Advisory Council

At TaxOps, Brian implemented an innovative business model that breaks the traditional firm mold. In 2012, TaxOps was named as one of the Inc. 5000’s fastest growing companies in America. In 2013, TaxOps was named the #1 small firm to work for by Accounting Today for the second consecutive year, and was a winner of the Colorado Companies to Watch award, the only accounting firm to receive the award. The combination of these awards is testament to the success of the firm’s business model. Brian is dedicated to changing the professional services model to offer the best solutions for clients, employees, and partners. A promoter of entrepreneurship in the accounting industry, Brian has worked, biked, trained, and consulted with some of the top entrepreneurs in North America. He speaks, writes and consults on the business issues accountants face.

With TaxOps and previously with Ernst & Young, Brian has spearheaded recruiting, team development and personal staff development initiatives. He recognizes specialized talents and soft skills that lead to higher levels of success, and has a singular ability to nurture talent and motivate team members.

A year later Joel co-founded Launch Pad LLC, a marketing company that backs and runs several consumer products companies such as FullBar, Brainetics, Tortle, 2 Red Hens, and Gallo en Fuego. Joel also owns the Moda Man store on Larimer Square in Denver. Joel sits on the boards of two non-profits, First Descents and the Hoffman Institute. Joel has two high-school aged kids, loves the outdoors, and has tremendous passion for personal and spiritual growth.

Ms. Arkell was selected as one of the nation’s best dealmakers and included in the 2007 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America. According to Lawdragon, this recognition is the most elite given for American lawyers, awarded to less than one-half of one percent of America’s 1.1 million attorneys. Arkell is one of only nine Colorado lawyers selected. In 2006, The Denver Business Journal named Arkell Denver’s Outstanding Woman in Business (Professional), and she is also continuously ranked as a top attorney in her practice area by The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, and Colorado Super Lawyers. Ms. Arkell received her B.A. in Political Science from Northwestern University, an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Colorado, and her J.D., with honors, from the University of Colorado School of Law.

She sold the company in 2014 and subsequently started her own consulting practice called New World Vistas with a focus on business coaching and raising successful women leaders. She also helped launch a new educational mobile tech company called Unleesh, which is making headway in the education space.

Cynthia is committed to supporting education and serves as co-Founder and President of the Foundation for Global Scholars, a 501C3 non-profit supporting students with education abroad opportunities. She was elected to the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Board of Directors in 2011 and has held four other significant leadership roles with the Association.

Honors include being voted as one of the 2013 Top Three Minority/Women Owned Business in Colorado by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, consistently ranking in the Top 10 Women Owned Business in Colorado, and winning the 2009 Small Business of the Year by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce.

In 2014 FMS was sold to the largest ERP software company in Nordic VISMA. After the acquisition, FMS was renamed to Visma Enterprise where Jānis worked as Managing Director until January 2015.In March 2016, Jānis served as Member of Board and Vice President of Sales and Marketing at SAF Tehnika, a publicly traded technology company based in Riga, Latvia. SAF Tehnika is among other world leaders in design and manufacturing of radio communication equipment, which is sold in 130 countries. In August 2016, Jānis moved to Denver, Colorado, where he serves as President of SAF North America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAF Tehnika.

He also continues to invest and advise privately held companies including Mobilly, BKA and several other technology and Internet-related startups that operate in the USA and Baltic markets.

Jānis has been teaching entrepreneurship at the Riga Business School and actively supports the startup movement by mentoring young entrepreneurs.

Jānis Bergs was born in 1970, graduated from Riga Technical University as radio engineer and holds an MBA degree from Riga Business School. He is married and has two daughters and a son.

Consulting experience includes customer and marketing strategy, business model transformation, mergers and acquisitions, growth and innovation, cost reduction analysis, business case development, digital strategy, and technology-driven business transformation.

Ms. Bianucci recently served as the founding Executive Director of the Colorado Innovation Network, a public-private partnership created to foster collaboration across the private, public, and academic sectors for innovation-related economic development and currently sits on its Board of Advisors. Additionally, she sits on the Board of Advisors for the University of Colorado’s Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship and SeedPaths, which provides youth and adults with software development skills and offers a direct path to employment through its unique recruitment model, as well as holds advisory and investor roles for several startups and non-profit organizations. She holds an MBA concentrated in finance and innovation from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in economics and marketing from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Currently, Blessman serves as the President and CEO of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce (CWCC). As CEO of the CWCC, Blessman is responsible for executing the organization’s mission of advancing women in business. Blessman was hired in 2017 to bring value to membership through innovation, brand awareness and long-term vision. Through the creation of a new leadership program, mentoring program and unique peer group programming, Blessman has overhauled programming and curriculum at the CWCC and brought a new value proposition to CWCC members and the community. Additionally, Blessman is recreating the CWCC brand through new educational and inspiring events, enhanced digital and traditional media as well as extensive community outreach programs to create awareness and advocacy for women in the workplace. To date, Blessman’s efforts have created a unique space for the CWCC in the community as well as increased interest and membership in the organization.

