Gary Hoover

Breakfast keynote speaker is Gary Hoover, one of America’s greatest innovators, pioneering the retail book superstore concept and then evolving a small business publisher into the world’s largest Internet-based provider of information about enterprises.

Gary Hoover created Hoover’s Online, www.hoovers.com, covering more than 40,000 businesses, and the highly acclaimed Hoover’s handbook series featuring profiles of large and fast-growing companies. He took the company public and later sold to Dun & Bradstreet for $117 million.

 

Brian Cummings

Brian Cummings is currently the Executive Director of the Technology Commercialization Office at the University of Utah and Assistant Vice President for Technology Ventures. In the two and a half years that he has been in this role, the office has produced record revenues and successfully started 53 new technology-based companies, 80% of which have received initial funding and beyond.

Brian has started three companies in his entrepreneurial career and his latest endeavor is a technology based start-up utilizing RFID. He is also President of a University-based personalized medicine company. Previously, Brian led the life science commercialization efforts at the University of Texas and prior to that was the Director of Business Development at Micro-Bac International. Brian currently serves on the Board for The Utah Life Science Association, The Rocky Mountain Research Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Governors Board for Business Resource Centers, The Renaissance Foundation, Launch Magazine and the LES Board for Technology Commercialization Structure and Development.