Alliance Blog

Mike Panesis

Mike Panesis is the Steven Dorfman Professor of Practice and Executive Director of the Steven Dorfman Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Cal Lutheran. He teaches innovation and entrepreneurship in Cal Lutheran’s undergraduate, MBA and Executive MBA in Europe programs. He also organizes Cal Lutheran’s New Venture Competition.

Mike is a startup community leader in the Conejo Valley and Ventura County, to the north of Los Angeles. He leads the operation of Hub101, Cal Lutheran’s community coworking space, and is a frequent speaker on entrepreneurship and early-stage investing.

Mike advises startups on funding, operations, and business model strategies. An experienced angel investor, Mike is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Governors of Tech Coast Angels (TCA) and was a founding member of the Santa Barbara Angel Alliance. He sits on the Boards of Whistle Messaging and Sensor Industries.

Mike has an MBA Marketing from Rutgers University and a BS in Computer Science for Business from the DeVry Institute of Technology. He lives in Camarillo with his wife and two children. He is on the Steering Committee of the Ventura County Greek Festival.