Prior to the CWCC, Blessman was the Chief Marketing Officer for Goodwill Industries of Denver. Having been drawn to the organization’s triple-bottom line business approach of people, profit and planet, she was responsible for the rebranding of Goodwill’s image in 2009 and started Goodwill’s first customer loyalty program, Club Blue in 2012. Blessman was appointed as innovation and business development officer in 2013, launching several new social enterprise businesses as well as doubling the organization’s fundraising revenues. Under her leadership, Goodwill opened more than 40 new retail locations and grew from $30 million in revenues to over $70 million.

Blessman has received several awards for her marketing, advertising and public relations campaigns, including the 2009 Public Relations Society of America’s Gold Pick Award. Kristen has served on multiple committees and boards of directors, including The American Marketing Association, The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The Denver Press Club, The Women’s Leadership Foundation, and Arapahoe House. She also volunteers for Goodwill Industries of Denver’s youth career programs in several metro Denver high schools and has been a guest lecturer at Metro State, Argosy and Regis University.

Blessman holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from The University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master of Business Administration Degree in Marketing from Regis University. She enjoys the outdoor lifestyle that Colorado provides by snowboarding, running, biking and hiking. She currently lives in Denver with her 14-year old son.

Philippe is a business development, innovation and organizational design specialist, passionate about leading teams driving innovation and hyper growth opportunities. He has all-around CEO/CFO experience at large international organizations, with focus on boosting profitability, M&A execution, and liquidity events. He has deep strategic and operational experience in the sectors of Energy, Specialty Chemicals, Chemical Engineering and Packaging.

Philippe is an entrepreneur in Colorado. He is President of Standard Alcohol, a Clean Tech enterprise commercializing unique Hyper Low Carbon Technology® for advanced fuel additives and specialty chemicals in the global energy markets. He leads Standard Alcohol’s growth platform in the U.S., with emphasis on project commercialization and execution, debt and equity private placements, and strategic partnerships with international technology stakeholders. He is actively involved with Colorado leading entrepreneurs and angel investing organizations. He launched and chaired the TiE Rockies accelerator program (28 startups) and chaired the Rockies Venture Club Investor Relations board. He has founded Aspen Growth Ventures, and he serves as its CEO.

Philippe is a global executive. He has a dual citizenship (French and American), and worked in Latin America, Asia, and Europe. He is a graduate from ESSEC Business School (Grande Ecole diploma, MSc Management, France), and from Harvard Business School (PGL).

Prior to his Executive Director position with JPMorgan in the Denver / Rocky Mountain region, Jeff resided in New York City where he worked directly with the Private Bank’s Chief Investment Officer to develop the firm’s investment strategy and oversee portfolio construction for $600 billion in client assets globally.Jeff received his Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and business economics from Ohio University in 2006 and is a FINRA Registered Representative holding Series 7, 63, and 66 licenses.

Jeff is happily married to his wife Sarah and a proud father to his son, Hunter Donald. Jeff’s community involvement includes: volunteering at Lutheran Medical Center with his Bernese Mountain Dog (Leffe) in the Pet Therapy program, serving on the Executive Board for the Boy Scouts of America’s Denver Area Council, and serving on the Professional Advisor’s Council of The Denver Foundation. He is also a member of Lakewood Country Club.

As a result, individuals develop the clarity and balance needed to be more effective leaders, and organizations reach higher levels of effectiveness and success. Toti is a co-author of Pebbles in the Pond: Wave Four which, days after its release, reached bestseller status in nine countries.

Prior to U-Fulfilled, Toti spent the first 10 years of her career in the corporate sector, designing and implementing fully integrated local and global marketing, branding, and communications efforts for companies such as AT&T and The Hallmark Channel. During the second decade of her career, Toti was president and CEO of Xcelente, a cross-cultural marketing and communications agency which under her leadership help over 152 clients launch or re-build their brands in the Hispanic marketplace. Xcelente provided its clients with marketing solutions that incorporated social, ethnic, and cultural nuances into all marketing, branding, public relations, community outreach, public information, and advertising initiatives. In 2014, Toti launched U-Fulfilled, which transformed into Essencialize in 2017 after merging with Xcelente to empower purpose-driven personal and organizational brands. Toti has been deeply committed to giving back to the community, and thus has held leadership positions in a number of local and national business and civic organizations including the Junior League of Denver, the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, Hispanics in Technology and Telecommunications Association, Mi Casa Resource Center, the Denver Better Business Bureau, Visit Denver’s Multicultural Tourism Task Force, the Minority Advisory Council of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the Leadership Council of Escuela de Guadalupe, the Community College of Denver Foundation, the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Denver International Airport’s Management Advisory Council, and the Colorado Forum. In addition, former Mayor Hickenlooper appointed her to his Denver Early Childhood Council and to his Latino Commission.

