Arun Prakash (AE ’99)
CFO, The Boring Company
Focus Areas: Fundraising and finance strategy, sales, strategic planning and management
Industry Experience: Artificial intelligence, software as a service (SaaS), transportation and mobility
About Me: I am an operator, advisor, and investor with growth companies in the areas of strategy, finance, and operations. I have held operational and leadership positions in a variety of sectors building useful products and services including communications satellites, flying cars, enterprise software, and underground transportation systems.
Michael Sundermeier
Program Manager, mHUB Climate and Energy Accelerator
Focus Areas: Fundraising and finance strategy, public speaking and pitching, strategic planning and management
Industry Experience: Sustainability and greentech, hardware/hardtech, wellness
About Me: I am the program manager for the mHUB Climate and EnergyTech Accelerator, and I am responsible for tech sourcing, evaluation, and program operations. My passion for helping early stage founders came from my time at the University of Dayton, where as an undergrad, I was part of the first cohort of Leonardo Enterprises, a university-ran incubator. Since then, I have worked at worldwide startup accelerator organizations such as gener8tor and Techstars, along with Chicago-based tech and Innovation non-profit P33. I am also the co-host of the podcast Ventures by the Lake, which talks with Chicago-based founders, community leaders, and investors to showcase how to turn your side project into a business and a full-time job.
Laolu Adeola (AE, ME ’11)
Founder and Principal, Leke Services
Focus Areas: Innovation and technology adoption, operations, strategic planning and management
Industry Experience: Smart cities and Internet of Things, space exploration and aerospace, transportation and mobility
About Me: I am the founder and principal of Leke Services, a consultancy that partners with leaders to improve performance margins by helping to instill operational discipline. With more than a decade of experience across companies such as McKinsey, Navistar, Faraday Future & TrueCar, I specialize in helping mobility companies address challenges with the energy transition while establishing sustainable operations. I have aerospace and mechanical engineering degrees from Illinois Tech's Armour College of Engineering, an M.B.A. from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, and I live in Los Angeles with my wife.
Seth Rao
Co-Founder and CEO, FirstEigen
Focus Areas: Cloud data management and data governance
Industry Experience: Artificial Intelligence, data, and software as a service (SaaS)
About Me: I serve as the co-founder and CEO of FirstEigen, a pioneering startup that specializes in autonomous data quality validation. Through FirstEigen's innovative software, I lead efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of operational and transactional data, fostering its integrity for diverse applications. Before establishing FirstEigen, I held diverse and impactful roles, including corporate venture capital positions, overseeing profit and loss for a multinational 3D printing business, engaging in mergers and acquisitions, serving as a management consultant, conducting research and development as an engineer, and delving extensively into analytics, notably during and following completion of a Ph.D.