Piet Dossche, President of USFloors & EVP, Hard Surface at Shaw Industries, started his career in the Flooring Industry in 1981 with the Beaulieu Group in Belgium and moved one year later to the UK where he became Managing Director of their UK manufacturing plant. In 1990, Dossche and his family moved to the United States where he would preside over several companies owned by Beaulieu of America, based in Dalton, GA. In 2001, Piet left Beaulieu of America and started USFloors Inc. During the past 14 years, USFloors has grown to become the floor covering industry leader in cork, bamboo, oiled finished hardwood floors and engineered LVT floors.

Jamie Hamilton, Managing Director of Atlanta Seed Co, is responsible for the formulation and implementation of the investment strategy. He has an extensive background in alternative investments, with a focus in early stage technology. Hamilton began his career with Capital Investments, Inc. (Member FINRA / SIPC) where he focused exclusively on private placements of equity for high net worth individuals. He has been a prolific early stage investor in Atlanta and while at Hamilton Ventures he invested in companies such as BrightWhistle, Pindrop Security and PlayON! Sports.

Santosh Sankar, Founding Partner of Dynamo Ventures, a Chattanooga-based early stage fund that invests in extraordinary founding teams building startups in supply chain and mobility. Prior to Dynamo, Santosh worked in investment banking and built two bootstrapped businesses prior to turning 21. Santosh is a proud graduate of Penn State University. He now lives in Chattanooga, TN with his wife, son, and two golden retrievers. He was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List in 2017.

Dr. Marilyn Helms, Dean of the Wright School of Business, Holds a Doctorate of Business Administration Degree (as well as an M.B.A. and B.B.A.) from the University of Memphis (TN). She is a Certified Fellow in Production and Inventory Management (CFPIM), a Certified Integrated Resources Manager (CIRM), Certified in Logistics, Transportation, and Distribution (CLTD) and a Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) of the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS). She also holds the Certified Quality Management/Organizational Excellence from the American Society for Quality (ASQ).

Awarded Prizes

Winners of PitchDIA 2019 will receive prizes valued at over $30,000!

12-year-old Tripp Phillips won first place in the Innagural PitchDIA contest on May 15, 2018 by presenting Le-Glue—a non-permanent glue that binds LEGOs and other building blocks together without damaging them. Tripp proceeded to compete on the TV show Shark Tank, winning a deal with Kevin O’Leary for $80,000 in exchange for 25% of Le-Glue’s shares.  Following the Shark Tank deal, Le-Glue was invited to exhibit at the 2019 New York Toy Fair. To learn more about Tripp’s great idea, please visit Le-Glue’s website.