NEXUS
PROJECT ADVISORS
NGP Group leverages an established network of senior level advisors to help its Portfolio Companies. The following is a representative sample of the breadth of industry reach NGP Group advisors provide to Portfolio Companies in geographical areas covered by NGP Group:
 
  • Established relationships with major Italian corporate groups and several major European, Latin American and North America /Canadian firms
  • Established relationships with recognized North American, pan-European and Brazilian digital consulting resources in the technology sector
  • Access to leading North America, European and Latin American entrepreneurs
  • Access to worldwide organizations, including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank
  • Access to brain-trusts in areas of new convergent technologies including mobile and broadband
  • Access to top management resources at established and growing digital solution providers, including infrastructure service providers (SPs) and security solution providers (SSPs)

NGP Group advisors are involved with initiatives as sponsors and facilitators. In addition they provide a network of high profile contacts. Each advisor brings on average 15+ years of industry expertise.

 

BARRIOS, ANGEL
Mr. Barrios is currently Director of IntraLearn Latin America Ltda. He is also delivering Supply Chain Management consulting to local companies and he is an assistant professor at the International MBA Program at The Santa María University, Santiago, Chile. Mr. Barrios has extensive experience helping multinational and national companies to improve competitive advantages by the diagnosis and establishment of new strategies, operational plans and project management.
Barrios was Program Manager for the Chilean Operations for Commerce One, a leading end-to-end B2B provider. Important e-MarketPlaces projects were assisted by Barrios as a Project Account Manager and Strategic Consultant. Prior to Commerce One, Mr. Barrios was Country Manager for the Chilean Operations of Provia Software (formerly Haushahn Systems and Engineers), a SCM software company. In this role, he managed all aspects of large strategic projects in Chile, contract structuring, activity planning, relationship management and consulting. Mr. Barrios also worked for Lucent Technologies (Columbus, Ohio) as a Design Engineer and Red Prairie (formerly McHugh Freeman, Wauskesha, Wisconsin) as a SCM Consultant for US projects.
Mr. Barrios has a BS in Math and Computer Civil Engeneering from Catholic University, Santiago, Chile, a Master of Science in Computer Science from University of Wisconsin, and an MBA from Universidad Federico Santa Maria, Santiago, Chile.
E-Mail: angel.barrios@terra.cl

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BREYER, SYDNEY
Mr. Breyer is President and Founder of Ability, a leader in the Brazilian market for development and implementation of innovative online solutions for national and multinational companies. Prior to founding and managing Ability, Mr. Breyer was Founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Aceleradora S.A., an investment and technology firm located in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Mr. Breyer has been one of the early pioneers of the Brazilian Internet industry, and a Partner or Strategic Consultant in several successful start-ups such as Shoptime.com, Elefante.com, Automóvel Online and e-Imóveis. Mr. Breyer has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from ITA, and an MBA from Coppead/UFRJ.
E-Mail: sidney@ability.com.br
Website: www.ability.com.br

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COSTANTINI, JAMES
Mr. Costantini was Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company, a leading strategy consulting firm. In this role, he was in charge of client relationships for strategic accounts and internal e–Commerce related initiatives. At McKinsey & Company, Mr. Constantini also performed as Project Manager, Associate and Business Analyst.

Mr. Costantini holds a Master in Business Administration from Harvard University, a Master of Philosophy in Finance from Cambridge University and a BA in Mathematics from Cambridge University. Mr. Costantini is also pursuing a PhD in Economics at Harvard University with focus on international business.
Email: jcostantini@ngponline.com

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FLEISCHMANN, EDENILSON
Edenilson Fleischmann is in charge of new business and strategic development of AccesStage. He joined AccesStage in mid-2001, bringing experience in business development and knowledge of the Brazilian market. His professional background has been set on the strategic level, based on projects of market evaluation, market entry strategies and business plans; and on the operational level, based on the experience in process reengineering. His experience was mainly acquired while working for the international management consulting firm Roland Berger & Partners (Deutsche Bank Group), where he managed projects for companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Sidenor, Continental AG and Tintas Coral. Recently he was engaged in the startup and development of the main Brazilian news portal: estadao.com.br from the media group O Estado de S. Paulo. He received his degree from UEM University, Brazil, in 1989. From 1990 to 1992, he was involved in research projects at the University of London (UK) and Marburg University (Germany).
E-Mail: edenilson@accesstage.com.br
Website: www.accesstage.com.br

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HURWITZ, JUDITH
Judith Hurwitz is founder and President of Judith Hurwitz & Associates, one of NGP Group Strategic Partners for the US region. Judith Hurwitz has more than 20 years experience in the software industry. She was a driving force in the distributed computing movement and was one of the first to recognize and write about important technology changes such as client/server computing, systems and applications management, and e-business practices. She has provided marketing, primary research, strategy, and management consulting services to major software vendors and Fortune 500 companies.

Judith Hurwitz was the founder of Hurwitz Group, a research and analyst firm. She also held key positions at Patricia Seybold’s Group, Apollo Computer, IDC, and John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. Hurwitz's expertise is widely recognized, and she is frequently quoted in major publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, Information Week, CIO.com, and Computerworld. She has authored hundreds of articles and reports, been a frequent keynote speaker at major industry events, and serves on the advisory boards of many corporations. Hurwitz holds a BA and Masters degree from Boston University.
E-Mail: Judith@judithhurwitz.com

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KHAN, ASIF
Mr. Khan has been an Associate Director at Barclays Capital in London, UK. In this role, he advised continental European Banks on issues such as capital structure optimization, strategic acquisitions and funding diversification through Capital Markets activities. Prior to Barclays Capital, Mr. Khan held various Investment Banking roles at ABN AMRO Bank NV in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His roles at ABN AMRO included Debt Capital Origination for US corporations in the European markets, Strategic advisory for ABN AMRO Bank, and Debt restructuring of ABN AMRO’s Asian portfolio. Mr. Khan has raised over $1 billion for clients and advised on corporate finance transactions in excess of $2 billion.

In addition to Investment Banking, Mr. Khan has worked in public accounting at Coopers & Lybrand and Ernst & Young performing due diligence on US companies within various industries. Mr. Khan holds a BS degree in Management from Babson College, and an MBA from Georgetown University.
Email: akhan@ngponline.com

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LI, DANIEL BORBA
Mr. Li is a founding partner of Vaidosa/Pixel Software (www.pixelsoftware.com), a company headquartered in São Paulo (Brazil). Mr. Li has been one of the Endeavor’s (www.endeavor.org) chosen entrepreneurs, having also acted as trader of derivatives, fixed income and derivatives desk at Opportunity Asset Management. He was also the founding partner of Apolo Tecnologia e Comunicação Ltda. Mr. Li has a Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering from Escola de Engenharia Mauá - IMT, and also attended the “Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne”, in Paris, as well as the Administration Specialization Course for Graduates from Fundação Getúlio Vargas - FGV.
Email: gmerlino@ngponline.com

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MERLINO, GIUSEPPE
Mr. Merlino is the founder of Delphis, a management consulting and strategic marketing firm, with the majority of its customers operating in the ICT sector. Through Delphis Mr. Merlino has also cooperated with consultancies such as Ernst&Young Fba and investment banks such as Franco Bernabè & Co. on focused business development efforts. He is also active in promoting and participating in several entrepreneurial initiatives in the hi-tech, real estate and retail sectors. Until 2003 Mr. Merlino was General Manager of Gruppo MET, a leading Italian provider of IT services/solutions, where he led a company-wide reorganization effort and successfully developed the System Integration Services offering. Mr. Merlino started his career as a self-employed entrepreneur in IT services, founding a company that he sold in 1996 to Datasys Network.

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MASSARENTI, CESARE
Mr. Massarenti is currently Professor of Communication at University of Milano-Bicocca and of Cross-Media at Polytechnic of Torino; frequently a Visiting Professor, Department of Computer Science and Department of Communication, Stanford University, California.

