A National Science Foundation Workshop

Partnerships

Building a New Foundation for Innovation

---

E. Rogers Novak, Jr.

Roger Novak brings over 20 years of experience as a venture capitalist, "angel" investor, and operating principal. Novak Biddle Venture Partners is a leading early stage venture capital firm backed by some of the country's most prestigious investors.

Prior to co-founding NBVP, Roger was a private investor. In 1984, he was co-founder and three-fund general partner of Grotech Partners, where he was principally focused on information technology, with two of his investments, Verity and Secure Computing, among the top 10 performing IPOs of 1995. Earlier in his career Roger led the investment banking effort at Baker Watts & Co., where he served on the firm’s executive committee.

Roger currently serves on the boards of BlackBoard, Inc., Engenia Software, Inc., Para-Protect Services, Inc., NEW Customer Services Company, and Simplexity, Inc. He also serves on the advisory boards of MMG Ventures, an SSBIC, and Silver Haze Partners. He is a trustee of the Gilman School, where he serves on the education, budget and finance, and investment committees.

In year 2000, Roger was named to the State of Virginia's Joint Commission on Science and Technology, in which he currently serves on an advisory committee to examine the digital divide, as well as telecommunications, workforce shortages, and education issues. He also served as a member of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government's project to examine the funding gap between innovation and commercialization.

A frequent speaker on venture capital, risk and innovation issues, Roger has spoken before the National Institute of Science and Technology, the World Bank/IFC, DARPA, and many other institutions. He has also addressed members of Congress and government agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, about ways the public and private sector can work together to improve the nation's high-tech economy. A frequent contributor to the local and national media on technology and investment issues, Roger has appeared on The McNeil Lehrer Newshour, CNN, CNNfN, and other programs.

In March 2001, Roger participated in President Bush's High Technology Summit at the White House. The summit was a forum of the nation's top business and technology executives, who discussed strategies for a national technology agenda.