A national search for the next chief executive of The Company Lab (CO.LAB) has concluded, with Maryland native and new Chattanoogan Marcus Shaw assuming the role.
Shaw is the former senior director of business development and partnerships for Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a D.C.-based nonprofit. While there, Shaw grew MLT’s partnerships with Fortune 500 partners and led the proposal for an entrepreneurship development program focused on women and minorities.
Shaw is also the founder of a boutique consulting company that specializes in working with startups and small to medium-sized businesses. Through this enterprise, he has advised a number of companies on commercialization and capital raising.
“Marcus has an extraordinary range of experience dealing with the issues that face entrepreneurs,” says Rick Hitchcock, chair of CO.LAB’s board of directors. “The board is confident that, under his leadership, CO.LAB will dramatically increase its capacity to help entrepreneurs imagine, build and grow successful businesses.”
Shaw’s professional background includes 10 years working in equity research and investment management, as well as serving as the head of tech, media and telecom research at a D.C.-based investment advisor focused on policy and regulated industries.
“Chattanooga is an extraordinary entrepreneurial environment where Main Street businesses and high growth, venture-backed businesses can develop in tandem,” Shaw says. “CO.LAB will help entrepreneurs build businesses that promote inclusive economic growth in Chattanooga and expand the city’s impact globally.”
Over the next few months, Shaw will lead a strategic planning process to identify key priorities and opportunities to move CO.LAB into its next phase of service to the entrepreneurial community. Working with CO.LAB’s board of directors and other local stakeholders, Shaw will steer the organization toward evolving opportunities and needs.
In transitioning into his new role, Shaw takes the reins from Jack Studer, who has served as CO.LAB’s interim chief executive since October 2016.
Moving forward, Studer will continue to support Chattanooga’s startup community through various community roles, including continuing to serve as a partner at Chattanooga Renaissance Fund, which regularly provides guidance and resources to CO.LAB.
“Chattanooga’s startup scene will benefit immensely from the leadership and experience Marcus will bring to his new role as executive director of CO.LAB,” Studer says. “His background in the investment realm and his track record for helping startups through the various stages of maturity position this organization to meet critical, growing needs in the local startup environment.”
Members of the public are invited to connect with Shaw at a meet-and-greet at the Edney Innovation Center on Thursday, Aug. 3. The event will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Light hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be served.
Shaw relocated to Chattanooga in the summer of 2016 with his wife – a board-certified dermatologist – and their two children.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Morehouse College and a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. He subsequently earned an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Shaw started his career as a network engineer with IBM and is currently a member of the Minority Alumni Advisory Board at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Source: The Company Lab