GreatPoint Ventures (GPV) is a specialized venture development firm focusing on seed-stage commercialization of exciting, new technologies. GPV invests in "big picture" opportunities that have the potential to lead innovation and transform markets. GPV has been active in a broad spectrum of investment sectors including biotech, energy, cleantech, telecommunications, material science and semiconductors and believes that a "market first" investment philosophy holds true across industries.

Aaron Mandell is Co-founder and Managing Partner of GreatPoint Ventures. Mr. Mandell is also co-founder and a member of the Board of Directors of GreatPoint Energy; a leading technology-driven natural resources company producing clean natural gas from coal, pet coke, biomass and wastes. Mr. Mandell identified the original technology on which GPE was formed and assembled and managed engineering/R&D as the company's Chief Technology Officer until July 2007. Mr. Mandell is also founder and chairman of the board of Ethos (Latin American agro-energy development) and founder and chairman of the board of Coskata (a leader in next generation cellulosic fuels). In 2007, he also joined the board of directors of Altarock, an enhanced geothermal power development company he co-founded.

Previously, Mr. Mandell co-founded and was CTO of Coatue where he was responsible for technology development of the company's polymer memory chip (acquired by NYSE: AMD in 2004).

Mr. Mandell has a technical background in environmental engineering and conducted his graduate research on groundwater remediation and modeling with Dr. George Pinder under a joint fellowship at the University of Vermont and Tel-Aviv University in Israel. Since his early undergraduate years, Mr. Mandell's passion has always been in the science and engineering of the environment and in the interaction human beings develop with the planet and our natural resources. Mr. Mandell holds a Bachelors and Masters of Science in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the University of Vermont and has held visiting scientist appointments at MIT and Tel-Aviv University. Mr. Mandell is a member of the Board of Advisors of the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Vermont.

Andrew Perlman is a serial entrepreneur who since the age of nineteen has co-founded four companies in as many industries. Andrew was selected by the Boston Business Journal as one of its "40 Under 40" top forty most promising business people under age 40 in Massachusetts. He was also profiled by the Wall Street Journal as one of its leading young entrepreneurs "on the move."

Andrew is currently the CEO and co-founder of GreatPoint Energy. Prior to that, he oversaw the founding of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, a venture backed biotech company located in Waltham.

From 2000 through 2003 , Andrew served as the chief executive officer and co-founder of Coatue Corporation, where he orchestrated the merger of Coatue with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in June of 2003. From 1995 through 2000, Andrew founded and served as the president of Cignal Global Communications, an international voice and data communications carrier where he raised over $55 million in venture capital and built the company to 20 offices throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, 200 employees and $60 million in revenues.

In 2000, he oversaw the sale of the company to United Pan-European Communications, the leading cable television company in Europe.

Avi Goldberg has been with GreatPoint Ventures since inception and is currently the chief operating officer at GreatPoint Energy. Prior to joining GPV, he was the chief operating officer and co-founder of Coatue Corporation responsible for managing all legal, financial and operational planning functions for the company.

From 1998 through 2001, Avi served as Director of Worldwide Sales and Network Optimization at Cignal Global Communications where he managed sales and cost containment for Cignal's core business units, generating $50 million a year in revenue. Prior to that, he led the planning, development, and management of several Non-Profit and Federal Grants at Holt, Wexler and Farnum in Connecticut. Avi received a BA in Political Science and Strategic Intelligence, magnacum laude from Boston University.

Brian Freeman, MD, MA, is a Venture Partner at GreatPoint Ventures, where he heads the group's biopharmaceutical efforts. He is the founder of Zafgen, Inc., and served as the company's founding Vice President of Business Development.

He was formerly an Engagement Manager at MEDACorp, now Leerink Swann Strategic Advisors, a division of the #1-ranked healthcare focused investment bank Leerink Swann & Co., where he advised pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on in-licensing, strategic acquisitions, pipeline prioritization, and clinical development. Previously he worked with the Neuroscience Clinical Development group at Wyeth and in medical diagnostics development at Mitsubishi Pharma.

Dr. Freeman performed his clinical training in neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, and obtained his medical degree and Masters in Molecular Cell Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. His graduate research focused on gene therapy directed at the hematopoietic system. Dr. Freeman completed his undergraduate studies at MIT.

David Gerzof is the founder and president of BIGfish Communications, a full-service marketing and communications firm that specializes in assisting start-up companies with their media and marketing needs. As the president of BIGfish Communications, Mr. Gerzof has helped guide over 20 emerging companies through their start-up communication challenges, creating value along the way so that they might achieve their exit strategies.

Prior to founding BIGfish, Mr. Gerzof was the Director of Corporate Communications for Cignal Global Communications, an international voice and data communications carrier. As Director of Corporate Communications for Cignal, Mr. Gerzof was responsible for all external communications including: media relations, web-based communications, marketing collateral, and image positioning.

Throughout his career Mr. Gerzof has focused himself on entrepreneurial public relations, bridging relationships and positioning news stories with top tier media outlets. Mr. Gerzof is a professor of marketing and media relations at Emerson College, holds a Master of Arts in Integrated Marketing Communication from Emerson College and a Bachelor of Arts from Boston University.

Ben Jabbawy is an associate at GreatPoint Ventures, focusing on business development and operations for early stage cleantech and biotech portfolio companies. Previously, Ben worked as an analyst at GreatPoint Energy, a venture-backed natural resource company, producing natural gas from coal through a proprietary technology called hydromethanation.

Ben has held positions at UBS Financial Services and Lux Research, a global market research firm focused on advanced technologies. While at Lux, he co-authored The Nanotech Report, a widely distributed reference guide for Fortune 500 companies and corporate investors.

Ben received a B.S. in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University.

Eli Sapir is an Entrepreneur in Residence at GreatPoint Ventures; exploring opportunities in cloud computing and mobile technologies. Eli has extensive hands-on experience with start-up companies, in both Israel and the United States. His expertise lies in accelerated software development, technology licensing and acquisition. Most recently, Eli co-founded Tiverias Apps, a venture backed mobile development company that produced the 17th top selling app (GPush) on the iPhone App Store.

Prior to taking an EIR position at GreatPoint Ventures, Eli fulfilled numerous roles of increasing responsibility at DVtel, the dominant market player in the creation, development, and delivery of Multi-source Intelligence and Security Systems over IP, and at GreatPoint Energy, a venture-backed natural resource company, producing natural gas from coal through a proprietary technology called hydromethanation.

Eli served as a teaching assistant in information systems, while pursuing his B.S. in business administration, with a concentration in finance, at Boston University's School of Management.