Mike Colby

Senior Advisor

Mike Colby joined SEP in January of 2022 as a Senior Advisor. With an extensive background focused on efficiently and systematically guiding organizations from initial technology development to commercial product release, he understands how to structure and lead early-stage ventures to reach their scalable vision. Mike brings pivotal post-acquisition experience leading company integration and tech transfer; supporting Fortune 100 companies in multiple sectors; and managing technology licensing, supply chains, engineering, and contract manufacturing with strategic partners in the US, Europe, and Asia.

Initially captivated by the opportunity to teach in Africa, Mike taught physics and mathematics in rural Kenya as part of the Harvard Institute for International Development program WorldTeach. This enthusiasm for teaching, combined with his engineering background, triggered an interest and passion for encouraging people to realize their professional potential while providing companies with intentional operational leadership. For more than 20 years, Mike has implemented the structure and discipline necessary to scale products and companies in resource-challenged environments. He has applied his technical background (BSEE, Syracuse University), his skills as a leader, and his focus on transforming ideas into products to consumer electronics, telematics, telecom, pharmaceuticals, aviation, solar energy, energy conservation, IoT, and medical devices.

As the COO of Prima-Temp, Mike brought the discipline necessary to engineer the product design, wireless performance, and AI functionality of the first commercially available Bluetooth IoT sensor that continuously measures a core body temperature signal and processes it into predictive diagnostics. Prior to Prima-Temp, Mike held executive positions at Terralux, delivering energy-conserving LED lighting and IoT building control solutions to commercial customers and at Ampulse, a solar energy collaboration with NREL and ORNL to produce an industry-first heteroepitaxial c-Si solar photovoltaic using CVD and PVD methods. Mike also held management roles at Picolight, where he was central to the successful 2007 acquisition of the company by JDSU and directed all the post-acquisition activities that integrated the two companies with a full technology, supply chain, and manufacturing transfer.