Future Founders Appoints Three Board Members, Expands Startup Program Team

CHICAGO, Feb. 1, 2016

Maria Burud, President, Zanon Group; Shep Dunlap, Vice President of Investor Relations, Motorola Solutions; and Matthew Goldfine, Content Architect, Google, joined the Board in January after serving as active mentors for our students and advisory board members for the organization.

Maria Burud brings 20+ years of experience in the technology and professional services industry, predominantly dedicated to sales and marketing. Burud is President of Zanon Group, a sales and marketing training and consulting firm that helps companies increase revenues through sales execution and marketing programs. Prior to Zanon, Burud ran Worldwide Sales at Placeware, Inc., a privately held Silicon Valley startup, doubling revenues to $50 million in the year prior to an acquisition by Microsoft in 2003. Burud earned a bachelor's degree in Marketing from Loyola University of Chicago. She sits on multiple advisory boards and is active as an advisor and mentor for 1871 and the Women's Business Development Center.

Shep Dunlap is Vice President of Investor Relations for Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI), where he is responsible for executing MSI's global investor communications program. He also provides information on MSI's operating results and business strategies to institutional investors and sell-side securities analysts. Before joining MSI, Dunlap worked at Dell, Inc. in various roles, including investor relations, corporate planning, services marketing, and corporate audit. Dunlap earned an MBA in finance from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor of science from Kansas State University. He is also a CPA in the State of Texas. Dunlap serves on the board for the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).

Matthew Goldfine serves as a Content Architect at Google and brings more than a decade of experience and notable achievement within the media and marketing industry. Prior to joining Google, Goldfine served as the Vice President, Key Account Director at Defy Media where he was accountable for generating new revenue for key clients and their agency partners. Matthew has also held marketing and sales positions at Viacom and ESPN International. Matthew graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two children.

Burud, Dunlap and Goldfine join founding Board members Brad Keywell, CEO and Co-Founder, Uptake; Mark Hoyt, CFO, VASCO Data Security; Phyllis Lockett, CEO, LEAP Innovations; James O'Connor, Jr., Managing Director and Global Head of Venture Capital, William Blair & Company; Kevin Willer, Co-Founder & Partner, Chicago Ventures; and Scott Issen, President & CEO, Future Founders.

Katie Sowa was promoted from Director of Community Engagement to Senior Director, Startups. Katie joined Future Founders in 2014 to help launch and lead Future Founders Startup, which provides a dynamic platform to engage, equip and empower collegiate entrepreneurs. Since its launch, Future Founders has worked with 1,000+ college students, launched a successful entrepreneurial Fellowship program, and created valuable community and university partnerships.  Katie has an extensive background in the startup space, most recently serving as Director of Operations for the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (CEO), a collegiate entrepreneurship network with chapters on hundreds of university campuses across North America. Katie received her MBA from DePaul University and graduated summa cum laude from Bradley University with a BA in Entrepreneurship and Business Administration.