Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College

Resources

The Technology Commercialization Center team has experience in both Fortune 500 companies and as entrepreneurs with technology based start-ups.

Areas of expertise include:

• Executive Management
• Marketing
• Sales Channel Definition and Development
• Finance
• Staffing & Training
• Operations and Program Management
• International Operations
• Supply Chain
• Logistics
• SBIR Grants
• Access to Capital
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Partnerships & Alliances

Bob Wilson, Executive Director,Technology Commercialization Center (TCC)

Bob has a very diverse background that includes key roles in Fortune 500 and technology based start-up companies. He held executive management positions in a small technology company that had a successful IPO and sellout to larger Fortune 500 company. He has held numerous Fortune 500 and small company senior management positions in sales and marketing, operations, product development, services, and training. He also owned his own consulting company focused on coaching and developing technology based start-ups. Bob also has experience with Board of Director roles, M&A experience, international markets, software and engineering based products, technology commercialization and licensing, partnership and alliance development, and industrial and professional services markets. In the past 5 years in his role as Center for Entrepreneurial Growth Director (CEG) for Tech 2020, Knoxville, TN he has worked with over 70 start-up companies, helped to establish new programs in Chattanooga, Tn., London, Ky., South Carolina, and Asheville, N.C. and manages a staff of 5 high level resources in 4 formal programs.

Todd Fisher, Director, TCC

Todd has held executive management positions at both a large Fortune 500 company as well as small start-ups. As president of a start-up with a patented agriculture growing process, Todd was responsible for all aspects of the business including: fundraising, technical operations, business plan development, and managing the roadmap that took the company from a patented idea to proving the technical viability of the business. As Vice-President and Director at Motorola, Inc. he ran an international start-up business that developed global markets for the Motorola wireless technology used by Nextel. These systems were successfully sold and deployed in Asia, Central America, South America and the Middle East. He also led another start-up business that utilized wireless technology to improve the efficiency of beverage company route drivers. Todd’s operational experience includes distribution, logistics, procurement and repair operations as well as product development, sales, strategic marketing and engineering. Todd is also a Vice-President of Enterpriser LLC, a business consulting firm that he and his wife started. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois and his MBA from the University of Chicago.

Geoff Robson, CEG, UT-Knoxville Director/CFO

Geoff’s previous experience includes 4 years of Big 5 accounting background followed by in-house accounting positions with 2 clients of the former firm. Geoff later took a position with a small company start-up where he served 3 years in senior accounting roles before the company was acquired by a Fortune 500 company. He was later promoted to the position of CFO. He held the CFO position for this $60+ million dollar division of a Fortune 500 company (Emerson Electric) for three years before accepting his position with the CEG. Geoff currently manages the formal CEG program on the campus of the University of Tennessee. In the past 2 years he has helped to create and work with 12 university based start-ups based on IP or connectivity with the University Research Foundation.

Shawn Carson, UT-Battelle, CEG Director

Upon graduation from East Carolina University, Shawn began his career in the textile business as a Process Improvement Engineer with Milliken & Co. headquartered in Spartanburg, SC. His next opportunity was with Computational Systems, Incorporated (CSI). During his 16 year tenure at CSI, he held management positions in customer services and engineering test before being promoted to Director of Customer Services. Under Shawn’s direction the Customer Services division grew to $10 million in annual revenue. While with CSI, Shawn participated on the management team that brought CSI through a successful initial public offering on NASDAQ. Ultimately, CSI was acquired by Emerson Electric, a $16 billion company headquartered in St. Louis. Now with Technology 2020 in Oak Ridge, TN, Shawn is a Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth of UT-Battelle, a business counseling and incubator program sponsored by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Shawn holds a B.S. in Industrial Technology and an MBA from the University of Tennessee.