CEO PANEL: 5 Things You Need to Know

Heather Ashby: Founder & CEO of coworkHERS

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Heather Ashby lives in Portland and she’s the Founder/CEO of coworkHERS. She is the former Co-Owner of Haberdashery Resale Clothing Co.. and she is one of the Co-Founders of the non-profit, pollinateHERS, a networking and social group aimed at connecting female mentors with female startups. She is also a part of the CoWorking CoDesign Cohort who works with the Department of Maine Economic & Community Development to bring coworking to rural Maine in the hopes of boosting the economy and bring good workers to Maine from out of state.

Joshua Buck: Co-Founder & Owner of Maine Malt House

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Joshua Buck joined the family farm after graduating from Northern Maine Community College in 2011. Joshua manages operations at the Malt House and granary. He has a strong focus on building relationships with customers and producing high-quality products. Joshua lives in Mapleton with his wife, Kayla and daughter, Eve.

Erin Flett: Founder & Creative Director of Erin Flett Textiles & Home

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Erin is a passionate, prolific designer who started her company in her basement, hand-printing home goods with her husband, Maslen. She then moved her growing business into an old, Maine cotton mill, with a growing number of employees who help print, sew and ship her ever-growing collections. Her line includes pillows, bags, glassware, wall art, limited edition paper products, rugs, and wallpaper and wall art. She especially loves collaborating with her trade accounts such as hotels, interior designers and architects on custom projects.

“Local” is important to Erin. All of her printing is done by hand in Maine, while Mills in North Carolina weave her custom bark cloth and canvas. All of her velvet and linen are sourced domestically. With her attention on designing, manufacturing, and selling, Erin is able to oversee the entire process, ensuring quality and craft in each product.

Erin’s vision is to continue to create highly designed and crafted home goods that are mindfully made and encompass all the subtle details that make her unique, hand-drawn, graphic patterns sought-after and collected. Her edgy and joyful designs combine the “traditional” with the “modern,” breathing new life into the world of textiles. Her goal is to make her customers smile, and bring a fresh, new style into their homes.

Clayton Kyle: Founder & Executive Chairman of Clynk

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Clayton’s business activities in the Pine tree State began in 1989 when he left mid-town Manhattan and a position in finance at HBO for an entrepreneurial career in Maine. Over the next 30 years he invested in several small companies and startup ventures, became a partner in the venture fund North Atlantic Capital in Portland, and later helped form the private equity fund CHK Capital Partners. CHK invested in Maine-based opportunities and eventually funded the business concept that was to become CLYNK. In 2010, Kyle became CLYNK’s full time CEO and remained in that position until his retirement in 2018. During that time, CLYNK grew from a startup to over $11 million in annual revenue and 150 employees, with operations in Maine and New York state and licensees in Oregon, Michigan and Nova Scotia. CHK is also an owner of Maine Hardware on St. John Street in Portland, and Clayton continues to serve on both the Maine Hardware and CLYNK boards.

Rob Simopoulos: Co-Founder of Defendify

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Rob Simopoulos is the Co-Founder of Defendify, the all-in-one cybersecurity platform that makes cybersecurity possible for Small Business. Rob is a lifelong entrepreneur, as passionate about small business as he is about cybersecurity. In his 20+ years in the security industry, he has received awards, accolades, and recognition from a variety of trusted industry experts and publications. Rob and the Defendify team are based in Portland, Maine, and are on a mission to simplify cybersecurity and help secure small businesses and channel providers from evolving threats.

Katie Shorey: President of Startup Maine | Panel Moderator

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Katie Shorey is the director of engagement of Live + Work in Maine (LWM), and also serves as volunteer president of Startup Maine, a non-profit that serves as a convener, educator and catalyst of the Maine startup ecosystem. In her role at LWM, she works with the organization's employer partners, manages communications & marketing efforts, supports the FocusMaine Internship Experience, and builds strategic partnerships.

Prior to joining Live + Work in Maine, Katie worked at WEX on the New Business Ventures team as the innovation program manager. Previously, she worked for People's United Bank where she focused on community relations and business development. Before returning to Maine, Katie worked in Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA, and most recently served as corporate relations director at the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP). Her former roles include Program Manager for Clifton Consulting LLC and Program Associate at the Partnership for Public Service.

Katie is active in economic development initiatives to help foster innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition to Startup Maine, she serves on the advisory board of Maine Accelerates Growth, is a certified SCORE mentor and former workshop facilitator, and is a board member of the Portland Community Chamber. She enjoys facilitating events and has served as a moderator for Mainebiz, Maine Magazine, and the Portland Regional Chamber. She is a proud alumna of Fryeburg Academy and St. Lawrence University, and now resides in Westbrook. Her hobbies include hiking, traveling, cooking, and spending time with family and her golden retriever, Harley and rescue pup, Jax.

