Mike Kwatinetz
Mike Kwatinetz is a founding General Partner with Azure Capital Partners where he specializes in software and related infrastructure technologies. Prior to Azure, Mike was Group Head of Technology Research, a Managing Director and the senior software and hardware analyst at several major investment banks, including Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank Securities and PaineWebber. Mike was also a senior research analyst at Sanford Bernstein & Co.
Prior to his career in technology research, Mike was CEO of Woodbury Computer Associates, a software products and consulting firm, which resulted in a 160x cash-on-cash return.
Mike has provided research coverage and strategic advice to numerous technology companies and has consistently been viewed as a top resource on many, including Microsoft, Compaq, Dell, Apple, Hewlett Packard, VA Linux and Gateway. His coverage universe also included e-business software and internet devices and infrastructure. His theories on the shift of industry control to Microsoft and Intel, "The 4th Wave of the Web," the advantages of Linux, and the need for PC vendors to go "Beyond the Box" were considered agenda setting for the investment community. His technology investment strategy newsletter, SoundBytes, was one of the most widely read amongst public portfolio managers. He was top-ranked by Institutional Investor in PC Hardware and ranked second in PC Software and was the only sell-side analyst to ever be top three rated in both software and hardware, doing so for six straight years before leaving to form Azure in early 2000. In 1997 and 1998, Mike was rated Institutional Investor's No.1 Large-Cap "Home-Run Hitter" for stock selection among all Wall Street analysts and remained among the Top 5 in 1999. Furthermore, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal have selected him as the No.1 PC analyst.
Mike received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Mathematical Modeling from the University of California Berkeley and his M.B.A. in Accounting from New York University. Until recently, he sat on the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) advisory committee. He is also author of "The Big Tech Score," published by John Wiley & Sons.
Arjun Gupta
Arjun Gupta is the Managing Partner and Founder of TeleSoft Partners. Gupta is a Director of Calient, Education.com, Knowledge Adventure, LiteScape, LogLogic, Nexant, Validity and VoiceObjects. Arjun is also on the boards of The Aspen Institute, Stanford Business School Management Board, India America Council, Aspen India, Friends of New Orleans and The East Africa Leadership Foundation. Arjun was a management consultant for high-tech clients at McKinsey, and a software engineer with Tektronix. Gupta is a Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute, has a BA (Honors) in Economics from St. Stephen's College, a MS and BS in Computer Science, Phi Beta Kappa , from WSU,and MBA from Stanford.
David Limp
David Limp joined Azure as a Venture Partner in 2005. David was most recently Senior Vice President of Corporate and Business Development of PalmSource. In this role, he was responsible for corporate development, business development and applications. He is currently on the board of Education.com and Limbo 41414.
Prior to this role, he was Chief Strategy Officer of Liberate Technologies. At Liberate, he was responsible for strategic planning, technology licensing, corporate partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to assuming these responsibilities, David was Vice President of Marketing at Liberate, helping successfully spin the company out from Oracle.
Previously, David spent nine years with Apple Computer, where he was most recently director of the North and South American PowerBook division. In that position, he oversaw the daily operations of the business, including manufacturing and channel development, as well as Apple's efforts to renew the PowerBook line of products.
David holds B.S. degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University and an M.S. degree in Management from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Ronald Fortune
On October 18, 2006, Ronald Fortune became the CEO of education.com. Previously, Dr. Fortune was the founder and CEO of Edumetrics Learning, a company focused on developing technology-based educational content for students, which eventually formed a partnership with the EPGY program at Stanford University. He also served for 10 years as CEO of Computer Curriculum Corporation (CCC). During his tenure as CEO, CCC became the largest educational software company in the United States.
Dr. Fortune has delivered numerous speeches, presentations, and testimonials to federal and state congressional committees, international educational leaders, educational associations, and governmental groups. He has served as a member of California's Information Technology Council, as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Software and Information Industry Association (formerly Software Publishers Association), and as President of the CEO Forum, a Washington, D.C,-based organization advocating the use of technology in schools. He has also served on the National Board for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education and on the Board of Directors for Edison Schools, Inc.
In addition to his duties as CEO of education.com, Dr. Fortune serves as a senior advisor to Project Pipeline, a nonprofit teacher recruitment and credentialing institute, and volunteers in various school and community functions.
A former secondary classroom teacher and school administrator, Dr. Fortune holds a Ph.D. in Education, an M.B.A., and a B.A. in History and Sociology, all from the University of California, Berkeley.
