OCTANe Broadens Influence; Elects New Members to Board of Directors

ALISO VIEJO, CA--(Marketwired - May 20, 2014) - OCTANe, the Orange County startup accelerator dedicated to connecting people and ideas with capital and resources to fuel technology growth, today announced four new additions to the organization's Board of Directors. Newly elected members include Kim Kovacs, serial entrepreneur and ex-CEO of OptionEase; Christine McCauley, corporate vice president, Edwards Lifesciences Human Resources; and Juli Stone Moran, director for Deloitte Services LP; and Marc Samuels, CEO of ADVI. 

As newly elected members of the board, all will help guide OCTANe's vision to provide technology business leaders with a forum to make a lasting impact on the future of the technology and life sciences industries in Orange County.

"Our board of directors is filled with some of the most prominent, influential, and impactful individuals on the business ecosystem in our region," said Matthew Jenusaitis, president and CEO of OCTANe. "Adding Kim, Christine, Juli and Marc will not only bring valuable perspective as we continue to make an effort to help grow the cleantech and life science industries in Orange County, but also their collective experience from each of their careers is so central to the mission that we have at OCTANe."

Juli Stone Moran has over 25 years of experience in the Life Science sector. Her experience spans from working with pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers, to clinical research organizations and medical device manufacturers. With Deloitte, Moran serves as the lead client service partner for numerous clients in Southern California.

Kim Kovacs has over 20 years of experience in executive leadership and finance, working with dozens of successful startup ventures and helping to raise more than $100 million in venture capital. Kovacs' latest venture was as founder and CEO of OptionEase, a leading network connector for complex equity compliance applications delivered via software-as-a-service (SaaS). Her company was purchased by Solium Capital in November 2012.

Christine McCauley has worked for over 25 years across all the functional disciplines of human resources. Before joining Edwards Lifesciences Human Resources, McCauley held positions at Texas Instruments, Loral (Ford) Aerospace and Bally's Health and Tennis. In addition to her work at Edwards, Christine served as chairwoman of the American Heart Association's 2014 Orange County Go Red For Women luncheon.

Marc Samuels has more than 15 years advising companies on healthcare public policy and business strategy. Currently, Samuels provides senior relationship management for ADVI. He has extensive experience counseling clients across the life sciences, digital health, managed care and services sectors. His background also covers politics, as he advised both former President George H. W. Bush and former Texas Governor George W. Bush on health care issues.

About OCTANe:

OCTANe connects people and ideas with capital and resources to fuel technology growth in Orange County. Its members represent Orange County technology executive leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, academicians, and strategic advisors, all working together to fuel innovation in the OC. The organization has helped more than 800 companies via the LaunchPad™ SBDC accelerator. LaunchPad™ companies have received more than $494 million in investment and equity exits. OCTANe annually welcomes more than 7,000 people to its programs and events. More than 2,000 business leaders throughout the Orange County region are OCTANe members. For more information, visit www.octaneoc.org.