Toti currently sits on the boards of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Colorado Health Foundation, Junior Achievement, El Pomar Foundation’s Denver Council, and the Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship. Toti was recognized in 2005 as one of the nation’s Top Latina Business Entrepreneurs by Hispanic Magazine, as a finalist by the Colorado Rockies for the Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award, and by The Denver Business Journal as one of the “Top Forty Under 40” business leaders in Colorado. In 2006, Toti received the Businesswoman of the Year award by the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Minority Small Business Champion Award by the SBA, and was named a “Woman of Distinction” by the Girl Scouts in 2007. Toti was recognized in 2016 with the HIP-Giver award by the national Hispanics in Philanthropy Foundation.

Toti holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business, a masters’ degree in Marketing, another master’s degree in Management & Organizational Development, and a Certificate in Entrepreneurship, all from the University of Colorado. Toti is also a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government Executive Management Program, the 2004 Leadership Program of the Rockies, the 2005 Leadership Denver program, the 2005 National Hispana Leadership Institute, and the 2005 Dartmouth University Tuck Minority Business Executive Program. She holds a QSCA coaching certification and is a licensed master-level graduate of the Avatar Self-Empowerment Training Program.

Toti, a native of Colombia, lives in Lone Tree, Colorado with her husband Luis Colón and their children.

Sarah has been recognized for her work by professional organizations, including the Financial Planning Association of Southern Wisconsin, which presented her with its Leadership Excellence Award, and inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in Trusts and Estates. Sarah received her B.A. in psychology and sociology, cum laude, from Hanover College, and her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Wisconsin.

Sarah is a huge Green Bay Packers and Nashville Predators fan (if she wasn’t an attorney, she would have attempted to be a hockey player)

In October 2000, Laurence and his family relocated from Leeds, UK to Carlsbad, Calif., where he created and opened Eyesight Pacific, Inc., a U.S. company similar in operation to the wholesale/manufacturing in the UK. By 2002, Eyesight Pacific, Inc., had 14 optical laboratory customers and was importing eyeglass frames from boutique manufacturers located Germany, Italy and the UK.In March 2012 Laurence relocated to Denver, Colo., and is currently the CEO of Oakbay LLC (2014- Present). Oakbay is a Healthcare Intellectual Property Commercialization and Business Development Company, whose mission is to commercialize the innovation and development of new healthcare products with specific focus on the following verticals: medical devices, professional and commercial application digital healthcare products and new innovative nano-tech products for the pharmaceutical markets in the United States, Canada and all other Global Regions. As CEO of Oakbay LLC, he has established multiple strategic relationships with industry related Fortune 100 to Fortune 500 companies with the particular focus on client project commercialization and execution.

Since 2015, he has been a member of the Blackstone Entrepreneur Network – Denver and Boulder, Colorado, which focuses on mentoring and advice to companies with revenues from $10MM. Between 2015 and 2016 he co – chaired the TiE Rockies startups accelerator program (30+ ventures).

Ms. Galindo joined the Advisory Council in 2016 and has led Cooley’s brief advice clinic, which provides free legal advice to students at the Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. In addition, Ms. Galindo serves on the finance committee for the Colorado Technology Association and has served on the board of directors of LegalCORPS. Prior to joining Cooley, Ms. Galindo was an associate at Faegre Baker Daniels in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ms. Galindo received her B.A. in Communications and Political Science, cum laude, from the University of Colorado at Denver and her J.D., magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Matt’s practice focuses on emerging biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, especially in the West. His practice includes strategic patent counseling and preparation of United States as well as international patent applications.

McCoy also specialized in M&A work for technology companies with The Wallach Company, a boutique investment banking firm in Denver.

Stephanie holds a BS in accounting from Texas Christian University and an MBA from Harvard Business School with high distinction as a George F. Baker Scholar. Stephanie serves on the board of advisors for the University of Colorado at Denver’s Business School where she is also an adjunct professor teaching venture capital investing.

Stephanie is married to her HBS section mate, Dan McCoy, with whom she has two young boys. Stephanie enjoys international travel, cooking, tennis, and pilates.

