Gerry Purdy
PARTNER
J. Gerry Purdy, Ph.D. graduated from the University of Tennessee and went to work for the TRW division of Grumman Aerospace in Redondo Beach as a programmer where he merged all the Apollo Moon mission telemetry data into a single file with common attributes. He earned an MS in Computer Science at UCLA where he worked on Top Secret projects for the US Airforce. He was awarded a full-ride Ph.D. fellowship to attend Stanford where he earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Exercise Physiology.
Following Stanford, Dr. Purdy worked at the Institute for Aerobics Research where he designed a computer system that determined the relationship between exercise and heart disease. He subsequently worked as head of Information Systems for the Arizona Heart Institute. He also built an early LAN system to record member’s exercise data for two chains of athletic clubs.
Dr. Purdy became a Product Marketing Manager for Compaq Computer in Houston and later returned to Silicon Valley to work for Fujitsu and Phoenix Technologies.
Dr. Purdy transitioned to become an industry analyst when he joined Gartner/Dataquest as Director of Mobile and Wireless. He created Mobile Insights, a successful market research firm that after 10 years received a $15 million buyout offer in 2001. This was followed by five years as VP & Chief Mobile and Wireless Analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
Dr. Purdy became a Venture Partner with Diamondhead Ventures where he led an investment in Danger which was subsequently acquired by Microsoft for $650 million. He then relocated to South Florida for family reasons and joined the mentor team at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Tech Runway incubator. He mentored CEOs and startups. Dr. Purdy has also been a member of the Advisory Board for the Computer Science Department at FAU.
With the tremendous growth in venture investing in the Miami area, Dr. Purdy is fortunate to have joined Advantary as a Partner and will identify growth stage startups that can benefit from Advantary’s unique combination of world-class advisory skills along with Smart Capital.
Dr. Purdy was an avid distance runner during most of his adult life. He often competed in road races including a few marathons and is most proud of his 3:23:00 marathon. He developed a mathematical model of athletic performance for his Ph.D. thesis that resulted in changing the Scoring Table for the Olympic Decathlon. He is the proud father of five children and 11 grandchildren.
Dr. Purdy’s significant other is Dr. María de los Ángeles Ortega Hernández, Associate Dean & Professor of the College of Nursing at FAU.
Expertise
Biz Dev, Marketing, and Product Development & Mentoring
Location
Miami
Roles
Strategy, Product Manager, Marketing, Artificial Intelligence, Board of Directors
Sectors
Mobile, Wireless, IoT, Venture Capital, Artificial Intelligence
Traits
Entrepreneur, CEO, Startups, Mentor, Venture Capitalist
Entrepreneur & VC
• Board of Directors
• Business/Corporate Development
• Venture Capital
• Corporate Strategy
• Product Design
• Mobile, Wireless, IoT