PHILADELPHIA, April 14, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Innovation Philadelphia announced today that it has added four members to its Board of Directors: Ernest J. Dianastasis, Computer Aid, Inc.; Ralph Muller, University of Pennsylvania Health System; Constantine Papadakis, Drexel University; and Glenn Rieger, Cross Atlantic Venture Partners.
Said Dr. Judith Rodin, President of the University of Pennsylvania, and Founding Chair of the Innovation Philadelphia Board of Directors, "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to welcome our four new members who share our vision of a more connected and global Greater Philadelphia, and I look forward to working with them to make that vision a reality."
"We are pleased to welcome four such credentialed and talented individuals to our board of directors," added Richard Bendis, president and CEO of Innovation Philadelphia. "We're confident they'll be tremendous assets in furthering our mission, which is to grow the wealth and the workforce of the Greater Philadelphia Region's Innovation Economy."
Ernest (Ernie) Dianastasis is a managing director and one of four principals with Computer Aid, Inc. CAI, located in Wilmington, DE. CAI is an information technology systems integrator and consulting firm with more than 1,700 associates and more than 40 major Fortune 1000 contracts corporate wide. Dianastasis is responsible for the largest of three major operating divisions of the firm, which is based in downtown Wilmington, DE. He also maintains offices in Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Northville, MI; Lancaster, PA; and New Hope, PA. His entire operation numbers more than 700 people. Prior to joining CAI, Dianastasis was employed by IBM Corporation. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Delaware Business Roundtable, and also is a board member of both the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Delaware State Chamber. He has also been dedicated to many Regional not-for-profit organizations, including the Easter Seals Society, the Wilmington Rotary and the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.
Ralph Muller is chief executive officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), a $2 billion enterprise that includes four hospitals; a faculty practice plan; a primary care provider network; three multi-specialty satellite facilities; and home care, long-term care, and hospice care. As CEO, he is responsible for the operational effectiveness and financial health of UPHS. Muller came to Penn's Health System from Stockamp & Associates, a national hospital consulting firm, where he was managing director. From 2001-2002, he was a Visiting Fellow at the Kings Fund in London, U.K., and from 1985 to 2001, the President and CEO of the University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System.
Constantine Papadakis is president of Drexel University. Since joining the university in 1995, Dr. Papadakis has leveraged the historic strengths of Drexel -- cooperative education, the institution's focus on technology, and the appealing location -- to double full-time undergraduate enrollment from 4,500 in 1996 to more than 9,000 today, triple freshman applications, quadruple endowment from $90M to $420M and quintuple research expenditures. Prior to joining Drexel, Dr. Papadakis worked for Bechtel, Inc., rising to chief engineer. He has also served as dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering. Dr. Papadakis presently serves on the board of directors of CorCell Inc., Mace Security International, Inc., Sovereign Bank, Inc., the University City Science Center, the Ben Franklin Technology Partners, the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee, the Board of Directors of the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Hellenic College/Holy Cross Board of Trustees, as well as the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Board of Governors, and the Judicial Council of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Glenn Rieger is founder and president of Radnor, PA-based Cross Atlantic Capital Partners. Cross Atlantic Capital Partners, Inc. (XACP) is a firm, which currently manages several venture funds with more than $400 million in committed capital. The Cross Atlantic Technology Fund (XATF) provides essential venture capital financing to early stage and mid-stage information technology companies in the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Cross Atlantic Technology Fund II, the successor fund to XATF, targets similar investment opportunities. Today, Rieger is one of five managing partners at XACP. Prior to founding Cross Atlantic Capital Partners, Rieger was senior vice president in charge of business development for Safeguard Scientifics. Currently, he serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Greater Philadelphia Venture Group.
About Innovation Philadelphia
Innovation Philadelphia is a public/private partnership created to grow the wealth and the workforce of the Greater Philadelphia Region's Innovation Economy by growing, attracting, and retaining technology-based businesses to the Region.
Innovation Philadelphia accomplishes this mission by providing technology-based and early stage businesses with traditional seed capital, access to alternative funding sources, commercialization assistance, entrepreneurial resources, and intellectual capital. Visit Innovation Philadelphia at www.IPphila.com.