John D. Sanders serves as an investment banking / strategic business consultant and promoter for emerging growth technology companies. He also has served as a Director and Advisor of several public and private technology corporations ranging in size of annual revenues from $1 million to $70 million.
He is the Chairman Emeritus of the Grand Strand Technology Council (serving Myrtle Beach, SC and surrounding counties) and was Founder in 2008. The Council is a non-profit member organization with initiatives in personal networking, Women in Technology, Robotics and STEM Education Support, and Startup.sc. The purpose of the Council is to Enhance the Region's Technology-Driven Business.
Prior to its sale to The Washington Post Company in 1996, he was Chairman and CEO of TechNews, Inc., publishers of Washington Technology newspaper. The publication and allied events & promotions served to enhance strategic planning and business growth of technology-intensive companies serving the CEOs, corporate and technical management, and business developers. He was founder and served as Chairman of the National Technology Fast 500 Program and its companion regional Technology Fast 50 programs that annually list and promote the fastest growing technology companies in the United States. He has served as Chairman of the Washington DC Technology Council after a short period as Interim President. The Council provides forums and interactions among technology companies, organizations and the federal and local governments to foster a stronger regional business environment and community involvement.
For more than twenty years, Dr. Sanders was an investment banker, specializing in the equity financing of emerging technology corporations. He has been the principal in the initial public offerings of a dozen companies and has served as advisor to numerous other public corporations. More thn forty private placements of equity capital have been organized through his efforts, including start-up entrepreneurial situations as well as established public entities.
Prior to entering the investment banking industry, Dr. Sanders served as a research scientist for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, as a Member of the Technical Staff of RCA Research Laboratories, and as a Development Engineer for general Electric Company.
He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Virginia and Kentucky, a Life Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), Society of Investment Analysts, Association for Corporate Growth, and Founder of the Association of Technology Business Councils. In 1992, Dr. Sanders was recognized as the "Titan of Technology" at the Greater Washington Region High Tech Awards Gala.
Dr. Sanders received his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Louisville in 1961, and the M.S. (1962) and Ph.D. (1965) in electrical engineer from Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Sanders maintains residence in Carlsbad, California with his wife Carole.