Ty Carlson is an aviation nut who took a summer internship at Microsoft while in a master's program for Aerospace Engineering. More than 20 years later, Ty is still at Microsoft.

An architect in the Strategic Software/Silicon Architectures "SiArch" group, Ty is responsible for the all-up strategic roadmap for Microsoft and the alignment with Microsoft's strategic hardware partners. Current focus areas include heterogeneous many-core (parallel) computing, green computing, and adaptive computing.

After a brief role in Macintosh Product Support, Ty spent the first 15 years at Microsoft working in all aspects of Windows development and technical marketing. After being a member of the Windows 3.0 development team, Ty moved to Windows Technical Marketing, responsible for worldwide enterprise deployments, technical training, and resource kits, logging over a million miles.

Ty co-authored the (original) Windows Resource Kits for Windows 3.x releases, as well as the Windows NT Resource Kits. He created the Microsoft Rapid Deployment Program for enterprise pre-release production-level training, deployment, and support. After a stint on the .NET Early Adopter team, he spent five years as a director on the hardware side of Microsoft's technical and business relationships, working directly with Intel executives. Known for his honest and straightforward style, Ty created a category of top-rated internal presentations called "The Bad, The Good and The Ugly," to provide bidirectional communication between the development team and field architects.

While he enjoys ongoing relationships with enterprise customers, Ty doesn't miss the extensive travel of his technical marketing days. As one of the few "veterans" around Microsoft, Ty's style is a blend of the intensity of the early days and the more mature strategy of Microsoft's current culture.

Ty has received multiple internal awards, including the "Bill Gates' Special Award for Windows 3.0" and the "Microsoft Achievement Award." He has a passion for improving education, particularly in rural and under-privileged areas, creating and supporting technical education programs at the high-school level in multiple schools. He loves the outdoors and adventuring, including kayaking, cycling, volleyball, and scuba diving, and he holds FAA private pilot and A&P ratings.

Ty received a BS in Computer Engineering and Engineering Physics with Honors from Pacific Lutheran University. He and his family reside in Redmond, Washington, and Tofino, British Columbia.

Managing Director, Accelegrow New Zealand

CEO, Hadley Properties

Glen Hiemstra is the founder and owner of Futurist.com, a company that focuses on the dissemination of information about the future and how to create it. An internationally respected writer, blogger, futurist speaker, consultant, and expert on future trends and long-range planning, Glen has advised professional, business, and governmental organizations for two decades. He is the author of Turning the Future into Revenue: What Businesses and Individuals Need to Know to Shape Their Futures (John Wiley & Sons, 2006). Previously, he co-authored Strategic Leadership: Achieving Your Preferred Future.

Glen works with many leading companies, including Microsoft, Boeing, Hewlett-Packard, Insight.com, Ernst & Young, PaineWebber, State Farm, ShareBuilder, Novartis, Russian Railroad, Home Depot, Grainger Inc., Ace Hardware, John Deere, and state and federal agencies. He has also served as a technical advisor for futuristic television programs and appears in publications such as BusinessWeek, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, US News & World Report, The Futurist, USA Today, and the Los Angeles Times.

Each month, visitors from more than 120 countries come to Futurist.com. Futurist.com produces regular short videos for the Web on a variety of future topics. Currently, the online video program called FutureTalks - a series exploring the future of media with Glen and Swiss-based media futurist Gerd Leonhard, produced by the Conversations Network - is available at iTunes. Glen is also joint-venturing with Gerd on a regular online video series, Whereisitgoing.com.

You can follow Glen at futurist.com/blog and at twitter.com/glenhiemstra.

William G. Jones
Chairman and CEO

Bill Jones has been involved with several early-stage technology startups for more than five years and is currently Chairman and CEO of Accelegrow Technologies, Inc.  Prior to Bill's technology investment career, he was Senior Vice President of Construction for a major resort development group with projects across the United States and Mexico.  Bill maintains varied business interests and investments. His passions include soaring, fly fishing, golf and wood working when home in Park City, Utah.

Janet E. Sikes is Secretary and Treasurer of Accelegrow Technologies, Inc.  Prior to joining Accelegrow Technologies, Inc. she served as Director, Secretary and Treasurer of 2Find Me, Inc.  She is a registered CPA, and is a member of the Alabama Society of CPAs and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She has been an active, practicing accountant for over 30 years, with a specialty in taxation and focus on early stage business development and small company compliance reporting.  Ms. Sikes served as Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer, and Director of Reels & Deals Games, Inc. from January 2003 until the Company was acquired in 2004. She also served as Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer, and Director of Gluv Corporation in 2004 and 2005. She graduated from Southern Union State College, and later graduated Magna Cum Laude from Lagrange College with a BBA in Business Administration

Nan Smith is a founding member of Smith Capital an Atlanta, Georgia  based investment firm. Ms. Smith has been active in the investment banking and entrepreneurial field for more than 25 years. She has founded and co-founded numerous healthcare technology and medical device companies. Ms. Smith is a graduate of Georgia Southern College with a degree in nursing.