Brenner was the founder and managing partner of IdeaWorks, an incubator/accelerator firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  He was also the founder and president of AVI, where he led the development of several new business ventures, including the highly successful e-commerce business, Ocean Essentials.  Previously, Brenner enjoyed a successful career in marketing at Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and, later, general and senior management at Kellogg's.  In these roles Brenner typically led new business development, with a passion for identifying and developing new innovative products or business models to expand the company’s footprint.  He is the former chairman of the Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest business plan competition, a co-founder of the Western Michigan chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and a former board member of the American Marketing Association Foundation and the AMA Edison Awards recognizing the best new products of the year.  Brenner recently joined the TechPoint Board headquartered in Indianapolis.

A 1973 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Brenner sits on the advisory board of the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies in the Mendoza College of Business. His wife, Denise, and their three children are also ND alumni.

As vice chairman, Tom Mendoza dedicates his time to helping NetApp customers, partners, and sales teams realize the value that NetApp delivers. Mendoza joined NetApp in 1994 as the head of North American Sales and later served as the company's president from 2000 until 2008.
Mendoza has been the keynote speaker for such diverse organizations as Oracle, Symantec, CIO forums in multiple cities, and the U.S. Marine Corps. He is a sought after motivational speaker and often speaks about corporate culture and leadership for organizations all over the world. Mendoza, along with NetApp CEO and chairman Dan Warmenhoven, were co-recipients of the 2009 Morgan Stanley Leadership Award for Global Commerce. This award is part of the Computerworld Honors Leadership Awards that are presented annually to individuals who have been instrumental in revolutionizing the use of information technology.