Chris is an angel investor and advocate for entrepreneurship and innovation, having served in a variety of mentorship, advisory, consulting and venture development roles in support of entrepreneurs and their visions.  He has been actively involved in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Northeast Florida, serving on, and moderating, several panels at innovation conferences and events, as well as judging entrepreneur pitch competitions in the region. He has proactively developed relationships with innovation communities and universities throughout Florida, local and regional government officials, state organizations like the Florida Venture Forum, the Florida Chamber Foundation and the Florida High Tech Corridor, and Venture Capital firms.

Chris is Principal of a boutique consulting firm that provides Venture Development, Strategic Business Advisory and Interim Management services to corporations and VC backed enterprises.  He also serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence for the University of Florida’s Innovation Venture Capital Fund.  In this role Chris assists in the commercialization of research developed at the university, helping to form executive teams, raise capital, assist in strategic business development, and craft viable business models for new ventures that license UF Intellectual Property. 

His consulting work leverages his professional experience from his previous corporate roles, including executive positions leading Strategic Ventures & Investments, Corporate Development and Financial Management teams for divisions of Fortune 500 corporations in the Telecommunications, Cable Television and Consumer Electronics industries.   Recent projects include serving as a Partner Consultant to Fujitsu’s Mobility Digital Transformation Group, and as Interim Direct of Business Development for a FinTech startup evaluating strategic relationships and the feasibility of using the platform as a fundraising solution for nonprofit organizations.

 In addition to his professional work Chris serves on the McDaniel College Entrepreneurship Advisory Council and on the RISE Council for UF Health Jacksonville, an advisory council serving as an ambassador for UFHJ’s regional clinical and College of Medicine expansions.  He previously served as a mentor and pitch advisor to Powerbridge NY, a collaboration between six research institutions located in NYC and Long Island, including Columbia and NYU, and funded by NYSERDA.  This program fosters the commercialization of clean tech and clean energy initiatives developed by Professors and PhD students from these “downstate” NY universities.  He also served on several advisory boards, including the University of North Florida’s College of Engineering, and the Infrastructure and Technology Committee of JAX Alliance for the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce.