With five years of working experience at Ohio University, Anna Jensen said she is ready to take on leading the Innovation Center.
Jensen was hired as the new associate director for the center last month and will make $65,000. OU’s Innovation Center, located at 340 W. State St., oversees university research projects and helps students expand their businesses by marketing their products and offering technology in the facility.
“I had worked with many people at the Innovation Center and knew they were a group of motivated people who were doing work to advance the economic and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Southeast Ohio,” Jensen said.
Jensen has worked as a business consultant for the OU Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs’ Center of Entrepreneurship and made $51,423. She also worked as an operational assistance provider with TechGROWTH Ohio and with OU’s MBA program, consulting students about creating startup companies around Athens.
“We hired her because of her management experience in the private sector,” said Jennifer Simon, director of OU’s Innovation Center.
Jensen was attracted to the position because of its leadership and management responsibilities. Also, Jensen said it gives her a chance to develop skills that she’s acquiring through her pursuit of a master’s degree in sports administration and facilities management.
“I think it all starts with the assumption that we can and will accomplish great things… then you get to work to figure out how to make it happen,” Jensen said. “I am happy to join the team, roll up my sleeves and get to work.”
In the fiscal year 2010, the center's clients had a total income of $22 million, according to a previous Post report.
Some startups that have used the center's facilities include CreMedia, a video production and website design company; Lightborne Lore, a digital games and animation production studio; and Parabox Studios, a video game development company.
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