by David Morris
Tech entrepreneurs becoming more active in Davis business ecosystem – techDAVIS announced today that it has expanded its non-profit Board of Directors to include four more technology sector leaders from the Davis area.
The additions include: Pam Marrone, Founder and CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations, which held a successful $61 million IPO in August 2013; Ken Ouimet, Co-Founder and CEO of Engage3, a provider of on-demand, comparative retail intelligence and digital marketing services; Zachary Wochok, President and Founder of the Wochok Group, LLC, an international management consulting firm; and Grayson Beck, Co-Founder of Aduro Laser, which develops precision laser cutting tools.
These new directors join the existing Board, which includes Robert Medearis, Co-Founder of Silicon Valley Bank and local entrepreneur, and David Morris, Founder of Capitol Corridor Ventures, tech entrepreneur, and former member of the UC Davis medical faculty. Rob White, the Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Davis, has also been added to the organization as an ex-officio Advisor to the Board. Gilles Attia of DLA Piper is the Secretary to the Board and legal counsel.
As a result of these additional members, the techDAVIS Board now has representation from the industries of ag tech, mobile tech, executive leadership, advanced manufacturing, financial services, and biomedicine. Additional Board members will be added in the coming weeks.
“There is a strong core of tech executives in Davis, and we are enthusiastic that such high caliber leaders have decided to join us,” said Morris, Managing Director of techDAVIS.
As technology businesses in the Davis ecosystem become increasingly more visible, the growing techDAVIS organization continues to convene and support forums for the executives and leadership of the tech community to network and collaborate.
Most recently, techDAVIS and its leadership have been proponents for a tech business park that will increase the opportunities for local technology businesses to grow in Davis, as well as opportunities to recruit new technology companies to the region that want to establish a presence in close proximity to UC Davis.
Although no sites have been formally selected by the community, tech sector advocates have identified several locations that would be ideal, including land northeast of the interchange at Mace Boulevard and Interstate 80 and land northeast of the Sutter Davis Hospital. In November 2012, these two areas were identified by the City Council and the Davis Innovation Park Task Force as appropriate areas for consideration of growth for technology sector businesses.
To underscore this unmet need, Robert Medearis recently told the Davis City Council, “We badly need business parks to develop ideas that are generated within this fine university.”
Morris states that going forward “techDAVIS will continue to grow and convene opportunities for the tech sector to meet, network and collaborate, with a particular focus on developing a robust tech ecosystem in Davis and taking advantage of the significant regional asset presented by the university.”
techDAVIS is a business association comprised of current and former senior technology executives with close ties to UC Davis and the Davis community, as well as ex officio members from the government, academic, and business services sectors. The association’s goal is to help grow the innovation economy in Davis and the surrounding region.
The organization began meeting as an informal entrepreneur focus group in March 2011. It was reorganized by Co-Founders David Morris and Robert Medearis as a 501(c)3 and named techDAVIS in February 2013. techDAVIS currently has approximately twenty members and more than a dozen sponsors.
Editor’s note: This was a press release, re-printed verbatim
[quote]Rob White, the Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Davis, has also been added to the organization as an ex-officio Advisor to the Board.[/quote]
I’m curious, does this creates any conflicts?
He’d be the liaison to the city anyway. Ex-officio/ advisor is basically the same capacity.
it will be hard to disagree with those choices. i think this is a strong effort, there was some sloppiness early but it’s cleaning up nicely. can’t wait to see how michael bisch responds however.
GI – Fair question. I have been officially added to the techDAVIS org as an ex-officio Advisor to the Board, as stated. This means I advise them on policy issues and overlap with City objectives, much the same way community development staff inform and advise the Chamber’s Government Relations Committee (GRC).
Since fundraising for 50% of my salary has been removed as part of the techDAVIS objectives, the City Attorney has opined that there is no longer a conflict of interest. This means I can work more collaboratively along side the very credible group of tech folks that are meeting to discuss ways to grow their efforts… efforts that will eventually lead to increased capital investment, increased facilities for research and manufacturing, and more collaboration amongst the tech community.
Great! I hope they are highly successful in achieving their aim:
“…is to increase economic development activities that benefit the citizens of the City, increase job opportunities, recruit businesses to locate within the City, retain existing businesses located within the City, provide opportunities to partner with UC Davis and others to foster innovation and startup companies located within the City, and enhance the Davis entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
-Michael Bisch
Will someone please provide a schematic showing how and where techDAVIS interacts with the other entities involved within the Davis business “ecosystem?” How does the frenetic activity described here meaningfully merge with rational and measured planning within our fair City as well as our current zoning laws and land use policies!?!
Steve – great suggestion! I have been working on something that will outline the city’s functions, but maybe I will include some of the external players like techDAVIS, Davis Roots, UCD, SARTA, Innovate North State, 530 Angels, SeedCentral, World Food Center, Gov’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), BayBio, federal research labs, other universities, etc… As you can see, lots to keep track of but it would be good to see how they all fit together.
Thank you Rob!
looking forward to rob’s piece tomorrow.