TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced a strategic evolution of program offerings and leadership promotions. They come as the organization continues to refine and build its initiatives with new programs and innovative strategies to support and grow Maryland’s entrepreneur ecosystem.
The changes support the expansion and progression of the organization’s resources, funding and services to build and grow high-growth companies.
“As the entrepreneurial environment in Maryland evolves, so have we. We’re in a very exciting growth period,” said George Davis, CEO of TEDCO. “The leadership of TEDCO represents executive-level experience in technology investing, fundraising, research and operations and will be a critical key to guiding and launching the future of technology companies in Maryland.”
Leadership changes and promotions include:
- Jennifer Hammaker has been promoted to Vice President of Business Development. She is the former Director of the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) where she helped the program invest $26 million resulting in 55 start-ups and $120 million follow-on funding. As a start-up founder, Jennifer brings entrepreneurship expertise and a strong background in the business community.
- Arti Santhanam, Ph.D. has been promoted to Director of MII, replacing Jennifer Hammaker. With over 20 years of industry experience, she will direct and manage the $5.8 million program and manage all program elements—including guidelines, review, policy portfolio management, board member engagement, and guidance and resources to companies through commercialization. She previously served as the MII award manager and the Life Science Investment Fund manager.
- Angela Singleton and McKeever (Mac) Conwell are the new Program Managers for TEDCO’s new Pre-Seed Fund. They will design, launch and manage a new funding program for early-stage companies led by underrepresented entrepreneurs. This new fund will replace the organization’s Minority Business Pre-Seed Fund (MBPF), which is finishing up its pilot year. The program is being designed to tap into great opportunities that might be overlooked by traditional and later-stage investors.
- Anne Balduzzi, who has served as the Program Manager for TEDCO’s Rural Business Innovation Initiative (RBI2), will begin an expanded role as Director of Advisory Services. In this role, she will continue to manage RBI2 while also connecting entrepreneurs to mentors statewide under TEDCO’s expanding Gateway Services programs.
TEDCO also announced the retirement of Linda Saffer. Over her 16 years with the company, Linda was Program Manager for University Programs, and most notably oversaw and led the Maryland Entrepreneurs Resource List (MERL)—a list of business experts who are available to mentor or provide leadership to early stage companies and entrepreneurs. Linda has played a key role in helping to grow TEDCO’s programs and provide strategy to build a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem across Maryland.
The announcements follow the latest round of seed investments in five start-ups—a continuation of the organization’s collaborative, venture-minded vision for TEDCO 2.0.