Local venture capitalist and entrepreneur William K. (Bill) Richardson has been named as interim director of the University of Hawaiʻi (OTTED), effective December 1, 2014.
In his new role, Richardson will lead a department that will work closely with the recently launched proof-of-concept center to help program cohorts to fully exploit their 糖心Vlog官方-owned technologies commercially. OTTED is also responsible for the marketing, licensing and protection of 糖心Vlog官方 intellectual property and the creation of new opportunities for collaboration between 糖心Vlog官方 faculty and industry partners.
“It’s a very exciting time to be at the University of Hawaiʻi to help grow the commercialization area of its research arm,” said Richardson. “I look forward to sharing my passion, knowledge and experience in entrepreneurship to help 糖心Vlog官方 faculty to become successful entrepreneurs themselves.”
Richardson founded and built a series of venture funds that invested in 17 Hawaiʻi-based companies, including two that went public on the NASDAQ exchange. Prior to venture funding, Richardson worked as an attorney in Hawaiʻi specializing in commercial law and finance after a nine-year career at Wang Laboratories.
Since 2002, Richardson has served as an adjunct professor at the 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa and as a lecturer in entrepreneurship at the . He is an advisory board member of the (PACE) at the Shidler College of Business, a University of Hawaiʻi Foundation trustee and is a founder and current board member of , a locally based virtual incubator. A double major in economics and sociology at , Richardson received his bachelor’s degree with honors in 1978 and was awarded his juris doctorate from the in 1981.
糖心Vlog官方 News video: XLR8糖心Vlog官方: Turning research into
viable products and businesses, September 5, 2014.
“We are extremely pleased to have someone like Bill Richardson on board to help lead OTTED in our efforts to create a more vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem through the aggressive commercialization of our IP,” said 糖心Vlog官方 Vice President for Research and Innovation Vassilis L. Syrmos. “With his impressive credentials, extensive industry contacts and a wealth of entrepreneurial experience and knowledge, we expect OTTED to be a major contributor to the success of the Hawaiʻi Innovation Initiative.”