Since the mid-60s has been teaching at major universities and working as a consultant in the US, the UK, France, and more recently also in Italy, on the evolution and modifications of the value chain and production flow models in the media, from content origination to processing to delivery, including interactive systems. Also active in the field of new digital displays and their use for information and advertising in complex networks.

In the early ‘80s, in Paris, was responsible for the first transition to digital television at Société Française de Production (at that time the largest film and tv producer in Europe) and later for the transition to a wholly digital production workflow at Bayard Presse (a major publisher). Between the late ‘80s and early ‘90s introduced digital technologies and renewed work methods for car design at Ford, BMW, Fiat and Volkswagen.

In the ‘90s was a member of the team responsible for the European Commission’s experiments with High Definition Television for the development and deployment of virtual environments in medicine and surgery and in industrial design, using high speed networks and collaborative work methods between distant locations; also, started experimenting with different types and dimensions of displays to meet specific visualization requirements in various fields, including stereo viewing without special glasses.

In the US, France and the UK has produced and directed documentaries about scientists, musicians, painters and architects, videos for corporate communication, and interactive projects in the fields of art, education, scientific visualization.

Was an advisor to French Ministers of Culture and Communication Mr. Jack Lang (in the ‘80s, for Plan Image) and Ms Catherine Trautmann (in the late ‘90s, for the Society of Information), and to European Commissioner Dr. Martin Bangemann (in the ‘90s, for advanced technologies in the Society of Information).

Received an undergraduate degree at Bocconi University in Milano in Economics and Statistics and a graduate degree at Stanford University in Sociology and Communication.
Member of major international scientific associations.

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MAGUIRE, JOY
Joy Maguire recently held the position of Vice President of Marketing at C Speed Corporation, a developer of MEMS-based optical switching subsystems. In this role, she helped take the Company's world-class technology to market, by aggressively growing the Company’s leadership in the evolving optical cross connect market.

A high-tech industry veteran, Maguire has over 20 years experience in the telecommunications industry. Prior to C Speed, she served as Vice President of Wireless and Mobility Solutions at Razorfish. At Razorfish, Maguire and her team developed and delivered service offerings using wireless technologies that drove measurable ROI to increase revenues, control costs, and improve productivity for each client.

Maguire previously served as director of product management, product marketing and business development for Mitsubishi Wireless Communications’ Personal Mobile Communications Division. She developed and launched Mitsubishi's first Internet-ready, smart cellular MobileAccess™ telephone and was instrumental in developing partnerships with carriers, network infrastructure vendors, software developers, system integrators and value added resellers.

Maguire has chaired the WAP Forum Specification Requirements Committee (SRC), which developed and prioritized market requirements for the evolution of specification into the next generation since 1999 and was elected to a 3-year term on the Board of Directors of Wireless Data Forum in 1998.

Before joining Mitsubishi Electronics, Maguire held marketing and business development positions at Centigram Communications Corporation and AT&T Information Systems. She is a frequent speaker and panelist at industry conferences, and author of numerous publications. In March of 2000, Ms. Maguire was recognized by Wireless Week as one of the most influential women in wireless.
E-Mail: joycelyn_meguire@yahoo.com

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RAO, RAJESH
Mr. Rao has over ten years of diverse experience in the software industry. He spent a great deal of his career working at Infosys, where he led the banking team and oversaw several offshore implementations. He worked at Infosys in the early years of the company and was involved in their CMM implementation and the streamlining of their procedures as they optimized their offshore production model. Mr. Rao has also worked as a technical lead at iCube and at Razorfish, where he oversaw all technology and operations for the West coast region. Mr. Rao holds a BE in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Mysore University.
E-Mail: rajesh@bamboonetworks.com
Website: www.bamboonetworks.com

