Nashville Entrepreneur Center

Clayton McWhorter
Chairman, Entrepreneur Center
Chairman, Clayton Associates

Mr. McWhorter serves as Chairman of Clayton Associates, LLC, which he founded in January 1996 to provide venture capital to start-up companies. In 2008, McWhorter founded PharmMD, served as chairman, and currently serves on its board. Previously, in 1996, McWhorter created LifeTrust America, Inc., a developer and operator of assisted living communities, and served as its Chairman until its sale in November 2004.  Mr. McWhorter also participated in the formation of HealthTrust, Inc., in September 1987, and served as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer until the HealthTrust merger with Columbia/HCA in April 1995.  From April 1995 to May 1996, Mr. McWhorter served as Chairman of the Board of Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation and remained a board member until May 2000.  McWhorter attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, pre-pharmacy, and earned his BS degree in pharmacy from Samford University.   

Michael Burcham
President and CEO, Entrepreneur Center

Michael has extensive experience in healthcare innovation, entrepreneurship, and startup venture coaching.  He served as President of ParadigmHealth, a provider and integrator of care and disease management services for health plans and employers, from 2001-2007. He also founded and served as President of Theraphysics, a venture-backed specialty healthcare firm managing rehabilitation services, from 1992-2000.  He is founder and Director of the Accelerator Summer Business Institute, a 4-week intensive immersion program designed to challenge undergraduate students to develop their own personal brands and business skills. At the Owen Graduate School of Management, Michael teaches healthcare innovation and strategy. He is passionate about helping the creative class transform their ideas into real businesses, and looks to the Entrepreneur Center as an opportunity to revolutionize Nashville’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and creative venture development on a large scale. Michael received his PhD in Healthcare Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2003.

Jim Bradford
Dean, Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management

James W. (Jim) Bradford is dean of the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, and also serves as the Ralph Owen Professor for the Practice of Management. He was appointed dean in March 2005 after serving as acting dean for nine months. Since joining Owen in 2002, he has also served as clinical assistant professor of management and associate dean of corporate relations.  An experienced corporate executive, Bradford previously served as president and CEO of United Glass Corporation and AFG Industries Inc., North America’s largest vertically integrated glass manufacturing and fabrication company. Prior, he served as AFG’s general counsel and spent 11 years in private law practice. Bradford earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Florida and his law degree from Vanderbilt. He completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School in 1997.

Mike Cain
Managing Partner, LBMC

Chris Calton
Director, Avondale Partners

Chris is a Director in the Investment Banking department at Avondale Partners, a full-service investment bank in Nashville, where he focuses on companies in the Healthcare Services, Healthcare IT and Medical Technology industries.  Prior to joining Avondale, Chris worked in the M&A Advisory practice at Thomas Weisel Partners in both New York and San Francisco. In 1999, he worked for Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, a $5 billion hedge fund, focusing on private equity investments. From 1995 to 1998, Chris worked at Robertson Stephens & Company in San Francisco.  A Nashville native, Chris received a BA in Asian Studies from Washington & Lee University in 1993 and a MBA from Columbia University in 2000.  Chris and his wife, Amy, an attorney at Healthways, Inc., have one child, Julia.  In addition to the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Chris serves on the Board of Alumni at The Baylor School in Chattanooga, TN and is also involved with the baseball program at Vanderbilt University.

Jeff Cornwall
Director, Center of Entrepreneurship at Belmont University

Dr. Jeff Cornwall has a tremendous passion for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial development; not only has he authored or co-authored six books about the subject, but he also maintains a blog called,  “The Entrepreneurial Mind.”  Along with these, he is currently a consultant for a variety of start-ups as well as the Jack C. Massey Chair of Entrepreneurship at Belmont University, which was recently named one of the Top 25 Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Programs in the country by The Princeton Review. In addition to his academic career, he has spent many years in the private sector as an entrepreneur.  Jeff received his DBA and MBA from the University of Kentucky.

Townes Duncan
CEO, Solidus General Partner LLC

Darrell Freeman
Chairman, Zycron Inc

Darrell S. Freeman Sr., a resident of Middle Tennessee, is a successful entrepreneur and community leader. As chairman of Zycron, Inc., an information technology services firm he founded in 1991, he employs more than 270 professionals across the country. He is also the co-founder of Tennessee-based Reliant Bank and Pinnacle Construction Partners. Freeman’s commitment to the Nashville community is evident through his board membership in various organizations such as the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Centennial Medical Center and others. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives with his wife of 18 years, Gloria, and their four children.

