Team Bios | KB Partners

Venture Funds I & II > Team Bios

Keith Bank	Byron Denenberg
Robert Garber	Bob Zieserl
Kathy Caplis

Venture Funds I & II > Keith Bank

Keith Bank
Managing Director

Keith Bank is the co-founder and Managing Director at KB Partners, and has a diverse background in start-up companies, real estate, and other entrepreneurial ventures. Keith has been a very “hands on” venture capital and angel investor in a wide variety of industries, including the semiconductor, computer hardware and software, medical device, internet, consumer and retail, cable TV and social media arenas.

Keith serves as a board member for Kirtas Technologies, SteadyMed, Ltd., Versatile Sports Partners and Club Champion Golf. He also oversees the firm’s investments in PixelOptics, Inc., Fusion Risk Management and Buddy Media. Keith is a founding board member of the Illinois Venture Capital Association, and served as its Chairman for 2005-2006. He was the recipient of the IVCA’s prestigious Fellows Medal in 2006. Keith founded, and for 15 years served as the Chairman of the Chicago Select Golf Invitational, the largest American Cancer Society golf fundraising event in the country, which raised over $6.5 million during his tenure. Keith has been honored by Crain’s Chicago Business as a “40 Under 40”, a Who’s Who of Chicago Executives and as one of the 100 most prominent members of Chicago’s technology economy. Keith is active in CEO’s against Cancer and NU Wave, an athletic fundraising vehicle for Northwestern University.

Prior to forming KB Partners in 1996, Keith was a Principal at Hiffman Shaffer Associates, a Chicago based national real estate development, investment, management and brokerage firm. There he was instrumental in the development, acquisition, financing, sale, and leasing of over three million square feet with a value in excess of $650 million. Other career highlights include co-founding a discount retail chain, the turnaround of a women’s apparel manufacturing company, and the procuring of equity and debt financing for, and producing a feature film entitled Heaven is a Playground.

Keith is a Magna Cum Laude graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and holds an MBA in Finance with honors from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He is 90% of the way towards achieving his goal of playing the Top 100 golf courses in the United States.

You can reach Keith Bank at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Venture Funds I & II > Byron Denenberg

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Managing Director

Byron Denenberg is a co-founder and Managing Director of KB Partners. He has been actively involved with all aspects of the firm's investments and operating activities since 1996. He is a past board member of Orbit Commerce, Cobotics, RCT Analytics, Firefly Energy, Inc., and Rubicon Technology.

Byron has been active in entrepreneurial ventures for over 35 years as an owner, manager, investor, consultant and Board Member. Byron also has extensive international experience. He has been involved in numerous start-up companies, including MST Measurement Systems, Inc., Microsensor Technology GmbH, and FPM Analytics, Inc., as both an investor and Board Member.

Prior to his involvement with these companies, Byron was a co-founder of MDA Scientific, Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of toxic gas monitoring systems for the semiconductor industry. He served as MDA's CEO from the company's inception in 1969 until 1992. MDA was purchased by Zellweger Uster AG in 1988. From 1960 to 1969, Byron held various sales, marketing and operational positions in analytic and control instrumentation with Leeds & Northrop Company, Boston, MA; Waters Associates, Framingham, MA and Geneva, Switzerland; and Anacon, Inc., Ashland, MA.

Byron has been the recipient of a variety of honors and awards including the Best Small Business in Chicago awarded to MDA Scientific by the University of Illinois/Chicago and Arthur Andersen; The Medallion for Entrepreneurship awarded by Beta Gamma Sigma; The Entrepreneur of The Year awarded by Arthur Young/Venture Magazine; and The High Tech Entrepreneur awarded by KPMG Peat Marwick. He was also elected to the Institute of American Entrepreneurs and the Entrepreneurs Hall Of Fame in 1987. Byron is the holder of three U.S. Patents. He is a graduate of Bucknell University, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and served in the U.S. Navy as a Lt. jg.

You can reach Byron Denenberg at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Venture Funds I & II > Robert Garber

Robert Garber
Managing Director

Robert Garber is a Managing Director of KB Partners Venture Funds I and II. He joined the funds in 1997. Robert focuses on investments in software, hardware, Internet infrastructure, and communications. He currently serves on the Board of Exacq Technologies, and Silver Creek Systems. He previously served on the boards of Midi, Inc., Cognitive Concepts, Corona Optical Systems, ILink Global and Performics.

Robert has over thirteen years of management experience growing and investing in technology companies and is well versed in the challenges that early stage companies face on their way to commercial success. Accordingly, Robert is able to provide hands-on managerial expertise to portfolio companies as well as help entrepreneurs define operational, financial, and technical strategies.

Prior to joining KB Partners, Robert served as Director of Corporate Development for FastWEB.com, a direct marketing company providing Web-based services to help students -- Robert joined FastWEB.com (Nasdaq: MNST) after serving as Director of Application Consulting for TechLaw Automation Partners, a technology consultancy focused exclusively on the legal industry. He was recruited to TAP from Gnossos Software, a software developer of applications for the public affairs, academic, and non-profit markets, where he was a senior member of the development team.

Robert received a Master of Management degree from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

You can reach Robert Garber at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Venture Funds I & II > Bob Zieserl

Bob Zieserl
Managing Director

Robert Zieserl is a Managing Director of KB Partners Venture Fund II. His investment focus is medical devices and diagnostics and healthcare informatics. Currently he serves on the board of Verax Biomedical Incorporated, and is an observer on Accumetrics, Inc. He is a past board member of Mezzia, Cobotics, Sarvega, and Ischemia Technologies. A seasoned entrepreneur and businessman, his career includes: co-founder and managing director of a boutique investment bank; president of a software company which he merged with a public company; founder and CEO of a diagnostic imaging company; President and COO of a healthcare software firm where he led a successful IPO; and President/General Manager of a real-time data acquisition and analysis software firm. Companies Mr. Zieserl has led have received numerous awards including: Business Week 100 Best Small Public Companies, Forbes 200 Best Small Public Companies, and R&D 100. Mr. Zieserl received his Masters of Science in Management and Industrial Relations from Loyola University, Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts from Marquette University.He is active in a number of professional organizations including Chief Executives Organization (CEO) and World President’s Organization (WPO).

Venture Funds I & II > Kathy Caplis

Office Manager/Administrative Assistant

KB Partners