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June 1, 2005 Entrepreneurial strategist, attorney takes helm of Purdue's Lake Co. incubator
WEST LAFAYETTE and MERRILLVILLE, Ind. – The Purdue Research Foundation has appointed John M. Hanak of Munster, Ind., director of the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana, effective today (Wednesday, June 1). "Purdue Research Park’s reputation for attracting and cultivating the kinds of technology ventures that have almost unlimited growth potential makes leading Purdue University's first satellite technology incubator an exciting and challenging opportunity," said Hanak, a graduate of Valparaiso University and the John Marshall Law School. "I have always been the type of businessman who needed to continue to learn new things, and when you’re working with emerging ventures – sometimes developing a never-conceived-before innovation – there's never a dull moment." The Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana provides business development services, incubator space and other support services for startup businesses that are developing a range of emerging technologies in the areas of homeland security, energy, pharmaceuticals and information technology. Hanak has been a principal and the managing partner of North Riverside Partners LLC, a consulting firm he co-founded in 2003 to provide strategy, finance, planning, sales and marketing services to startups, as well as established companies, seeking new markets. Hanak's 22-year career in the steel industry culminated as vice president of human resources and law, and corporate secretary, of Ispat Inland Inc., and was followed in 2001 by two years as president and CEO of Chicago-based Digital Innovations LLC. "In some ways, John Hanak’s career path – from the steel industry to tech company to entrepreneur – mirrors Northwest Indiana’s strategy for attaining a knowledge-based economy," said banker Calvin Bellamy, chairman of the center's advisory board. "John’s background as a corporate executive, as well as someone who has been in the trenches with emerging technology companies, makes him highly qualified to help lead our area of the state through a process of economic transformation." Kathy DeGuilio-Fox, of Highland, Ind., the high-tech incubator's business development manager, has served as the center's interim director since mid-February, when the first director left the post to take a position with one of the incubator's charter companies. "I want to thank Kathy for keeping our mission on track during the first few months the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana has been in operation," said Joseph Hornett, the Purdue Research Foundation's senior vice president and treasurer. "Her strong reputation in the region's economic development community has greatly helped our charter firms make those important initial connections with area business leaders and Purdue University-Calumet, "As our client firms settle in, they are thinking expansion. For example, 21st Century Systems Inc.'s space at the center is about to grow from a small office to a 3,000-square-foot lab-office suite." Purdue's commitment to expand its economic development initiatives beyond West Lafayette began with U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky's (D-Ind.) efforts to secure the federal funding and resulted in the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana that opened in January with seven charter companies. One month later, Purdue Research Foundation, which owns and operates the facility, announced a joint venture with South Bend-based Holladay Properties to develop a $400 million business and technology park on the 393 foundation-owned acres surrounding the center. The park, to be called AmeriPlex at the Crossroads, will be anchored by the 48,000-square-foot business incubator and the Purdue Calumet Academic Learning Center of the same size. "We at Purdue Calumet are confident that John Hanak will prove to be an exceptional leader as director of the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana," Purdue Calumet Chancellor Howard Cohen said. "His diverse background, from his work at Ispat Inland to his consulting experience, as well as his legal expertise, gives him the tools to help startups and entrepreneurs succeed and revitalize Northwest Indiana's economy. Advancing the region's economy is a key strategic goal of Purdue Calumet, and we look forward to working with John toward that goal." Last month, the foundation expanded its business development services to a second satellite location with the establishment of incubator at INTECH Park on the northwest side of Indianapolis. The Purdue-affiliated incubators in both Merrillville and Indianapolis are patterned after the flagship incubator located in the award-winning Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette. Named top research park in the country for 2004 by its peers, the Association of University Research Parks, the park also is Indiana’s first certified technology park and home to more than 70 high-tech companies – the largest concentration of such ventures in the state. In addition, "Accelerating Economic Development through University Technology Transfer," a 2005 report commissioned by the state of Connecticut, ranked Purdue among 10 universities that have been extraordinarily successful in generating new commercial licenses and business startups. The list included Stanford, MIT and Carnegie-Mellon, as well as England's Cambridge University. Jeanine Phipps, media relations, Purdue Research Foundation, (765) 494-0748 (office), (765) 409-2745 (mobile); jeanine@purdue.edu Sources: Joseph B. Hornett, (765) 494-8645, jbhornett@prf.org John M. Hanak, (219) 670-1451 (mobile), jhanak@nrpworld.com Wes Lukoshus, Purdue-Calumet university relations, (219) 989-2217, lukoshus@calumet.purdue.edu Related Web site: |