Leveraging his experience from consulting and his passion for strategy and entrepreneurship, Jung has built a unique platform of services. He provides a full suite of consulting and advisory services in entrepreneurship, strategy, culture, marketing, and branding to corporate, start-up and non-profit clients. Jung also delivers key notes, seminars and facilitates workshops on the subjects of corporate/personal branding, entrepreneurship, value, culture, diversity, and Asian-American empowerment.As an adjunct professor at University of Colorado Denver, Jung teaches undergraduate and graduate level program on marketing, entrepreneurship and personal branding for the school of business and entrepreneurship center. Jung also serves as an advisory board member at the Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship at University of Colorado Denver.

As fundraiser and counselor, Jung has been working with the Korean Heritage Camp, an organization for Korean adoptees and their families providing education on Korean culture, language, food, and history. Jung works closely with the high school campers on self-identity and cross-cultural issues. Jung also has been serving as a board member, a fundraiser and advisor for the Denver Harlequins Wheelchair Rugby team, assisting athletes with spinal cord injuries to find passion through the sport of rugby.

Jung was born in Seoul, South Korea and migrated to New York City when he was 13. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife and two young children.

Posner-Mayer founded Ball Dynamic International, Inc. in 1991 and Fitball, Inc—intended to transform ball exercises for worldwide fitness use in health clubs, gyms and sports training programs—in 1993. As a result, she soon became an internationally recognized author on the therapeutic use of the Swiss Ball, with speaking engagements on three continents. She has produced three instructional videos and authored two books on exercises using the balls, one of which has been modified by Physiotools, a Finnish company, into a computer program and translated into 20 languages. Posner-Mayer continues to lecture and spread awareness of the importance of good posture and core control in spine health, as well as the benefits of integrating the ball into exercise programs for strengthening, stretching, cardiac wellness and relaxation.

A former ballerina with the Colorado Ballet, Posner-Mayer serves on the boards of the Colorado Ballet, the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program, and the Jimmie Heuga Endowment for Multiple Sclerosis, and is an honorary Board member of World Denver. She helped fund the Posner Center for International Development, which houses 50 Denver-based, international nonprofits. Her parents were foreign immigrants to America, and her mother was a Holocaust survivor. Her entire career has focused on helping and serving people, and she continues that mission today through her charitable work.

He has also volunteered for a number of charitable organizations, building houses worldwide for Habitat for Humanity and recruiting and coordinating volunteers for World Vision.

Mike was named the Denver Business Journal’s CFO of the Year in 2015. He is also a 2014 graduate of Goodwill Industries International’s Executive Development program and a 2012 graduate of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Denver program. Mike and his wife, Marcia, have adopted two daughters from Ethiopia. They are speakers and counselors for adoption groups, and they lead support groups for families that have adopted from Ethiopia.

These companies include Starbucks Coffee International, Western Union/First Data Corporation, Molson Coors International, Cisco Systems, IBM, Global Healthcare Exchange, Arrow Electronics, RE/MAX International, TVI (Singapore), ePLDT Ventus (Philippines), Jinling Petrochemical (PRC), Korea Banking Institute, Nokero International, and others.

In academia, Dr. Serapio led the development of the Faculty Development in International Entrepreneurship (FDIE) program for CU Denver’s CIBER. Working jointly with Drs. Patricia McDougall and Walter Kuemmerle, Dr. Serapio has offered the FDIE program to more than 200 faculty members since 2005 in Denver, Atlanta, Seoul, Istanbul, and Bangalore.

Dr. Serapio has published in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Management International Review, Organizational Dynamics, Research Technology Management, Academy of Management Executive, IEEE Spectrum, and other publications. His research has been cited by Entrepreneurship.com, Investor’s Business Daily, Financial Times, Rocky Mountain News, and the Los Angeles Times. Together with Drs. Patricia McDougall and Marian Jones, Dr. Serapio co-edited a special issue on International Entrepreneurship for Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. He is co-author (with Drs. Antonella Zuchella and Birgit Hagen) of a forthcoming book in international entrepreneurship to be published by Edward Elgar Publishing and an international entrepreneurship courseware for VentureHighway.com.

Professor Serapio received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and MBA from the University of Hawaii. He is the recipient of multiple teaching awards and has generated more than $4 million in sponsored grants and research from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Naval Research, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, Japan-US Friendship Commission, and other organizations.

He also served as chairman of Highland Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of Eastern Utility Associates. Mr. Winter currently holds an appointed position on the board of the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority. Chet holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.S. in Industrial Relations and Economics from the University of Colorado, and has completed the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Business. Mezzcap.com