New Honorees to be Inducted into Strome Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame
October 11, 2017
Adriane Brown
Walter Ewell
Brian Holland
Goran Elovsson
Three prominent business leaders will be inducted into Old Dominion University's Strome Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame at a campus event Oct. 26. They will be joined by an Old Dominion alumnus who has been chosen as the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year.
The ceremony is being held in conjunction with National Entrepreneurship Month, and will serve to kick off several upcoming events at the University's Strome Entrepreneurial Center. Those events include the NATO Innovation Challenge, in partnership with ODU's Lion's Lair competition, on Oct. 27; the Nov. 2 grand opening of The Monarch Way, a new retail store for the sale of products developed by ODU entrepreneurs; and the ODU Company Expo, which showcases companies run by students, faculty/staff and recent alums on Nov. 9.
Honorees in the fourth Strome Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame class include Adriane Brown '80, senior advisor and former president and COO for Intellectual Ventures; Walter Ewell '70, founder of FranchiseRepublic and; Brian Holland '93, CEO of Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group.
Goran Elovsson '83 '84, CEO of 3D printing company AIM Sweden AB, will be the second Entrepreneur of the Year honored at the annual induction.
"The Hall of Fame is Old Dominion's way of honoring and celebrating the contributions entrepreneurs make each day in our community and world," said Nancy Grden, executive director of the University's Strome Entrepreneurial Center. "Our inductees are amazing in what they've done professionally, and have track records of consistently giving back personally to the University and our entrepreneurs."
The Hall of Fame induction will be held at 6 p.m. in the Big Blue Room at the Ted Constant Convocation Center with a reception to follow.
Austin Agho, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs will deliver remarks, along with Grden, student entrepreneur Janay Brown and Mike Beyrodt '15. Brown is the CEO and owner of gourmet bacon company Full Belly Delights LLC. Beyrodt is the CEO and inventor of Pull Start Fire, a company that makes devices for starting fires without the use of matches.
The Strome Entrepreneurial Center opened in 2014, part of a huge boost for campus-wide entrepreneurial efforts fueled largely through an $11 million gift by the Strome Family Foundation of ODU engineering alumnus Mark Strome '78.
Student entrepreneurs, selling products ranging from graduation cap-and-gown rentals and 3-D printing services to bacon snacks, have used coaching and other services offered at the Strome Entrepreneurial Center. Several have launched businesses, which have gained a foothold in the Hampton Roads market..
More on the 2017 Strome Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame Inductees:
Adriane Brown is senior advisor and former president and COO for Intellectual Ventures, an invention capital company.
With a portfolio of homegrown and curated high-tech patents, her leadership and business acumen served as the cornerstone for building strong, global performance.
Prior to Intellectual Ventures, Brown spent 10 years at Honeywell where she served as President and CEO of the $5 billion Transportation Systems group. Brown was recently appointed to eBay's board of directors.
Brown holds a B.S. in environmental health and a Ph.D. in humane letters from Old Dominion University. She holds a master's degree in management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was a Sloan Fellow.
Walter Ewell, is the founder of FranchiseRepublic, a franchise development company. He has 40 years of experience as a corporate and franchise development specialist, having helped build seven of the top 50 worldwide franchise companies.
Ewell began his career developing franchise plans for Econo Lodges of America and consulting hotel franchises, including Super 8, Radisson, Omni and others.
Since then, Ewell has worked for Ben Franklin — the oldest active franchise business in the United States — Liberty Tax, Zero's Subs, Geeks On Call, Mosquito Joe, and many other highly successful franchisors.
Ewell is a certified franchise executive through the International Franchise Association and holds a B.S. in finance from Old Dominion.
Brian Holland is the CEO of Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group, a mortgage brokerage company. Under Holland's leadership, Atlantic Bay overcame the industry challenges of 2007-2008 and continues to prosper and grow.
The company now has nearly 1,000 associates and has been recognized as a Top 100 Mortgage Company in America, Best Mortgage Company, and Most Enjoyable Place to Work.
Atlantic Bay has donated more than $2 million for humanitarian causes. Holland has personally served on many boards including the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Young Presidents Organization, Young Entrepreneurs Organization, Bayville Golf Club, and Tidewater Drillers Baseball.
Holland holds a B.S. in business administration and finance from Old Dominion.
Goran Elovsson is the CEO of 3D printing company AIM Sweden AB, a serial 3D printing company located in Sweden.
The company has a leading position and offers 3D printed parts in the medical and industrial segments in titanium and stainless steel.
Elovsson began his career as a sales and marketing manager at Warner Lambert Parke Davis, then continued as vice president/general manager for J.P Stevens, followed by president of the Moore Company, until he left corporate America to start his own business in 2008. In addition to Sweden, Elovsson has started several new businesses in the U.S., Mexico and Central America.
Elovsson holds an M.B.A. In corporate finance from Old Dominion.