Managing Directors

Richard G. Horan, Senior Managing Director

Mr. Horan joined Slater in January 2002 as Executive Director of the Slater Center for Biomedical Technologies (“Slater Biomed”). In March 2005, Slater Biomed merged with  four other entities comprising the Slater Program and was re-named the Slater Technology Fund. Effective with the merger, Mr. Horan was appointed Senior Managing Director.

Mr. Horan began his career in the investment banking business in 1980, when he joined the Capital Markets Group of BankAmerica, San Francisco, CA. In 1986, Mr. Horan joined the venture capital firm of Johnston Associates in Princeton, NJ, one of the original seed stage investors in the field of biotechnology and life sciences. In 1998, Mr. Horan founded Sachem Ventures LLC, an independent seed stage venture development firm which focused in life science and healthcare markets.

During his tenure in the venture capital business, Mr. Horan has served as CEO of several of his portfolio companies, including: Immunicon Corp. (NASDAQ: IMMC), a Philadelphia-based developer of cellular diagnostic systems, where he was CEO from 1989-1991; Praelux Corp. (acquired by GE Amersham), a Princeton-based firm developing advanced technology platforms for drug discovery, where he was CEO from 1992-1997; and Medical Metrix Systems Inc. (acquired by Altaris Health Partners, the private equity arm of AIG), a medical imaging business based in Hanover, NH, where he was CEO from 1998-1999. 

Mr. Horan received his A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1976 and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School at Dartmouth in 1980.

Thorne Sparkman, Managing Director

From 1996 to 1998, Thorne Sparkman was founder and CEO of Incubator, Inc., an angel-funded, Internet business incubator in Berkeley, California. The company's business model was to assist early-stage teams, especially those from the University of California at Berkeley, by providing a complete suite of start-up services in exchange for equity.

From 1995 through 1999, Mr. Sparkman was CEO of EScribe Corporation, a start-up which created online communities for upscale, outdoor enthusiasts. Mr. Sparkman began his electronic publishing career at Time Warner in 1993, where he developed on-line communities and commerce applications on the CompuServe Information Service, and helped launch Time Warner’s original Pathfinder service.

Mr. Sparkman holds a B.A. in Biological Anthropology from Harvard, and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. 

Board of Directors

Slater Technology Fund is guided by a Board of Directors whose members represent a variety of constituencies that share the common goal of promoting technology-sector growth in the region. Slater’s Board includes senior representatives from government, private industry, venture finance, law, and academic and research communities.

• Keith W. Stokes, Chairman of the Board & Executive Director, Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation - Providence, RI
• Kenneth Arnold, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Lifespan – Providence, RI
• Clyde L. Briant, Vice President for Research, Brown University - Providence, RI
• Andrea Corcoran, Esq, General Counsel & Secretary, ToleRx, Inc.– Cambridge, MA
• Geoffrey Davis, Senior Partner, Ropes & Gray – Providence, RI / Boston, MA
• Scott B. Laurans, President, ESM, Inc. - Providence, RI
• James C. Maynard, Managing Director, Silicon Valley Bank– Boston, MA
• Donald B. McNaughton, formerly Senior Vice President, Corning, Inc. - Providence, RI