Joel founded Adams Capital Management in 1994 and raised $815 million of capital since inception. Before establishing ACM, Joel served for eight years as Vice President and General Partner of Fostin Capital Corp., a Pittsburgh-based, family-owned investment firm. Prior to Fostin, Joel served for seven years as a nuclear test engineer for General Dynamics, where he managed chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering teams and directed nuclear power plant sea trials.

Joel is a member of several charitable organizations, a Trustee of Carnegie Mellon University and a frequently requested speaker on the topic of venture capital. Joel has also received a number of distinctions throughout his career, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and the Graduate of Distinction Award from Midlakes High School.

General Partner

Email

Industry Expertise

• Distribution Systems
• Information Technologies
• Medical Oncology Diagnostics
• Web Enabled Services

Education

• M.S. Industrial Administration
  Carnegie Mellon University
• B.S. Nuclear Engineering
  State University of New York at Buffalo

Current Board Seats

• Dynamics Inc.
• First Insight, Inc.
• RoadRunner Recycling, Inc.
• VBrick Systems, Inc.

Relevant Investment Experience

• AirNet Corporation
  IPO
• AutoESL Design Technologies, Inc.
  Acquired by Xilinx
• CoreTek, Inc.
  Acquired by Nortel Networks
• Cytyc Corporation
  IPO, acquired by Hologic
• Dell Computer Corporation
  IPO
• Innovative Solutions & Support, Inc.
  (NASDAQ: ISSC)
• Intrinsity, Inc.
  Acquired by Apple
• NetSolve, Inc.
  IPO, acquired by Cisco
• ReturnCentral, Inc.
  Acquired by Manhattan Associates
• SmartOps Corporation
  Acquired by SAP
• The Efficiency Network, Inc. (TEN)
  Acquired by Duquesne Light

In The Community

• Trustee of Carnegie Mellon University