Luke Deering is the Author of the 1st comprehensive book on Accelerator programs - Accelerate. Luke is also co-founder and CEO at VineUp. Prior to VineUp, Luke worked for Estée Lauder before joining New York City startup Panjiva, shortly after it raised $5m in venture capital funding.

Luke is an avid basketball player, winning the Under 20’s British National Basketball Championship in 2001, while attending the National Sports academy in Durham England. Luke’s passion for basketball was the catalyst for his move from the UK to the US.

After suffering an injury, Luke turned his efforts from basketball to academia and made a second move to the US. Upon returning, he attended several colleges before settling at Montclair State University on a full academic scholarship. Despite struggling with dyslexia, Luke went on to become Academic All-American and was presented with several other awards including The Wall-Street Journal Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement.

Patrick Riley is the Executive Director the Global Accelerator Network. He started his career working for W.L. Gore and Associates and moved into the leadership of the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. Patrick left the Red Cross to manage the west coast sales and operations for a venture backed healthcare technology company. After moving to Colorado he completed an MBA at the University of Colorado. Following his passion to support start-up companies around the world, Patrick took on his current role at the Global Accelerator Network. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, bike riding, traveling, and skiing around Colorado.