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Who We Are |
EquityNet™, LLC is dedicated to providing innovative software tools and services to the private-equity investment marketplace, including specialized web-based applications that allow investors and entrepreneurs to dramatically improve the efficiency and value of the investment process.
EquityNet offers a secure and independent platform that enables market participants to make better decisions in less time than with conventional methods. Our patent-pending flagship application, Enterprise Analyzer™, is the first in a planned series of novel applications devoted to generating increased market-based efficiencies in the private-equity marketplace.
Management Team
Dr. R. R. (Ron) Goforth
Chief Executive Officer
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Dr. Goforth is the co-founder of EquityNet and is responsible for the overall management of the Company, specifically charged
with maintaining its fiscal and professional integrity and corporate planning functions. Further, Dr. Goforth acts as primary
interface with investors and other stakeholders and works to ensure overall corporate operational efficiency.
Dr. Goforth is a serial entrepreneur and has been active in management and consulting to private sector organizations,
governmental agencies, and academic institutions for more than 25 years. He has been most actively involved in three
areas: software engineering and development project management; scientific and engineering R&D management;
and organizational development and team building in organizations with technical missions in the U.S. and internationally.
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Dr. Goforth served for 10 years as the Director of Research and Environmental Affairs for Syncrude Canada, Ltd.
Subsequently, he was a tenured Professor of Computer Systems Engineering and adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering at
the University of Arkansas, where he was the founding director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems
and of the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Laboratory (AMTL). He also served as a Senior Research Fellow at the U.S. Navy
NHRC in San Diego, California, and was a Fulbright Fellow at the University of the South Pacific. Dr. Goforth also held
a royal appointment as Professor of Computer Systems Engineering at the Suranaree University of Technology in Thailand.
In 1999 he founded Beta-Rubicon, Inc., an active technology assessment firm. Dr. Goforth earned his B.S. and his M.S. from
the University of Arkansas and his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Judd E. Hollas
Chief Technology Officer
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Mr. Hollas is the co-founder and chief architect of EquityNet and continues to lead the Company’s efforts to develop and introduce innovative new products and services. He is responsible for maintaining the integrity of commercialized technologies as well as driving the direction, development, and intellectual protection of future technologies. Prior to co-founding EquityNet, LLC in 2005, Mr. Hollas served three years as the Division Manager for Underwriting and Progress Monitoring for Beta-Rubicon, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in technology assessment and business due diligence. He coordinated the development and management of services for risk assessment and monitoring of early-stage, private enterprises. During this time, he conducted extensive research in the areas of enterprise risk prediction, valuation methodologies, and marketplace dynamics in the private equity industry.
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Mr. Hollas has over 10 years of experience as an independent technology analyst and investment manager in the private and public domains. During periods of active management, Mr. Hollas has achieved an average annual return on investment of over 30%. As an analyst, he developed advanced research methodologies, quantitative modeling capabilities, and broad expertise in marketplace dynamics that were instrumental in the performance of his managed investments. His research focused on conventional and emerging technologies, with an emphasis on assessing the technical feasibility, competitive market viability, management capabilities, and economic potential of these technologies and the enterprises commercializing them. Prior to his career as an analyst and investment manager, Mr. Hollas worked for several years on process and supply chain automation as a process engineer for Phillips Petroleum. During this time, he gained valuable expertise in modeling and process automation of complex systems that spanned Phillips’ largest petrochemical facility. Mr. Hollas earned his B.S in Chemical Engineering (with Honors) from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is pursuing accreditation as a Chartered Financial Analyst with the CFA Institute.
Jerry L. Watkins
Chief Financial Officer
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Mr. Watkins is responsible for financial and accounting aspects of EquityNet. Before joining EquityNet he was responsible
for developing the early-stage financial and strategic business planning model for Beta-Rubicon, Inc. His early-stage
experience includes design, organization and implementation of financial systems, cash management systems, and
enterprise infrastructure development to support a start-up business with significant early growth. Mr. Watkins
has extensive experience in operations and finance and at various times served as Corporate Financial Analyst, Plant
Controller, Operations Controller, Director of Administration, Director of Finance, and Facility General Manager for
General Dynamics Corporation. He was Vice President of Finance for American Fuel Cell and Coated Fabrics Company in
Magnolia, Arkansas, and then for Daisy
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Manufacturing Company of Rogers, Arkansas. Mr. Watkins also served as CEO and Acquisition Consultant for the Woodward Investment
Group. Mr. Watkins has a solid background in the automation and management of financial and business systems. His expertise includes
capabilities in planning, developing, and coordinating specialized projects, and he is experienced in restructuring and
revitalizing operations. Mr. Watkins holds a B.S. degree in Biology from Arkansas State University and an M.B.A. degree in
Finance from Washington University, St. Louis.
Peter van Kooij
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
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Mr. Van Kooij is a veteran sales professional with wide experience in global technology sales, with over 20 years experience in international high-tech sales. Mr. van Kooij is charged with developing, implementing, and executing sales and marketing strategies, initiatives, and programs designed to promote service product awareness and sales growth and to maximize sales productivity and drive new business development. He also teams with the corporate management to develop next-generation products and services from EquityNet’s pipeline to meet the expanding needs of current and future clients.
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Prior to joining EquityNet in mid-2007, Mr. van Kooij was a Global Account Manager with DELL, Inc. in Austin, Texas. He began his U.S. DELL assignment as an acquisition account manager, until tasked to turn around some specific global accounts. Prior to his twelve years with DELL in Austin, he was Business Development Manager in DELL’s then-newly-formed Multinational Account Program in Bracknell, United Kingdom, where he led the global acquisition team and acquired new European-headquartered global targets. His initial assignment with DELL was with DELL Netherlands B.V. in Amsterdam, where he started the VAR program for that group and where he also served as a local account manager on some of DELL’s large international accounts. Before he joined DELL in 1995, he was with ICL BV (the Dutch subsidiary of British International Computers Limited, later ICL-Fujitsu) in Amsterdam, where he was account manager for some of ICL’s largest accounts. Mr. van Kooij earned his law degree at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, and his first professional experience was with Transatlantica BV in the Netherlands, handling the legal aspects of large reinsurance contracts that were being terminated due to the dismantling of that company.
Victoria Coppett Sowder
Manager of Administration
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Victoria Coppett Sowder is responsible for administrative and public relations duties and is the go-to person for
project research and editing. She had a 25+ year administrative career at the University of Arkansas College of
Engineering, including the position of Operations Manager for the GENESIS Technology Incubator (which served start-up
technology-oriented companies), where she was the liaison between the GENESIS director, the GENESIS client companies,
and the public.
Ms. Sowder earned her B.A. in English at the University of Arkansas and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, as well as a
graduate the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Fayetteville Class XII.
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