Cook Associates' Jeff Leopold to Moderate Venture Summit East Panel Discussion

Chicago, June 2010 - Jeff Leopold, Managing Director at Cook Associates Executive Search (http://www.cookassociates.com/), will lead a panel discussion for Venture Summit East, one the preeminent entrepreneurship conferences in the United States. The three-day seminar will be held from June 21^st through June 23^rd, 2010, at Harvard Business School in Boston, MA.

Venture Summit East: Where the Big Money Meets the Big Idea, will feature the most influential institutional investors, venture capitalists, corporate buyers, investment bankers and research analysts in keynote presentations and panel debates. The conference will highlight the significant economic, political and technology trends impacting the global growth investor.

Leopold will be leading a panel discussion titled: "The Secret to Early-Stage Success: Building a Strong Management Team and Board." In this thought-provoking session, seasoned entrepreneurs will share their own experiences, addressing tough questions and realities such as:

• What are the signs that a company has outgrown any of the management team members?
• Lessons learned from mistakes-how to best increase the cohesiveness of the management team.
• How do you evolve a board from investor directors, founder and CEO to one that includes independents and perhaps no longer includes founder(s)?
• How should you leverage independent directors differently from investor directors?
• What are best practices around management team and board director evaluation?

Jeff Leopold is a Managing Director based in the firm's Boston office. For twenty-plus years, his career has been focused on the software, technology-enabled business services, and professional services industries. Jeff's prior operating experience with leading technology and professional services companies, as well as his extensive experience serving executive search clients, has helped him to earn a reputation for developing a deep understanding of client needs and delivering exceptional value.

Detailed information can be found online at Venture Summit East 2010.