Advisory Committee

Mark Caracio is President and CEO of The Harvard Group [THG], a management and marketing consulting firm providing outside insights and guidance on issues of strategy, marketing, technology and operations from C-level client executives to leading technology firms. They are a leader in the field of external executive advisory, leadership and governance. THG’s corporate client roster includes AT&T, Cisco, IBM, SAP, Lenovo, HP, Lufthansa, Samsung and Symantec. Additionally, Mark is Managing Partner of FutureCities, LLC a technology event and media company based in Dallas.

Mark has spent over twenty-five years in the IT industry including senior positions with AT&T, MCI, Cable & Wireless, 3Com, and Philips Electronics N.V. Mark holds a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Tulsa and a graduate certificate of finance from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

Growing new business ventures is a passion for Mark. He is a co-founder of FutureCities, LLC that produces nationally recognized Smart Cities IoT programs; Director for Exaeris Water Innovations who owns US patents for atmospheric water generation; and a Corporate Advisor to Analitiqa Corporation that has pioneered a market leading IT Infrastructure Intelligence solution that is enabling enterprises to achieve unprecedented resource utilization and game changing cost reduction.

Mark participates in community support through his service on the Board of Trustees to Good Shepherd Episcopal School of Dallas, the Cybersecurity Advisory Committee at Southern Methodist University, and as a member of Tech Titans, the technology association for North Texas.

Esmeralda de la Cruz serves as an Economic Development Manager for the City of Plano. She is responsible for supporting businesses, helping them grow and invest in the Plano community. Esmeralda has a passion for public service with over 13 years of experience. She began her career as an Urban Planner working in areas of transportation, development and redevelopment of communities throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. She has built successful partnerships to support residents, organizations and businesses.

She received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is a member of the Texas Economic Development Council, International Economic Development Council, and American Planning Association (APA). She currently serves as the APA — North Texas Chapter Treasurer.

Dr. Fishman has served at the organizational interface for industry, government and academia.

Prior to the Texas Research Alliance, he served as Associate Vice President for Applied Research at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Fishman built the full range of high performance computing, additive and subtractive manufacturing and mechanical design and prototyping capabilities that supported both industry and faculty. At Penn State University, he held the industrial and government agency portfolios for the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL), a DoD level University Affiliated Research Center (UARC). His work covered both classified and unclassified programs with government and industry partners. Prior to his retirement and for the last six years of his tenure, Dr. Fishman served as Head of the Washington Office with responsibilities across ARL’s government and industry sponsor base. Dr. Fishman has held significant industry leadership positions in pharmaceuticals, environmental monitoring, technology transfer, and new technology development and commercialization. Dr. Fishman serves on the board of the National Defense Industrial Association. He served in the U.S. Army, separating after six years at the rank of Captain. Dr. Fishman holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.S. degree from Clemson University and an undergraduate B.S. degree from the University of Miami, Florida.

Geoff is the managing partner of GWG a private investment firm that targets proven small and medium size companies with sustainable EDITA growth. Our investments include growth capital investments, partial buyouts and acquisitions.

Mr. Green was previously CEO and co-founder of Netvious Networks, a leading-edge mobility solutions provider specializing in providing secure, high-performance wireless solutions across educational institutions, large public venues and enterprise accounts. In 2016, Netvious was recognized by Inc. Magazine as the 138th fastest-growing company in the United States, and the 7th fastest-growing company in Texas.

His corporate career highlights include financial services marketing and strategy roles with Fortune100 firms such as American Express, GE Capital, and Citigroup, as well as operating roles at AIG, including leading a global joint venture which promoted insurance and financial service products in 27 countries worldwide. Geoff has successfully worked across a broad range of geographies and cultures including China, Asia, Europe, Russia, and Latin America.

Geoff received the Dallas Business Journal 2017 Minority Business Leadership Award. He has been featured in a variety of publications, including The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Business Journal and Inc. Magazine.

Mr. Green’s board experience includes Visit Dallas, Hack the Hood, Dallas Contemporary, and Rainbow Days, a non-profit organization serving at-risk children. Geoff was also Board Chair of the Urban League of Southwestern Connecticut. Geoff holds a BA in Economics, as well as a BA in Chinese History from the University of California, and an MBA from the University of Michigan where he was an Exxon Fellow.

Ray Hemmig has more than 40 years of executive and board experience in the retail and restaurant industries. Including: J. C. Penney; Hickory Farms of Ohio; Grandy’s; Ace Cash Express; Buffet Partners, LP (Furr’s Fresh Buffet); in the capacities as COO; EVP; CEO; and as an independent director, as well as an Executive Chairman and Non-Executive Chairman of the Board (COB). He also founded and manages Retail and Restaurant Growth Capital, (RRGC) and Hemmig Investments, LTD (HIL) based in Dallas, TX.

