Speaker Biographies

Gene Slowinski is the Director of Strategic Alliance Research at the Graduate School of Management, Rutgers University and Managing Partner of the Alliance Management Group, a consulting firm devoted to the formation and management of strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions. Prior to forming the Alliance Management Group, he held management positions at AT&T Bell Laboratories, and Novartis Corporation. In addition to a Ph.D. in Management, Gene holds an MBA, and a Masters Degree in the sciences. He is a member of Los Alamos National Laboratory's Technology Commercialization Advisory Board

For the last 25 years Dr. Slowinski has consulted and conducted research on the formation and management of strategic alliances, joint ventures, mergers, and acquisitions. His clients include many Fortune 500 firms. An author and lecturer, Gene has presented his work to The Conference Board, the Licensing Executives Society, The Industrial Research Institute, and The American Electronics Association. His articles on managing strategic alliances can be found in Business Horizons, Research*Technology Management, Mergers and Acquisitions, Economic Development Quarterly, Les Nouvelles, Cooperative Strategies in International Business, The Journal of Advanced Management, and Managing the High Technology Firm. With Matt Sagal, he co-authored the book The Strongest Link. His new book, Reinventing Corporate Growth is the leading book on growing the corporation.

Dr. Raksis recently retired as Sr. Vice President, Research & New Market Development, for the Flint Ink Corporation, a private, family-owned company, and the world's second largest supplier of printing inks. He was responsible for all technical, marketing and strategic planning activities. He led the formation of three new spin off companies, and was CEO for one of them, Precisia. He has also worked part-time with the National Science Foundation, administering SBIR grants for small, technology-based companies.

Earlier in his career, he was Vice President, R&D for the W.R. Grace Co., and held several research and management positions with the Dow Chemical Co.

Dr. Raksis has also served in Board and officer positions with numerous professional and community service organizations. He was Chairman (2003-2004) of the Industrial Research Institute, was a founding Board member of the James Rouse Entrepreneurial Fund, a fund to assist small start-up companies in Columbia, MD, and served on the Boards of Directors of the Howard County, Maryland, Economic Development Authority and Chamber of Commerce.

He holds a BS degree in Chemistry from Wilkes University, and a Ph.D in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine.