Entrepreneurial Advisors
Cottonwood is pleased by the support offered by our Special General Partners whose experience and relationships expand the network and resources we can offer to portfolio companies.
Chuck Call
Chuck is currently Vice President of Sales at ICx (Nasdaq – ICXT) with responsibility for corporate strategy and business development associated two key product growth targets: protecting critical infrastructure from WMD threats and cargo security. Chuck was the original founder of Mesosystems (acquired by ICx in 2005 for $20 million), having left Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with a license to technology under their Entrepreneurial Leave of Absence program. Under his leadership, the company raised angel and venture capital, grew to 35 employees and developed, marketed and produced innovative new products and technologies for biological defense and national security such as the BioCapture® handheld air sampler and the AirSentinel® bio-threat sensor. Over $50 million of the company’s research and development has been funded by DARPA, DHS, the Army and other federal agencies through competitive bids.
Chuck has a passion for mentoring entrepreneurs. This is evidenced by the fact that at least six members of his management team left MesoSystems and went on to start their own technology start-ups. Examples include Patricia Irving (Innovatek, www.tekkie.com), Andrew Kamholz (Edge Embossing, www.edge-embossing.com), and Reza Shekarriz (Fluid Analytics, www.fluid-analytics.com). Over the past several years, Chuck has become an active member of the New Mexico Angels. He has made nine investments in six companies in the past two years, including Cashsteam, Gourmet Pet Supply, One-Connect IP, Acoustic Cytometry Systems (ACS), Knowledge Reef Systems, and Vista Therapeutics. Chuck was a Board visitor to ACS prior to its acquisition by Invitrogen, and is currently on board member of Vista Therapeutics.
Alan Abbott
Alan is Chairman of Sunland Optical Company, Inc. and President of Lynwood Garden Investments, Inc. in El Paso, Texas. He is an active private equity investor. He currently serves on the board of the Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization (RCIC), the Investment Committee for the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, the Dean’s Advisory Board for the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine and is a member of the Paso del Norte Group where he serves on the Innovation Ecosystem Task Force.
Alan spent seventeen years in public accounting culminating with the sale of his own firm. He was a major shareholder and director of Valley Bank and Montwood National Bank where he served on the executive board and the investment and loan committees. In public accounting and banking, he worked extensively with small and start-up businesses. After selling Montwood National Bank to State National Bank, he served another seven years on the community board of the acquirer. He has started and operated a land development and a property management business. He served as a community development volunteer in Cerro Chato, Uruguay with the United States Peace Corps where he helped start an agricultural school for rural youth.
Alan was a founding director and Screening Committee Chairman for the Camino Real Angel Network. He was appointed by the Governor of Texas as a founding Director of the Emerging Technology Fund. He served as a Trustee of Pacific University where he served on the Finance and Investment Committees. He served as Chairman and advisory board member of the regional and local Small Business Administration. He has served on numerous other commercial and charitable boards.
Alan is a graduate of Stanford University and studied at the Florence, Italy campus, has an MBA from the University of Texas at El Paso, is a Certified Public Accountant and speaks Spanish.
Victor Arias, Jr.
Victor boasts more than a decade of executive recruitment experience gained through working at several of the world’s most preeminent search firms. His clients, which range from medium-sized to major global firms, benefit greatly from his deep knowledge of Latin America and expertise in the area of diversity.
Prior to his executive search career, Victor spent 15 years in the corporate and commercial real estate business, working at Jones Lang LaSalle in Chicago and as EVP of marketing for the Las Colinas development in Dallas.
Victor currently serves on the board of directors of AFC Enterprises (NASDAQ:AFCE) and the board of advisors for the University of Notre Dame Institute of Latino Studies. He is a trustee emeritus on the Stanford University board of trustees and a member of the Stanford GSB Advisory Council and the UTEP Development Committee. Victor is a past White House Fellows Commissioner and past national president and co-founder of the National Society of Hispanic MBA’s.
Victor earned his master’s of business administration degree from Stanford University and his bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Texas at El Paso.
