Team

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Carnellia Ajasin

Carnellia is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Mind Katalyst, a humanity-centered, tech-innovation, and sustainability venture studio. She was named a 2022 Georgia Titan 100, which recognizes business visionaries in the state.

Her background makes her a great fit for ATDC, where she looks forward to continuing to work in the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem alongside the next generation of entrepreneurs.

She stays active outside of work, pursuing interests that include travel, cycling, yoga, and cooking.

She graduated from Drexel University in Pennsylvania, with a bachelor’s in computer science and a master’s in information science and computer technology.

Automation & Robotics Catalyst

Ward Broom

Ward oversees the ATDC Automation and Robotics Program — sponsored by Amazon Robotics. He recruits startups, coaches and mentors them, and markets the program to those entrepreneurs looking to build and scale technology companies in the robotics or automation sectors.

Ward has spent most of his career in the tech startup space. He co-founded IPA, a healthcare technology company later acquired by Roper Technologies. He has also served as a business consultant to health tech companies and others.

A triple graduate of Georgia Tech, Ward earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and an Executive MBA. One of his sons is also a Tech grad with degrees in civil engineering and computer science.

He loves golf and travel – especially trips to the North Carolina mountains, where he can indulge both passions. His wife is a writer and his older son graduated from the Citadel and serves in the Army.

FinTech Catalyst

Robert “Red” Daniel

In this role, Robert will manage the ATDC FinTech program, provide incubation and acceleration efforts to portfolio companies, and foster their development and encourage growth. He will also manage and cultivate ATDC relationships with investors, prospective business partners, CEOs, and community technology leaders to promote market outreach and business development in the FinTech ecosystem.

Meet with Robert

Startup Catalyst, Augusta

Chris Dickson

Chris Dickson is an experienced management consultant who has supported startups in the Augusta region since moving to the area in 2005.  He founded The George Group LLC, a niche operations consulting firm, in 2008 to support the commercialization of new products and technical services.

Prior to starting his own company, he led several global Fortune 500 strategic business units and private equity funded firms in roles ranging from executive vice president to CEO. In addition, Dickson was an advisor/angel investor in two early-stage medical device companies in the Boston area before moving back to the Southeast.

As a local volunteer, Dickson has coached and/or mentored more than 100 startups and early-stage companies in the Central Savannah River Area. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Clemson University.  A firm believer in lifelong learning, Dickson has attended executive education sessions at Harvard University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. For the past two years, he has taught project management, creativity, and leadership classes at the McKimmon Center for Extension & Continuing Education at North Carolina State University.

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Ben Dyer

Ben advises promising ATDC companies on a wide range of strategic decisions and deep tech opportunities.  He is best known as the founding CEO of Peachtree Software, which provided IBM its accounting software offering at the launch of the PC in 1981. He has had startups in all locations of the ATDC since its inception and was chair of the alumni committee that spawned the concept in 1980. His many startups have included digital media (partnered at various times with Cox, Rupert Murdoch, and ESPN), an early-stage Cordova Ventures fund, several traditional banks, medical technology, payments, and Internet of Things (IoT) firms. He spent seven years (2011-2018) in Austin, Texas teaching entrepreneurship at the Cockrell School of Engineering, working in a leadership role at SXSW, and advising at the Austin Technology Incubator. For more than two years after returning to Atlanta he served as EIR for Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, the Southeast’s leading tech law firm, where he worked with hundreds of clients on business matters. He is a Georgia Tech engineering alumnus with an MBA from Georgia State University. He is a member of the state of Georgia’s Technology Hall of Fame.

MarTech Catalyst

Adam Gautsch

Before joining ATDC, Adam spent most of his career helping to run a website development company in Greenville, South Carolina. For fun, he helped start and run different organizations and events in the tech and entrepreneurial sectors. These included a co-working space, a social entrepreneur meetup, an idea collection website for cities, an app tracking the Greenville trolleys, and Startup Week Greenville.

