Formed in 2004 & Founding Fathers
Riverside Technology CEO Forum was formed in 2004 when several members of the high technology community in Riverside approached Satish Tripathi, the then Dean of Bourns College of Engineering at University of California, Riverside to form a network of intelligent resources, collaborating and supporting Riverside Technology companies.
The founding fathers of RTCF were high technology executives in Riverside: William Saito of IO Software, Sundip R. Doshi of Surado Solutions, Inc., Amro Albanna of Qmotions, Shaun Hammer of Fata Hunter and Brian Hawley of Luminex.
In Collaboration with University of California, Riverside
Facalitated by Dean Tripathi, RTCF had their first meeting at Bourns College of Engineering (BCOE), UCR. Today, RTCF continues to have its monthly meetings at BCOE. BCOE was the first and most significant collaborator to the success of RTCF.
The Formative Years: 2004-2006
Early objectives of RTCF was to advance High Technology Business Environment for companies through collaboration with each other, University and City/Community.
During these early years, Accomplishments included:
- Meeting with Mayor Ronald Loveridge
- Guiding Principles were adopted
- RTCF's first website was launched
- Coordination with High Technology Task Force (HTTF) and its recommendations
- Monthly Meetings at UCR Bourns College of Engineering
- Formation of Working Groups with specific goals
- Election of Brian Hawley of Luminex as RTCFs first Chairperson
Initial Membership
By 2006, RTCF membership group grew to include Gordon Bourns of Bourns, Rajan Kasetty of Infotech Software, Agenor Neto-Mafra of ISCA Technologies. These groups of technologly leaders and the intial founders dedicated time and effort to build a foundation of guiding principles on which RTCF continues to build on.
Meetings were held on the first Monday of every month at Bourns College of Engineering at UCR.
RTCF Open House - September, 2007
Under the leadership of Chairman Brian Hawley, RTCF had its first Open House in September 2007 at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California. The event attracted local high technology companies as well as collaborators including Bourns College of Engineering-UCR, City of Riverside, RCC/Tri-Tech, CNAS-UCR, AGSM-UCR, OTC-UCR and Tech Coast Angels. By this time, there were more than 14 member companies from the initial 4 member companies that started RTCF. The event showcased the dedication, reach and accomplishments of RTCF.
Making a Difference
2007 through 2008 continued to be important years as the working groups were clearly making a difference in the local community as more and more programs continued to take shape and impact the region. Success included sponsorship of local events, mentoring of students, presentations by members, professors and guests, business and social networking and attracting funding sources including Tech Coast Angels.
New Leadership from 2009-2010
In August of 2008, Sundip R. Doshi, CEO of Surado Solutions, Inc., was elected as the new Chairman of RTCF as Brian Hawley of Luminex step down after serving for more than 2 years. Also at this time Helen Chen of Ambryx Biotechnology was elected as Chair-Elect.
Under the leadership of Sundip R. Doshi, RTCF continued to see growth in CEO & Collaborator membership as well as growing reach into the Inland Empire. New Collaborators included the Deans of Anderson Schools of Business David Stewart as well as College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Tom Baldwin fromm UCR. Also joining the CEO forum were Deans of College of Engineering Anthony Dolandson and College of Business Andy Herrity from California Baptist University.
New initiatives including expanding innovation incubators included member companies playing a huge role including Acorn Technologies, Surado Solutions, Inc., Bourns, Inc. and Innovation Economy Corporation. These companies provided incubator space, business expertise and resources to innovative start-ups.
Continued outreach to promote technology transfer helped new innovation take shape. New start-ups were formed with RTCF playing a crucial role in supporting and promoting companies like StopTheHacker.com, Jacquard Computing, Broken Circles, Sendgrid, Inc., Paramount Sensors and more.
Members Play Active Role in Promoting Technology in Riverside
RTCF played a huge role in the City and County of Riverside to promote and create an environment that promoted companies that brought innovation to the region and the world. In doing so, members participated and provided thousands of man hours to help the city.
In June of 2009, Mayor Ronald Loveridge credited RTCF Chairman Sundip R. Doshi for bringing change to the city's new motto from City of Arts & Culture to City of Arts & Innovation. The change in this motto was the starting point to major changes in the way the City of Riverside started marketing itself. Seizing Our Destiny - The Agenda for Riverside's Innovation Future continued to focus on quality of life. RTCF Members continued to play a huge role in shaping the Agenda as well as being board members in various local organizations in helping bring technology to Riverside.