Robert Barnhardt

Mr. Barnhardt has been associated with the textile industry for over 40 years, most recently as Dean of the College of Textiles at NC State University for 12.5 years, and in various leadership positions at the Institute of Textile Technology for 22 years. He has been a consultant to over 30 companies in the industry with assignments at over 100 plant locations. Mr. Barnhardt is currently the Interim Chancellor for North Carolina State University.

Wolfgang Strahl

Dr. Strahl recently retired from Cotton Incorporated where he held the position of Senior Vice President of Textile Research and Implementation. While at Cotton Inc., Dr. Strahl supervised the research and commercialization of many cotton related technologies involving dyeing and finishing. Additionally, he was involved in the 1997 release of the book Cotton Dyeing and Finishing: A Technical Guide. The book summarized the latest technical developments in the dyeing and finishing of cotton fabrics, including information on such topics as mercerizing systems, pre- and post-curing, water repellents, stain-resistant finishes and shrinkage control.

Manfred Wentz

Dr. Wentz is a visiting Professor in the Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science Department of the College of Textiles and world-renown dry cleaning expert and colorist. He is the President of TextileCare International which coordinates the Oeko-Tex 100 certification for the Hohenstein Institutes in the Americas. Prior to returning to NC State, Dr. Wentz was Corporate Vice President of Research & Development and Environmental Affairs at R.R. Street & Co., Inc in Naperville, IL where he supervised new product introductions. Before his career in industry, he was a tenured Professor and Chair at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Burlington Industry Professor and Chair at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

John Burke

Formerly with the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance, Mr. Burke has many years of experience working directly with over 75 textile manufacturing plants on environmental regulation compliance and process efficiency improvement opportunities. The majority of this work focused on reducing wastewater compliance issues in dyeing and finishing operations. Today, Mr. Burke is an environmental and safety consultant.

Jon Woodall

Mr. Woodall is a former partner with Deloitte LLP. As a partner in the firm's Growth Company Services Group, he led the local life sciences practice. Mr. Woodall has worked with private and public organizations ranging from development stage start-ups to billion dollar annual revenue multi-national corporations. His areas of expertise include mergers and acquisitions, technology commercialization and entrepreneurial organizations. He has worked with 12 angel and/or venture backed entities in various capacities. Mr. Woodall is a graduate of North Carolina State University.