Advisors
Terese Hunwick
Co-founder and Managing Partner, Freshbank partners
Terese Hunwick is an executive, investor, and advisor with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations grow, transform, and create value across industrial, transportation, and business services sectors. She is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Freshbank Partners, a strategic advisory firm focused on founder- and family-led businesses.
Throughout her career, she has built and led high-performing teams while helping organizations improve operations, execute growth strategies, and navigate strategic transitions. Prior to Freshbank, Terese held leadership positions with Eco Material Technologies, Boral, Lhoist North America, Holcim, and Arthur Andersen.
As an active early-stage investor, Terese has worked with several venture capital funds and startup companies, including BELLE Michigan Fund, Augment Ventures, 1885 Capital, and Quincy Materials. Through these roles, she supports entrepreneurs and emerging companies through capital raises, governance, strategy, mentorship, and networking.
Outside of work, Terese enjoys travel, sports, and exploring different cultures and values time spent with family and friends.
Brad King
Co-founder and CEO, Orbion space Technology
Brad King is a plasma-physicist-turned-street-fighting CEO and the Co-founder of Orbion Space Technology. Brad earned his PhD from the University of Michigan studying Hall-effect thrusters before they were cool. Since co-founding Orbion in 2016, Brad has transitioned away from the easy discipline of rocket science and into the much more difficult discipline of manufacturing. Orbion Space Technology is an AS9100-certified vertical manufacturing company that builds and ships hundreds of the industry’s highest-performing electric propulsion systems each year.
David Rowe
Chief Executive Officer, MTEC SmartZone
David Rowe is an early-stage investor and technology executive who has spent the last fourteen years of his career helping Upper Peninsula companies get built. He is a founding board member of the Innovation Shore Angel Network and has personally invested in six high-technology startups, among them Orbion Space Technology.
David’s interest in funding high-tech startups eventually resulted in him assuming the role as CEO of the MTEC SmartZone in Houghton. David leads a team that incubates high-technology startups and helps innovators commercialize emerging technology — work that has ranged from early company formation through a client's $145 million award from the Department of Energy. He has served as a director of Micro-Device Engineering, where he helped secure more than $1.3 million in National Science Foundation funding.
His operating background spans finance, operations, product development, and sales. David established and directed the Houghton engineering services office for Systems Control, was CFO and VP of Business Development at REL, Inc. in Calumet, and spent nineteen years with the Denver Hardwood Company and The Hamar Group, growing a distribution business from three locations and 34 employees to fifteen locations and more than 200. He spent time early in his career at D&N Bank in Hancock as VP of Marketing and Operations Development.
David served twelve years as a Trustee of the Michigan Tech Fund, chairing its Finance and Audit Committee, and currently serves as a Trustee of UP Health System – Marquette, a Trustee of Finlandia Foundation National Association, and a gubernatorial appointee to Michigan's MiSTEM Advisory Council.
A two-time Michigan Tech graduate with an MBA from Michigan State's Broad School, David lives in Dollar Bay. He was also the co-owner a hockey club (which he maintains is unrelated to his tolerance for risk) and guided that organization to a 2x return on investment over three years upon exit in May of 2025.
Leo Isleib
Director of Development & External Affairs for JM Longyear
Leo Isleib is the Director of Development & External Affairs for JM Longyear, where he supports the company’s strategic growth and regional engagement.
A native of Munising, Michigan, Leo’s background spans operations, tourism, and economic development. His early career included a decade managing maritime operations, safety, and compliance for Pictured Rocks Cruises. He subsequently spent five years in economic development, advising Northern Michigan small businesses and startups on scaling, operational challenges, and navigating state and federal support programs. Leo is also a Certified Federal Contract Manager (CFCM).
A double alumnus of Northern Michigan University, Leo holds a Bachelor’s degree and an MBA. He lives in Negaunee, Michigan with his wife, daughter, and their overindulged labradoodle.