Pat Croce serves as the CEO of Direct Measurements, Inc., a technology company that produces products used to measure and predict the structural health of operating systems in the fields of aerospace, civil infrastructure, and energy/power.

Croce graced the cover of Success magazine as the first person to ascend from the training room to the boardroom of a professional sports team. His remarkable success as a physical therapist and pioneer in the sports medicine field to the colorful leader responsible for the resurrection of the Philadelphia 76ers as a NBA championship contender has been defined as one of the most amazing stories in sports history.

Through his business savvy, dynamic personality, and emphasis on customer service, Croce created Sports Physical Therapists, a sports medicine empire of 40 centers in 11 states, into a top-ten finalist for the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Following the sale of his company, Croce focused his entrepreneurial spirit and indestructible positive attitude on the purchase of the NBA’s last place team, the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996. During his 5-year tenure as President, the team rose from worse to first in the NBA standings and broke franchise records in attendance, revenue, merchandise, and consecutive wins on the way to the NBA Championships against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001.

Croce has served as a commentator on the NBA on NBC and the Summer Olympic Games, hosted a nationally syndicated daily show Pat Croce: Moving In for Sony Pictures Television, and performed as a panel judge on ABC’s American Inventor. Croce continues to fill requests as a nationally-renowned motivational speaker, and is the author of the New York Times bestseller, I Feel Great and You Will Too!, the motivational tome 110%, and the business book Lead or Get Off the Pot!

Croce was the proud recipient of the “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award, featured on the cover of Inc magazine as “The Dale Carnegie of the 21st Century,” and honored with A&E Biography’s “Community Hero” Award.

For more information, join him at www.patcroce.com.

Dr. Ranson has over 40 years of combined experience in management, business development and R&D. He has led numerous technology development projects for NASA, the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and large corporations such as Gulfstream Aerospace, Michelin Corporation, and Westinghouse. Dr. Ranson established one of the three original manufacturing extension programs in the United States. This program has grown to 52 centers providing ISO certification, product development, technology integration, and supply-chain management services to a base of 325,000 manufacturing companies. Dr. Ranson has founded several startup companies offering products and services in the industrial, medical, and government sectors.

Dr. Ranson has been a chaired professor of mechanical engineering, and is a recognized expert in the area of stress and fatigue analysis of mechanical systems. He has served as consultant and expert witness for many engineering and manufacturing corporations. Dr. Ranson serves as an advisor for a joint U.S. Army, Army National Guard, Goodrich Aerospace, and University team tasked with managing structural vibration in military helicopters in an effort to reduce cost, eliminate unscheduled maintenance, and improve operational readiness and safety.

Dr. Ranson holds a Ph.D. in Engineering, a M.S. and Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering. He is a member of ASME International, SEM, and is a Registered Engineer. Dr. Ranson has authored national-research-award winning publications, and holds several patents.

Dr. Vachon holds a Ph.D. in engineering, a M.S. in Nuclear Science, a LL.B. and Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree. He is a member and served as President of ASME International, NSPE and AIAA. He is a Registered Engineer in six states, is licensed to practice law and is admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court. He is a charter member of the Pan American Academy of Engineering. He is licensed as an European Engineer and is licensed in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. He is a retired Colonel in the USAR. He has been a chaired professor of mechanical engineering. Dr. Vachon has authored a number of technical papers and holds four patents. He has over 45 years experience in project management, administration, engineering, design, construction, manufacturing and education for government, business and industry. He has extensive experience as a CEO with start-up companies and turn-arounds. As CEO of an engineering firm he served as “Resident Engineer/Constructor” for the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. In 2004 he was a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Structures Committee of Standards that developed Standard, S –1110-2005 Space Systems-Structures, Structural Components, and Structural Assemblies. He has managed projects in systems design/integration including management of multidisciplinary teams on domestic and international projects in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran, Venezuela, Cameroon, Nigeria, Honduras, Nicaragua, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Belize, Tajikistan and Ecuador. He is listed in a number of Who’s Who including Who’s Who in Finance and Industry and Who’s Who in the World.

Dr. Hovis has over 25 years of customer-focused leadership experience in technology and product development. He spent several years at Pratt & Whitney’s Government Products division developing and testing fighter engine components for the F-4, F-15, F-16, and F-22.

From 1989-2000 Dr. Hovis held positions of increasing responsibility at Westinghouse, heading a series of projects related to the production and safe handling of special nuclear materials for strategic defense. At Westinghouse he directed large-scale flow and heat transfer experiments, authored standards for nuclear/chemical facility hazard identification and analysis, and designed robotic equipment and robot vision systems. His innovative and cost-saving accomplishments led to numerous Vice President’s and President’s Awards, and he was recognized with the distinguished George Westinghouse Signature Award of Excellence.

Prior to co-founding Direct Measurements, Dr. Hovis served as Product Deployment Director for a business-intelligence software company during its launch. In this position he participated on a global sales team, building key relationships with General Electric, Proctor & Gamble, Toyota, Verizon, Philips Electronics, SAP and others. He worked closely with C-level executives matching client needs with product capabilities, developing and managing product deployment plans, and providing product support via training and consulting.

Dr. Hovis has published over 30 technical articles on a variety of topics ranging from alternative fueled vehicles to enterprise software solutions. He is a member of ASME and has served on several ANS and EFCOG international conference organizing committees. Dr. Hovis holds several technology patents and is a Microsoft Certified Professional.

Dr. Hovis received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech, and he holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Carolina.

Lex has over 25 years of Sales, Management and Operations experience in the area of Supply Chain Management and software integration. Lex was Global Sales Manager for Federal Express Corporation from 1988-1998 where he assisted Fortune-50 clients worldwide in improving their supply chain efficiencies. During his Global Sales tenure at Federal Express, Lex increased revenue 10-fold.

Prior to joining the Direct Measurements team, Lex served as Executive Director of Sales in two B2B start-up companies. In addition to planning, developing, and overseeing the sales and marketing organizations in each company, Lex’s direct accounts included GE, CitiMortgage, Darden Group, Whole Foods, Cincinnati Bell, TQInet, and RoadRunner Time-Warner group.

Lex is a graduate of Villanova University with a degree in Business Administration.