Our Team

NineSigma's unique corporate culture integrates professionals from a variety of fields, including business leaders, innovation consultants and PhD-level scientists. Learn more about our distinguished executive management team and board of directors below.

NineSigma's executive management team:

Andreas M. (Andy) Zynga

Bill Chorba, CPA

Matthew Heim

Akihiko Suwa

Paul S. Stupay



NineSigma's Board of Directors:

John McIlwraith, Chairman, NineSigma, Inc.

Bruce V. Mavec, Vice Chairman, NineSigma, Inc.

Dr. John F. Cassidy Jr.

Daniel Fleming

Dr. Mehran Mehregany, Founder, NineSigma, Inc.

John Mino, Corporate Secretary, NineSigma, Inc.

Akihiko Suwa



Andy Zynga joined NineSigma in February 2008 with the directive of expanding NineSigma’s presence in the European market and building on the existing client base of industry-leading European companies. During his 25-year career, Zynga has built 4 high tech and service businesses successfully in both Europe and the USA. He also spent 6 years at KPMG Consulting (now Bearingpoint) in Germany and London where he successfully grew a division of the Information, Communication, and Entertainment(ICE) Consulting Practice into a major international player.

Prior to joining NineSigma, Zynga spent 4 years as a member of the Executive Committee of Telindus, a global network integrator and outsourcing company with more than $1B in revenues and 3,000 employees in 14 countries.

Zynga earned a dual Masters degree in Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Berlin, Germany.

Bill joined NineSigma in December 2009 as Chief Financial Officer, responsible for global financial management and strategy, risk management, accounting, treasury and administration. Bill comes from a diverse financial and operational background with almost 20 years of experience as an advisor, consultant, and CFO focused on professional service firms in various industries.

Prior to joining NineSigma, Bill began his professional career earning his CPA credentials and working as a tax expert with Arthur Andersen and then as a business advisory, tax, and finance expert with Plante & Moran. From there, Bill seized an opportunity to gain additional finance, merger and acquisition and risk management expertise with Marsh & McLennan Companies, where he served as Vice President as well as an outsourced risk and treasury management professional to Ford Motor Company. With experience now well-rounded in finance, accounting, risk management and treasury, Bill’s next position was as CFO of CPI-HR, an employee benefits, payroll and HR administration, and then as a consultant with a firm focused exclusively on financial intermediaries.

Bill graduated summa cum laude from Baldwin-Wallace with a BA in Business Administration/Accounting.

Matthew Heim joined NineSigma in 2008 as President, responsible for global strategy, strategic alliances, marketing and new product development. Matthew has over 25 years of international management and consulting experience in the areas of strategic planning, innovation, corporate turnarounds and large-scale systems change. Prior to joining NineSigma, Matthew served as Managing Partner of Strategic Services at Clarkston Consulting, Managing Director at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Principal at KPMG Management Consulting in Frankfurt, Germany. Matthew served on the faculty of several major universities, and has recently released his new book, Breaking the Musashi Code: Transcending Competition through Visionary Strategy.

Matthew holds a Ph.D. in Human & Organizational Systems and an MA in Human Development from the Fielding Graduate University, an MS in Systems Management and a Certificate in Information Systems from the University of Southern California, and a BS in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland.

Akihiko Suwa helped launch NineSigma Japan, a subsidiary of NineSigma, Inc., in 2006. Prior to joining NineSigma, Suwa was a Senior Consultant with the Research and Consulting Division of The Japan Research Institute, Ltd. There he developed an alliance with NineSigma and the Battelle Memorial Institute. He conducted numerous NineSigma projects for world-class Japanese companies primarily focusing on technology in-sourcing and new business development. Prior to The Japan Research Institute, Suwa was an Associate with McKinsey & Company Inc. in Japan where he conducted projects in automotive, energy, pharmaceutical, information technology, and other focus areas. He holds a B.S. degree in Applied Physics from Northeastern University and an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Paul Stupay joined NineSigma as Director of Business Development in February 2001, promoted to the position of Vice President in 2003 and promoted to Executive Vice President in 2009. During his tenure at NineSigma Paul has been instrumental in the development of the company through longstanding account relationships and the development of NineSigma’s Open Innovation Services. Paul is a co-founder and Board member of NineSigma Japan. He is currently responsible for North American sales and the company’s global account strategy. Prior to joining NineSigma, Paul managed new business development, strategic alliances and product development for world-class technology companies including Surgency, Ernst & Young LLP and Keithley Instruments, Inc. He earned his M.B.A. in marketing and finance from Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Business, and his B.A. in economics from the University of Wisconsin.