Adam has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Clemson University.

Adam’s Office Hours.

Startup Catalyst, Macon

Robert Grant

Robert seeks out tech entrepreneurs in the Macon area to become part of ATDC’s portfolio of companies.

The entrepreneurial bug hit Robert hard after being laid off from a series of jobs. His business ventures have included the YouTube channel That Guy You Met Today, where he v-logged about travel and restaurants. He now owns Print Your Sheet, an Etsy business of pop culture greeting cards.

He and his wife, a medical lab scientist, own EZ-Genetics LLC, a lab for noninvasive prenatal genetic testing and at-home prenatal gender tests. In addition to being a serial entrepreneur himself, he also serves as the executive director of business incubator SparkMacon.

Robert is a graduate of Armstrong State University (now part of Georgia Southern University), with a bachelor’s in information technology.

Startup Catalyst, Savannah

Radford Harrell

Radford Harrell is the Savannah Startup Catalyst for the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC).  He is an incessant entrepreneur, startup coach and connector, and keeper of way too much information. His most recent venture was as CEO of TalentSoup.com and an innovation and business growth consultant. His broad spectrum of experience includes US Navy, Commercial Diver, Dive Boat Captain / Instructor, Medical Device Designer, and Biologic Implant Marketer. He is passionate about helping people doing the hard work of creating technical businesses. Rad relocated to Savannah from Atlanta in 2009, after SEDA’S Creative Coast invited him to experience the rich life, living and working on the Georgia coast. He adventures with his wife, 3 kids, and 2 crazy cattle dogs.

HealthTech Catalyst

Greg Jungles

Greg has served as CIO, CTO and chief data officer for multiple Healthcare/HealthTech companies ranging from startup to $1B in annual recurring revenue. He brings executive level experience and has played key roles in leading technology transformation while driving growth and organizational change in multiple venture capital or private equity-backed companies. Greg has also helped multiple self-funded HealthTech startups as a strategy consultant and technology advisor.

In his professional career, Greg has proven to be effective at quickly understanding business strategy to develop aligned technology strategy and execution roadmaps. He is adept at translating technology concepts and discipline into business terms and has a recognized ability to build engaged, high-performing teams and deliver innovative, right-sized technology solutions that are aligned with strategic business needs.

Greg’s Office Hours:

Location:  ATDC Headquarters
Tuesday’s 3:00pm – 5:00pm, Wednesday’s 4:00pm – 5:00pm

Click Here to schedule a meeting with Greg

Manufacturing Catalyst

Shane Matthews

Shane is listed as inventor or co-inventor on more than a dozen patents with others pending. Best known for his work on the Nerf AirJet brand, Shane also has helped to develop manufacturing processes for lithium ion batteries. He is a mentor and coach to inventors through the My Inventor Club, which he established here in Atlanta.

Venture Capitalist-in-Residence

Sig Mosley

Sig is Managing Partner of Mosley Ventures, a venture fund that invests in early-stage, Southeast-based technology startups. Widely regarded as the “Godfather of Angel Investing,” a title he earned as president of Imlay Investments, Sig has been one of the most prolific investors in the Southeast since 1990. He has invested in 120 startups with 82 liquidity events and is the current record holder of the largest Southeast venture deal with Ariba’s $5.7 billion acquisition of Tradex.

Early in career, Sig was a staff accountant at Peat, Marwick & Mitchell as a staff accountant. He then joined Management Science America as a staff accountant and served as secretary-treasurer, before being named vice president.

Sig currently serves on the boards of 16 private companies.

In addition, he is a director of the Imlay Foundation, Techbridge, and Entrepreneurs Foundation of the Southeast. He also is a director of GATV, the CEO Council, TiE-Atlanta, and the Technology Association of Georgia. He also serves on the advisory board of Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center, the investment committee of Gray Ghost DOEN Social Ventures Coöper, and the Georgia Research Alliance Venture Fund Board. He is managing member of Flashpoint Investors, LLC.

