HOUGHTON, MI – (November 8, 2018) – The MTEC SmartZone Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Daniel Jamison as Chief Executive Officer effective December 1, 2018. He succeeds MTEC’s current CEO Marilyn Clark who recently announced her retirement after serving 6 years in the position.
Mr. Jamison is a multi-disciplinary professional with an extensive background in finance, legal affairs, intellectual property, business development, and mergers & acquisitions. He has a long and successful track record of developing strategic partnerships, identifying and managing technology and business development resources, and licensing intellectual property assets.
“I am very honored to be selected to join the MTEC team and to lead the next chapter of its growth,” said Mr. Jamison. “I look forward to meeting all of the entrepreneurs, community members and organizations, University partners, and everyone involved with the MEDC and SmartZone network. These are challenging times for technology innovation and economic development in many parts of our country, but there are certain unique entrepreneurial resources here in the Keweenaw that give me confidence in our ability to do great things both in the local community and state-wide.”
Since 2010, Mr. Jamison has held two Senior Director positions at Synaptics Incorporated, a high-tech multi-national company based in San Jose, California that develops human interface, display, and biometric semiconductor products. At Synaptics he provided advisory, transaction, and negotiation support around the world for mergers & acquisition deals, commercial transactions, strategic partnerships, IP transactions, and technology licensing.
Prior to that, Mr. Jamison was the Senior Director of Intellectual Property Business Development at Skyworks Solutions, Inc. in Woburn, Massachusetts where he executed strategic IP and partnership agreements with numerous multi-national consumer electronics companies. He also held several other positions at technology companies including Senior Manager of Business Development and Partnerships at Agere Systems Inc. in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations at AnswerChase Inc. in Annapolis Maryland, and Vice President of Business Development at Competitive Technologies, Inc. in Fairfield Connecticut.
“After a thorough and deliberate selection process, the Board of Directors is delighted that Mr. Jamison will lead MTEC SmartZone as we navigate through the evolving landscape of entrepreneurship and business development,” said Eric Waara, MTEC Board of Directors Chair and Houghton City Manager. “The Board feels his experience and personality will provide continuity of our organization’s past success and will help usher in the next stage of the SmartZone’s growth,” he added.
Mr. Jamison is a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP), has published articles on patenting and licensing in the les Nouvelles Licensing Executives Journal, and has one US patent and a Chinese counterpart in his name. He holds an MBA from Lehigh University where he ran the technology transfer office under contract with Competitive Technologies, Inc. and an undergraduate degree in Management from Moravian College, both located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Over the next month, Mr. Jamison and his wife Shauna will make the move to the Houghton/Hancock area. Shauna skated with Ice Follies and Holiday on Ice, as well as Disney on Ice for over ten years and has been a professional figure skating coach since 1994. She has choreographed over 25 performances for the Vancouver Canuck home games and became the Project Coordinator for Kristi Yamaguchi’s “Always Dream Foundation” after moving to the Bay Area.
Mr. Jamison will be attending the Return North: Professional Careers Reception on November 23rd at the Bonfire Steakhouse in Houghton. This is the community’s first opportunity to meet the new MTEC SmartZone CEO. Learn more about the event at return-north.com.
About MTEC
Michigan Tech Enterprise Corporation (MTEC) SmartZone is one of 20 SmartZone Incubators in the State of Michigan. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization directed by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), their mission is to accelerate high-tech businesses growth in the region. Since 2003, MTEC SmartZone has provided mentoring, technical support, and other services to local companies that has led to the creation of over 800 high-tech jobs in the Houghton/Hancock area.
About MEDC
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. MEDC’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation initiative establishes Michigan as the place to create and grow a business by providing high-tech start-up companies with access to a variety of critical resources, such as funding and expert counsel, from ideation to maturation. For more on MEDC Entrepreneurship & Innovation, visit michiganbusiness.org/entrepreneurship