The Management Team offers a unique blend of domain experience and educational backgrounds in finance, business, medicine and computer science – all linked by a practical business perspective. This cross-functional team is uniquely positioned to identify and evaluate investments.
Linda M. Fingerle, CPA, MBA President and Managing Director - THV I and II
Linda brings over 25 years of business and finance experience to the Tappan Hill Team including eight years in Venture Capital serving as CFO and Principal of EDF Ventures in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While at EDF, she served as a board member and acting CFO for a tech start-up internet technology company. She was also board observer and managed EDF’s operations.
Linda served on the board and was Audit Committee Chair for Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTM) a Michigan based biotech. She also provided strategic & financial consulting to an Ann Arbor based biotech start-up culminating in a successful exit in 2009.
Prior to EDF, Linda was a Group Operating President for MascoTech, Inc., a Michigan based Manufacturing Corporation. Linda was active in MascoTech’s robust M & A program as well as oversight responsibilities for several operating units. Prior to MascoTech, Linda was a Group Operating Vice-President with TriMas Corporation, an Ann Arbor-based industrial proprietary products manufacturer, and a key member of TriMas's strategic acquisition team and played a key role in expanding TriMas's growth & profitability via acquisitions. TriMas was acquired by MascoTech, Inc. at a purchase price of $1.4 billion representing 10 times EBITDA.
Previously, she was a Senior Audit Manager at Arthur Andersen & Co., where she performed due diligence for financings and acquisitions for early stage public and private companies.
Linda earned her MBA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and a BA in Accounting from Michigan State University (CPA in the State of Michigan).
Carl Erickson, PhD Managing Director - THV I
Carl Erickson is the CEO of Atomic Object, a software design and development consultancy that creates custom mobile, web, and embedded applications for a broad range of industries.
Atomic’s track record of client success includes startups, like Bloomfire, Sidereel and Blue Medora, as well as multinational firms like John Deere, Steelcase, Whirlpool, and World Bank. As software continues to drive innovation and product competitiveness, Atomic and Carl have the expertise and experience to drive business value through software innovation.
Over the course of 13 years Atomic has helped 200+ clients grow their business by creating compelling software products. Those clients span a wide range of industries, including automotive, financial services, education, healthcare, manufacturing, and test & measurement. Knowing what’s worked—and what hasn’t worked—gives Tappan Hill a strategic advantage in identifying and vetting attractive technology investments.
After a successful academic career, Carl took the position of VP of Engineering for deltamode, a company in Austin, Texas. In 2001 he co-founded Atomic Object from the ashes of that failed startup. A diverse client base and strong reputation for quality has resulted in compounded annual revenue growth for Atomic of 28% since 2002, and a geographical expansion to Detroit & Ann Arbor.
Carl is an active angel investor and is currently on the board of Grand Angels, a west Michigan angel investment group. He serves on the investment committee for the Invest Michigan Pre-Seed Fund.
He has experience serving on the boards of technology startups including Mock Draft Central (exited 2010), Varsity News Network, Local Orbit, and Blue Medora. He is soon joining the board of Legacy Trust, a wealth management firm located in Grand Rapids.
Carl earned BS, MS, and PhD degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Purdue University and Michigan State University.
Walter Sahijdak, MD, MBA Managing Director - THV I
Walter Sahijdak is a board-certified radiation oncologist with over 23 years of experience in clinical cancer patient management. His clinical interests include breast and prostate cancer, brachytherapy, radiosurgery strategies for multi-disciplinary cancer patient care and electronic medical record optimization.
He currently is the Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at Saint Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and Codirector of the CyberKnife Radiosurgery Center at Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital. Previously, he was an assistant clinical professor at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor and completed his residency in Radiation Oncology at the University of Michigan Medical Center.
He is currently the lead physician supervising the radiation oncology program located at 2 hospitals and two cancer centers in Southeast Michigan.
Walt's MD and MBA degrees were both earned at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Matt Mills Managing Partner - THV II
Matt has been a managing director for Tappan Hill Ventures for 2 years. Matt and Linda met on as board members at Stabilitas (a THV I company). Together we orchestrated the exit to OnSolve/Veritas Capital. The CEO of OnSolve was also a former Oracle exec. Matt’s network from Oracle made the difference.
Matt brings over 30 years of experience to his role as SailPoint’s President, Worldwide Field Operations. Matt spent over 20 years at Oracle as Senior Vice President North America Sales where he oversaw over 8,000 employees and was responsible for $4.5B in annual revenues. While at Oracle, Matt also developed a keen eye for acquisitions with Oracle acquiring nearly 100 companies. He accumulated a significant personal network. He also gained significant exposure to new markets, emerging technologies and numerous corporate transformations. Prior to Sailpoint, Matt was the CEO of MapR Technologies until 2018 and is currently a board advisor and member to early-stage SaaS companies.
Matt holds a BA in Business from Ferris State University in Michigan. Matt resides in Austin and Dallas, Texas.
Roger Kjensrud Venture Partner - THV II
Roger brings over 20 years of software engineering, technology leadership and entrepreneurship to the team. He is passionate about building great teams solving real problems for customers through software and technology.
He is currently the Chief Technology Officer of Impact, a partnership automation platform, where he leads engineering and technical support departments. Impact has become the leader in the partnership automation category with several Fortune 500 clients. Prior to Impact, Roger was co-founder and technology leader at Savings.com (sold to Cox Media Group in 2012 for $120 million), Leadpoint, and Commission. Junction (sold to ValueClick in 2003 for $60 million). Roger started out his professional career in digital communications working for ITT Industries (NYSE: ITT) as an engineering manager in the Advanced Engineering & Sciences (AES) division.
Roger earned his MS and BS degrees in Electrical Engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to that he earned a BS degree in Telecommunications from Gjøvik College of Engineering, Norway. Roger resides in Santa Barbara, CA.