Paul A. Bleicher ’76 (Biology), M.D., Ph.D., Executive Partner, Ardan Equity
Paul was formerly the CEO of OptumLabs since its inception. Before OptumLabs, he served as chief medical officer for Humedica, a next-generation clinical informatics company. He also co-founded and was a leader at Phase Forward and was instrumental in transforming pharmaceutical clinical trials from paper to the web. He has served as a leader in industry organizations such as the National Academy of Medicine's Leadership Consortium for Value and Science-Driven Health Care and the Drug Information Association. Paul holds a B.S. from Rensselaer and an M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He began his career as a physician/investigator and assistant professor at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Jonathan J. Burbaum ’81 (Chemistry), Ph.D., M.B.A., Life Science Entrepreneur
Jonathan consults for various life science ventures, including venture capital and life science venture investing. Some of the firms he works with include Sofinnova Ventures, Spruce Capital Partners, Genoa Ventures, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, and Innovating Capital. He spent five years working for the U.S. Department of Energy leading PETRO, a $62 million program to increase agricultural productivity as applied to bioenergy crops for liquid fuels. Jonathan's career endeavors center on technology leadership, focusing on technology and product optimization, and commercial strategies in life sciences. He received his Bachelor of Science in chemistry from RPI's School of Science in 1981. He attained his Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University and an MBA from the University of California, San Diego.
Todd Cinnamon '86 (Computer Science), MSE, Founder, Cinnamon Consulting, LLC.
Todd Cinnamon has over 30 years of experience in the Information Technology industry. Todd began their career in 1989 as a Technical Analyst II at GTE/Verizon. In 1990, they joined GetThere, A Sabre Company, where they held the positions of Vice President of Engineering, Vice President of Engineering, Development Director, Development Manager, and Project Lead. In 1999, they were the Director of the Dallas Engineering Center at Internet Travel Network. From 2006 to 2012, they were the Co-Founder of Allen Broadcasting Corporation and a Majority Member of Allen Media Stations, with properties including WMOV 1360, Ravenswood, Virginia. In 2009, they were a Management Consultant at United Airlines. From 2012 to 2019, they were the Vice President of Information Technology at Allegiant Air. Since 2019, they have been the Head of Information Technology at XTRA Airways and head of Information Technology at Avelo Airlines, and, as of 2023, he founded Cinnamon Consulting, LLC. Todd has a B.S. in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a M.S. in software engineering from Texas Christian University.
Rama K. Govindaraju, M.S. ’90 (Computer Science), Ph.D. ’94 (Computer Science), Senior Engineering Director, NVIDIA
Rama is currently a senior engineering director at NVIDIA. Before this role, he was a principal engineer leading the effort to ensure the reliability of Google's machine learning and AI infrastructure. Prior to this, he served as the director of engineering at Google, leading the systems infrastructure architecture team. Rama also had a 13-year career with IBM, departing as a distinguished engineer responsible for leading the software architecture at IBM's supercomputing lab and developing five generations of Supercomputers. Rama received his Master of Science and Ph.D. in computer science from RPI's School of Science in 1990 and 1994, respectively. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in computer science from the Birla Institute of Technology Mesra as a member of the class of 1988.
Douglas Henck '74 (Mathematics), FSA, Member, Senior Management Advisory Board, Assured Enterprises, Inc. -and- Senior Advisor, NueBridge
With over forty-plus years in the insurance industry, mostly leading operations in Asia, Doug has developed strong community and social services skills in nonprofit organizations, leadership and coaching, team-building, and management. Further, Doug has served as CFO at Baha'i World Centre and on several boards or as a member of a senior advisory committee to a dozen entities, including Tahirih Justice Center, SolHealth, Harmony Program NYC, and Assured Enterprises (a cyber risk firm).
René Hymmen ’89 (Aeronautical Engineering), MS ’90 (Aeronautical Engineering), Senior Director - Flight Sciences, Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA)
René Hymmen is the Senior Director for Flight Sciences at Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA). René is responsible for the teams delivering the aerodynamic analysis, aerodynamic design, loads & dynamics, noise, vibration & emissions analysis, and weights & mass properties for all Boeing commercial aircraft and across all lifecycle phases from early product development to fleet support. She is responsible for technical excellence, skill development, tools, processes, and overall strategy. Before her current role, René was the director of the NMA (New Mid-Market Airplane) Airplane Integration team with Boeing Product Development. She also held several executive positions within BCA Flight Sciences Engineering, including Chief Engineer for Aerodynamics, Chief Engineer for Loads & Dynamics, and Chief Engineer for Weights Engineering and Mass Properties. René is a two-time RPI graduate holding both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering.
