On Wednesday, March 30, the New Venture Championship (NVC) announced its 2016 final round judging panel. The business plan competition, to be held April 7-9 in Portland, Oregon, is celebrating its 25th year of providing valuable real-world feedback to graduate students in an exciting, tournament setting.
The three-day event boasts more than 50 judges overall—industry leaders from a variety of fields. These esteemed judges provide NVC participants professional guidance at every level of the competition. Their industry experience, mentoring, and critical analysis are the qualities that make NVC the premier business venture competition in its class.
Five judges will score the four finalist teams and select the 2016 NVC Champion on Saturday, April 9. Read more about the final round judging panel below.
Michael Crooke is a the Avamere Professor of Practice at the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon and a professor of business strategy at Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. He has served as the CEO or president of a number of companies, including Patagonia, Kelty, Pearl Izumi, and Revolution Living. Crooke is also founder of the Socially, Environmentally and Ethically Responsible (SEER) business certificate program.
Diane Fraiman serves as a partner with Voyager and focuses on software and digital media investments in the Pacific Northwest, particularly Oregon. With more than 30 years of technology company experience in leading marketing, strategy, and business development, Fraiman works with startups in the enterprise software, Internet/mobile/social, and security software industries throughout the West Coast.
Keith Larson manages Intel's minority equity investments in the manufacturing, memory, and health sector. This includes investments in semiconductor equipment and materials, electronic design automation (EDA) tools, disruptive memories, biotech and healthcare, and nanotech. Prior to joining Intel in 1996, Larson cofounded $51-million venture capital fund InterVen II, LP.
Sabrina Parsons is CEO of Palo Alto Software, developer of LivePlan, the popular business management software. Palo Alto Software develops technology and tools specifically targeted for entrepreneurs and small-business owners. Parsons assumed the CEO role in May 2007 and is responsible for Palo Alto's business planning, fiscal and strategic goals, and all of the company's traditional marketing.
Tim Stout has been chair of the ophthalmology department and director of the Cullen Eye Institute at the Baylor College of Medicine since 2013. Prior to this position, he served as vice president for commercialization strategies at Oregon Health and Science University since 2007. As a practicing vitreoretinal surgeon and director of the Cullen Eye Institute, Stout brings experience from both the research and clinical sides of medicine.