Robert Frist
Co-founder and CEO, Healthstream Inc

Dr. Melvin Johnson
President, Tennessee State University

Dr. Melvin N. Johnson began his tenure as the seventh president of Tennessee State University (TSU) on June 1, 2005.  Prior to his appointment at TSU, he served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs and as a tenured professor of economics at Winston-Salem State University.  He received his undergraduate degree in economics from North Carolina A&T State University, earned the Master of Arts in Economics from Ball State University and received his M.B.A. and D.B.A. in business economics and public policy from Indiana University.  Nationally, Johnson serves on the Educational Testing Service Board of Trustees, Princeton, New Jersey, whose aim is to close the achievement gap and as a Vice Chair on the NCAA Committee on Academic Performance.  He has been selected as one of Nashville’s “Top 50 Business and Community Leaders.

Commissioner Matt Kisber
Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

Matthew H. Kisber serves as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD). Appointed January 18, 2003, Commissioner Kisber has led Tennessee’s efforts that resulted in four $1 billion dollar projects within a one-year timeframe and 51 corporate headquarters being located in Tennessee.  Since his appointment as commissioner, Tennessee has seen more than $33 billion in new capital investment and more than 190,505 new jobs created.  Prior to his appointment as commissioner, Kisber served 10 consecutive terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives and as vice president of Business Development for First Tennessee Bank.  Kisber received his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and resides in Nashville with his wife Paige Lowe Kisber and their son, Harrison and daughter, Katherine.

Jim Lackey
Chairman, Passport Health Communications

Healthcare entrepreneur and Tennessee business leader Jim Lackey has built a career on recognizing opportunity and leveraging relationships to achieve tremendous results.  In his so-called “retirement” from the corporate world, Lackey now focuses on mentoring young companies and entrepreneurs build valuable businesses through technology, smart business processes, and extraordinary vision. As current Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer of Passport Health Communications, Inc, Lackey led the company through the process of developing and delivering clearly-defined product and services designed to assist hospitals, physicians and other Healthcare providers in simplifying the process of healthcare.  In addition, Lackey serves as Chief Executive Officer of EnableComp, a Franklin, Tennessee-based company that works with hospitals and large providers to recover lost revenue from zero-balance workers’ compensation accounts. He also is a Board Member and advisor to PharmMD, a leader in Medication Therapy Management services which integrates, reviews and analyzes medical, pharmaceutical and patient data to provide appropriate interventions and lower healthcare costs.

Rob McCabe
Chairman, Pinnacle Financial Partners

Mark Montgomery
Entrepreneur in Residence, Claritas Capital

Mark is a serial entrepreneur who is currently juggles many balls, including the Entrepreneur in Residence at Claritas Capital, a private consultancy, writing, speaking and a variety of philanthropic endeavors.  His last company, echomusic, a technology and music platform play, was sold in 2007 to IAC/Ticketmaster.  Today, he applies his expertise in design thinking, marketing/business development, leadership/team/culture building, and branding building in the world at large, and specifically at the Entrepreneur Center in Nashville.

Alexia Poe
Director, Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development

Alexia Poe currently serves as director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development.  Before joining the mayor’s staff, she was managing director of a small public affairs firm in downtown Nashville.  Prior to that, Poe spent nearly four years with Gaylord Entertainment serving as director of public affairs where she oversaw the company’s government relations, community relations and charitable foundation.  Poe earned her bachelor of science in communication from the University of Tennessee.  She also currently serves as a board member of Fifty Forward, the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, and Downtown Partnership. 

Christopher Rand
Co-founder, TriStar Technology Ventures

Prior to co-founding TriStar Technology Ventures, Mr. Rand was the Manager of New Venture Development in Vanderbilt’s Office of Technology Transfer and Enterprise Development. That responsibility included licensing Vanderbilt intellectual property, assisting in the formation of new start-up companies and working with existing start-ups. He is active in Nashville’s entrepreneurial community and serves on the Boards of the Nashville Capital Network, the Nashville Technology Council in addition to the Entrepreneur Center. He is also active in the national technology transfer association (AUTM) and frequently leads educational sessions on topics such as intellectual property valuation and the interaction between venture firms and technology transfer offices.

