meet the team

PIUS team members have successfully facilitated more than $40 billion in technology and intellectual property transactions.

Joe A. Agiato

Founder and CEO

Joe Agiato is the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of PIUS. Joe oversees the structuring and pricing of deals, all due diligence functions, and developing and maintaining deal sourcing, patent, trademark and trade name valuations.

Joe has been an active investor and team leader in various intellectual property transactions. He also served as the National Practice Leader for Intellectual Property Services at KPMG. His expertise helped pioneer and develop intellectual asset management procedures that helped clients generate significant incremental returns from their intellectual property rights. He performed more than 2,000 intellectual property valuations and has been involved with billions of dollars worth of intellectual property transactions.

Joe holds a MBA with a concentration in Finance, a MS in Valuation Sciences, and a BS in Accounting and Economics.

Catherine L. Smith

CAO

Catherine Smith is the Chief Administrative Officer for PIUS, managing the day-to-day administrative needs of the company. She oversees the planning, management and direction of activities between the departments and outside the company. She is also responsible for budgeting, executive reporting, and HR administration.

Cathie holds a BS in Advertising from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining PIUS, she held officer positions in product and project management at financial institutions, including US Bank and ABN AMRO Bank.

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Julie Markoski

Director of Operations

Julie Markoski has over two decades of experience as an entrepreneur and in technology analysis and commercialization. As a Director at PIUS, Julie employs her experience in technology assessment, intellectual property strategy and review, start-up culture, market analysis, and other factors to analyze current company operations and future prospects.

Julie co-founded INI Power Systems and founded TRIDEC Services, both engineering and product development companies focusing on energy and power innovations for the Department of Defense and its prime contractors. In her previous role at Fuentek, she performed technology and market analysis to form strategy and make commercialization recommendations for universities, government research facilities, international companies, and nonprofit research organizations.

Julie holds a BS in Biology from The College of William and Mary. She earned an MS and Ph.D. in Chemistry, and an MBA in Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Eric Berlin

Managing Director

As a Director at PIUS, Eric Berlin produces custom credit solutions for clients in various sectors and geographies. Eric has more than a decade of experience structuring loans, with an emphasis on technology lending, and managing credit portfolios at large commercial banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, East West Bank, and First Interstate Bank. During his banking career he made a two-year pit stop to work as a research analyst at No Street Capital, a long/short hedge fund in San Francisco where he covered the technology, consumer, and business services sectors. Eric’s experience developing credit solutions across a diverse portfolio of industries allows him to provide the right solution based on the client’s unique needs.

Eric has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Irvine with a specialization in combustion and energy systems.

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Prashanthi Boddu

Director, Technical Underwriting

Prashanthi Boddu offers more than a decade of experience in core technology and intellectual property assessment. As Director, Technical Underwriting at PIUS, she is responsible for performing risk assessment of potential borrowers’ IP and technology, conducting market analysis, and determining the disposition strategy of the borrower’s IP for IP-backed loans.

Prior to joining PIUS, Prashanthi worked as a Senior IP Associate at Aon, leading qualitative intellectual property analysis teams. She also worked as a Senior Associate at Global Prior Art on the semiconductor and electronics team, where she conducted invalidity prior art searches for high-stakes litigation, IP due diligence for acquisitions and patent purchases, freedom-to-operate searches, and patentability searches.

She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, specializing in reliability and fault tolerant computing of complex system designs. She earned a MS degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and a BE in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Osmania University, College of Engineering, in Hyderabad, India.

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Scott Brewer

Director, Technical Underwriting

Scott Brewer is a Registered Patent Agent and Electrical Engineer with extensive experience in patent analysis, patent transactions, intellectual property strategy, patent portfolio management, contract management, and agreement compliance. In his over 30-year career, Scott has worked in all facets of patent portfolio development and leverage, including licensing and transactional work.

At PIUS, Scott is responsible for technology and IP analysis and due diligence, evaluating ownership, encumbrances, and coverage of intellectual property that may impact the value of prospective borrower’s collateral.

Prior to joining PIUS, Scott was Senior IP Analyst at Aon IP Solutions, Patent Licensing Manager at Google, Director of Licensing Operations at Motorola Mobility, and Patent Portfolio Manager for Motorola’s Cellular Networks Business. Scott was also Principal Consultant of his own business, providing patent analysis, valuation, and strategy services to startups and large tech firms. He holds a BS in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.

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Brett Buske

Associate

Brett Buske is an Associate at PIUS, where he supports the evaluation, structuring, and underwriting of credit for technology companies, as well as assisting with portfolio management functions.

Prior to joining PIUS, Brett worked as an Analyst and Associate in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications practice at Texas Capital Bank, focusing on growth-stage software and technology. Brett also served as an intern with ORIX USA on the Growth Capital team, where he aided in monitoring a portfolio of investments in high growth businesses, primarily in the technology, software, and healthcare industries.

