Entrepreneurs in Residence

J. Sean Branagan

Sean Branagan is president of Communigration, Inc., a technology marketing firm, headquartered in Syracuse, NY, (in the Syracuse Technology Garden) with technology business clients across the US and UK. He is also a partner in C3 Strategic, LLC, a management consulting firm that works with businesses nationwide seeking change (growth, funding, new markets, etc.), providing them with traditional management consulting services - as well as Transition Management Team services (human capital investment attached to performance).

Sean is a recognized expert in interactive marketing and has made a career of developing innovative marketing and interactive marketing plans for technology and business-to-business companies.

A graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, much of Sean's career experience has been in marketing and communications with firms selling technical products and services. Most recently, he has served as Senior Director of Marketing for a $125 million national IT and Internet Services Company headquartered in Boston's Route 128 technology sector.

Sean's experience with the Internet and World Wide Web began in 1993 at a national super computing center. Since then, he has engaged in online strategy, interactive marketing and major website producing for organizations nationwide, including most-notably the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Cutco Cutlery, the DuPont Registry, Federal Business Council, Indium Corporation of America, Lighthouse International, MariSafe, NaviSite, Rack Room Shoes, Time-Warner/Road Runner, Welch-Allyn and Wilton-Armetale.

For five years, Sean has taught a graduate-level course in interactive marketing and advertising at Syracuse University's Newhouse School. He has lectured at other universities and has presented to business groups at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Caterpillar, NYS's Dept of State, and Carrier Corp. He has also presented at seminars, conferences and trade shows in New York, San Francisco, Raleigh, Tampa, Charlotte, Maui, Austin, Buffalo, Denver, and Washington, DC. In 2003, Sean was invited to present at Internet World in San Jose, CA.

Stephen Suhowatsky

Steve is a seasoned executive with Fortune 500 and mid-market company management experience. With an MBA from the Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania), Steve recently served as President and CEO of Panthus Corporation a $150 million mini-conglomerate company with major business holdings in construction equipment (Caterpillar), computer leasing and financing, industrial supplies and home healthcare services. He helped guide the company when it was a public company (then known as Syracuse Supply Company) as it divested itself from holdings in shrinking markets (industrial supplies) and invested in new growth areas (home health services and computer leasing).

In the course of his leadership with the company, Steve personally championed and started the home healthcare business (in Durable Medical Equipment, Oxygen, and Infusion) de novo by making five acquisitions and then starting up eight more companies that were combined into an eight-state northeast organization. Steve also started a medical equipment leasing company to complement the home healthcare business, and ended up selling the home healthcare business in two transactions to national companies.

Prior to Syracuse Supply, Steve held management positions with increasing levels of responsibility at Eagle Picher, a Fortune 500 diversified manufacturing company. There he worked on acquisition of five companies in the bronze bearing industry; four distribution companies and one manufacturing company. All were turnaround situations that were rolled up into one organization. His final position with the company was as Group Vice President in charge of five operating divisions.

Active throughout his career in the business community, Steve has served on numerous not-for-profit boards, as well as boards of statewide and national organizations. Notably, Steve is a member of the Board of Directors of Excellus, Inc. (former Blue Cross/ Blue Shield) and has been involved in guiding that firm through several mergers and acquisitions. Today the organization is part of a $4 billion family of companies that finances and delivers health care services and the largest of its type in New York State.

Stephen P. Malak

Stephen P. Malak joined the organization as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence in March 2009. In this role Mr. Malak provides advice and counsel to Tech Garden clients with particular emphasis initially on companies associated with The Tech Garden's DoD Commercialization Assistance Program (DoD CAP).

Steve was formerly vice president and general counsel of John Mezzalingua Associates, Inc. (dba PPC) in East Syracuse, NY, a global OEM of coaxial cable and RF products for the cable/TV, satellite, Telco and wireless industries. In that role he recommended and directed all IP litigation and enforcement actions and participated in all general business operations including strategic planning, new product recommendation, and evaluation of business venture opportunities. He is an inventor and co-inventor of over 45 US and foreign patents issued and/or pending.

Prior to joining PPC in 1998, Steve was Group Legal Counsel to five recreational product divisions at Brunswick Corporation. He counseled the various divisions through four major acquisitions totaling over $500 million. Earlier he co-founded Lineax Instruments (a manufacturer of high technology alignment instrumentation based on his patents) and was successful in helping bring in over $3 million in venture capital funding to the start-up business.

Mr. Malak has over 35 years of intellectual property law experience (registered patent attorney covering technical areas of electronics, analog and RF circuits, optics, mechanics, composites and acoustics), 15 years of general law experience, and 9 years of general business experience. He earned his law degree from Indiana University, and graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering with a concentration in automatic controls and guided missile systems design. He has completed MBA courses at the University of Chicago, and Masters in Patent Law studies at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He has served on numerous law and engineering society committees and served for three years as a Technical Business Advisor to the Electrical Engineering Department at Tulsa University.

The DoD CAP focuses on Defense Department Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant recipients. The program assists these companies with alternative business strategies and targeted industry connections with a goal of commercializing their technologies. There are 26 companies from throughout New York State selected to participate in this program. The program will also be presenting a DoD Opportunity Forum later in 2009 at the OnCenter in Syracuse.

Steve may be reached at Steve@TheTechGarden.com or by phone at (315) 474-0910, x2919