Leadership Team
The Entrex management team is a collaborative group of individuals who each hold specific skill and experience backgrounds which make them uniquely valuable to Entrex's mission of building a financial marketplace for growing private companies.
Stephen H. Watkins, Founding Chairman & CEO
Steve is an entrepreneur who has led numerous ventures from conception through exit. His efforts raising capital for those companies repeatedly illustrated the inefficient and unstructured path that private companies traverse to gain exposure and credibility in the capital community. This was the inspiration behind Entrex: the entrepreneurial exchange: The global source to find, research, track, manage and invest in private companies. Stephen authored the 2006 book Capital Can’t Fund What it Can’t Find, which is focused on capital markets, capital formation and capital access for private companies. His nationally syndicated financial column now reaches over 6 million readers annually. Stephen’s roles in the US Chamber of Commerce, Fortune Small Business and other global business forums provide him regular opportunities to speak to private company CEO’s about Growth, Financing and Capitalization.
Larry P. Roches, President & COO
Larry joined Entrex in October of 2007, bringing extensive executive experience with both private and public companies. Larry began his career in 1974 with IBM. Upon leaving IBM in 1981 Larry was a founder and/or senior operating executive in several successful ventures, including IPOs at SSA (NASDAQ: SSAX) and Whitman-Hart (NASDAQ: WHIT). He founded DBS Communications, Inc. a venture funded telecommunications enterprise where he remains as Chairman of the Board. He is also the Treasurer of the Pacific Garden Mission, a 123 year-old not-for-profit rescue mission headquartered in Chicago. Mr. Roches graduated from Governor’s State University in 1974, served briefly in the U.S. Marine Corp, and is an instrument rated pilot.
David Weild, IV, Advisor - Capital Markets
David advises on the development of capital markets relationships and was a key collaborator on the design of Entrex’s proprietary TIGRcubs™ instrument. David was previously vice chairman of The NADSAQ Stock Market, Inc., where he oversaw the Corporate Client Group, the only of NASDAQ's three core businesses that grew revenues profitably during his tenure over a down market. While at NASDAQ, David was a member of the Office of the CEO and the Operations Management Committee. Prior to joining NASDAQ, David served as president of PrudentialSecurities.com and the consumer e-commerce activities of Prudential Life Insurance, Prudential Real Estate, Prudential Investments and Prudential Bank & Trust. He was also a former head of Prudential Securities’ corporate finance and global equity transactions groups and was a member of the firm’s senior management council.
John A. Bohn, Advisor - Investor & Fund Services
John A. Bohn advises Entrex on regulatory matters and is leading the development of the TIGRcub™ regulatory framework. He currently serves as a Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for which he was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger in May 2005 for a six year term. Due ot his work on the commission, John is intimately familiar with issues surrounding climate change, energy, and water, as well as developments in clean technology solutions. Commissioner Bohn is a principal in GlobalNet Partners, N.A., LLC, a global advisory and consulting firm. Prior to his present position, Commissioner Bohn was a co-founder and Executive Chairman of CheMatch.com (now Chemconnect), an Internet based trading exchange for petrochemicals. From 1989-1996, Commissioner Bohn served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Moody’s Investors Service. In 1981, Commissioner Bohn joined the President Reagan Administration as Special Assistant to Treasury Secretary Don Regan, and was subsequently appointed by President Reagan as U.S. Ambassador and Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank. In 1984, President Reagan appointed Commissioner Bohn to the post of Vice Chairman of the Export Import Bank of the United States, and later as chairman and CEO. Other invovlements include serving as a Director of the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington DC and a seat on the Advisory Board of the Yale Institute for Corporate Governance and Performance. He is also a member of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness chartered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to advise on the reform capital markets for the 21st Century.
Erika Conefry, Director of Marketing & Communications
Erika leads the development of Entrex’s research arm that encompasses the Entrex Private Company Index (PCI) and directs all publishable data & research analysis stemming from the PCI brand. She directs PR and media placements for the Entrex, TIGRcub® and YourStreetFunds™ brands as well as producing necessary collateral materials for each. She came to Entrex in 2005 from the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) where she directed the development of globally branded programs to an elite CEO audience. Her expertise in global operations, complex project management,- program management/evaluation, business process development and staff management is extremely valuable as is her strong background and networking in the world of entrepreneurial fast-growth companies.
Emily Stewart, Attorney
Emily currently focuses on a variety of legal matters including the development and review of standardized documentation for TIGRcub® Security issuances, closing document coordination, filings with Depository Trust Company, TIGRcub® fund formation, and intellectual property matters. She previously served as counsel with Dewey & LeBoeuf’s New York office after graduating from Northwestern University School of Law in 2007 and New York University in 2002. She is licensed to practice law in New York and Illinois.
