Company

Nexusist is a consulting and venture development company with global reach through extensive partner networks. The company helps build and cultivate high-growth startup ventures in sectors of importance to global economy, environment, sustainability, security and critical infrastructure protection.

Nexusist primary focus is on identifying and commercializing applied research from universities and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) that risk the "valley of death". Nexusist provides a full range of services to support the successful transfer of federally funded applied research to commercial markets.

Leadership

Mike Locatis

Mike Locatis is Managing Director of Nexusist.

A veteran entrepreneur, Mike has founded and led several high-tech start-ups and growth companies throughout his career, building high-performance teams and guiding each through venture capital rounds and successful exits through M&A and an IPO. Mike was instrumental in value building for multiple successful exits: 915 Labs, ConferTech, TelAssess, Time Warner Cable, MobileForce & Agmetrics/Numark.

Mike served two successive roles in the Obama Administration as Assistant Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security, responsible for national critical infrastructure protection and as Chief Information Officer for the U.S. Department of Energy. Mike also served as Chief Information Officer for the State of Colorado and Deputy Chief Information Officer for the State of California.

In addition, while serving the Obama White House, Mike served the President’s Management Advisory Board and the White House Interagency Policy Committee, where he helped craft policy and develop strategies to secure the nation’s critical infrastructures under Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21), “Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience.” PPD-21 advances a national policy to strengthen and maintain secure, functioning, and resilient critical infrastructure.

Mike is a Fed100 Award Recipient for innovation in cybersecurity big data and analytics related to national critical infrastructure protection and recognized by the AUTM Better World Project for lab to market commercialization success. He is a National Security Senior Advisor with the Chertoff Group in Washington DC.

Mike Locatis, *Managing Director of Nexusist*

Roberta Leão

Roberta Leão, Co-managing Director of Nexusist, is a seasoned growth strategy leader with over 20 years of experience in business development, strategy, and commercialization. Specializing in novel technologies, she has a proven track record of driving innovative expansion across diverse markets. Roberta currently leads strategic planning, sales management, and client engagement at 915 Labs, a pioneering food technology company focused on sustainable and healthy solutions for the food industry.

Throughout her career, Roberta has excelled in identifying and executing market opportunities, including new market entry, geographic expansion, application development, product innovation, and strategic acquisitions. Her expertise spans Food, Agriculture, Energy, Biofuels, Cleantech, and Technology sectors across the United States, Brazil, and other international markets.

Roberta has a strong background in launching new ventures and startups. She is a Deep Tech Entrepreneur in Residence for Venture Partners at CU Boulder, Rocky Mountain’s Ambassador for the Cleantech Open Accelerator, and a SAGE Mentor to Innosphere Venture startups.