EMERGENT IS a liberator of technological breakthroughs. We unleash promising ideas and underutilized intellectual properties, converting them into game-changing, real world solutions.
EMERGENT IS a catalyst for breakthrough businesses and opportunities. We harness our expertise and experience to help investors, entrepreneurs, communities, and partners ignite new initiatives to make what’s conceivable, possible.
EMERGENT IS a prime mover in problem solving, accessing innovation to address the world’s most critical issues.
Management Team
Tommy Harlan is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Emergent. Since 1998, Emergent has been focused primarily on life and material sciences technology commercialization – funding and managing start-up companies, and structuring and negotiating deals with market leading pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, research institutions and universities. Mr. Harlan’s value realization management approach has propelled Emergent into high yield, multi-billion dollar markets including the global markets of drug discovery, nanotechnology, clinical immunology, medical device coatings, and material sciences. As a principal and strategic visionary, Tommy has participated in virtually every phase of early stage ventures, including the development and growth of 19 companies formed from university-licensed technologies. Prior to the establishment of Emergent, he built a reputation in the computer software engineering and data processing industries where he founded and successfully developed companies including Microprocessor Industries, Mandata, Inc. and Harlan-Lasater. Mr. Harlan holds a B.S. in Economics from Southern Methodist University and an interdisciplinary M.S. in Theory and Research from the University of Pennsylvania. Tommy is an adventure sports enthusiast, and while not in the office, alternates his time between the mountains of Colorado and exploring scuba diving sites all over the world.
Tommy Harlan
Founder, Chairman, and CEO
As President of Emergent, Kris Looney is responsible for conceiving and executing key Emergent business initiatives; developing strategic plans; and managing business processes including accounting, marketing, intellectual property, Emergent Partner Solutions Services, and business development. Kris has nearly two decades of experience as a business generalist with a background in start-ups, management, accounting, marketing, negotiation and sales. Before joining Emergent, Kris served as the COO and Interim CEO of the American Red Cross of Central Texas, where he balanced multiple stakeholder needs with service responsibilities in a competitive philanthropic environment. Prior to that, he was the CFO of Transformation Enzyme Corporation, where his financial management and business development helped a bootstrapped entrepreneurial start-up to become a leader in the nutritional supplement market. Kris has a B.A. in marketing and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. Outside of the office he is an ardent Longhorns fan and runner.
Kris Looney
President
Ed Merrifield serves as Executive Vice President, COO and serves on the board of directors at Emergent Technologies with over 45 years of progressive and successful experience in private and public companies alike. Experience ranges from early beginnings in the finance accounting arena to Chief Operating Officer for an internationally recognized software company. Ed has considerable experience in the wholesale and distribution industries in upper management positions, served as a corporate officer for an international insurance brokerage, a senior officer for one of the leading publicly traded call center companies (Sykes Enterprises, Inc. NASDAQ-SYKE), and was president and co-owner of Big Kahuna Productions, Inc., a movie and video company in Maui, HI. Ed has enjoyed a prosperous career in high technology, service and distribution arenas and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Accounting. Ed is a hunting and fishing enthusiast, and he currently resides in northern California.
Ed Merrifield
Executive VP and COO
Bob Thomas, a seasoned executive in the oil and gas industry with a career spanning over fifty years, currently serves on the Board of Directors for Emergent Technologies. After serving as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, Thomas joined Tenneco Gas in 1956 and over the next 14 years held successively higher engineering and management positions in Tenneco’s domestic exploration and production operations. In 1983 he was elected president of Tenneco Gas and in 1990 elected chairman and chief executive officer, a position he held until his retirement in 1994. Bob has served on the boards of directors of Marine Drilling Companies, Inc., PetroCorp, Incorporated, ATP Oil & Gas Corporation and American Gas Association (AGA) where in 1993 he was honored with its highest award, the AGA Distinguished Service Award for outstanding lifetime achievement in the natural gas industry. Bob currently serves on the boards of several civic and community organizations such as the YMCA of Greater Houston, Houston Hospice, the board of visitors of the Mewbourne College of Earth & Energy at the University of Oklahoma, and the board of stewards of Chapelwood United Methodist Church. Bob earned his Bachelor of Science degree in geological engineering from the University of Oklahoma, College of Engineering.
Mike Maples is a highly accomplished senior executive with over 40 years experience in the computer industry and currently serves on the boards of several high tech and non-profit organizations, including Emergent Technologies. He retired from Microsoft Corporation where he served as executive vice president of the Worldwide Products Group and was a member of the Office of the President, reporting directly to Bill Gates. Mike was responsible for all product development and product marketing activities at Microsoft during his tenure. Before joining Microsoft, he worked for IBM for 23 years where he was director of software strategy. A graduate of Oklahoma University with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Oklahoma City University with a Master of Business Administration, Maples has been involved with many organizations tied to technology. He has served on a number of boards, including the Information Technology Association of America, the University of Washington’s Technology Center, the Austin Economic Development Council and the Austin Software Council. Mike was on the Forbes Midas List of Tech Investors in 2000 and 2001 and in 2010 received the Ernst & Young award for “Supporter of Entrepreneurship”.
Ed Clark joined Emergent in October 2002, as Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel. He was elected as Director of the company in April, 2003, serving in such position until stepping down in April, 2012. He previously served as a consultant to the company for the past six years advising on the creation of several corporate entities, tax matters, and the reorganization of the Emergent Technologies Oklahoma, L.P. investment fund. He has been a partner or member of large general practice law firms in Austin (McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, L.L.P.) and Fort Worth (Kelly, Hart & Hallman, P.C.) as well as Of Counsel for a medium size Austin law firm (Ford & Ferraro, L.L.P.). His legal practice has concentrated in the areas of business, tax, and estate planning and related areas of corporate, securities, and real estate law. Ed is Board Certified in Tax Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in Texas. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, major in accounting, in 1973 and a Master in Professional Accounting degree, concentration in tax accounting, in 1978. He received a J.D. degree in 1981 from the University of Houston College of Law.
Ed Clark
CFO and General Counsel
As Vice President of Marketing, Cameron Mackie is responsible for Emergent’s marketing and communications strategy, business development support, corporate communications, and public relations for Emergent and its portfolio companies. Cameron has over 15 years experience working in marketing, business development and project management in the biotech and high-tech industries. Her career began at NetSpeed, a former Austin-based technology start-up that was acquired by Cisco Systems in 1998. She then joined Netpliance (later TippingPoint), a computer hardware/software company, where she supported marketing and business development efforts and held roles in operations and project management. She later held similar positions in two other Austin technology start-up companies prior to joining Emergent Technologies in 2007. Cameron earned her BA in Psychology and English from the University of Texas, Austin. When she’s not in t he office she enjoys vegan cooking, Bikram yoga, and discovering new scuba diving destination.
Cameron Mackie
VP, Corporate Communications
Dr. Mayer has more than 30 years of diversified experience in diagnostics, medical devices, and drug development. Since 2002, he has been a Scientific Consultant, Board member or an Advisor to several healthcare companies including: Abbott Labs, PureTramsplantSolutions, PureMHC, GlucoSentient Inc., Rules Based Medicine, IAPAC, Mead West Vaco, Organ Recovery Systems and HBM BioVentures. From 1982 to 2002, Dr. Mayer held roles of increasing responsibility at Abbott Laboratories where he began as an research engineer in Corporate Engineering; then as a Program Manager, Senior Strategic Planner, and Director of Health Economics in the Diagnostics Division; and lastly as a Medical Director of Pharmaco Economics and Outcomes Research and Associate Medical Director in Abbott’s Pharmaceutical Products Division. Dr. Mayer has Doctor of Medicine and B.S. Chemical Engineering degrees, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