Sig has received numerous awards and accolades for his contributions including being inducted into Georgia Technology Hall of Fame in 2007, getting the Lifetime Achievement award from TiE is 2011,  and being named the 2012 Speaker of the Year award by the Emory Pelham Education Foundation. He is a member of the Invest Georgia Roundtable, a joint venture capital initiative comprised of Georgia House, Senate, and private industry leaders

He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Emory University.

Angel-in-Residence

Charlie Paparelli

Charlie advises ATDC Signature companies on the funding process. For 23 years, Charlie has invested in early-stage companies and coached entrepreneurs. He began his career with a successful startup and exit, enhanced his experience with 10 years in general management and chief operating officer roles, and now is a full-time angel investor.

Supply Chain Catalyst

Alex Rhodeen

Alex will assess, advise, and connect supply chain startups. ​

​ATDC, the state of Georgia’s technology startup incubator, helps entrepreneurs learn, launch, scale, and succeed in creating viable, disruptive technology companies.​

​A U.S. Army veteran, Alex is co-founder of two supply chain companies and has worked at startups since leaving active duty. He co-founded Kanga which was an ATDC Portfolio company until its acquisition by GEODIS. ​

​An optimist and a capitalist, he believes the state of Georgia’s commitment to startups is a key component of our thriving economy. ​

​Alex received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He enjoys sports of all kinds with his son who is a student in Atlanta Public Schools.​

Executive-in-Residence

Clinton Richardson

Clinton Richardson is a retired attorney and business advisor who has spent his career advising growing businesses and the investors who fund their growth. For more than 40 years, he has helped entrepreneurs raise private and public funding, advised growing companies and venture funds, served on the boards of venture-backed businesses, and has made angel investments. He also held senior management roles in two major law firms — one a regional Atlanta firm with 100+ attorneys. The other a national, Am Law 100 firm of 1,000+ professionals with 11 offices across the United States from Boston to Silicon Valley. Clinton also served on the national firm’s five-person Executive Committee. He co-founded and served in a long-term capacity as an officer and director of The Southern Capital Forum, the oldest and largest venture capital and private equity trade association in the Southeast.

Clinton has written extensively about the entrepreneurial process and venture funding ecosystem. Those writings include the acclaimed “Growth Company Guide” about legal strategies, fundraising, and deal-making. First published in 1987 as “The Venture Magazine Complete Guide to Venture Capital,” it remains in print retitled and updated as the 5^th edition “Growth Company Guide 5.0.” The Guide series has been used by venture capital firms to train associates, business schools (including the University of Virginia, University of Southern California, and Clemson University) to train students, and by business accelerators. An investor-focused, Chinese language edition has been used by State of Georgia Trade Delegations.

Mr. Richardson has a BA degree in Economics, summa cum laude and phi beta kappa, from Albion College and a Juris Doctorate degree, with distinction, from Duke University School of Law. While at Duke, he served on the Editorial Board of the Law Journal, the Moot Court Board and received the Dean’s Cup for appellate advocacy.

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Scott Ryan

Scott has more than 20 years of experience building and exiting companies and leading teams to develop and sell products in the IT infrastructure and media technology industries. His exits include Concurrent Computer, a microcap Internet of Things (IoT) and video delivery provider; Senoia Systems, a provider of cloud migration solutions; Asankya Networks, a WAN Optimization solution provider, and Elastic Networks, an IPO in the DSL market.

Additionally, Scott’s leadership experience includes successful stints with storage leader, EMC; networking leader, Nortel Networks; and consulting innovator, North Highland.

He received both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from Vanderbilt University.

Startup Catalyst, Albany

Jud Savelle

Jud works with tech entrepreneurs in the Albany area to become part of ATDC’s portfolio of companies.

