Past Entrepreneur-in-Residence participants
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GREG RUFF Greg Ruff is the founder of White Space Strategy, a strategic market innovation consulting firm based on the principles in his upcoming book White Space. Unlike other “innovation focused” approaches, Mr. Ruff’s White Space Strategy approach emphasizes identifying and capturing new, strategically important market opportunities in unaddressed and under-addressed market spaces to achieve rapid adoption and to subsume and extend existing markets. This “market innovation” approach to strategy ensures both strategic market potential and sustainable competitive advantage to build successful new companies and markets. Greg has been consulting to high tech companies since 1987 when he joined Booz, Allen and Hamilton as a senior engagement manager after a 13 year career in sales, marketing and management at Hewlett Packard. At Booz Allen, Mr. Ruff consulted to industry leaders in companies ranging from American Express and IBM and led teams that restructured markets and companies. In 1990 Mr. Ruff left Booz, Allen and Hamilton to build a new Market Strategy Consulting Practice at Regis McKenna Inc., where he initially worked with Geoffrey Moore (Author of Crossing the Chasm) and became managing partner before leaving to found G.L. Ruff & Company, an affiliate of Mr. Moore’s Chasm Group in 1995. During that time Mr. Ruff Consulted to industry leaders such as Adobe, SCO, HP and BEA (now Oracle) and built strategies for startups that became billion dollar companies such as Informatica. In 2006 he founded White Space Strategy to focus on market creation and growth strategy. He took a leave from his consulting practice in 2007 to assume the CEO role for two of the start-ups he was consulting to in the robotics and on-line music markets. Greg has written numerous articles for industry organizations such as Dealmaker Media and The Chasm Group and has spoken about Web 2.0, 3.0, Entrepreneuring and new market creation at events such as the Web 2.0 Expo and Summit, and Office 2.0. He has guest lectured at the Haas School of Business at Berkeley, Santa Clara University and been a judge and mentor for companies presenting at the International Business Plan Competition at the University of San Francisco (USF). Greg has a BSEE from the University of Virginia and an MBA in International Management and Finance from NYU. STEVE TRAUTMAN Steve Trautman is corporate America’s leading knowledge transfer expert. For more than two decades, he has provided executives at blue-chip companies and those in the nonprofit and public sectors with the simplest, most relevant and quick solutions for knowledge transfer. His pioneering work in the field of knowledge transfer and related risk management tools—which he began at Microsoft in the early 1990s—is now the nationally-recognized gold standard used by companies ranging from Boeing to Nike, Kraft to Zynga. And he continues to innovate. He has written two books, speaks internationally, and provides business leaders with consulting, presentations, and executive retreats. He is known for his high energy style that combines humor, street smarts, and board room wisdom.
Shannon Stowell is currently the president of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA). His personal and professional background is well suited for the adventure travel industry. He’s lived in Fiji, trekked Indonesia, Thailand, Burma and China, and has spent time in many places around the world including Taiwan, South Africa, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, Qatar, Norway, Mexico and Canada. Among the diverse adventures he’s enjoyed: summiting Mount Rainier & Mount Hood, diving in Mexico, sitting out a riot in Jakarta, being involved in Fijian kava ceremonies, caving in Thailand, and many more. Shannon is an active traveler, trail runner, swimmer, mountaineer, skier and fly-fisher. He brings a special passion to this industry borne of experience and a desire to see others experience the world in a richer way. His 17+ years of business experience, connections, marketing insight, environmental science, vision and passion for adventure travel have prepared him well to serve and lead as the president of the Adventure Travel Trade Association. Early in his career, with a B.S. Biology from Seattle Pacific University, Shannon worked as a fisheries observer on ships in Alaska for the National Marine Fisheries Service. After a stint on the Bering Sea, and work with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, he spent eight years at an environmental testing laboratory as a biologist/chemist. He was promoted into management to develop and spearhead the company’s international vision and Asian presence with the President of North Creek Analytical International. Shannon then engaged in the dot-com revolution as a co-founder of Altrec.com, a successful outdoor and adventure travel gear retailer (www.altrec.com). He directed the company’s business development, affiliate marketing and non-profit relations for six years. Despite the dotcom boom and bust, Altrec survived, then thrived. During his time at Altrec.com, he struck deals with Amazon.com, CBS Sportsline, National Geographic and National Geographic Adventure, Backpacker Magazine, Virtuoso, Nike, Gore-Tex, Outward Bound, Virtuoso and Mountain Travel Sobek among many others. He wore many other hats during his tenure, overseeing aspects of marketing, PR, affiliate programs, ad sales, advertising program development and development of Altrec’s sister site, www.Greatoutdoors.com. GARY GANNON Gary Gannon has lifelong experience envisioning, forming, managing, and growing companies and organizations in diverse fields in the US and around the world. He has demonstrated a solid track record and leadership in anticipating global trends, and has built numerous businesses that both leveraged and added value to these emerging trends. Currently, Mr. Gannon is involved in a number of businesses and philanthropic activities. On the philanthropic side, Mr. Gannon is working around the world to stimulate major cities to adopt sustainable economic, social, political, and environmental sustainable practices through the Global Compact Cities Programme, for which he is an international advisory board member. For more information about the Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, please contact Scott Bryant, bryant@montana.edu.
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