Leader chosen to run new IU Innovation Hub
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Julie Heath was announced Tuesday as the inaugural executive director of Indiana University’s new Innovation Hub, which will assist students and faculty in launching their startups.
The hub will kick off this fall and will be based on the IU Bloomington campus. However, the initiative will be open to faculty and students at all IU campuses.
“The IU Innovates Hub initiative — setting the strategic direction, engaging the critical constituencies, and rallying the resources and partnerships to increase entrepreneurial activities at IU — is perfectly timed for this vanguard of economic development,” Heath said in a news release
Heath most recently served as the vice president of entrepreneurial ecosystems at the Indiana Economic Development Corp. IU said in the release she is “a leader in launching innovative public-private initiatives and social impact organizations and the architect of Indiana’s first entrepreneurship ecosystem strategy.”
She also was CEO at not-for-profit coworking space Speak Easy in Indianapolis and vice president of partnerships at Indy-based tech platform Boardable.
“As someone who has successfully built and led several high-impact entrepreneurship programs, Julie understands the resources founders and entrepreneurs require to pursue high-potential business ideas and launch successful startup ventures,” IU President Pamela Whitten said. “Under her leadership, we can make an enormous economic impact in Indiana by scaling the best Indiana University ideas into companies and strengthening collaboration with key research and industry leaders across our state.”
Heath will oversee programming, leverage existing IU pitch competitions and establish support groups for business incubation.