Keynote Speakers

Stephen R. Brand, Senior Vice President Technology
ConocoPhillips

Stephen began his career with Phillips Petroleum Company in 1976 as a geologist for exploration and production (E&P). In 1980, he transferred to Denver as a geologist for the minerals group. He became supervisor of North American E&P in Houston in 1982. In 1989, he transferred to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, as a staff director for E&P and held that position until 1992. Beginning in 1995, he served as Canada region manager of North American E&P. He was also president of Phillips Petroleum Resources, Ltd. and served as E&P business development manager. In 1998, he was named general manager, Australia division. Following the ConocoPhillips merger in 2002, Brand became president, Australasia, and then in 2005 was named vice president, exploration and business development, Exploration and Production. He assumed his current role in October 2007.

Brand was born in 1949 in Owatonna, Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology.  He received a Master of Science degree in Geology in 1973 and a doctorate in 1976, both from Purdue University. 

Nancy C. Floyd, Founder and Managing Director
Nth Power

Nancy is Founder and Managing Director of Nth Power, the pioneering energy venture capital firm. With $420M under management, Nancy has led its investments in many companies, including three listed on the NASDAQ. Furthermore, Nancy sits on the boards of the Center for Resource Solutions and the American Council on Renewable Energy, and is an active member of E2. She also helped organize the Northwest Business Leaders for Clean Energy campaign and was appointed by Governor Ted Kulongoski to serve on the Oregon Economic and Community Development Commission.

Prior to Nth Power, Nancy founded, managed and negotiated the sale of one of the country’s first wind development firms, and a network management company for private voice and data. Nancy holds a masters degree in political science from Rutgers University, where she was an Eagleton Fellow, and a bachelor’s degree from Franklin and Marshall College, where she currently sits as a Trustee.

Brian Dumaine, Editorial Director
FORTUNE Small Business 

As editorial director of FSB: Fortune Small Business, Brian writes about the world of the entrepreneur and helps guide the magazine's coverage of small, fast-growing businesses.  Dumaine is the author of The Plot to Save the Planet, a book that focuses on entrepreneurs and corporate titans who are creating the new green economy.

Before coming to FSB, Dumaine worked at FORTUNE for 20 years.  He was an assistant managing editor and international editor, in charge of the magazine's Asian and European editions.  In addition to directing and editing FORTUNE's international coverage, Dumaine who has won numerous journalism awards, has written more than 100 feature stories for FORTUNE, including covers such as "America's Toughest Bosses," "The Innovation Gap," and "America's Smartest Young Entrepreneurs."

Throughout his career, Brian has produced investigative pieces as well as articles on marketing, investing, technology, and corporate crime. Before coming to FORTUNE, Dumaine attended Harvard's Publishing Procedures program, worked as a freelance writer for Life magazine and as a book editor at Harcourt Brace-Jovanovich, where he edited short stories, poems, novels, and the occasional business book.

Panelists

Annette Finsterbusch, Director & Kauffman Fellow
Applied Ventures, LLC

Will Coleman, Partner
Mohr Davidow Ventures

Will is a partner at Mohr, Davidow Ventures (MDV) focusing on energy and cleantech investments. Prior to MDV, Will worked as an independent consultant for private equity and project finance clients focusing on the energy sector for clients such as the Global Environment Fund and Blue Wave Strategies. Will also worked in Washington, DC as the legislative director for the Renewable Energy Action Project, focusing on building state level coalitions of biofuel producers, marketers, and environmental groups. Will was a member of the communications committee for the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), and in 2004 Will was invited to sit on the California Energy Commission’s Biofuels Working Groups to formulate strategies for reducing California’s dependence on petroleum.  Will has also worked for GE Wind in the commercial operations group, Xseed Capital, and on a variety of renewable energy projects in China, India, and West Africa. Will is on the advisory committee to the Western Governor’s Coalition Transportation Working Group, and the California Energy Commission’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program under AB11. Will earned an MBA and a MS in Energy & Resources from University of California, Berkeley. While at Berkeley, Will founded the Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) and the new Center for Energy & Environmental Innovation (CEEI). Will also holds a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in social studies from Harvard University.

Dan Watkins, Managing Director
DFJ Mercury Venture Partners

Dan is a Managing Director of DFJ Mercury Venture Partners.  He is also co-founder of Nanospectra Biosciences (cancer therapy) and X-EMI (semiconductors), CEO of DNAtrix (cancer therapy) and director of X-Sten Corp (surgical devices).  Dan is an external advisor to the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University.  He received his B.S. from Rice and Ph.D. in Materials Science from Carnegie Mellon, both in Materials Science.

Michael Dost, Founding Partner
Octane Venture Partners

Michael is a founding partner of Octane Venture Partners, a private oil and gas technology fund based in Calgary, Alberta. Prior to Octane, Michael was involved in a variety of businesses in the transportation, software, and high tech fields and was most recently Director, Venture Capital, at BDC Capital.  While at BDC, Michael focused on venture capital investments in leading companies including Progressive Solutions, 3ESI, Netaps and Invidi. Prior to joining BDC, Michael was also part of the management team at AudeSi Technologies, a high tech BDC investee company. AudeSi was sold to Wind River for $70 million in April, 2000.

Michael is President of the Venture Capital Association of Alberta and, previously, the Energy Technology Chair at the annual Banff Venture Forum.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary and an MBA from the University of British Columbia.

Peter L. Edwards, Partner
Altira Group LLC

Peter is a Partner with Altira Group LLC, an early stage venture capital firm that focuses exclusively on energy technology. He joined Altira in 1998.

Peter has been working closely with growth-stage technology companies for over twenty-five years. Prior to Altira, he was a lawyer specializing in technology and intellectual property matters. He began his legal career in 1977 with the Wall Street law firm of Dewey Ballantine and moved to Colorado in 1981 to become Senior Counsel to Jones Intercable, a public cable television company. In 1985 he joined Rothgerber, Appel, Powers & Johnson, a large regional law firm based in Denver, where he became a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Law Group.

He currently serves as director of several Altira portfolio companies, including Southwest Windpower, Hyperion Power Generation, Evolutionary Genomics, EnergyWindow, WhiteStar and Austin Geomodeling. From 1981-1989 he was a director of Jones Intercable, a cable television systems operator, and from 1995-2004 he was a director of Cochlear Americas, a provider of implantable hearing prostheses for the profoundly deaf.

Mr. Edwards holds degrees in law (J.D., cum laude) and business administration (B.B.A., with distinction) from the University of Michigan.