Prior to joining Blue Chip in 1997, John McIlwraith was the Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning for Quantum Health Resources, where he led business development efforts including new drug launches and managed care initiatives. Prior to Quantum, he was a Partner with Jones Day Reavis & Pogue and led the Firm's Venture Capital Practice Group. While at Jones Day, he represented firms such as Morgenthaler Venture Partners and Primus Venture Partners, as well as a number of early stage companies.

McIlwraith serves on the Board of Advisors for Arbor Partners, Isabella Capital, and the Ohio Innovation Fund. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of Gazelle TechVentures.

McIlwraith received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hillsdale College and a Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Bruce V. Mavec has been President of the Royal American Group, a real estate holding company, since its formation in 1972. Mavec is a member of the Council on the Future of Academic Medicine of the Case Western Reserve University. Over the past 25 years, he has been an active business partner in a number of organizations including North Coast Cable Company, Superior Broadcasting, Curtis Wright Partners and the Cleveland securities firm of Prescott, Ball and Turban. Mavec received his bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College.

Dr. John F. Cassidy Jr. retired in 2005 from United Technologies where he was Senior Vice President of Science and Technology. In this role Cassidy was responsible for the day-to-day operation of United Technologies' central R&D facility. These responsibilities included directing the company's global technology activities and establishing research collaborations with industrial organizations, universities, and government laboratories worldwide. United Technologies, a $36 billion company, provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the building infrastructure and aerospace industries. Before joining United Technologies in 1989, Dr. Cassidy worked at General Electric's Corporate R&D Laboratories and General Motors Research Laboratories. He serves on the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Advisory Council to the Georgia Tech Research Institute. Dr. Cassidy is also a senior member of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers.

A native of Troy, New York, Dr. Cassidy earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Dan Fleming began his private equity career with Cincinnati-based Walnut Investments in 1997 and later joined River Cities in 2001. Fleming has been involved in a diverse set of investments over that time including business and marketing services, software applications, and consumer-oriented products and services. Former investments include the Build-a-Bear Workshop, Deals extreme value stores, and Simon Delivers, Inc. Prior to private equity, Fleming held various technology-oriented positions including design engineering at Kodak, and operations management with Owens-Illinois and Procter & Gamble. He also worked in strategic consulting with Towers Perrin. Upon returning to Cincinnati after business school, he rejoined P&G where he held several positions in financial analysis and strategic planning for the company's laundry, chemical, and diaper businesses.

Fleming graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.S., cum laude, in Engineering, and received an MBA from the Harvard Business School with an emphasis in Finance and Business Strategy.

Mehran Mehregany is an innovator and entrepreneur, who has founded, financed and managed a number of technology start-ups since 1990, while also being a faculty at Case Western Reserve University. His entrepreneurial interest centers on: (i) developing and commercializing innovative technology-enabled products; and (ii) pioneering new innovation business models for broader enterprise impact. Mehregany received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990. From 1986 to 1990, he was a consultant to the Robotic Systems Research Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories. He joined the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Case Western Reserve University in 1990 and currently holds the Goodrich Professor of Engineering Innovation endowed chair. He is well known for his research in the area of microelectromechanical systems and silicon carbide, and has over 300 publications describing his work, holds many U.S. patents and is the recipient of a number of awards/honors.

John Mino is a Partner in the law firm of Calfee, Halter & Griswold. Mr. Mino belongs to various practice groups including partnerships, LLCs and joint ventures, private investment funds, general corporate, and public utilities and telecommunications. He received a B.S. and J.D. degree from Georgetown University.