Mary S. Shepard Spaeth

Retired professor of international business & entrepreneurshi, Mary is president of Transmera AB, a technology/innovation management consultancy founded in 2002 in Sweden. She was the director of marketing for the Northwestern University/Evanston Research Park, Executive Vice President of ANGLE Technology, Senior Advisor at Mjärdevi (now Linköping) Science Park in Sweden and later as executive director of the East Sweden Development Agency. Mary has also taught entrepreneurship and international business at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Texas State University, Tecnologico de Monterrey-Toluca, Royal Institute of Technology, Linkoping University, University of the West of Scotland, Southern Methodist and Loyola Universities as a full time lecturer in English, and as adjunct professor in Marketing Communications at National Louis University in Chicago.

Mary has started and managed three companies. She served 3 years on the European Commission Task Force for StartUp provision representing Sweden with 27 other, then, EU member representatives. She has published academically and professionally and is an active mentor and judge for several university business plan competitions including Rice University and Baylor University.

In addition to several advisory board roles, Mary is a board director for VärldensMammor and VärldensUngdommar in Sweden focused on social justice and democracy leadership. She served on the board of directors for the Swedish Fulbright Commission for 7 years. (Appt by US Ambassador Lyndon Olson). She is a dual US-Swedish Citizen and speaks, writes, and reads Swedish and English fluently and is proficient in reading and speaking basic French. She has two grown children, both entrepreneurs living in Texas, and now 5 grand-children. She and her husband, Peter, live in Sweden.