Christopher Klemm is the Director of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program at Oregon State University. The Austin Entrepreneurship Program leads the University’s entrepreneurship initiatives including managing the entrepreneurship programs at Weatherford Residential College, the largest residential entrepreneurship program in the US.
Prior to joining the Austin Entrepreneurship Program, Dr. Klemm was the Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington. Under his leadership, the Center’s national rankings were significantly improved, cross campus relations were rebuilt, and student teams achieved prominence in national competitions.
Through Optimus Consulting, a consultancy he co-founded and led before joining the University of Washington, Christopher worked extensively with entrepreneurs. While a managing partner at Optimus Consulting, he also served as due diligence reviewer and as portfolio manager for the Ben Franklin Technology Partnership of Southeastern Pennsylvania, a state supported venture fund. In addition, he co-founded the Early Stage East Venture Fair, the largest early stage venture fair on the East Coast. The ESE Venture Fair annually attracts $10B in venture capital and presents over 50 competitively selected entrepreneurial companies for venture review. His work with Early Stage East was recognized in 2004 when he was awarded the organization’s prestigious Founders’ Award (see earlystageeast.org/awards_hon.asp).
|
|
Dr. Klemm also has far-reaching experience with all phases of strategic development and planning. He designed, led, and facilitated strategic development and planning initiatives with an emphasis on implementation for companies and organizations ranging from early stage ventures to $100M SBUs
Dr. Klemm has held faculty positions at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Stevens Institute of Technology, the University of Delaware, the University of Washington, and Oregon State University. He received his doctorate in Managerial Sciences and Applied Economics from The Wharton School. He also holds M.A. degrees from The Wharton School and the University of Rochester and a B.A. from Trinity College in Connecticut.
|
