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Board of Directors
Hunter McDaniel is the Founder and CEO of UbiQD, an advanced materials company powering product innovation in controlled-environment agriculture. Hunter earned a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before joining Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Chemistry Division. He founded UbiQD, Inc. in 2014, and the company has raised more than $10M and employs 26 full-time employees. Their first product, UbiGro, is a layer of light that uses fluorescence to help plants get more from the sun in a greenhouse. Ultimately, the value proposition is about boosting crop yields and quality without the cost or energy impact of lighting. Hunter fundamentally believes that novel materials underpin every significant technological advancement, and he and his team are focused on leveraging new materials to have a lasting and sustainable impact.
Brad is an entrepreneur and seasoned business development executive passionate about technology, media, entertainment, and lifestyle. Brad has a great deal of experience launching new ventures. While attending MIT, he helped launch a joint MIT-Harvard incubator. During this experience, Brad worked at the earliest stages with many dynamic companies, including Endeca Technologies. While serving as Director of Media Strategy and Development at AOL, Brad co-authored 3 patents in search, geo-tagging, and personalization with Edmund Fish, Senior Vice President and General Manager at AOL. Following AOL, Brad helped raise $40M in venture funding for a contextual online advertising network. Prior to launching his business career, Brad was a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in the United States Army for five years, earning both Airborne and Ranger qualifications before retiring as Captain. He resides in Austin with his wife, Angie, his son, Elvis, and his daughter, Scout.
Board member Colin Cumming is the founding principal of TechVen Partners, LLC, a private equity firm focusing on technology investments. He negotiated TechVen’s first investment, SensiQ Technologies, Inc., and currently serves as CEO and Board Member for SensiQ Technologies. Mr. Cumming also currently serves as a Board Member for High Desert Discovery District, an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to technology development in New Mexico. Mr. Cumming serves on the Oklahoma Governor’s Science and Technology Council. Prior to forming TechVen, Mr. Cumming served as CEO and President of ICx Technologies, Inc., guiding it through an IPO and then through the acquisition by FLIR Systems, Inc. in 2010, and served as a General Manager for FLIR. Before ICx Technologies, Mr. Cumming founded in 1994 and served as CEO of Nomadics, Inc. Mr. Cumming has extensive experience in technology businesses, especially in identifying key technologies and securing the rapid development and commercialization of emerging technologies. Mr. Cumming holds BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He brings significant business expertise to UbiQD, including numerous successful exits.
As Chief Product Officer at UbiQD, Dr. Matt Bergren leads the company's product development efforts, sales, and manufacturing, including its first commercial agriculture product, UbiGro®. Matt is instrumental in continuing the company's technology development path and vision of powering product innovations in agriculture, clean energy, and security. He also serves as the principal investigator for UbiQD's contract with NASA, which is focused on tailoring the solar spectrum for enhanced crop production for space missions. Dr. Bergren's leadership experience also includes serving on the board of directors for the New Mexico Energy Manufacturing Institute, an organization focused on job creation in New Mexico's energy and energy-related manufacturing community. Before his tenure at UbiQD, Matt honed his skills in the renewable energy domain, holding postdoctoral positions at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Center for Integrated Nanostructure Physics in South Korea. His work in these roles centered on pioneering photovoltaic technologies using cutting-edge nanomaterials, highlighting his deep understanding of photoluminescence. His journey from academia to industry leadership reflects a seamless transition, leveraging his technical insight to drive business success and product innovation at UbiQD.
Dr. Peng is a Partner at PVP. He brings 20 years of unique combination of experiences in academia scientific research, material startup R&D, and corporate venture and corporate innovation. He has covered many technology areas, such as nano and functional materials, processes and equipment, display and consumer electronics, sensing, as well as healthcare consumables and devices. Until recently, he was Director of Technology Scouting and Corporate Innovation at BOE Technology Group, a global leading display manufacturer. He had scouted over 500 opportunities worldwide and facilitated over 15 partnerships and joint programs between internal R&D teams with external corporations and startups. He also performed corporate venture functions early with BOE, as well as portfolio management more recently, including board duties at Nanosys (acquired by Shoei Chemical), an industry leading Quantum Dot company, and the technology of which is already in millions of TVs. Earlier in his career, he was Director of Technology at Innova Dynamics (acquired by TPK), and oversaw various functions including nanomaterial R&D, scale-up and pilot production, toll manufacturing transfer, IP analysis, and supported business activities.
Dr. Peng earned his PhD in Chemistry at Brown University, and was Postdoctoral Appointee at Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Lab. From his early academic work, he authored and co-authored near 40 research articles, review articles, and book chapters in renowned journals such as Science, PNAS, and Chemical Society Reviews, with over 8,000 citations. He is currently a member of the Society for Information Display.
Jordan Clancy brings a wealth of finance, business development, and clean-tech expertise to UbiQD. With over 14 years of post-graduate experience, Jordan has honed his skills in executive roles across various energy-focused companies in California, Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico. As President and Chief Financial Officer at Adelante Consulting and General Partner at NM Vintage Fund, he continues to demonstrate his proficiency in leading financial and strategic initiatives, particularly in early-stage Southwest companies, entrepreneurs, and entities that have the potential to benefit New Mexico. Jordan's career began in a family office in Santa Monica, focusing on finance and accounting in the energy sector. His acuity for guiding companies through critical growth phases is evident in his success with Series A and B funding rounds in the alternative fuels and clean-tech sectors. A supporter of entrepreneurship and innovation, Jordan actively invests in promising ventures, nurturing local talent and groundbreaking ideas. He holds an MBA from the Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University, obtained through dual Bachelor of Science degrees from the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. His diverse background and strategic insight make him a valuable asset to UbiQD's Board of Directors.
Sally is a Co-Founder and Partner at Sun Mountain Capital. Sally sits on the investment committees of all of the Firm’s domestic investment programs and is a board member of Sun Mountain portfolio companies BennuBio, xF Technologies and Robotic Skies and is a board observer at Bayotech. Past investments include nanoMR (acquired by DNAe) and Risk Sense (acquired by Ivanti).
Prior to co-founding Sun Mountain, Sally worked for 13 years at Credit Suisse where she led the evaluation of numerous companies and fund sponsors and structured, marketed and executed over 40 private transactions as a member of the Private Placement Group. She has also worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter Reynolds gaining expertise in evaluating investment opportunities, conducting due diligence, structuring transactions and raising equity and debt capital in both the public and private markets.
Sally has an MBA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a BSBA in Finance from Georgetown University and is a Trustee of the Thornburg Investment Trust. Sally has served on the boards of the New Mexico Venture Capital Association and Invest Southwest.
Othman is Chief Investment & Operations Officer of UM6P Ventures. He is convinced that Africa deserves its own blueprint for the development of innovation and entrepreneurship; He is confident that UM6P Ventures will contribute to this ambition by way of quality and inclusiveness in our development and investment strategies.
He formally believes that investor position comes with an accrued level of responsibility. Confidence, ethics, determination, good communication and teamwork skills are fundamental for solving problems and work effectively under pressure.
Othman started his career as an auditor at KPMG Paris for six years before returning to Morocco at EY for 3 years. Specialized in finance where he led the audit of large listed international groups and participated in various structural transactions, due-diligences, valuations and mapping of operational, financial, strategic risks consultations.
Othman left consulting to develop and valorize UM6P Ventures’ portfolio.