to help entrepreneurs and startups succeed in Northern Arizona. Ambature is also receiving assistance from Flagstaff-based Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Arizona State University (ASU) located in Tempe, Arizona.

Ambature’s development team is located in Flagstaff, Arizona, with business centers in Mesa, Arizona and Cupertino, California.

Media Contact:
Melanie McBride
C: 480-862-9094
E: mmcbride@eblane.com

NACET GRADUATES ITS FIRST COMPANY

SenesTech Moves to Flagstaff Airport Business Center

The Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies is pleased to announce the first graduation of a bioscience company, SenesTech, Inc. from its incubation program. NACET provides state of the art start up office and laboratory space along with technology transfer services for companies who have invented a product and have set out to transfer that technology into the commercial marketplace. Due to the forward vision of political, business and educational leaders in 2001, NACET was built to provide incubator space to these fledgling companes to help them grow to successful status thereby increasing the higher paid professional employment pool for greater Flagstaff. NACET President and CEO, Russ Yelton stated “We are very pleased for SenesTech wish them great success in the future. “

SenesTech is a privately held biotechnology company specializing in humane animal population management through environmentally neutral chemical sterilization. Its mission is to remove killing, culling of mammalian pests and the current management tool, poison from the environment.

Its initial product, ContraPestÒ, is scheduled to be in the rice fields of Southeast Asia by the end of next year. Eventually, their product has the potential to assist in feeding over 300 million more people per year. It has the potential to change the quality of life for the Southeast Asian poor.

SenesTech moved part of its operation from Northern Arizona University into the NACET incubator on McMillan Mesa in October of 2008. They started out with seven offices, three labs and 3 full time employees and 9 months later expanded to six labs, 10 offices and 16 full or part time employees utilizing 3,812 sq ft of actual office/lab space. SenesTech will be moving to its new location at the Flagstaff Airport Business Center at the beginning of November 2009 doubling the size of their operations.

Everett Hale, CEO of SenesTech stated, “The Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies was instrumental in helping us achieve our success. The support and state of the art facilities at NACET were without question a huge boost to our ability to achieve such great corporate growth. We hope that other companies take our lead and avail themselves of the support, vision and leadership at NACET.”

###

If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Mr. Russ Yelton, please call Jeff Saville at 928-213-9234 or email Jeff at jsaville[at]nacet.org