Press Release
Contact: Cassandra Cranston |
Phone: (919) 549-7500 |
Council for Entrepreneurial Development Announces Staff Additions and Promotions
Staff Expands to Support CED’s Growing Agenda
Research Triangle Park, N.C., March 5, 2008 – The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) announced the addition of four new team members – Jim Ford, Chief Operating Officer; Cassandra Cranston, Senior Manager Marketing and Communications; Elizabeth Call, Program Coordinator for Conferences and Kristen Jeffers, Program Coordinator for Entrepreneurial Programs. Management changes include the promotion of Seth Harward, Director of Business Development; Jessica Hegele, Senior Manager of Conferences; Dhruv Patel, Manager of Capital and Technology Development; and Evelyn Williams, Membership Services Manager.
Jim Ford joins CED as the Chief Operation Officer with over 20 years of experience in Finance and Operations management. For the past 18 years. Ford has served in senior management positions within the Research Triangle Park including Covelight Systems, Inc. as CFO; Motricity as Sr. Vice President for finance and operations; OpenSite Technologies, as VP Finance and Operations; Ericsson Mobile Phones and Terminals as Finance Controller for Research and Development for U.S. operations; and Ventana Commuications as VP Finance and Operations. His tenure concluded in the successful sale of the organizations at Covelight, OpenSite and Ventana. Ford holds a Masters degree in Management from Florida State University and received his Bachelors degree in accounting and finance from Gardner-Webb University.
Cassandra Cranston joins CED as Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications where she develops and executes strategic marketing initiatives. Cranston graduated from Daemen College in Amherst, NY with a Bachelor of Science specializing in marketing. Most recently, she was the General Manager of CNS Software, a sales and software development company located in Cary, NC. Before relocating to the triangle four years ago, she lived in Buffalo, NY where she held several sales, marketing and public relations positions. Cranston sits on the Board of Directors for the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce and People Helping People Southeast.
Elizabeth Call joins CED as the Program Coordinator for Conferences, where she is responsible for coordinating all of CED’s major conferences. Call earned a B.S. in Business Management with a concentration in marketing and a minor in accounting from North Carolina State University. Prior to joining CED full-time, Call worked for the North Carolina State Employees’ Credit Union as a Financial Services Officer; completed an internship as a Program Manager at CED; and was a Loan Services Counsleor for Wachovia Dealer Services.
Kristen Jeffers joins CED as the Program Coordinator for Entrepreneurial Programs, where she is responsible for coordinating CED’s entrepreneurial programs. Jeffers graduated with a B.A. in Communications with a concentration in public relations from North Carolina State University. While earning her degree, Jeffers worked at the NCSU Department of Computer Science and NCSU Industrial Extension Service as a communication intern for each.
Seth Harward joined CED in February of 2004 as the Membership Development Manager and later transitioned into the Sr. Manager of Business Development. His prior experience includes Sr. Sales at area start-up, Bandwidth.com. He earned a B.A. in Communications from UNC Chapel Hill. Harward has been promoted to CED’s Director of Business Development.
Jessica Hegele joined CED in January of 2006 as an intern and joined full time in July 2006 as the Program Manager for Conferences. She is responsible for executing CED’s annual industry-specific conferences. Maintaining conference participant communication, marketing and program content are a few of her key responsibilities. She also organizes CED’s Biotech Forums in collaboration with the NC Biotechnology Center. Hegele has been promoted to Senior Manager for Conferences and has additionally assumed the role of Conference Director.
Dhruv Patel joined CED in September 2006 as the Program Manager for Capital and Technology Development. Prior to CED, Patel worked with the Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network as the Director of Research and Roundtables where he conducted industry research and directed CEO roundtables. While earning his graduate degree, Patel worked as a Licensing Associate in the Office of Technology Transfer at UNC Greensboro. Patel completed his undergraduate degree while living in India where he worked for the largest private sector bank in the country – ICICI. Patel has been promoted to Senior Manager of Capital and Technology Development at CED and is in charge of running all entrepreneurial education and capital programs.
Evelyn Williams has worked at CED since December 1997, and during that time, she has served in various capacities within the organization. Her most recent positions at CED were conference sponsorship and services manager, and executive assistant. Her job duties have included managing the relationship between CED and its Board of Directors and major donors; providing benefits fulfillment to all sponsors of CED’s major conferences and Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards; logistical planning for annual conferences and other events; acting as a liaison between CED and key external partners; and serving as staff “proofer” and general CED resource. Williams started her current position as Membership Services Manager in June 2007. This new position allows her more direct and personal contact with CED’s 5,000+ members.
About the Council for Entrepreneurial Development
The Council for Entrepreneurial Development,
headquartered in Research Triangle
Park, is a private, non-profit organization
formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation
and growth of high-impact companies
in the Research Triangle, North Carolina
and Southeast region. Since 2001,
CED has helped triangle-area companies
raise over $2.6 billion in venture
capital. CED provides education, mentoring
and capital formation resources to
new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs
through annual conferences, seminars,
workshops and programs on entrepreneurial
management and finance. CED is the
largest and oldest entrepreneurial
support organization in the nation
with more than 5,000 members representing
over 1,100 entrepreneurial companies,
financiers and professional firms.
For more information, visit www.cednc.org.
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