Team

The Opteris management team collectively brings decades of experience in venture investing, providing strategic guidance, active management, and growth funding to portfolio companies.

With strong domain expertise as well as prior experience in technology and finance, the Opteris team targets existing venture portfolios focused on industries where immediate value can be added. The relationships and experience of our team are vital to increase the value of the assets that we manage.

For more information on Opteris team members, please see below.

Frank Creer

Managing Director
Frank Creer

Managing Director

Mr. Creer is an experienced venture capitalist and finance executive who has been involved in both developing and financing dozens of technology based companies. He has also worked in management consulting for small to medium size technology businesses and placed financing for a diverse range of real estate developments. He was a Managing Director of Zone Ventures and a Partner in the Wasatch Venture Fund which he co-founded in 1994. He currently sits on the Boards of Directors for Akimbo, DivX, OnMeta (BiggerBoat.com), emWare, Inc., e-Style Inc., and Vizional Technologies. Mr. Creer also sits of the Board of Directors for the Lassonde New Venture Development Center at the University of Utah. Mr. Creer has a degree in Finance from the University of Utah.
Dr. N. Darius Sankey

Managing Director
Dr. N. Darius Sankey

Managing Director

Dr. Sankey is an experienced venture capitalist with over 10 years of experience as a Managing Director at Zone Ventures, a seed to early stage venture capital firm based in Los Angeles. Dr. Sankey led the Zone Ventures technology assessment efforts and overseen its portfolio investments for 10 years, serving as a board member for several companies including Siimpel Corporation, Lumexis, Inc. and Microfabrica and Neven Vision (acquired by Google). He has led several transactions in the micro-electronics, wireless telecommunications, media & entertainment, and business & consumer software sectors. Dr. Sankey has a strong interest in strategizing market applications for basic science research on the university level. Before his tenure at Zone Ventures, Dr. Sankey worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, Inc. and held strategic planning, consulting, and R&D positions at RAND and AT&T Bell Laboratories. Dr. Sankey holds a B.S. in Physics and Electrical Engineering from MIT and a Ph.D. in Optical Engineering from the Institute of Optics, University of Rochester.
Dr. Bill Lewis

Partner
Dr. Bill Lewis

Partner

Prior to his involvement with Opteris, Dr. Lewis was a Partner at Zone Ventures, bringing eight years of experience in financial services and ten years as a researcher and engineering manager in the technology industry to the firm. Prior to his involvement with Zone, Dr. Lewis was a Vice President at JP Morgan where he analyzed investments in technology companies, and worked with leaders in the areas of semiconductors, communications, hardware, and storage. He has extensive financial and business modeling experience, and brings a network of relationships with strategic partners across these technology verticals. Prior to JP Morgan, Dr. Lewis was in management at Intevac, a leading equipment supplier to the data storage industry. He previously conducted research at IBM and was a consultant and analyst at The RAND Corporation. Dr. Lewis holds a B.S. in Engineering Physics from the University of California, Berkeley and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University.

Jerry Cohen

Principal
Jerry Cohen

Principal

Mr. Cohen is an Adjunct Faculty at the USC School of Cinematic Arts where he lectures on digital media and new venture creation. He has 6 years of experience in IT consulting, systems administration, and technical project management. He has held several management positions, including one as the Director of Operations and Technology for a national real estate developer. He completed his MBA with concentrations in finance and entrepreneurship from the USC Marshall School of Business where he was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma. He also holds a B.A. in Business Economics from UCLA.
Michael Cheng

Principal
Michael Cheng

Principal

Mr. Cheng is a Director at Archers Capital where he manages buy-side and sell-side transactions of middle-market businesses within the food and beverage, green tech, and business service industries. In 1999, he founded an IT solutions provider firm that targeted the networking infrastructure and security needs of venture-backed firms in the Silicon Valley. Over 8 years, he led the firm to $11 million in revenues and grew its customer base to include the US military, government organizations, and Fortune 500 corporations. He completed his MBA with concentrations in finance and entrepreneurship from the USC Marshall School of Business. He also hold a B.S. with majors in Neurophysiology and Psychology from UC Davis.
Marc Hermsmeyer

Venture Advisor
Marc Hermsmeyer

Venture Advisor

Marc Hermsmeyer is an experienced entrepreneur with a background in sales, marketing, and strategic roles for emerging growth companies in the online media and IT services industry. Most recently, Marc has founded Bitjacket, Inc., a San Diego-based, venture-backed, mobile application development firm where he serves as CEO. Marc has a strong passion for innovation and entrepreneurship, with an interest in new markets and emerging technologies. He frequently contributes to UC San Diego's Rady School of Management as a guest lecturer, business plan judge, and most recently as a board member of the Rady School's Alumni Board. Marc has also contributed to the USC Marshall School of Business as a guest speaker. Currently Marc volunteers his time as a marketing domain expert at CONNECT, a business creation and development program in San Diego, where he provides mentoring and coaching to startups in the mobile software and communications technology verticals. Additionally, Marc is an advisor to several companies in Silicon Valley. Marc is an avid outdoor enthusiast who enjoys surfing and competing in triathlons in his spare time.