Astralis Group is a dynamic team of talented and seasoned professionals with a wide variety of expertise and perspectives. All of the Astralis professionals have hands-on experience in building, financing and growing technology-based companies. We use those skills in partnership with established companies to maximize their potential for growth and success.
From product development, to manufacturing scale-up, international and government relations, and venture funding, we know what it takes to achieve success. Our professional networks efficiently and effectively get opportunities to the right audiences. And we have a large pool of professionals who work with us in building our companies.
Astralis Group is the catalyst for successful high growth companies.
Scott Faris - Click Pic for Email
Scott Faris is the Founder and President of Astralis Group LLC which he started in 2002. Mr. Faris is also the Founder and CEO of Planar Energy Devices, Inc., a newly formed energy storage company based upon a portfolio of innovative technologies from several national labs. Mr. Faris was previously Managing Director of Corporate IP Ventures, a specialized investment company that starts and invests in companies created from corporate research activities. He also served as the Chairman and CEO of Waveguide Solutions, Inc., a leading developer of planar lightwave circuit and microsystem products based upon sol-gel material matrices.
Mr. Faris has been involved in the start-up of over 20 technology companies and brings together a background of finance, technology commercialization and operating experience to emerging growth technology companies. At Ocean Optics, a precision optical component and fiber-optic instrument company, he was a Founding Director and the Chief Operating Officer. Scott attracted financing, led acquisitions, and was responsible for establishing the company's precision optical components division which was based upon a proprietary technology to pattern thin film filters. Scott was also involved with the company's sol-gel optical sensor group in identifying OEM opportunities for the technology.
Prior to Ocean Optics, Scott was the Founder and CEO of Enterprise Corporation, a technology accelerator organization that raised over $50 million in capital to new and existing technology firms through a private investment forum. Scott was also the Director of the State Venture Capital Fund in Florida, and the Director of Technology Commercialization at the Center for Microelectronics Research. He began his career as an Associate with Zero Stage Capital.
Mr. Faris is active the Florida technology community. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida High Technology Corridor Council, Metro Orlando Economic Development Council and the Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Faris is also a Founding Board Member of the Central Florida Technology Forum.
Richard Fox - Click Pic for Email
Richard Fox has twenty years of experience in the creation of new companies from well funded defense and aerospace technology.
Richard's first company was a spin-out of an operation of Westinghouse, with a machine vision system derived from a military target recognition system. Based on that success, Richard pioneered innovative concepts for nurturing and growing entrepreneurial high tech businesses. As President of the Central Florida Innovation Corporation, Richard guided the launch of several companies based on military technologies.
Richard Fox was also the co-founder of MetaTech Ventures, LLC. MetaTech works with existing corporations to identify core competencies, adjacent market opportunities, and potential spin-outs. Client companies have included Lockheed Martin, SAIC, Agere Systems, and high growth potential entrepreneurial companies.
Fox was a member of the senior management team of ENDOlap, Inc., a medical products company that designed and marketed products used in minimally invasive surgery. Six years after its founding, ENDOlap was recognized as the 13th fastest growing company in the State of Florida, and three years later, it was acquired by Cardinal Health, Inc., a Fortune 100 company.
Richard served on the Florida Seed Capital Board and has been a member of several task forces for the State of Florida on venture capital and seed capital investing. He is presently a member of the board of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds.
Richard is a frequent speaker on the subject of new company creation by professional teams. He earned his B.S. degree in physics from M.I.T., and holds 16 patents on the application of computers to industrial processes, and on medical devices.
Mike Graff
Michael Graff is a
consultant serving high tech startups in strategy development, strategic
alliances, market development, and fund raising.
Mike was CEO of Theseus Logic, a semiconductor
intellectual property licensing company where he raised over $20M in private
equity funding and established strategic alliances with Motorola and Synopsys.
Mike spent 31 years at Harris Corporation commercializing new to the world
systems and semiconductor products.
Mike has been an entrepreneur in both big and small
companies and has broad experience in engineering, marketing, and management
functions. He was a design engineer on the world’s first cell phone, the
architect and lead designer of the world’s first fly by wire avionics LAN for
the B-1 Bomber, and marketing manager for the world’s
first Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM). He licensed the 8086 and 80286
microprocessors from Intel and started the laptop revolution by designing in the
first CMOS microprocessors into the first laptop computers. He was VP of
Marketing, VP for Intelligent Power, and VP Strategy and Business Development
for Harris Semiconductor Sector (now Intersil). Mike led the development of the
first distributed power regulators for Pentium processors, and led the strategy
development for Intersil’s successful wireless LAN chip set.
Mike is a registered professional engineer in the State
of Florida, a
member of the IEEE, and a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu engineering
honor societies. Mike is a member of the University of
Central Florida Dean of the College of Engineering
Executive Advisory Board. Mike has a BSEE and an MS
in Systems Management.
Tom Radovich
Tom Radovich provides consulting services to investment groups and high-growth-potential companies.
Tom
Radovich worked at Lockheed Martin (and its predecessor, Martin
Marietta Corporation) for over 35 years at both the Baltimore and
Orlando facilities, where he pioneered the spin-off approach used by
Lockheed Martin Corporation during the 1990’s. Working with various
internal departments and external incubators and investors, Tom
coordinated the launching of a number of new companies including Triton
Network Systems, Inc., Teranex Corp. (www.teranex.com), Xytrans, Inc.
(www.xytrans.com). and Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc. (www.brijot.com).
Previously,
Tom held positions in technical, functional, and program management on
a wide variety of DoD and commercial programs. Military program
assignments included Mechanical System Manager for the Navy’s Vertical
Launching System and Technical Director for the Navy’s Wide Aperture
Array. Commercial assignments included Program Director for the Pratt
& Whitney 4168 Fan Reverser Program for the Airbus 320. Tom was
also Director of Mechanical Engineering at the Baltimore operating
unit, where he was responsible for technical oversight, procedures, and
staffing of the Mechanical Engineering Department, comprising over 400
personnel, for all military and commercial programs.
While
with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control – Orlando, Mr. Radovich
was Director, Adjacent Initiatives. Tom was responsible for government
dual-use and commercial programs, as well as various licensing
initiatives and technology spin-offs. Tom supervised commercialization
or spin-off of an array of advanced technologies, including millimeter
wave sensors and communications, EO/IR sensors, net-centric
communication and security, image processing, magnetic levitation and
propulsion, ASIC design and electronics testing, and various advanced
materials, coatings and related processes.
Mr.
Radovich received his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering at Brown University
and his M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia
in 1971. Over the years, he has written a number of technical papers.
His most recent article (in collaboration with personnel at LMMFC – O
and Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Laboratory) was
“Communications/Sensor Technologies for Next Generation Urban-Warfare
Systems” presented at GOMACTech-04 in Monterey, CA on March 17, 2004.
In recognition of his accomplishments, Tom has received numerous awards
from Lockheed Martin including the Excellence in Leadership Award and
Meritorious Achievement (Team) Award in Orlando, Manager of the Year
Award and Award of Excellence in Baltimore, and Martin Marietta’s
highest award, the Jefferson Cup. Mr. Radovich has also been active in
the community in stimulating investment in Central Florida and served
on the Board of the Central Florida Innovation Corporation from 2001 to
2003.
