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Mr. Winter has a long history in venture capital and private investing. Prior to co-founding daVinci Capital Group, he was a Founding Managing Partner of Rocket Ventures, a $70 million venture capital firm focused on software, semiconductor and communications. His investments included FlyteComm, SmartDB, Financial Interactive, TriCN and Clairvoyante. He also served as the CEO and Chairman of one of Rocket’s portfolio companies, Financial Interactive.

Prior to co-founding Rocket Ventures, Mr. Winter founded Menlo Park Group that still provides investment and strategic consulting. Projects have included:

• Acting as a technology investment advisor to various investment funds including a $500 million hedge fund where Mr. Winter’s efforts led to over $100 million of investments in the technology sector. Returns exceeded 40% annually.
• Identifying various technology-oriented buyout targets (e.g., $150 million public low-technology information management turnaround situation), evaluating opportunities and creating detailed business plans for restructuring and growth.
• Providing strategic consulting to both major corporations and entrepreneurial ventures in the areas of strategy, marketing, corporate development and investment funding. Assignments have included market competitive analysis (HP); strategic product assessment (IBM/Lotus); M&A and corporate partnering; venture spin-outs (Electric Power Research Institute—EPRI).

Earlier in his career, Mr. Winter was a General Partner at Comdisco Ventures, a venture capital affiliate of Comdisco, a $4 billion financial service and leasing company, and a Senior Associate at Canaan Partners, a $400+ million venture capital fund, where he also served as acting CEO of an optical components manufacturer. While at Comdisco Ventures, his equity investment returns exceeded 130% annually over a 6-year period.

• Investments at Comdisco included CombiChem (CCHM), Digital Generation Systems (DGIT), Endwave (EDWV), NeoMagic (NMGC), Network Appliance (NTAP), NVidia (NVDA), Positive Communications, Peerless Logic (PRLS), Pharmacyclies (PCYC), Sequana Therapeutics (SGNA).

He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering (with a minor in Biochemistry) from Rice University and an MBA from Harvard University.

Mr. Winter serves as a board member or advisor for a number of start-ups. He is an Angel Investor in a number of companies --- including eHealthInsurance (EHTH), The Active Network (ACTV), Ustream. Also, he is on the board of a number of non-profit institutions --- including Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Hiller Aviation Museum, VC Taskforce and Harvard Business School Tech Alumni Association.