Ray has served in an investor, board member and management roles in multiple, successful M&A transactions: Grandy’s to Saga Corp. in ‘83; On the Border’s to Brinker in ‘96; the sale of Ace Cash Express in ‘06; the sale of Restoration Hardware in ‘08; and multiple private company transactions at RRGC. Current/recent ventures are: Snappy Salads; and MITRA QSR — based in Dallas, TX; and The PGA Tour Super Stores based in Atlanta, GA.

Ray has extensive (40+) corporate Board experiences. He has served on multiple public company boards: Communications World (COMW); Party City (PCTY); On the Border (OTBC); Ace Cash Express (AACE); Restoration Hardware (RSTO/RH); Full House Resorts (FLL); MobileSmith (MOST); as well as numerous other privately held company boards in the US and abroad. Ray is also an active member and board member of the North Texas Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), where he holds the highest “Leadership Fellow” Director status; he was a Director of The University of Texas at Dallas’s, Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance (IECG), the Chair of the Jindal School of Management Advisory Board at UTD, and is also currently on the Executive Board for the University. He is also a frequent speaker on the topic of corporate governance, as well as the retail/restaurant trade industries.

Ray has also served on various Industry & Nonprofit affiliations such as: Dallas Restaurant Association (Past President); Texas and National Restaurant Associations (Director); International Franchise Association; International Shopping Center Association; FiSCA (formerly NaCCA); Board Member and Past President (2x) North Texas Food Bank among many other educational, community service and charitable entities.

Beth Kolman has been the director of economic development for the Richardson Economic Development Partnership for two years, after leading community relations and employee engagement programs at Nortel and Cisco Systems for many years. In her current role she leads the REDP’s marketing programs and assists with international business development and retention programs. Beth has lived and worked in Richardson for more than 20 years and is a proud graduate of Leadership Richardson.

Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer, SAAZ MICRO INC.

Head of strategy, innovation and business at SAAZ, a digital imaging innovations company.

Ex-Chief Innovation Officer at Lycamobile, world’s largest Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO).

3 decades of experience in the Automotive, IT and Telco sectors beginning with the TATA Group; in international commercial/research collaborations, and incubating start-ups in the UK, USA, India, Europe and Australia.

Believe that most future innovations will occur at the intersection of technologies/disciplines; for example, at the intersection of AI, genetics, big data, autonomous systems, blockchain, healthcare, VR, and deep learning. Passionate about interdisciplinary innovation.

As GM-Research Collaborations at Infosys Technologies, created non-linear strategic partnerships with world-leading universities/companies, including University of Cambridge, USC, Fraunhofer Institutes, Vanderbilt, Indian Institute of Science, BT, BP and ETH-Zurich.

At CERCIA, University of Birmingham UK, was Business Head/Member, Management Board. Cercia is a Center of Excellence for evolving robust solutions to complex business problems by applying biologically-inspired self-learning algorithms. Commercialized IP with BT, Honda, BAE Systems, Telent (earlier Marconi) and Infosys.

Invited Member-International Business Forum at UK Trade & Investment and the CII-UK India Business Forum. A thought leader, with talks at leading institutions and international conferences.

Honored to be invited by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to Buckingham Palace in 2014, in recognition of my decade-plus work with and contribution to the UK Trade and Investment and other Government and Regional Development agencies, for utilizing my international experience in the IT industry to promote better trade and understanding between the UK and India, and for public service.

Invited Member, India Council on Competitiveness, set up in collaboration with the US Council on Competitiveness.

Invited Member, Dean’s Advisory Council, Jindal School of Management, UT Dallas.

Board Member, Mentor at Technology Start-ups

Mr. Thomas is an experienced business development manager, investor and civic leader. He is currently on the Executive Board of the University of Texas at Dallas, where he also serves as the President of the advisory board for the university’s globally recognized chess team. Most recently he was an Encore Fellow at the Center for Finance Strategy & Innovation, part of the UTD’s Jindal School of Management. Prior to that, he was a business unit executive at IBM Corporation, managing a global technical sales team. As a sales leader he has been responsible for driving hundreds of millions of revenue dollars. Mr. Thomas invests in startups and coaches entrepreneurs. He has extensive experience in helping businesses understand how to leverage emerging digital technologies, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Mr. Thomas studied applied mathematics at Harvard College and resides in Dallas with his wife Tracey.