Education/Professional Certification:

B.S. Mathematics - Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada - 1975, Senate Medal
M.S. Engineering - University of Pennsylvania - 1983
M.B.A. Technology Management - The Wharton School - 1983, NSERC Scholarship
Ph.D. Marketing - University of Connecticut - 2008

Areas of Expertise:

Technology Entrepreneurship, Innovation, B2B Sales and Marketing, CRM, International Business

Biography:

Luke graduated from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Mathematics and was awarded the Senate Medal as the University’s top graduate. He then spent 5 years working and traveling in various parts of Africa, teaching in Nigeria, and working as a computer operating systems developer in South Africa, including teaching graduate courses in computer operating systems at the University of Stellenbosch. Then he worked for Gerber Scientific in Connecticut, managing a division’s European operations before returning to do his MBA at the Wharton School and a Masters of Science in Engineering/Computer Science at the University of Pennsylvania in 1982-83. Since 1983 he has worked in both Asia and the United States in a number of entrepreneurial enterprises, including being a co-founder of three start-up technology firms. His last company, PTI, was a Connecticut based software systems company that developed smart card based financial applications. PTI was sold to Fujitsu, for whom Luke worked in an executive position for 3 more years. Following Fujitsu, Luke consulted to various government and financial institutions before enrolling as a doctoral student at UConn in 2004. In January 2007 Luke accepted the position of Director and Clinical Professor of the new Innovation Accelerator (IA) – a cornerstone of UConn’s Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The IA assists entrepreneurial ventures in addressing myriad challenges associated with the identification and capture of business opportunities. The IA utilizes interdisciplinary project teams comprised of graduate students that innovatively solve complex business issues for Connecticut’s technology-based entrepreneurial ventures. Luke continues his relationship with entrepreneurs through the IA and through various board positions and serving on a boutique venture fund.