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RORES, JAMES
Mr. Rores is responsible for driving regional enterprise sales via direct and global partner channels for StreamServe, Inc., a global leader in the fast-growing Enterprise Business Communication market. Previously, Mr. Rores served as Vice President of Sales for LingoMotors, Inc., a leader in the development and commercialization of emerging technology for the content management space. Mr. Rores also directed the sales and marketing efforts of the product division of Ontos, Inc., and provided leadership in both operational and sales capacities at i-Cube, a leading digital solutions provider. Prior to this, Mr. Rores achieved early success as either a founder or key executive within several start-up and turn-around companies. Mr. Rores received an MBA from Northeastern University and a BS in Economics from Niagara University.
E-Mail: james@ngponline.com

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SHIMIZU, ROBERT, PH.D.
Dr. Shimizu received his doctorate in biology at New Mexico State University and completed his training at the University of Southern California Cancer Center. Dr. Shimizu has led research and development teams, directed global quality responsibility, was responsible for strategic alliances, and led strategic planning and business development teams in multiple companies. He worked the large corporate environments at a Division of SmithKline Beckman, mid-sized environment at a Division of Chiron Corporation and small start-up environment at Control Delivery Systems. Dr. Shimizu manages a strong team and network of individuals who bring essential insight that help partner companies gain value.
E-mail: rshimizu@ngponline.com

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SHOSTAK, KYLE
Kyle Shostak's background focuses on investment banking, financial advisory and capital raising experience.

He is heading Business Development of Vanquish, Inc., a Boston-based technology company focusing on anti-spam solutions. He is also a co-founder and Managing Partner of Transatlantic Capital, LLC, a financial services company, focusing on lending, asset management and fixed-income trading activities in the Russian market. He advises a number of Russian companies on strategy, capital raising and finding strategic foreign partners.

In 2000-2003 he was in charge of the Leveraged Finance, Financial Sponsors & Advisory Group for North America at the New York Branch of Banca Intesa BCI, Italy's largest bank. He worked with a number of premier private equity and venture capital funds doing business cross-border, committing bank capital and advising funds and corporate clients on capital raising, acquisition deal structuring and joint venture formation. During 1996-1999 he worked as Director for Bank Austria/Creditanstalt Investment Bank's Eastern European/Russian private equity fund, which invested in traditional sectors in Russia. In 1995-1996 Mr. Shostak was employed by New Alliance Capital, a New York boutique firm specializing in emerging markets debt trading. He worked in the Merchant Banking department, structuring and executing a proprietary acquisition involving a debt-equity swap and subsequent restructuring of the company. In 1994-1995 Kyle handled general corporate practice as an associate at Covington & Burling, the largest law firm Washington DC. Kyle has been a contributing free lance writer to Forbes Magazine's "World Billionaires List" since 1999.

Mr. Shostak holds an MBA in Finance from New York University Stern School of Business (2000), a Master of Law degree from Washington College of Law at The American University in Washington, D.C. (1994), and a Bachelor in Economics degree and International Law degree from Moscow State University (1992).
E-Mail: shostak@transatcap.com

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SELLERS, LEN
Len most recently was Executive Vice President, Asia/Pacific, for Razorfish, one of the foremost Internet design and strategy consulting firms. Prior to this, he was Managing Director of Razorfish San Francisco, for which he dramatically raised revenue from $1M to $15M in two years, managing a staff of 130. Earlier, he founded an Internet design and strategy firm, Alpha Online, which was later acquired by Razorfish. He took Alpha Online from 0 to $1M in revenue in two years, and increased the staff from three people to 30.The company's clients, to whom Len provided strategic, creative and technology services, included: Microsoft, Vodafone, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Cisco, Excite, Nokia, Sony, Charles Schwab, Intel, eMachines, McKinsey, Joe Boxer, Concert, and many others. Among his career achievement, Len was responsible for building the first multiplayer online game, the first programmable dynamic Shockwave, first Netshow streaming media implementation, and the first Flash site application. Len is also a Professor Emeritus at San Francisco State University, where he has been on the faculty since 1975.
Len has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Communication from Stanford University, and a B.A. in Journalism from San Francisco State University.
E-Mail: len@hammer2anvil.com
Website: www.hammer2anvil.com