Linda Rebrovick
CEO, Consensus Point

Linda Rebrovick is currently serving as the CEO of Consensus Point, a leading provider of enterprise prediction market and collective intelligence solutions.  Linda’s sales and marketing career began with IBM in the late 70s to the mid-90s, and continued with KPMG and Dell in the past decade.  Her positions have included Area Vice President, Dell Healthcare Sales; Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, BearingPoint; National Managing Partner, Healthcare Consulting, KPMG, LLP; and Business Unit Executive, IBM.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Auburn University and has been recognized as one of Auburn University’s top 400 women graduates in the past 100 years.

Ron Samuels
Founder, Avenue Bank

Ron Samuels is an experienced leader, executive and marketer and has been a banker in Nashville for over 30 years. Mr. Samuels was a founder in 2007 of Avenue Bank, which today has assets of more than $500 million. Mr. Samuels is recognized as one of Nashville’s most visible and engaged community leaders, having just concluded his term as Chairman of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, along with service on many other boards and committees in the arenas of economic development, professional sports, education and more. In addition to enjoying time with his family, Mr. Samuels is a passionate golfer and is a member of The Hummingbirds, Avenue Bank’s corporate band. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, and earned an MBA at the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management.

Ralph Schulz
President, Nashville Chamber of Commerce

Mike Shmerling
Chairman, Choice Food Group, XMi Holdings

Michael D. Shmerling, is Chairman of Choice Food Group, Inc., a Nashville, TN-based manufacturing and food distribution enterprise employing nearly 300 people in the Nashville area.  He is also Chairman of XMi Holdings, Inc., a locally owned management / consulting company.  He currently serves on the boards of Abe’s Garden, the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, the United Way of Middle Tennessee, Nashville Chamber of Commerce, The Hermitage, Tennessee Performing Arts Foundation, Renasant Bank (“NASD – RNST”), and Healthstream, Inc. (“NASD – HSTM”)

Luke Simons
Partner, Council Ventures

Luke Simons is formerly a Co-Senior Partner of J.C. Bradford & Co., (one of the Nation’s largest independently owned investment-banking firms located in Nashville, Tennessee).  After J.C. Bradford & Co. merged with UBS in June of 2000, he continued as Senior Managing Director and later an Independent Advisor with UBS Investment Bank until 2009.  Luke is currently an Operating Partner with Council Ventures.

Turney Stevens
Dean, Lipscomb College of Business

Jack Waddey
Co-founder, Waddey & Patterson

I.C. (Jack) Waddey, Jr. is a co-founder of Nashville’s leading intellectual property law firm, Waddey & Patterson, P.C.  He serves as the ADR director for Ocean-Tomo, as a panel member of the International Institute of Conflict Prevention and Resolution, and was the founding President of the Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators.  In addition to being an advisor to major corporate and research institutional clients on all matters relating to intellectual property, Mr. Waddey has over 35 years of experience advising start ups, particularly those founded on technology advances.  As a registered patent attorney, Mr. Waddey has helped inventors protect their individual inventions, and help companies develop strategies for the growth and protection of their intellectual property to carve out major market shares in particular industries. Mr. Waddey received his undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University and his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. 

Leigh Walton
Lawyer, Bass, Berry & Sims

Leslie Wisner-Lynch
President and CEO, Tennessee Technology Development Corporation

Steve Wood
Lawyer, Baker, Donelson, et al

Caroline Young
President, Nashville Health Care Council

Caroline Young is the president of the Nashville Health Care Council, an industry association of nearly 200 member organizations. In this capacity she works with executives to foster the growth of Nashville’s health care industry and to further position Nashville as the nation’s health care industry capital.  Caroline joined the Council in 2004, serving as the organization’s vice president and the founding executive director of the Council’s Leadership Health Care initiative, a 500+ member group dedicated to nurturing the talents of Nashville’s next generation of health care industry leaders.  Prior to joining the Council, Caroline was a member of the Health Care practice of the Ingram Group, a public affairs and government relations firm. She was also founding executive director of the Tennessee Biotechnology Association and the director of Communications and Advertising for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD).