Board of Directors

Brian is a serial entrepreneur that has extensively leveraged the SBIR program to bring ideas out of the lab and into commercialization. Brian started his career at CPI (now part of Boston Scientific) doing chip and algorithm design. He founded Data Sciences Intl, bootstrapping the company into a highly profitable business with $20m in revenue with SBIR funding (sold to Harvard Biosciences). He was a co-founder of Transoma Medical (sold to Greatbatch) and is currently CEO of VivaQuant, a commercial-stage rapidly growing provider of remote cardiac monitoring services.

Pat Dillon is the Founder, President & CEO of MNSBIR, Inc., a private, non-profit organization to support startups and small businesses to research, develop and commercialize technologies into novel products and services for domestic and global markets by leveraging federal research and development investments. Dillon has nearly 45 years of experience in government, industry, non-profit and academic organizations. Dillon is a leader in Minnesota’s innovation, investment, and commercialization ecosystem with nearly 30 years of knowledge, experience and relationships in the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

Dillon is a member of the University of Minnesota (U of M), Technology Commercialization, Business Advisory Group; the Chair of the Advisory Board for the U of M, Technological Leadership Institute; a mentor for the Carlson School of Management, STARTUP Course; a frequent contributor to MN-REACH and MIN-CORPS (I-Corps Programs); a former MN-CUP Life Sciences Semi-Finalist Committee Member; a former speaker and moderator at the U of M Medical Devices Conference, Government Funding for Startups; and a frequent speaker at Twin Cities Startup Week, and taught a graduate course at the Mayo Clinic, Office of Entrepreneurship.

A staunch advocate of the SBIR/STTR programs, Dillon has tirelessly led the startup of MNSBIR in 2014 while at MEDA, then transitioning to Minnesota Technology Association (formerly the Minnesota High Technology Association) in 2016. Previously, Dillon served as the Northwest Regional Director for the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Network from 2005-2013, a key initiative under Governor’s Doyle’s Grow Wisconsin plan. From 1992-2004, Dillon served in multiple roles at Minnesota Project Innovation, Inc. that culminated into the role of Executive Director in 2004. MPI, Inc. had a successful track record for 20 years before state budget challenges impacted its funding sources.

Dillon is a 1999 recipient of the prestigious Small Business Administration’s Tibbetts Award: a national award for excellence in the SBIR/STTR Programs. Pat is also a 2001 recipient of the City Business’ 25 Most Innovative Woman Award (now the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal). Pat has served as a commercialization plan reviewer for the National Science Foundation (twice) and the United States Department of Agriculture (multiple times) and was the principal investigator of an Office of Naval Research contract for SBIR outreach in a five-state region for the first-ever SWIFT Tour (SBIR/STTR Where Innovation Focuses on Technology) (now called SBIR Road Tours).

Dillon is a retired United States Navy Commander with 40 years of service both active and reserve, and in both aviation and intelligence communities. Pat is a combat veteran having served 10 months in Kabul, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Dillon is a proud recipient of the Vietnam Era GI Bill earning an MBA and BS in Business Administration from Winona State University, Winona, MN.

Mr. Wright is a founding partner of Intercepting Horizons. As an experienced senior high-technology executive and strategist at scale, he has had the opportunity to pervade most industries and most cultures of the developed world. His experience includes both line and staff and all management levels from product to operational to c-suite, CEO, and boards. He has expertise in leadership, operations, and strategy, as well as in governance and organizational architecture.

Over the years, he has raised millions for startups and publicly traded entities and has been entrusted with the assets of nascent to large-cap technology companies. He has advised a number of the largest semiconductor equipment and materials companies in the world and led startups from his own (WWK.com) to assisting NASDAQ /Dow Jones level enterprises including GSX, August, and Rudolph Technologies (AUGT/RTEC) along with the formation and IPO of Entegris, Inc. (ENTG).

