Five Business Incubation Leaders Elected to NBIA Board

October 1, 2003

Contact:
Linda Knopp, NBIA Communications Manager
740-593-4331; lknopp@nbia.org

ATHENS, Ohio—Members of the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) recently elected five industry leaders to three-year terms on the association’s board of directors.

Newly elected members are: Anthony Antoniades of the Advanced Technology Development Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta; David Cattey of the Business Technology Center in Columbus, Ohio; Philip Helgerson of the Applied Technology Development Centers in Augusta, Maine; Jim Robbins of Business Cluster Development in Menlo Park, Calif.; and Devron Veasley of the Bessemer Business Incubation System in Bessemer, Ala. Cattey and Robbins will be second-term members on the 15-member board.

Business incubation programs catalyze the process of starting and growing companies by providing entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful. These programs diversify economies, commercialize technologies, create jobs and build wealth. In 2001 alone, North American incubators assisted more than 35,000 start-up companies that provided full-time employment for nearly 82,000 workers and generated earnings of more than $7 billion.

As associate director of the Advanced Technology Development Center, Antoniades oversees the incubator’s strategic direction, program offerings, marketing efforts and daily operations. During his four years with the center, Antoniades has assisted more than 120 start-up companies. He also is part of a team that will host NBIA’s 19th International Conference on Business Incubation, April 18-21, in Atlanta.

Cattey has served as executive director of the Business Technology Center (BTC) since 1990. In that time, he has overseen several program relocations and expansions, including a $5 million expansion project that was completed in December 2001. The BTC now is housed in a 60,000-square-foot facility on The Ohio State University Science and Technology Campus.

Helgerson is director of Maine’s Applied Technology Development Centers, a network of seven incubators throughout the state. Each center within the network focuses on one of the technology sectors targeted by the state’s economic development strategy. Prior to taking this position, Helgerson established and operated Maine’s first technology incubator, the Center for Environmental Enterprise.

As a principal in Business Cluster Development, Robbins advises corporations, universities and communities on the development of sector-focused incubation programs. His current projects include a bioscience cluster and innovation center in San Jose, Calif.; the nation’s first homeland security technology incubator in Annapolis, Md.; and Panasonic’s venture-backed corporate incubator.

As director of the Bessemer Business Incubation System (BBIS), Veasley counsels 15 clients within the incubator’s two facilities and provides marketing, operational and budgeting oversight for the overall program. Before joining the BBIS in 2000, he served as director of the Auburn University Small Business Development Center and was an adjunct instructor in the Auburn management department.

The National Business Incubation Association is the world’s leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. Since 1985, NBIA has provided industry professionals with information, education, advocacy and networking resources to bring excellence to the process of assisting early-stage companies.