Executive Director / Florida Institute for Commercialization of Public Research

Background

The Florida Institute for Commercialization of Public Research (the Institute) was established to promote commercialization of new discoveries generated from publicly funded research within the State of Florida. It is tasked with paring commercially-viable discoveries with seasoned entrepreneurs and investors for commercialization, and economic development.

The Institute will enable interested parties to evaluate potential opportunities and facilitate the process by which these discoveries enter the commercial marketplace. This work includes building ties between sectors of Florida's research and commercial communities.

Job Duties

. Assist in the commercialization of products developed by research and development activities of universities and colleges, research institutes, and publically supported organizations within Florida in areas such as life sciences, information technology, advanced manufacturing processes, aviation and aerospace, homeland security and defense.

. Establish criteria for admittance into the Institute's assistance program

. Select technologies and companies to mentor, market, and attract capital for commercialization

. Provide support for developing business plans, determining market, and commercialization strategy

. Collaborate with the private sector bringing together potential funding sources, entrepreneurs, and promising technologies

. Hire and lead a full-time staff that understands technology commercialization

. Hire and utilize a staff of entrepreneurs/executives in residence (EIR) on a contract basis to assist in achieving the Institute's goals

. Participate in state and regional committees that drive economic development in Florida

Skills/Qualifications

The successful candidate will have appropriate knowledge and experience in related industries, the ability to create a vision and get buy-in from the necessary constituents, provide strategic leadership and insight in an area of rapidly evolving science, medicine, and technology, create and inspire high performance teams, remove barriers to success, identify and retain talent, establish goals and objectives and motivate others to achieve success.

The candidate must also have excellent interpersonal skills, an awareness of potential sources of conflict and an ability to constructively manage issues and stakeholders in order to arrive at mutually beneficial outcomes, and an ability to overcome cultural, historical, or political barriers in forging new relationships or teams and aligning disparate stakeholders to establish innovative, collaborative partnerships. A track record of accomplishment and demonstrated leadership, a minimum of 10 years of professional experience in technology-related commercialization, business development, finance, strategic consulting, investment banking, or private equity, and an advanced scientific degree - Ph.D., M.D., or M.S. - along with an MBA is preferred.

 Heart damage due to blocked arteries remains the leading cause of disease and death in the Western world, but a Florida State University College of Medicine researcher is helping to open new pathways toward treating the problem.

Michael Blaber, a professor in the department of biomedical sciences, is researching mutant forms of a human protein that have been shown to help the human body grow new blood vessels to restore blood flow in damaged areas of the heart.

Working with a $264,000, three-year grant from the American Heart Association, Blaber hopes to provide data that will enable the use of the mutant proteins in new treatment methods previously unavailable for patients with advanced "no option'' heart disease.

The work has enormous potential commercial applications and already has drawn the attention of private companies interested in the results Blaber's lab has achieved and the intellectual properties his studies are generating.