The Albany native also owns his family business, Bishop Clean Care, a local residential and commercial cleaning and restoration company. Before moving back to his hometown, he worked for several years in Atlanta, including as department manager for airport customer services continuous improvement at Delta Air Lines.

The Georgia Tech graduate has both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial and systems engineering. He jumped into community involvement as a board member and previous board chair for Leadership Albany, as the volunteer and fundraising chair for Georgia FIRST Robotics in Albany, and as a member of the Lee County Chamber of Commerce.

5G Connected Future Startup Catalyst

Bob Siegel

Industry veteran Bob Siegel serves as ATDC’s 5G Connected Future Startup Catalyst. Siegel comes to ATDC with 25 years of mobility experience, including senior roles at Accenture and Verizon Telematics. He leverages his extensive network to discover high-potential startups that can benefit from ATDC’s program. In this new position, Siegel leads recruitment efforts of startups working on 5G technology and guides their growth while in the incubator. He is based at Curiosity Lab’s Innovation Center in Peachtree Corners.

Sustainability Catalyst

Jennifer Singh

Jennifer Singh is a technology executive with more than 15 years of experience in building and scaling innovative businesses at both startups and large corporations. As ATDC’s Sustainability Catalyst, she supports early-stage companies at the forefront of solving our climate and environmental challenges. In her role, she coaches sustainability startups and connects them with the ecosystem resources they need to thrive.

Prior to ATDC, Jen co-founded Understory, a global community that enables and accelerates climate and sustainability tech startups through educational resources and events. Jen also held a variety of commercial and product management leadership roles where she pioneered new technology solutions. At Thomson Reuters, she founded the Digital Identity Solutions business and was a key member of the Applied Innovation team which embedded emerging technologies throughout the organization. Jen also led channel partnerships for Entersekt’s North American business where she drove adoption of the company’s products and helped the team double in size. She is an industry expert, inventor, author, and featured speaker on topics such as sustainability, innovation, and disruptive technologies.

Jen holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from Georgetown University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She supports her local community by serving on the boards of Startup Atlanta and SHRM-Atlanta; both are organizations dedicated to supporting the advancement of entrepreneurs in the Metro Atlanta region.

Meet with Jen

Startup Catalyst, Athens

Ashley Steele

Seasoned entrepreneur Ashley Steele serves as ATDC’s local Athens Catalyst, coaching Athens startups and connecting them to  ATDC programs, coaching, and resources.  As an experienced tech, marketplace and service start-up founder and lifelong entrepreneur, Steele has a particular focus on community-building and entrepreneurial ecosystems.  Utilizing her own experience as the founder of multiple startups, including a high-growth tech startup and a national multi-market service startup, she guides the growth of local entrepreneurs in the Athens area.

Ashley’s Office Hours:
Mondays 9:00am – 11:00am
Meet with Ashley

Startup Catalyst, Columbus

Gregg Warren

Gregg Warren is an award-winning entrepreneur who works with ATDC supporting startups in Columbus, Georgia. He has years of experience in the tech startup space. He was founder, president, and CEO of IVOX, an information service provider for managing driver risk. IVOX won Technology Business Launch of the Year for Georgia in 2007, an award sponsored by the Georgia Research Alliance and Technology Association of Georgia (TAG). His company was also twice named to the Top 40 Innovative Companies in Georgia list by TAG.

He founded ID8/CR8, a technology foundry focused on disrupting large, global products and markets in automotive, data analytics, consumer data privacy, InsTech, FinTech, and CleanTech.

He is a partner with 10X Consulting Group, focused on assisting early-stage tech companies define strategies, source capital, and reach customers. He also works with larger, mature companies, helping define strategies to identify and deploy technology that drives growth, cuts costs, and establishes new revenue opportunities.

Warren holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Auburn University and an MBA in finance and marketing from Mercer University. He is a member of the Beta Alpha Psi, the international honor society for accounting, finance, and information systems students.