When proud Maryland native Renee Winsky got the chance to help her state expand its technology-based economy, she jumped at it.
“The organization kind of intrigued me,” said Winsky, of the Maryland Technology Development Corp., where she recently accepted an executive director position. The state-funded organization is charged with developing Maryland’s technology industry.
“I’m pretty darn passionate about what TEDCO is all about,” she said.
The Maryland General Assembly chartered TEDCO in 1998 as a source of funding for technology start-up companies. After an already extensive career in economic development, including stints with the Maryland Municipal League and the Technology Association of America, Winsky was hired as the fledgling organization’s deputy executive director in 2000. In those seven years, TEDCO has grown into the nation’s biggest funder of startup and early stage technology companies and become a national example for technology transfers.
“[The General Assembly] created the organization to tap into the federal labs and universities,” Winsky said. By leveraging those resources, TEDCO has managed to turn Maryland into a technology industry powerhouse.
For example, the organization’s Technology Transfer Fund, just one of several funding sources TEDCO offers, has invested $3.6 million in 65 start-up companies since 2000. Once on their feet with the help of TEDCO, those companies have been able to turn that relatively small investment into more than $133.5 million in funding from bigger venture firms and investors over the years.
“We are the first money in the door when these companies are transferring [technology] from the lab,” Winsky said. “And we’ve got a very good record of doing that.”
Today Winsky is especially focused on Maryland’s future as
TEDCO’s new executive director. She was promoted just last month after a year as interim director. She replaced Phillip Singerman, who led the organization since its inception and left to become a venture partner at Bethesda-based Toucan Capital, a life sciences-focused venture firm.
“He lives and breathes economic development like no one I know,” Winsky said of her predecessor. “[When I came to TEDCO], I knew about economic development, but I didn’t know the nuances of technology-based economic development.”
Winsky said she’ll keep TEDCO on its current course, but also plans to look into broadening federal funding programs at TEDCO, as well as expanding the organization’s stem cell research fund, which currently stands at $15 million.
“The past year has been phenomenal,” Winksy said. “It’s been a great opportunity to serve as interim director. “I’m excited about what we’ve created and the opportunity to lead [TEDCO].”
Business
Current job: Executive Director, Maryland Technology Development Corp.
Last job: Interim and Deputy Executive Director, TEDCO
Number of e-mails a day: Way too many
Number of voice mails a day: A dozen or so
Essential Web site: www.dogpile.com
Best perk: Networking with Maryland’s best entrepreneurs
Gadgets: My Nokia 9300 (all-in-one cell phone/pda/Web access
Education/credentials: Graduate of Maryland’s Flagship University
Last conference: Maryland Economic Development Association
First job: Worked behind the snack bar at a roller-skating rink
Original aspiration: Technical director for a live newscast
Career objective: Learn from others as I grow professionally
Personal
Hometown: Seabrook, Md.
Sports/hobbies: Golf, watching my daughter play sports, cheering on U.Md.
Transportation: Acura MDX
Favorite restaurant: Yellowfin, Edgewater, Md.
Computer: hp desktops, Toshiba laptop
Favorite clothier: Talbot’s
Vacation spot: Most any beach in the Caribbean
Role model: Many personal influences, but none have made the front page
Quote: “Good things come to those who wait.”
Reading: O’Malley/Brown Business and Economic Development Transition Report