Hudson Valley Center for Innovation opens

The brainchild of Les Neumann, Hudson Valley Center for Innovation is open for business

November 28, 2005
by Dylan Skriloff

The brainchild of Les Neumann, Co-chair of the RBA Technology Initiative, has officially been born; the Hudson Valley Center for Innovation is open for business.

Two not-for-profit agencies, The Ulster County Development Corporation (UCDC) in Kingston, and the Hudson Valley Technology Development Center (HVTDC) in Fishkill have co-sponsored the project, an "incubator" for businesses in the technology sector seeking to expand their operations.

"HVCI is a collaborative effort of business, economic development, academia and investment communities throughout the Hudson Valley to create jobs; assist emerging companies get established and organized through professional mentoring; and once established, encourage those companies to remain in the region, employ area residents, and restore a proud legacy of technology research and development throughout the Hudson Valley", states Chester J. Straub, Jr., President of the Ulster County Development Corporation, Vice Chairman and Director of the HVCFI Corporation.

Neumann, who first presented the idea to HVTDC last October, is the Managing Director of the new corporation. Neumann’s fellow co-chair of the RBA Tech Initiative, John Koski, sits on the Center’s advisory board along with several other technology sector experts including RBA member Howard Reis of Hudson Valley DataNet.

Board advisors include PhD’s Steve Crandall and Steve Greenspan of Omenti Research and Frank S. Falatyn of FALA Technologies, who all spoke on the future of the technology sector at the RBA’s Ready, Set, Grow symposium in May. The Center hopes to open six satellite centers in neighboring counties in the future. Having a satellite center in Rockland would be a real boon to the county, Al Samuels, CEO/President of the RBA said.

The HVCFI Board of Directors include Clifford M. Miller, President and CEO, Ulster Savings, Kingston, NY and HVCFI Treasurer; Rick W. Diehl, Principal, Strategic Technology Group, Wilton, CT; Dr. Andres Fortino, Dean, School of Management, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY; Jay Gartlan, Esq., Founder of Gartlan & Associates, Clifton, NJ; Irwin Glen, Chief Technologist for the Public Sector of Salesforce.com; Glenn H. Heller, Esq., attorney with Drake, Sommers, Loeb, Tarshis, Catania & Liberth PLLC, Newburgh, NY; Dr. Donald C. Katt, President of SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge, NY; Arnaldo J. Sehwerert, PHD, Regional Director of the Mid-Hudson Small Business Development Center, Kingston, NY; Stephen S. Young, Chairman of Mentor Business Group, Weston, CT.

HVCFI’s Board of Advisors include Steve Crandall, PhD, Chief Technical Officer, and Steve Greenspan, PhD, CEO of Omenti Research in Scotch Plains, NJ; Frank S. Falatyn, President/CEO, FALA Technologies, Inc., Kingston, NY; Mary Ann Hoffman, Director of Business Development, Marist College Center for Collaborative and On-Demand Computing (CCODC), Poughkeepsie, NY; John Koski, Director of Information Technology for Dominican College in Orangeburg, NY; Alan G. Labouseur, President of 3NF Consulting, Inc., Beacon, NY; Mark V. Laurenzi, President, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Marotta Controls, Montville, New Jersey; Laszlo I. Nemeth, President of Dynamic Decision Systems, LLC, Bethany, CT; and Howard Reis, Hudson Valley DataNet, Newburgh, NY.

"What differentiates this incubator," states Thomas G. Phillips, Sr., HVCFI’s Chairman and Director of the Corporation, and Executive Director of the Hudson Valley Technology Development Center, "is that in addition to being supported by a stellar Board of Directors and committed Board of Advisors from various regions, HVCFI offers its licensees the benefits of a full-time, in-house Executive Mentoring Team comprised of experienced executives disciplined in finance, business development and marketing. These seasoned professionals will work hand in hand with licensing companies to ensure their success. The Center is also being supervised day to day by a full-time Managing Director, Mr. Les Neumann, Founder and President of Business Forensics, LLC, a business consulting company in New City."

For information on the newly launched Hudson Valley Center for Innovation, Inc. incubator, contact Les Neumann, Managing Director, at 845-634-1911, and/or visit www.hvcfi.com.

RBA Technology Intitiative's purpose:

• exploring the effects of broadband technology in your business and home

• monitoring the technology growth and development in Rockland County

• providing you with information and answering your questions.