2025 Hall of Fame Inductees
Presented By: Transform Labs
Mark DeSantis
Entrepreneur, lecturer, and educator
Mark is the CEO of Bloomfield, a venture-backed AI company in agriculture. He was previously cofounder and CEO of RoadBotics, a venture-backed AI company assessing roadway infrastructure. He was also previously cofounder and Chairman of kWantix, a quant energy hedge fund, and cofounder and CEO of kWantera, a venture-backed energy trading company. Previously, he was CEO of Think Through Learning, a venture-backed online tutoring company and US Managing Director of ANGLE Technology, PLC, a UK-based venture capital firm and consultancy.
Earlier in his career, Mark was the Director of Government Relations for Texas Instruments and held policy positions as a Senior Policy Analyst in The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Administration of George H. W. Bush. He was also staff assistant to late U.S. Senator John Heinz was a management consultant with Booz Allen.
Mark is an Adviser to MIR Ventures in Palo Alto and Cascadia Capital in Seattle. He also has dual appointment as an Adjunct Professor at the College of Engineering and Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University. Mark holds a PhD in Public Policy from the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University and is completing a Doctorate in Business Administration at the Fox School of Business at Temple University. Mark also serves on the board of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania as well as a several other non-profits in Western Pennsylvania."
Paul Lauttamus
President & CEO
Lattamus Communications & Security
Founded in 1967 by Al Lauttamus, Lauttamus Communications & Security has evolved from a small garage workshop and mobile showroom to a leading provider of comprehensive communications and security solutions. Today, the company proudly serves customers across 37 states, delivering mission-critical services for public safety, public health, utilities, manufacturing, and education sectors.
Lauttamus specializes in designing and building 911 centers for police, fire, and EMS agencies, along with providing two-way radios, mass notification systems, call center services, ethics hotlines, private LTE networks, in-building wireless solutions, and elevator monitoring. Their expertise extends to distributed antenna systems (DAS), paging solutions, tower climbing, artificial intelligence-based security systems, and alarm monitoring for residential and commercial clients.
Recent projects include design-build work for WVU MedCom, which supports emergency air medical services across all 55 West Virginia counties. Key partnerships also include WVU Medicine, SWN Energy, UPMC, MPLX, Rivers Casino, Williams Energy, and U.S. Steel.
Under the leadership of second-generation owner Paul Lauttamus, the company has expanded five-fold, tripled its workforce and acquired 14 companies. Lauttamus is now one of the largest holders of FCC frequencies in the United States, with over 1,200 licenses. Despite rapid growth, the company remains deeply committed to community support, fostering an entrepreneurial culture, and upholding the highest ethical standards.
Headquartered in Weirton, West Virginia, with regional offices in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, Lauttamus Communications & Security is recognized for its quality work, integrity, passion, and 24/7/365 customer service. The company is dedicated to building strong, mutually beneficial relationships while prioritizing innovation, emergency response, and corporate responsibility.
Dave Mawhinney
Founding Executive Director
Carnegie Mellon, Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship
Dave Mawhinney serves as Founding Executive Director, Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University, and as the Executive Director of the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at CMU’s Tepper School of Business.
While at CMU, Dave co-founded three early-stage investment funds: the Open Field Entrepreneurs Fund, VentureBridge, and the 99Tartans Syndicate. These funds have made over 200 investments in CMU startups which have raised $500mm+ follow-on investments at nearing $2B valuation. They have over $200+mm in realized exits.
Dave is also a Full Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship at the CMU’s Tepper School of Business.
Before joining CMU, he was co-founder, chairman, and CEO of mSpoke, an internet content, and advertising recommendation engine, acquired in 2010 by LinkedIn, the world's leading professional social networking site. In 2006, Morgan Stanley's MSCI/Barra business unit acquired Peak Strategy, a quantitative investment recommendation engine, where Dave was co-founder, chairman, and CEO.
Prior to mSpoke and Peak Strategy, Dave was the general partner of PNC Technology Investors. Earlier in his career, he co-founded three successful startup ventures, including Premier Health Exchange (acquired by Medibuy), Hawk Medical (acquired by McKesson), and Industry.Net (merged with AT&T Business Network to form Nets, Inc.).
He is an active board member at #1Cochran, 4Moms, sovaSage, Shift Robotics, Mach9, NimbleAI and many more.
Dave holds an MBA with Distinction from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S. in Physics, Summa Cum Laude, from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Dave was a 2017 recipient of the CMU Tepper School of Business Alumni Achievement Award, and the 2005 IUP Distinguished Alumni Award.