December 13, 2007 (Madison, WI) – Thrive, a not-for-profit entity serving the eight-county Madison Region*, is pleased to announce the hiring of Director of Biotechnology Initiatives, Cheryl Gain.
Ms. Gain brings 17 years of economic development and 14 years of business experience to her position. For the past eight years, she served as Technology Development Consultant and Director of the Office of Science and Technology at the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, where she assisted high technology companies and worked on projects to improve the business climate for life science and other technology-based companies.
She helped launch the Wisconsin Technology Council, and organized three Wisconsin Venture Missions in 2001-2002, leading Wisconsin technology entrepreneurs to make presentations to venture capitalists on the East and West coats. She has been active organizing the Early Stage Symposiums, Governor’s Business Plan Contests and the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Conferences since their inceptions.
She has helped organize the annual Wisconsin SBIR Awards Banquet and conference, and has educated Wisconsin companies on this federal R&D funding program. Cheryl has helped organize Wisconsin’s delegation at the annual BIO international biotechnology industry trade shows.
Cheryl helped organize Pfizer’s recent visit to Wisconsin, where the pharmaceutical industry leader met with 17 Madison Region life science companies and research teams at the University of Wisconsin to explore investment and strategic alliance opportunities.
Prior to her role with the Department of Commerce, Cheryl was Assistant Director of the UW-Madison Consortium for Global Electronic Commerce, served as Small Business Ombudsman and Entrepreneurial Specialist. Throughout her economic development career, she has been active organizing conferences and events that benefit Wisconsin’s high potential firms. She has coached numerous companies on capital-raising presentations and capital strategy. Cheryl holds an MBA in Marketing and Finance, and a Masters degree in Agricultural Journalism, both from UW-Madison. She is a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional.
In her current role with Thrive, Ms. Gain will:
- •
Act as regional leader and catalyst to grow the target industry sector of biotechnology based on our assets and partnerships with relevant regional organizations
•
Champion Thrive’s mission, guiding principles and strategic plan
•
Work with partners to identify, analyze and produce solutions for regional biotechnology and biomedical industry opportunities
•
Coordinate regional efforts for biotechnology sector and workforce initiatives with business, government, education and non-profit partners
•
Promote the region to interested business leaders, entrepreneurs, employees and investors