Brett holds a BS in finance and economics, and an MS in finance with a concentration in financial engineering from the University of Alabama. He is an alumni member of Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity.

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John Elmore

Managing Director

John Elmore brings over 15 years of experience as an expert in the valuation of technology-based businesses and intangible assets, with particular emphasis on the valuation of patents and trade secrets. He has served in managerial roles with leading multinational financial advisory firms including Duff & Phelps and EY, and he led the IP Valuation Services practice of a boutique valuation firm founded by business valuation icon Dr. Shannon Pratt. In his valuation career, John has valued thousands of patents, IP assets, and business interests in variety of industries. He also has provided deposition and trial testimony as a valuation expert, a damages expert, and a computer technology expert in state and federal courts. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV), as well as an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA).

In addition to his valuation work, John has been a patent examiner with the US Patent and Trademark Office, a software engineer, and an inventor on six issued patents. John graduated first in his class with a B.S. in computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and he earned four graduate degrees from Georgia Tech in electrical engineering, computer science, economics, and an MBA. He further holds a law degree, with honors, from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in IT management from Harvard University.

Amelia Erickson

Director

Amelia Erickson is a Director at PIUS, leading business development and serving as a liaison for strategic relationships. In her role, Amelia facilitates the new client process, from initial introduction through due diligence. Since joining PIUS in 2017, Amelia has been instrumental in delivering custom financing solutions to growing technology companies. In her previous roles with PIUS, Amelia evaluated potential clients’ intellectual property and technology, as well as competitive position, funding history, business model, and market share. Her diverse experience and skill set enables her to bring a unique perspective to relationships with strategic partners and clients. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, Amelia has worked for both start-ups and major corporations, including Apple, in various client-facing and analytical roles.

Amelia holds a BS in Geology and a BA in Art History from University of California, Santa Barbara and a MS in Petroleum Engineering from University of Southern California.

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Erwin Gostomski

Managing Director

Over the past decade, Erwin has spent his career investing in debt and equity securities, with a focus on senior and junior credit and equity in the lower/middle markets and technology sectors.

Prior to joining PIUS, Erwin served as Vice President and Relationship Manager within the Technology Banking group at City National Bank, where he was focused on business development, structuring, underwriting, and portfolio management. Prior to that, Erwin worked for ORIX USA, a financial services provider based in Dallas, in its venture debt and private equity groups.

Erwin graduated cum laude from Baylor University with a BS in Mathematics and minors in Physics and Economics.

Sharmila Kumar

Managing Director

Sharmila brings over 15 years of lending experience across sales, underwriting, and portfolio management to the team.

Prior to joining PIUS, Sharmila was Manager of City National Bank’s San Francisco TechBanking Team, founding member of PNC’s Technology Finance Group. Previous experience includes roles at Wells Fargo Capital Finance and Duff & Phelps.

Sharmila holds a of BA in Economics/Accounting from Claremont McKenna College.

Harry W. Rodgers

Advisor

Harry has responsibility for product distribution through the insurance broker channel and for insurance carrier relationships. He also assists with the design and development of PIUS’s insurance programs.

Harry is an expert in the field of captive insurance companies, segregated cell companies, special purpose entities, and other risk finance-related insurance products. He has overseen the implementation of many successful alternative risk programs including Group Captives, Agency Captives, Liability Risk Retention Groups, and “For Profit” captive insurance programs. Harry has worked extensively in risk management for construction, real estate, transportation, warranty and extended services, and financial services.

Harry is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and is accredited as a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC). Harry is proud to serve on the board of the Divers Alert Network (DAN), which provides worldwide medical assistance, medical research, and scuba-diving insurance products for over 250,000 members.

Laura Schoppe

Managing Director

Laura Schoppe has over 35 years in technology development, management, and commercialization. In addition to supporting PIUS, she also founded Fuentek in 2001, and under her leadership, the company has become one of the world’s leading technology transfer companies for university, government, corporate, and nonprofit research organizations.

Recognized as a leading expert in technology commercialization, Laura has a record of success in helping clients manage their technology proactively, efficiently, and effectively. Her expertise includes restructuring/establishing technology management organizations; IP portfolio management; open innovation; collaborative R&D partnerships, sponsored research agreements (SRAs). Laura serves on advisory panels at the state and national level, including multiple White House panels.

Passionate about encouraging women and minorities to pursue careers in STEM fields, Laura served on the board of FIRST North Carolina for five years and is still a sponsor and a judge during robotics competitions. She currently serves as the chair of the AUTM Foundation that runs an international fellows program to train young people in technology commercialization skills.

Laura holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University and Princeton, and she earned her MBA at the University of North Carolina.