John R. Tedeschi has served in his current capacity as head of MEDRAD’s Global Field organizations since 1998. He has been a leader in the development of MEDRAD’s worldwide sales, technical service, and clinical application teams that have produced annual revenue growth rates of over 15% and customer satisfaction ratings consistently exceeding best in class benchmarks. John has been a driving force in growing MEDRAD’s international business through the establishment of direct sales organizations in twelve countries as well as regional support offices across the globe. During his career, MEDRAD’s international business has grown from less than 10% of total sales to about 38% of MEDRAD’s total sales today.

Mr. Tedeschi joined MEDRAD in 1983 to manage MEDRAD’s Latin American business. He was assigned to the Asia Pacific Region later that same year where he established a strong distributor network and a market leadership position for MEDRAD over the next six years. From 1989 to 1996, he lived in Europe where he established MEDRAD Europe BV (The Netherlands), as well as subsidiary operations in France, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Following his time in Europe, John accepted a two-year assignment in Osaka, Japan to establish another direct MEDRAD subsidiary, Nihon MEDRAD K.K.. Upon his full completion of this assignment, John returned to Corporate Headquarters to assume his present role.

Prior to joining MEDRAD, John worked in International Marketing for Joy Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh PA, and as a Technical Sales Representative for Oakite Industries, Inc, Berkeley Hills, NJ.

John earned a B.S in Business Administration from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Science in Management from Boston University and the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (Belgium).

Ron Morris is host to The American Entrepreneur ("TAE"), the only radio talk show in Western Pennsylvania devoted exclusively to the subject of entrepreneurship. The program delves into all aspects of the entrepreneurial experience and, as such, it attracts individuals and organizations similarly inclined.

"We talk about all things entrepreneurial", said Morris, himself an entrepreneur since 1972. "We encourage people to consider starting their own enterprises and we also talk a lot about what it's like to work in an entrepreneurial venture. Perhaps most importantly, we help entrepreneurs of all stages to become better at what they do. With ten start-ups under my belt and a very sharp listening audience, I like to think that there is no problem that we cannot at least help the listener with."

Morris, 54, has been "at it" for over thirty years. In that time, he has started or helped to start a number of prominent firms in the Western Pennsylvania area, including: IGATE Capital (formerly Mastech Corporation), Rapidigm (Formerly ComputerPeople), MestaMed, and JDWarren, Inc. Of his ten startups, Morris often views his track record as “seven wins, two losses, and one tie.”

He has earned numerous accolades for his work. In 1999, he was the First Runner-up in the “Masters” category of Ernst and Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” award (ironically enough, losing only to Tony Renda, owner of TAE’S “home station”, WPTT). This past May, he was named the “Western Pennsylvania Small Business Journalist Advocate” of the year by the Western Pennsylvania chapter of the Small Business Administration.

More information can be found at:

www.americanentrepreneur.net

W.H. Thorbecke Associates, a company serving small and medium sized companies streamlining operations and assists in launching start up companies become profitable self-sustaining entities. In l982 he co-founded Energy Support Services, Inc. providing diverse services and products to the power, oil, chemical pharmaceutical, waste management and aviation industries. Previously he served as a senior executive of major corporations, Shell, Mobil Chemical and Dravo where he built up business enterprises comprising total assets of over $2 billion. During his career he consummated 14 acquisitions, formed 28 joint ventures, and identified and implemented more than 100 internal growth programs.

Bill is a MIT graduate and has degrees in Engineering and Business Administration. He has served as a director of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, a director of the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors, a member of the American Management Associations International Management Division Council and a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors. He has been elected 3 times as Chairman of the MIT Enterprise Forum Pittsburgh Region and frequently speaks about entrepreneurship and financing of start-up ventures to local community groups.

Linda Schultz is a Risk Management Consultant, broker, and client executive at HRH. Hilb Rogal & Hobbs (HRH) is the seventh largest insurance brokerage firm in the United States, with over 120 offices throughout the nation. Her background of ten years claims experience, with four years of that time as a supervisor or manager for property and litigation claims, combined with her six years of underwriting experience, enables her to look at the comprehensive picture of a client's exposures. She also has her Associates in Risk Management certification as well as her Associates in Insurance Claims certification. She currently writes a weekly risk management column for the online newsletter, "techyvent.com"

Linda began her insurance career as a property claims representative with GAB Business Services, before moving to Travelers Insurance where she held the progressive positions of property claims representative, liability and auto claims representative, litigation manager, and casualty claims supervisor. She then joined the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies as and property and casualty claims supervisor, before progressing to liability claims assistant manager. She then moved to the underwriting side of the company, starting as a commercial underwriter where she handled the programs for mid-size and larger risk management clients.

As the Technology Department of Chubb grew, Linda became the Technology and Telecommunications underwriter at Chubb's office in Pittsburgh, focusing particularly on start up and emerging companies. Before joining HRH, Linda most recent position was as Senior Underwriter and Life Science Specialist with responsibility for all of Western and Central Pennsylvania.

S. Thomas Emerson, Ph. D. is an experienced entrepreneur, corporate executive and educator. He is the David T. and Lindsay J. Morgenthaler Professor of Entrepreneurship and serves as Director of the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he is a full-time faculty member. Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon, he was President and CEO of Arizona Technology Incubator, a public-private partnership in Scottsdale, Arizona that mentors promising young technology companies. Prior to ATI, he founded and built three venture capital backed high technology companies: Periphonics Corporation of Bohemia, NY and Syntellect Inc. and Xantel Corporation of Phoenix, AZ. Two of these companies (Periphonics and Syntellect) became NASDAQ-listed national market companies. They created in aggregate more than $600 million in shareholder value.

Dr. Emerson holds four U.S. patents and a number of foreign patents and has authored more than 20 technical and scientific publications and numerous business articles. He was named Inventor of the Year by the U.S. Patent Office in 1973 for a highly innovative patent in the voice-processing field, and was named Entrepreneurial Fellow of the University of Arizona in 1986. Inc. Magazine and Arthur Young & Co. named him Arizona’s High-Technology Entrepreneur of the Year in 1989. The Dean's Council of 100 at Arizona State University named him Arizona's Entrepreneur of the Year in 1990. In 2000 he received the Technology Leadership Award from the Arizona Software and Internet Association. He has served as a director of public companies listed on the NASDAQ national market, AMEX and NYSE exchanges, as well as a number of early-stage companies.

Dr. Emerson earned M.A. and Ph. D. degrees in physics from Rice University, Houston, TX, and an S.B. in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.