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ZANI, RALPH
Ralph Zani has had more than 25 years of experience in marketing to Japan and more than 40 years overall in the computer and electronics fields. Mr. Zani is founder and principal of Boston International Electronics Group (BIEG), a consulting company specializing in high tech trade from the U.S. to Japan. Operating as BIEG, Ralph has retained and built upon the relationships with various channel partners. He has several Japanese clients who he advises on developments and trends in high technology and assists in procuring U.S. high tech products. He also works with a number of emerging American companies helping them to establish a presence in Japan.
Prior to founding BIEG, Ralph was Executive Vice President at Marubeni International Electronics Corp., the U.S. high tech subsidiary of Marubeni Corporation, one of the giant Japanese trading companies. While still at Marubeni, Ralph established a broad distribution network in the Japanese market working with a variety of types of resellers, including members of two of the other major business groups - Mitsubishi and Sumitomo. Additional channel partnerships were established with several small but rapidly growing independent companies including value added resellers, system integrators, and customer service companies. Among his major accomplishments were 1) the introduction of engineering work stations (Apollo Computer now H P) into the Japanese market at a time when the concept was completely foreign to the Japanese, 2) initiating the distribution of Compaq computers into Japan at the time when NEC was the dominant supplier of personal computers, and 3) establishing a joint venture for a leading network operating system supplier which included NTT - the dominant telephone company partly owned by the Japanese government (their first investment in a U.S. company). In addition, Ralph was responsible for numerous other pioneering efforts involving U.S. technology in Japan, such as voice recognition software (Dragon Systems), storage area networks (Network Appliance), and call center systems (Davox).
Prior to his working with Marubeni, he held various marketing and management positions with IBM, General Electric and IDC, as well as a small high tech company. For many years, Ralph served as a director and executive committee member of the International Business Center of New England - an organization dedicated to promoting International trade. He was also a member of the New England District Export Council - an advisory board used by the U.S. Department of Commerce for advice on increasing export business. He is a graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Business School.
Email: ralph.zani@verizon.net

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GARAND, PETER
Mr. Garand is located in Toronto, Canada and co-manages all NGP Canada's local and cross border activities. He has been an executive in the Canadian technology and telecommunications industry for the past 20 years, specializing in defining and delivering major new technology-based market initiatives across a wide variety of application and functional domains.
Mr. Garand background combines a strong knowledge of technology with hands on experience in developing and launching technology-based ventures. He was most recently Vice President and General Manager for Unisys Canada's Telecom & Media Industry group, where he was responsible for the company's Canadian telecom and media clients. He was also global leader of the company's video services practice and was deeply involved in offerings such as unified messaging, wireless multimedia messaging and enterprise data mobilization.

Prior to this role, Mr. Garand was a Partner/Senior Vice President with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's (CGE&Y) business consulting practice in the Telecom & Media industry group. His responsibilities included leadership of the firm's Digital Content Management practice for the North American Media market as well as the telecom industry Operational/Business Support Systems practice in Canada. He worked for an international wireless company as Interim CIO, defining the strategic direction of the business systems for the company's third generation wireless data and mobile commerce businesses worldwide. He also helped Bell Canada launch a comprehensive web hosting/managed services offering and assisted Canada Post in launching its e-billing and e-payment service as acting CTO. He has performed a wide range of consulting mandates, involving areas such as wireless strategy, IT strategy and large program management engagements.

Prior to joining CGE&Y, he spent several years in the telecommunications industry in Canada, working for Accenture, AT&T Canada, Nortel Networks and Alcatel in a variety of senior management roles focused on defining and implementing advanced telecommunications technology-based offerings. He has been a contributor to several industry journals and chaired or participated in several industry events and seminars.

Mr. Garand holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Masters of Business Administration degree (Marketing and Information Technology specializations), both from McGill University.
Email: pgarand@ngponline.com

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ANGEL BARRIOS
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EDENILSON FLEISCHMANN
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RAJESH RAO
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ASIF KHAN
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