FINANCE PANEL

Andrew Furman: Small Business Credit Analyst at Infinity Federal Credit Union

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Andrew Furman grew up in Waldoboro, Maine, and earned his BA in Economics and Mathematics from Hunter College in New York. He is currently the Small Business Credit Analyst at Infinity Federal Credit Union, where he started in 2010 as a Sales & Service Representative. Andrew spent several years as Infinity FCU’s Consumer Loan Underwriter and was instrumental in starting the Member Business Services team in 2016. Peers would describe him as a thorough and knowledgeable underwriter who takes great pride in his work, but they also know that he’s just as enthusiastic about cruising around on his motorcycle and traveling the world with his wife, Brenda. He enjoys spending time at his family’s camp on Damariscotta Lake, playing bass with his band, reading the Wall Street Journal and motorcycle racing publications, and trying to keep his coffee consumption in check. Andrew draws daily inspiration from his grandfather: a man of quiet strength, a war veteran, and a small business owner who could remove the engine of his ’40 Ford in the morning and have it back in and running that evening for a date night with Memere.

David Grenier: Senior Vice President & Chief Commercial Banking Officer at Kennebec Savings Bank

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David Grenier, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Banking Officer at Kennebec Savings Bank, has over 40 years of commercial banking experience. Following his graduation from the University of Maine at Orono with a BS in Business Administration, David started his career as a management trainee for commercial lending. In 1986, he earned his MBA from Thomas College and in 1989 graduated from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. David has been with Kennebec Savings Bank for the last ten years. Prior to joining the KSB Team, he worked in commercial banking with Fleet Bank of Maine and TD Bank.

Sandra Stone: Chair Emerita of Maine Angels

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Sandra is Principal of Sea Cove Solutions, enhancing connections and creating linkages in innovation and the ecosystem with an intentional focus on female entrepreneurship. In addition, she is the Chair Emeritus at Maine Angels, an angel capital investment network in southern Maine with a growing subchapter in Bangor. By the end of 2015, total portfolio investments were $15.5M in 62 New England companies.

Brian Whitney: President of Maine Technology Institute

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Brian Whitney is President of the Maine Technology Institute, an organization established to diversify and grow Maine’s economy by encouraging, promoting, stimulating and supporting innovation and its transformation into new products, services and companies and, ultimately, the creation of quality jobs for Maine people.

He has extensive experience in economic development and legislative matters at both the state and federal level and has worked with innumerable companies, private and public sector research organizations, and entrepreneurial leaders throughout the State of Maine during his professional career. He served previously as a private sector manager and in the public sector as Maine’s Director of Business Development & Innovation, the Director of Outreach and Economic Development for U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), a Business Development Specialist for the State of Maine, and as Chief of Staff to Maine’s Senate President.

He has served on, or staffed, a number of statewide boards including the Maine State Workforce Investment Board, the Maine Economic Growth Council, Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board, Maine Venture Fund and the Maine Rural Development Authority. He is currently a board member of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development, Maine & Company, and the Economic Development Council of Maine.

Brian is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine (USM) and lives in Augusta with his wife and two daughters.

Mark Delisle: State Director of the Small Business Development Centers | Panel Moderator

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Mark joined the Maine SBDC in April 2008 as state director overseeing implementation of the program and delivery of its services. He serves on the national accreditation committee of the America’s Small Business Development Centers. Mark brings to the position extensive experience as a small business owner, most recently as an independent retailer of fine art supplies and picture framing in Bath from 2002-2007. He also worked in Maine from 1999-2001 as an independent consultant in internet marketing, selling fine art in various media—from auction sites to traditional retail sites—in partnership with a New York gallery.

KEYNOTE INTERVIEW

Senator Angus King

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In January 2013, Angus King was sworn in as Maine’s first Independent United States Senator, filling the same seat once held by storied Maine leaders Edmund Muskie, George Mitchell, and Olympia Snowe.

A strong believer in the need for greater bipartisan dialogue and relationship building, Senator King is proud to join the long line of thoughtful, independent leaders from the State of Maine, and he works hard every day to bring Republicans and Democrats together to find common-sense solutions for Maine and America. He is a proven consensus-builder who “calls ‘em like he sees ‘em”, putting civility and respect ahead of political ideology.

Senator King is a member of the Armed Services Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the Committee on Rules and Administration. He has made it a priority not to miss Committee hearings, earning him praise from his colleagues and the reputation as a workhorse in the Senate. The late Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who served as Armed Services Chairman, once called Senator King “one of the most serious and hard-working members” of the Committee.

