Even Brande, Chairman
Click to see Even's bio on the management team page.
Gene Watson
After receiving a degree in economics and a stint in the U.S. Army as a radar officer during the Korean War, Watson began his career in technology in 1955 with Varian Associates, a pioneering hi-tech company in what is now known as “Silicon Valley”. Subsequently, over the past 45 years, Watson has been a member of the founding group of nine technology-based start-up ventures. Three of these companies (Spectra-Physics, Coherent, Lasertechnics) became publicly traded on the NYSE and NASDAQ exchanges, three were acquired by multi-national companies, one is currently operating independently, and two have been consigned to the dust-bin of entrepreneurial history
Watson retired to Wyoming in 1994 and subsequently, with two University of Wyoming faculty members, co-founded DeltaNu, a Laramie-based scientific instrument manufacturer. He currently consults to the University of Wyoming Office of Research & Economic Development where he directs the Wyoming Small Business Innovation Research Initiative, a program that assists Wyoming’s innovative technology-based small businesses in obtaining start-up capital from the nation's largest seed capital fund, the federal SBIR/STTR program.
Watson has served on the board of more than fifteen companies, currently serving on the boards of Jackson-based Alces Technology, Inc., and Laramie-based Handel Information Technologies, Inc.
Jo Korpitz
Jo Korpitz is one of the original board members of Handel Information Technologies. The bulk of her other board involvements have been in service of the downtown commercial district of Laramie, Wyoming in consort with the National Main Street Program.
Paul Johl
Paul has been a board member for Handel since 2007. Paul is also employed at Oracle as a Principal Product Manager helping to design their next Enterprise Resource Planning application suite. Other Product Management and Development experience includes PeopleSoft, J.D. Edwards, Auto-trol, IBM, and Hughes Aircraft. With over 20 years in the software industry Paul brings valuable insight into product development for Handel. Outside of work Paul often runs and skis in the mountains with his dogs and creates artwork in his spare time.
Frank Mendicino III
Frank Mendicino III joined Handel's board in 2007. Frank co-founded Access Venture Partners in 1999. Access is a seed and early stage, high technology venture capital fund. Frank has been a venture capitalist for 18 years successfully investing in, and helping to grow exciting businesses.
Through his work with early stage companies, Frank has built a large network of deal referral sources and value added resources for portfolio companies. Frank was a founding board member of The Contra Costa County Incubator in San Francisco. He is a former board member of the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association. Frank has a deep understanding of product development and sales and marketing processes which allows him to help entrepreneurial management teams accelerate the growth of the companies in which Access Venture Partners invests.
Prior to co-founding Access Venture Partners, Frank worked for Woodside Fund, a Silicon Valley venture fund, for 10 years where he helped build and exit a successful portfolio of 29 early stage companies.
Frank is on the Board of Directors of several private companies. He received his B.A. in Political Science from The University of California at Berkeley in 1989. Frank lives in Denver, Colorado, and in his spare time, Frank enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family.