Gary Augusta, President & CEO

Gary Augusta is President and CEO of OCTANe and Executive Director of the OCTANe Foundation for Innovation. Gary brings over 15 years experience to his role, with experience in early stage growth strategy, corporate venture, engineering, development, consulting, and M&A at technology start-ups, for- and non-profit corporations, and Fortune 500 companies.

As a corporate officer of Fluor, an engineering services company, Gary focused on internal new business creation as well as mergers and acquisitions. Gary was responsible for accelerating and evaluating new business opportunities and was a Board Member of a private database software company. Within the M&A function, Gary focused on identifying acquisitions, leading due diligence and managing integration efforts for several acquisitions.

As a senior executive with a CRM technology start-up in Silicon Valley, Gary was responsible for developing the business plan and operating model, venture fundraising and establishing technology alliances. As a Principal with A.T.Kearney, Gary helped create the firm’s customer strategy and service methodology and also focused on growth and M&A strategy, operational improvement initiatives and change management assignments for clients such as Fed Ex, Bell South, Prudential, EDS, Wachovia, Boys and Girls Club and several emerging companies.

Gary joined OCTANe in March of 2004 and is a member of the UC Irvine CEO Roundtable, the Keck Graduate Institute Advisory Council, and the UC Irvine ICS Membership Committee. He serves as a board member or advisor to several start-up companies in the biomedical and information technology industries, as well as at UCLA. Gary has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rhode Island and a Masters of Science and Management (MSM) from Georgia Tech. Email Gary Now...

Cynthia Bemis, VP Development

Cynthia Bemis brings experience in marketing, communications and business development to OCTANe. A member of the team since January, 2005, Cynthia is responsible for member and sponsor development, strategic communications, OCTANe Next, and public relations.

Prior to OCTANe, Cynthia spent nearly five years at Ernst & Young in Irvine, California. Most currently she worked as a Marketing Communications Specialist focused on public relations for the Pacific Southwest region, which comprises Southern California, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, and Nevada.

Prior to that, Cynthia served as a Sales Associate focused on the technology industry in the emerging and growth markets. She worked with Orange County entrepreneurs to help connect them with the right audit, tax and transaction services.Cynthia has a bachelor's degree in English from Chapman University. Community focused, she is the former VP of Communications for the local chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), and sits on the Public Relations Advisory Board for Chapman University. Also, she is a past member of the Sales & Marketing Committee of the American Electronics Association (AeA). Email Cynthia now...

Jim Budimlya - VP Biomedical:  As a five time serial entrepreneur and experienced CEO, President, and Board member, Jim has successfully developed and guided new bioscience and biomedical companies through the start-up process. His experience spans the business development process from initial conceptualization through business plan creation, staffing, VC funding and finally the thrill of the start-up.  It includes successful turnaround management where strategy change and product repositioning can be critical, leading the selling/acquisition and integration process through the critical early period, and selling of profitable young companies for high multiples.   

With his technical education in Chemistry from Northern Illinois University, his graduate schooling at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and his early career experience leading aggressive sales and marketing programs for leading companies, he is well equipped to assist startup companies in their early formation and successful transition to exciting high growth OC businesses. Email Jim now...

Sandy Guzman - TalentEngine Manager

Sandy joined the OCTANe team in April 2007. Sandy has taken on the role of TalentEngine Manager where she is responsible for making the OCTANe TalentEngine the premier web destination for companies looking for new talent and individuals looking for their next challenge.Her background includes human resources experience in the biotech and manufacturing industry.

Prior to joining OCTANe, Sandy held the role of HR Representative for ITT Corporation where she successfully helped integrate two business units after two plant closures. She oversaw the recruiting, training, and benefit’s administration for the Marine & Leisure business unit. Sandy has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Cal State Fullerton, with an emphasis in Industrial/ Organizational psychology. Currently Sandy serves as a member of the National Human Resources Association. On the community level, Sandy volunteers as a mentor for the children of Olive Crest Treatment Centers. Email Sandy now...

Celeste Signorino - Director, OCTANe Foundation for Innovation

Celeste Signorino joined the OCTANe Foundation for Innovation in July 2007 as its full-time Director. Celeste has 15 years of experience in public affairs and has worked extensively with leaders in business, education, government and the non-profit sectors.  Previously, Celeste was the Director of Public Affairs for Conexant Systems, Inc., one of OCTANe’s founding partners, where she established the Public Affairs department responsible for the community relations and legislative affairs activities. Celeste joined Conexant in the communications department and helped facilitate the spin-off of the semiconductor business from Rockwell International in January 1999. 

Celeste began her career in Public Relations with Neiman Marcus where she managed the community relations, public relations and marketing activities of a high-end specialty retailer.  Throughout her career, Celeste has worked with numerous non-profit and industry organizations as a board member, committee member, fundraiser and advisor. Some of her affiliations include: Project Tomorrow, El Sol Science and Arts Academy, KOCE-TV, Discovery Science Center, MIND Institute, and UC Irvine to name a few. Celeste received her bachelor’s degree in international business from the George Washington University. Email Celeste now...

Luis Vasquez – LaunchPad Director

Luis is currently OCTANe's LaunchPad Director. Luis joined OCTANe in 2004 as one of the first team members. Since then he has been responsible for identifying, evaluating, and helping early stage entrepreneurs and start-up companies take advantage of the OCTANe’s resources and network. In this time, Luis has worked with over 100 companies and developed a network of over 200 people who are eager to provide assistance, consulting, capital, expertise, and other resources to help OCTANe LaunchPad companies achieve success. Prior to joining LaunchPad, Luis founded a start-up nanotechnology sensor company to commercialize technology developed at Caltech. He also has extensive experience in defense, industrial, and energy markets. Luis has an MBA from UC Irvine and a BS from UC Riverside. Email Luis now...