His career has been at the intersection of business, government, and academia in multiple venues, from DARPA/SEMATECH to ITRI and Fraunhofer. He enjoys innovating at the leading edges of technology from cleanrooms, filtration, and instrumentation to lithography, test and commercializing cost of ownership and capacity modeling software, and along the way developing new products, new entities, new markets, and new value propositions. He has chaired several industry organizations including: (SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS)), CONTEX, and Minnesota High Tech Association, and participated in high-level consortia, teaching both master’s degree level academic and industry-specific executive courses.

He has two patents in micro-fluidics, co-designed and developed industry-changing products, dozens of mergers and acquisitions, written over 40 articles on technology and business, and is the author of ‘The New Business Normal’ and the recently released ‘The Exponential Era’.

Patrice is Co-Chair of Fox Rothschild’s national Medical Technology practice group and serves as Administrative Partner for the Corporate Department in Minneapolis.

She advises medical technology companies, other emerging businesses, and venture capital and strategic investors in a broad range of commercial and financing matters, including: venture capital financings; private placements; mergers and acquisitions; venture debt and credit facilities; and securities compliance.

Patrice also guides lenders in commercial loan transactions and advises clients on equity financing structures and clinical trial agreements. She frequently counsel’s boards of directors on fiduciary duties and corporate governance obligations. Patrice earned her Juris Doctorate (magna cum laude, 1996) and Bachelors of Art degrees from the University of Minnesota. Patrice also contributes a Board of Director for the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, Board of Directors (2018-present) and Excelen, Center for Bone & Joint Research (2010-present).

Mr. Hobday is the CEO and Founder of HealthCare Interactive, an edtech company headquartered in Minneapolis and dedicated to providing the highest quality caregiver training for Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and other brain disorders. Mr. Hobday is an educational and instructional design expert, software developer, and dementia researcher.

He is the creator and developer of the CARES® online training, certification, and credentialing programs, all of which incorporate the trademarked CARES 5-step method to dementia care.

CARES programs are award winning, widely published in academic literature, and recognized by organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association, American Health Care Association, National Center for Assisted Living, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In addition, Mr. Hobday has collaborated directly with nationally known Alzheimer’s and dementia researchers at the Alzheimer’s Association, Duke University, Emory University, Michigan State University, NYU School of Medicine, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of South Florida, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and National Institutes of Health.

Since founding HCI in 1997, Mr. Hobday has also felt the impact of dementia personally. Both of his grandmothers and his aunt have passed away with complications from Alzheimer’s disease. This has resulted in a personal commitment to improve the quality of dementia care for both familes and professional caregivers around the U.S. and Canada.

Mr. Hobday earned a B.A. Quantitative Methods/Computer Science, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN (1988), a B.A. Spanish, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN (1988), M.A. Education, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN (1988), and a Ph.D. Business Management, Capella University, Minneapolis, MN (all coursework compete).

Diane Rucker is an angel investor and an active mentor in Minnesota’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. She recently stepped down as the Executive Director of University Enterprise Laboratories (UEL), a business incubator for early stage ventures in biotechnology, healthcare, medical health, and life sciences. Diane has an Executive MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and served as a mentor and judge for the MIT 100K competition. She also has an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an SB in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her recent experience includes a collaboration with MIT’s Trust Center for Entrepreneurship and broad – based business and ecosystem experience around the world, including Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. She served as the VP of Client Services for Carrot Health, a startup in healthcare analytics (acquired by UniteUs) and held leadership roles with Seagate and General Motors.

Diane serves on several boards, including the gener8tor gBETA Advisory Board. Diane invests in seed-stage funds with a focus on Minnesota and Midwest startups and on underrepresented founders, She is an LP in Groove Capital, Tundra Ventures, Bread and Butter Ventures, gener8tor, and Great North Ventures. She and her husband, Derek, live in Apple Valley, Minnesota, with their three (awesome) daughters.

Jeff is a seasoned CEO with a proven track record at profitably growing emerging companies and business divisions. He has raised over $15M in seed capital from angel investors to start four different companies which he then led to becoming profitable or acquired. Jeff got his start in Cell therapy as the Chief Operating Officer of Progenitor Cell Therapy (PCT) where he supported over 25 clinical trials in the Cell and Gene Therapy field. These trials ranged from Phase I to Phase III pivotal trials.