Stanley Lewis '73 (Biomedical Program), M.D., Former Chief Strategy Officer, Beth Israel Lahey Health
Before his retirement in 2021, Stan served as the Chief Strategy Officer for Beth Israel Lahey Health, a 13-hospital integrated healthcare system in the greater Boston region, culminating his long healthcare career. In that role, he led the department responsible for developing and implementing strategies for the system's short- and long-term growth, including strategic alliances and partnerships. Prior to that, Stan served in several senior clinical and management leadership positions at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, including Associate Chief for Clinical Cardiology, SVP for Network Integration and Chief Strategy and System Development Officer. Stan graduated from Rensselaer's School of Science with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology as a part of our RPI-Albany Medical College's six-year Physician-Scientist program. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Tufts New England Medical Center and a fellowship in cardiology at Yale University-Yale New Haven Hospital.
Anne McEntee ’93, M.S. ’94, Ph.D. '98 (Mathematics), Managing Director of Asset Management, Wren House
Currently serving as the Managing Director of Asset Management at Wren House, a global infrastructure investment manager, Anne brings significant industry experience, having previously built a 25-year career with General Electric, including as CEO of Digital Services and Onshore Wind within G.E. Renewables Energy. Previously, Dr. McEntee was the chief executive officer for the Onshore Wind Digital Services unit of G.E. Renewable Energy. She joined G.E. in 1998 and has held various managerial and leadership roles across multiple G.E. businesses, including the Energy, Power, and Oil & Gas Divisions. From conventional power services, flow and process technologies, and driving the energy transition in the Renewable Energy Division, Anne has extensive experience in the energy sector. She holds a B.S. in applied mathematics, an M.S. in mathematics, and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Donald S. McMurtry '87 (Interdisciplinary Science), Voluntrepreneur
Don McMurtry has been an Engineers Without Borders (EWB) donor and volunteer for over a decade, including an EWB fellowship in 2010 and several years assisting EWB's Kumvana program. Don coined Voluntrepreneur when it had zero internet search results to describe his entrepreneurial approach to volunteer work. Don has been a board member and advisor to several registered charities since 2006, typically working on the finance and development committees. Don's sales and marketing career included eight years as Vice President of Sales at Research In Motion (the company behind the BlackBerry), from which he retired in 2006. In the last decade, he has been an angel investor and advisor to several early-stage IP-intensive businesses. Don has a bachelor of science degree in interdisciplinary science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
John C. "Jack" Ruckdeschel '67 (Biological Sciences), M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Ruckdeschel Consultants, LLC
Jack Ruckdeschel is an American oncologist who has written 160 peer-reviewed articles. He obtained his bachelor's degree from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his medical degree from Albany Medical College. He received training at Johns Hopkins University and Beth Israel Hospital, where he was a resident. Jack was a fellow of the National Cancer Institute and became a faculty member of the second alma mater a decade later. In 1991, he became the Director and CEO of Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, where he worked with Terrance Albrecht. Ten years later held the same position at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan. In 2009, he did the same thing at the Nevada Cancer Institute and three years later became Medical Director at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City. During the same years, he was the chairman of both the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and the executive officer of the Lung Cancer Study Group.
Jesse Treu '68 (Physics), M.A., Ph.D, Founding Partner, Domain Associates LLC
Jesse was a founding partner of Domain and became partner emeritus in 2018. He has been a director of 38 early-stage healthcare companies, 23 of which have become successful public companies. He has been a founder, president, and chairman of numerous venture-stage companies. Before the formation of Domain, Jesse was vice president of the predecessor organization to The Wilkerson Group and its venture capital arm, C.W. Ventures. While at C.W. Ventures, he served as president and CEO of Microsonics, a pioneer in computer image processing for cardiology. Before that, Jesse held executive positions at Technicon Instruments (now Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics), and at G.E. He received his B.S. in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his M.A. and PhD in physics from Princeton University.