Our Board of Directors

Tom Peterson, General Partner, El Dorado Ventures
Tom Peterson is a veteran early-stage technology investor who has been with El Dorado Ventures since 1986. He focuses on early-stage investments in software, service and communications companies. Tom joined El Dorado in 1986 from Union Venture Corp., the venture capital arm of Union Bank of California, where he was an investment officer. Prior to joining Union Venture, Tom held engineering and management positions with Hewlett-Packard and General Electric. Tom received a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Axel Bichara, Partner, Atlas Venture
Axel Bichara is a partner in the technology group of Atlas Venture where he focuses on software investments. Prior to joining Atlas Venture in 1993, he was vice president of Product Development at Premise, a venture-backed software company which he co-founded in 1987. Premise was acquired by Computervision in 1991. Bichara was lead investor in SolidWorks, a mechanical design automation software company that was acquired by Dassault Systemes. Axel also participated as a first round lead investor in SpeechWorks. As a board member, Axel helped build SpeechWorks through an IPO and its later sale to ScanSoft/Nuance in 2003.

Peter van der Velden, President & CEO, MDS Capital
Peter recently joined MDS Capital from Fusion Capital Partners where, as one of the firm’s co-founders, he was instrumental in building the company into a leading Canadian private equity investment banking boutique focused on technology companies. Throughout his career, Peter has sought to leverage his entrepreneurial drive, academic background, and business experiences to help talented entrepreneurs build outstanding businesses. van der Velden started in the venture capital industry in 1988 with Vencap Equities Alberta Ltd, arguably one of Canada's most successful venture capital firms, and from there took on the role of vice president, Business Development for a venture capital-backed drug delivery development company where he led their international licensing initiatives, established their subsidiary operations in Australia, and was instrumental in raising more that $70 million in private and public equity as the company evolved to become a TSE 300-listed company. His experience also includes, four years as a partner at a Canadian merchant bank, and a short time as a partner at a public equity investment bank. Peter holds B.Sc. honors and M.Sc. (Pathology) degrees from the Queen's University at Kingston, and an MBA in finance and policy from the Schulich School of Business.

Andrea McKenna, Senior Vice President & Executive Officer, The Talbots, Inc.
Andrea McKenna is a seasoned marketing executive with extensive experience in women’s fashion and overall retail.

Prior to her tenure at Talbots, Inc., McKenna served as senior vice president and group media director at the Boston advertising agency Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Inc. McKenna began her career serving a ten-year span serving in various marketing positions at Dunkin’ Donuts, Inc., where she managed an award winning advertising campaign that became the longest running in food service history. Prior to working with Dunkin’ Donuts, McKenna held several marketing and management positions at advertising agencies in New York City and Boston. McKenna holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of The Holy Cross and has completed an executive marketing management course from The Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.

Mark Becker, Founder, Salu Inc.
A graduate of Stanford University, Dr. Becker completed his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, CA. He practiced pediatrics in Portland, Oregon, where he was one of the founders of Salu Inc. in 1995. Until 2003, Dr. Becker served as vice president of Medical Affairs for the company, where he was responsible for overseeing the development of medical content and clinical workflow tools for dermatology practices. Dr. Becker is now president of Vivacare, an Internet-based patient education company located in Berkeley, CA.

Mike Coffee, Chief Business Officer, Avigen
Prior to joining Avigen, Coffee co-founded the Alekta Group LLC to provide a comprehensive range of pharmaceutical development consulting services to emerging pharmaceutical companies. Previously, Coffee was president and chief operating officer of Amarin Corporation PLC and Amarin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Coffee was also president and chief operating officer of Elan Pharmaceuticals, North America, president and chief operating officer of Athena Neurosciences, Inc., and executive vice president of commercial operations for Athena. Coffee earned a BS in biology from Siena College.