In 1997, Denny co-founded Trillium Group, LLC. Trillium is a Rochester-based venture capital and private equity firm. At Trillium, he is the fund executive of the Monroe Fund, LLC, an early stage venture capital fund now in its exit phase. The Monroe Fund targeted A Round investments in regional technology-oriented businesses in their startup and early growth phases.
Prior to founding Trillium Group, he was employed by Eastman Kodak Company, initially as a lawyer in the corporate legal division, practicing primarily patent law. Following his work in the legal division, he joined the Kodak Chairman’s staff and managed corporate business aspects of technology development, commercialization and protection. In that capacity, he was elected a Kodak Vice President and Director, Corporate Commercial Affairs, where he managed a corporate department responsible for a wide range of technology-based transactions, including, licensing, business partnerships and acquisition and divestiture of technology, products and businesses.
He later moved to operating management as Vice President and General Manager of the Bioscience and Emerging Businesses Division and Vice President, General Manager of the Image Acquisition Products Division. The latter made and sold CCD image sensors and commercialized a variety of electronic camera and image scanner products. He also served as President and CEO of Eastman Technology, Inc., a Kodak subsidiary formed to launch businesses based on leading-edge technologies. As chief executive, he had overall profit-and-loss accountability and managed a portfolio of more than a dozen new ventures ranging from under $1 million to over $50 million in annual revenue.
He holds a B. A. from the University of Rochester, a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business. He is a former member of the Patent Policy Board of the State University of New York and a former Vice Chairman of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Board. He is a Board member of the Upstate Venture Association of New York and of a number of private companies.