01
Acting CEO
I run the company while the faculty founder stays in their research role. This works best for early spinouts that don't yet have a permanent CEO.
Fractional executive services
for research-stage technology companies
I help scientists turn their inventions, discoveries, and IP into viable companies. Or commercialize them through licensing.
About
I'm Diana Shapiro, founder of C-Suite Partners.
C-Suite Partners holds two engagements with USF.
Through USF Technology Transfer, I serve as Executive in Residence, Acting CEO of three USF spinouts, and Acting COO of two others. These are typically 12-month placements under the USF Venture Portfolio program, lasting until the company is funded and ready to bring on its own permanent leadership.
Through USF CONNECT, C-Suite Partners has a separate contract supporting Tampa Bay Technology Incubator (TBTI) companies. TBTI is the USF incubator program for early-stage technology startups in the Tampa Bay region.
The work in both is hands-on: setting up the company, licensing the technology, working through FDA and reimbursement questions, applying for grants, talking to investors, and running day-to-day operations.
23+ years building companies. About a decade of that has been focused on translating university research into businesses.
I work with USF faculty and TBTI companies, and I also work with researchers and startups outside USF. If you're a researcher with an invention you think could become a company, or a startup that needs an experienced operator, get in touch.
What I do
Three ways to work together.
02
Acting COO
I work alongside an existing CEO to manage operations, regulatory work, fundraising, and execution.
03
Fractional & Advisory
Part-time executive work or board roles for companies that need experienced leadership but aren't ready to hire someone full-time. Includes the C-Suite Partners contract supporting TBTI companies through USF CONNECT.
Current portfolio
Five USF spinouts.
Four were named 2026 Florida High Tech Corridor Early-Stage Innovation Fund awardees by USF Research on May 4, 2026.
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GlaucHome
An at-home test for glaucoma using a smartphone app and a VR headset.
USF Health Morsani, with AI work from USF Bellini.
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HackSEE
A cloud platform that lets students learn hardware security from any web browser.
USF Bellini.
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evergait
A wearable device that helps stroke survivors relearn to walk at home.
USF College of Engineering.
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Digitomy
AI that identifies disease-carrying mosquitoes in real time.
USF Bellini, with public health work from the USF College of Public Health.
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Panthea Life
A first-of-its-kind probiotic for women going through menopause.
USF Health Morsani and University of Minnesota Medical School.
Before USF
Before USF, I was CEO of Dynam.AI, an enterprise AI company recognized by Red Herring as a Top 100 Global company in 2022 and named a Gartner Cool Vendor for AI in Simulation that same year.
Before that, COO of PeakLogic, a veteran-owned neurotechnology company that built PrTMS®, a patented brain stimulation protocol now used by licensed providers globally. PrTMS® is used to treat depression, anxiety, PTSD, autism, traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and addiction. It's been studied in more than a dozen published research papers and is currently part of an active clinical trial at Walter Reed in partnership with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation (NCT06214949).
Earlier in my career: COO of Environmental Waste Solutions (an Inc. 5000 company) and EVP of Sales at Capital Management Sciences, which built BondEdge.
Credentials
- Bachelor of Business Administration, Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst
- MIT-certified in AI in Business Strategy (2020)
- NSF I-Corps Fellow (2025)
- Prosci-certified in Change Management (2023)
- Top 50 Women of Influence in Technology, San Diego Business Journal (2022)
Who I work best with
- Have technology that came out of university research.
- Have a scientist or engineer in the founder seat who needs someone to handle the business side.
- Are pre-Series A or just starting Series A.
- Are in healthcare, AI, biotech, medical devices, or other deep-tech areas.
- Have to navigate FDA, CE, HIPAA, or similar regulatory work.
Get in touch.
If you're a researcher with technology you think could become a company, a founder who needs experienced help, a TBTI company that needs operating support, or a TTO at another university looking to plug an experienced operator into a faculty-led startup, send me a note.