Ross Gittell is the James R. Carter Professor at the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics. Professor Gittell’s scholarly focus involves applying economic, organizational and management theory to regional, state, and community economic development issues. His main areas of specialization and research include entrepreneurship, the environment and the economy, and collaborative public and private sector economic development efforts. He is the author of two books and over 70 academic articles. In 2002 Professor Gittell received the University of New Hampshire’s Excellence in Public Service award and in 2004 the University’s Outstanding Associate Professor award. Professor Gittell’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Energy Foundation. His applied research activities include work for the states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, the New Hampshire Business & Industry Association, the State of New Hampshire’s, Department of Environmental Services, the New Hampshire Small Development Center, the Children’s Alliance of New Hampshire and the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy. Professor Gittell is Vice President, forecast manager and on the board of the New England Economic Project. He is also on the board of the Exeter Trust Company, the Endowment for Health, Exeter Health Services and Exeter Hospital. Ross Gittell received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, M.B.A. from University of California at Berkeley, and A.B in Economics from the University of Chicago

Dr. Merenda is a Professor of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship and Chair of the Management Departments in the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire. His current research interests are in: Case research, The Role of Entrepreneurial Education in Fostering Entrepreneurship; TMT Experience in Venture Creation and The Strategic Use of Information Technology in SME Competitiveness. His research has appeared in: International Journal of E-Business Research, International Journal of Case Method Research & Application, Journal of Excellence in College Teaching, The Case Research Journal, Telecommunication Policy, Journal of Industrial and Corporate Change, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship, and International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. Mike is Director of the University’s Annual Holloway Prize, Innovation-To-Market Competition and his students regularly participate in the Annual I2P (Idea to Product) Global Competition. Mike received his B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Northeastern University and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts.