Board of Managers
Don Long, J.D. – Chairman
Mr. Long received his J.D. from Wake Forest University and his B.A. from Davidson College. He is a corporate attorney, with emphasis on legal audits, contracts, licensing and corporate structuring. Mr. Long and Mr. Deininger have been friends and associates for over 30 years. He is a co-founder of RATA, C³’s predecessor, traveling to Russia with Mr. Deininger in 1994. As Chairman of the Board of C³, Mr. Long gives oversight to strategic planning and all operational legal issues. He resides in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with his wife and has two grown children.
John Akitt – Manager
Mr. Akitt is retired from the position of Executive Vice President with Exxon Chemical Company, a division of Exxon Corporation. He has held many positions with leading chemical industry associations in Canada, Europe, and the United States and has been a consultant to the Chemical Manufacturers Association (the predecessor to the American Chemistry Council) and a Director of the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology. Mr. Akitt currently serves as a Director at Georgia Gulf Corp. and he previously served as a Director of Cytec Industries Inc. and Dofasco Inc. Mr. Akitt holds a BASc degree in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto and resides in Bonita Springs, Florida.
Mark Deininger, J.D. – Manager
Mr. Deininger is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of C³. Admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1976, and with a degree in Economics from Davidson College in 1973, Mark Deininger has 30 years of experience serving as both attorney and business consultant. Mr. Deininger assisted early stage technology companies by combining material science expertise with economic and transactional analysis, as well as strategic planning for new and expanding ventures, with emphasis on the legal packaging of new technologies for licensing, tech transfer and capital formation.
Over the last 10 years, he expanded his basic understanding of material science and became co-inventor of C³’s applications in regard to treating die cast tools, refractory ceramics, catalysis and electrolytes, and is co-inventor of more than half of C³’s patented and patent pending technology. He has served as project manager of several technology incubators at ORNL since 2002, and was invited to sit in and help formulate policy in 2005 for the High Temperature Materials Lab (HTML) division of ORNL. He is a member of the Institute of Trial Attorneys, an active member of the Republican Party of Georgia, and the United Methodist Church.
Robin Hancox – Manager
Bio Coming Soon...
Bill Phinney – Manager
Bio Coming Soon...
Mann Shoffner – Manager
Mr. Shoffner is a bilingual executive with over 25 years of top performance in international business development, sales/marketing management, and multinational corporate leadership. Mr. Shoffner has a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from Vanderbilt University, a J.D. from the University of Memphis, and served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy from 1971 until 1978. During the 1980’s he was the International Sales Manager for Procter & Gamble, and in 1990 became the Worldwide Marketing Manager for the company. In 1993, Mr. Shoffner started working for Buckeye Technologies (a $750 Million international manufacturing organization) where, as Vice president of European and Middle Eastern Sales, he spearheaded the expansion of international business development. His markets represented 40% of the company’s total revenue base. Mr. Shoffner has been working with C³ since 1999. His background in Law, International Affairs, and Manufacturing make him uniquely qualified to assist Mr. Deininger in negotiating licensing contracts for C³. Mr. Shoffner has already formulated 2 commercial licenses for C³ and assisted in obtaining development grants from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
