John May, New Vantage Partners

John May is the Managing Partner of New Vantage Partners. He has extensive experience as a venture fund manager and advisor. In addition to co-founding New Vantage in 1997, he has been a partner or consultant to five venture funds. He is managing general partner of Calvert Social Venture Partners, L.P., a Washington, DC based venture capital firm founded in 1989, specializing in providing capital and assistance to emerging growth companies which also provide a social and environmental dividend. In 1996, Calvert Ventures was the co-sponsor, with Templeton Advisors, of a new venture fund, the $60 million Emerging Europe Fund for Sustainable Development. New Vantage Partners is the mid-Atlantic office for Solstice Capital, a $23 million venture fund headquartered in Boston, MA. Mr. May is an advisor to and member of the Investment Committee of the Women's Growth Capital Fund, LP, a Washington, DC-based $30 million fund which has received a Small Business Investment Corporation license. He is the fund advisor to Next Generation Partners, L.P., a Fairfax, VA, information technology venture fund. He sits on the boards of a number of venture fund-backed early stage companies.

Mr. May has been an innovator in the private investor-networking field. In 1991, he co-founded the Investors' Circle, a national non-profit group of 150 family and institutional investors working to grow the social venture capital industry. In 1996, he co-founded and became executive director of the Private Investors Network, an angel network sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association, which has grown to over 120 investor members. He has spoken extensively on angel and early stage equity investing.

Mr. May sits on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including The Institute for Educational Leadership, the Bicycle Federation, Students for Responsible Business, the Investors' Circle, and the Maryland Health Care Product Development Corporation, as well as numerous closely-held businesses. He is the only venture fund representative on the State of Maryland's Enterprise Fund Board and assists numerous university and local small business incubators. He is a principal in Business Mediation Associates.

In 1981, he founded Common Sense Management, Inc. (CSM), a professional services firm. Until 1989, CSM provided management and planning support to small businesses, professionals, and closely held companies. Prior to founding CSM, Mr. May was chief of administration for the U.S. National Alcohol Fuels Commission from 1979 to 1981. Mr. May ran his own consulting business from 1974 to 1979.

Mr. May holds a BA degree from Earlham College, Richmond, IN, and a Masters in Administration from Syracuse University's Maxwell School. Mr. May, 51, is married, has two teen-age children, and lives in McLean, VA.