In his time in the Senate, Senator King has worked to strengthen America’s national security, conducted critical oversight of the nation’s Intelligence Community, supported common-sense budget priorities that promote prosperity and reduce the national debt, fought the national opioid and heroin epidemic, coordinated efforts to revitalize Maine’s forest economy, advocated for policies that contribute to cleaner, cheaper energy and mitigate climate change, railed against the corrosive effect of unchecked money in politics, fought to improve access to health care, worked to strengthen the government’s support of veterans, and promoted increased access to critical community resources like rural broadband.

Senator King has achieved significant legislative victories since taking office. He led efforts to draft and pass the Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013, which averted drastic increases in student loan interest rates, saved students across the country more than $50 billion in interest payments, and set the program on a path to long-term financial stability. In 2018, Senator King successfully included a number of provisions in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, legislation focused on improving the federal government’s response to the opioid epidemic. The legislation, which passed overwhelmingly, included language backed by Senator King to make medication-assisted treatment more readily available and adjust federal restrictions to allow residential treatment facilities to increase treatment capacity. Earlier this year, in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, he introduced the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act to improve the Paycheck Protection Program and provide additional flexibility for business owners who’ve received PPP loans; the legislation was signed into law in June.

REAL ESTATE PANEL

Eben Adams: Partner at Pierce Atwood, LLP

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Eben Adams is the Chair of Pierce Atwood's Real Estate Practice Group. Eben's practice includes all aspects of real estate law with a focus on commercial and residential development, acquisitions, sales and leasing. Eben regularly represents hospitality clients in the purchase and sale of restaurants and hotels. Eben has extensive experience representing developers of condominium projects including residential, commercial and mixed-use condominiums. Eben regularly assists energy companies with real estate matters including wind power leases and the acquisition and development of transmission corridors. Eben is experienced in restructuring workouts of distressed commercial and residential real estate projects, including condominiums.

Garvan Donegan: Director of Planning & Economic Development at Central Maine Growth Council

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Garvan manages Central Maine Growth Council’s regional economic development initiatives and networks. This includes city planning and policy analysis, regional projects, grants, business expansion/retention, enterprise growth, and entrepreneurial development. Along with these key roles, Garvan administers the growth and development of the City of Waterville’s federal U.S. Foreign Trade Zone program (FTZ 186), a regional effort to cultivate global trade and outreach in the State of Maine. The Maine native earned his B.A. from Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg, FL in 2008, graduating with a double major in Political Science and Environmental Sciences, earned a M.A. (MCPD) in Community Planning and Development from the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine, and holds a Maritime Port Manager (MPM) certificate from the Loeb-Sullivan Graduate School of International Business & Logistics, at Maine Maritime Academy and the International Association of Maritime and Port Executives (IAMPE).

Jessica Estes: Partner, Designated Broker at The Boulos Company

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Jessica joined The Boulos Company in 2003, focusing on brokerage and eventually shifting to operations. In 2018, she returned to brokerage, her passion. She loves learning what’s driving a business and its need for space, and helping clients make smart real estate decisions. She particularly enjoys working with entrepreneurs. As the wife and daughter of business owners, the entrepreneurial spirit is in her blood. A Maine native, Jess lives in Yarmouth and enjoys traveling, boating, and skiing with her family.

Gary Vogel: Immediate Past President of MEREDA and Shareholder at Drummond Woodsum | Panel Moderator

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A shareholder (partner) at the law firm of Drummond Woodsum, Gary’s practice is concentrated in real estate, real estate development, affordable housing and community development, land use and zoning, leasing transactions, financing transactions, commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions and corporate and commercial law. His practice often involves developments utilizing the Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Federal and State Historic Tax Credits, Energy Credits and New Market Tax Credits throughout New England. He has been practicing law in Portland for over 30 years and resides in Yarmouth.

Since 2013, Gary has been listed in Best Lawyers in America in the categories of Real Estate, Banking and Finance Law, and Corporate Law. He was awarded the “Lawyer of the Year” honors by Best Lawyers in the area of Banking and Finance Law for 2019 for the Greater Portland Area. He has been a frequent presenter at continuing professional education conferences involving the use of Maine LLCs and corporations, the purchase and sale of businesses, ESOPs and ESOP financing, affordable housing development as well as commercial real estate financing transactions. Gary has been on the board of directors of the Maine Real Estate and Development Association (MEREDA) for over 20 years and led MEREDA’s public policy committee for the past 12 years. He currently is MEREDA’s immediate past president.

Gary's clients look to him to provide creative counsel to help them grow their businesses or develop their property, whether they are start-up organizations, seasoned developers, organizations seeking capital, or organizations developing succession plans and exit strategies for current ownership.