Burton Lee

Dr. Burton Lee PhD MBA is Director of Stanford University’s European Entrepreneurship and Innovation Thought Leaders Program in the School of Engineering. He was recently appointed to Ireland’s national Innovation Taskforce by Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen.

Dr. Lee is a technology venture finance, commercialization and innovation strategy and policy professional with over 15 years entrepreneurial and senior executive leadership and advisory experience in seed-stage investment; venture-backed startups; global technology corporations; venture capital and private equity funds, angel networks, federal S&T agencies, state economic development offices, leading research universities, industry associations and national governments. His management and technical experience includes global strategy and research positions with Hewlett Packard, GE Global Research, DaimlerChrysler AG and NASA in the United States, Europe and Japan. Burton’s sector expertise spans software, artificial intelligence, robotics, alternative energy, environmental systems, green IT, semiconductors, nanotechnology, aerospace and defense, sensor networks, medical devices and manufacturing.

Dr. Lee serves as Managing Partner of Innovarium Ventures, a strategic, financial and technical advisory services firm based in Silicon Valley. Current and recent clients include the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA Ames Research Center and New Mexico Spaceport Authority. He also serves as Principal and co-founder of Space Angels Network, a professionally managed national network of accredited investors focused on seed- and early-stage aviation- and space-related ventures.

During 2006-2008, Burton served as Innovation Policy Advisor to Governor Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign; as a Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences’ Computer Science and Telecommunications Board in Washington DC; and as innovation cluster development policy advisor to the state of New Mexico. Previous S&T and economic policy assignments include a tenure at US labor union federation AFL-CIO headquarters, and serving as a senior tourism advisor to Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga and the Central Bank of Jamaica.

Burton holds a PhD in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Stanford University (2002), and an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship (Cornell, 2004).

Employer:	Stanford University
Position:	Engineering Lecturer
Time period:	November 2008 - August 2011
Description:	Stanford School of Engineering. Program Director for "European Entrepreneurship and Innovation Thought Leaders" (ME 421). Non-tenured Lecturer appointment, 20% time. European government partners include Enterprise Estonia, FinNode, Innovation Center Denmark and Innovation Norway. Industry partners include Plug and Play Tech Center, Sunnyvale, CA and European Business Angel Network (EBAN), Brussels. This weekly lecture series is offered each Monday on the Stanford University campus. Open to the public at no charge. See our website below for additional program information. www.europeanentrepreneursatstanford.com me421.stanford.edu 1 recommendation available upon request

Employer:	US Venture Capital Firms
Position:	Managing Partner
Time period:	April 2008 - December 2008
Description:	Invited to join two new Venture Capital firms at General Partner/Venture Partner level. Contributions included: team leadership role, investment sector strategy, industry partnerships and legal counsel liaison, deal flow sourcing, financial modeling. Partners at both firms opted to put Limited Partner discussions on hold for the next few Quarters, pending resolution of the current economic crisis and broad restructuring of US and European venture capital industry. Partner teams included veteran US and European VC professionals with extensive and solid investment track records. Washington DC and Silicon Valley, CA. Sector focus: industrial technologies, alternative energy systems, aerospace/defense.

Employer:	Technology Startup Companies
Position:	Board-level positions
Time period:	July 2007 - February 2008
Description:	Member, Board of Advisors, Yuzoz. Yuzoz is a Web 2.0 satellite applications company which employs innovative approaches to using space-based data for terrestrial consumer and enterprise applications and markets. July 2007 to February 2008. www.yuzoz.com Member, Board of Directors, JTV Inc., Hartford, CT. Invited to join Board of Directors of a manufacturing/enterprise software startup company which is bringing to market a new manufacturing systems software technology with enterprise applications in aerospace, maritime, energy, defense, automotive, medical device and other major markets around the globe. Initial customers include Boeing and NASA. August 2007 to December 2007.

Employer:	Space Angels Network LLC
Position:	Principal & Co-Founder
Time period:	April 2007 - March 2011
Description:	Space Angels Network is the premier source of dealflow for seed- & early-stage investors in aviation- and space-related ventures across a wide spectrum of technologies, markets & industries. We are a professionally managed national network of accredited investors. Dealflow includes IT (earth observation, geospatial imagery, GPS, telecoms, weather/climate/env monitoring, inflight entertainment/comms, air traffic, etc); clean tech (biofuels, solar, wind, carbon, etc), vehicles (aircraft, UAV, satellite, launch, components/sensors), advanced materials, manufacturing, aerospace-derived dual use technologies, SBIR/STTR firms, prize teams, life sciences (medical devices, telemedicine, etc), among others. Responsibilities: strategic relationships (VCs, federal S&T agencies, universities, etc), investor sourcing, deal sourcing & screening, industry assessment, valuation, due diligence, deals. I am presently on a Medical Leave of Absence from Space Angels Network.

Employer:	Innovarium Ventures
Position:	Managing Director
Time period:	November 2006 - August 2011
Description:	Senior Financial, Technical & Strategic Advisor to Technology Startups, VCs, federal/state agencies. Recent clients include: * Civilian Research and Development Foundation, Arlington, VA. Commercialization advisor to Ministry of Education & Science, Kiev, Ukraine. (crdf.org)

Employer:	Wall Street Investment Research Firm
Position:	Technology and Markets Advisor
Time period:	November 2006 - December 2009
Description:	provide confidential and independent advisory services to investment banks, hedge funds, private equity firms and other financial, industrial and government institutions in the following areas: technology, telecom, industrial, aerospace and defense, energy and utilities, manufacturing, and materials. * Gerson Lehrman Group Technology Council, Austin, TX.(www.glgcouncils.com) * Standard & Poor's, Society of Industry Leaders, New York. (www.standardandpoors.com) * Clinical Advisors LLC, Network of Technology Advisors, New York

Employer:	FAA AST Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee
Position:	Member
Time period:	February 2006 - December 2009
Description:	The STOWG advises the FAA AST Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) on launch and reentry vehicle operations issues. Members include representatives from space vehicle manufacturers and operators, and commercial, state and federal spaceports. I provide senior level technical and business expertise in reentry vehicle operations and spaceport design and operations to the STOWG.

University:	Cornell University
Time period:	2002 - 2004
Degree:	Finance and Entrepreneurship, MBA

University:	Stanford University
Time period:	1997 - 2002
Degree:	Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aero Astro, Artificial Intelligence, PhD

University:	Brown University
Time period:	1974 - 1978
Degree:	Physics and Economics, BA

Clubs:	GABA, SVASE, TIE, SDForum
Awards:	Chartered Engineer, Engineers Ireland