Debi Kleiman, Executive Director Of Arthur M. Blank Center For Entrepreneurship At Babson College, Named BostInno 50 On Fire Finalist

WELLESLEY, Mass., Dec. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Debi Kleiman, Executive Director of the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College, has been named a finalist of BostInno's 2016 50 on Fire.

The awards are given annually to honor Boston's inventors, disrupters, luminaries, and newsmakers across all industries. Winners will be announced and celebrated at the Moakley Courthouse on Wednesday, December 7, 2016.

"This isn't your typical rankings list where companies and individuals have to be under a certain age or fit into a well-defined box," said BostInno GM Kyle Gross. "50 on Fire is a reflection of Boston--a collection of people and organizations in different roles, stages, and categories who are making an impact on this city. Setting it on fire, if you will."

Kleiman came to Babson in early 2016 following more than 20 years as an award-winning marketing executive and entrepreneurial leader. As Executive Director of Babson's entrepreneurial hub, Kleiman works with students, alumni, and faculty, as well as the broader tech and innovation community, to create greater success and understanding of the practice of entrepreneurship. She directly oversees the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC), Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices (STEP), the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), Babson's John E. And Alice L. Butler Venture Accelerator, and all special entrepreneur programs and events associated with the Blank Center.

Prior to joining Babson, Kleiman was Managing Director and Executive Vice President at Havas Media, where she led teams in both Boston and San Francisco, and previously served as president of MITX (Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange)--the state's premier industry association for web and mobile innovators. There she also created a groundbreaking mentorship program, MITXUP, which connected marketing experts and startups in a hackathon environment to help young companies brand, communicate, and acquire customers and funding. In addition to serving on advisory boards of several local startups, she also mentors entrepreneurs at MassChallenge, Harvard's iLab, and TechStars Boston.

BostInno's 50 on Fire Finalists from the Babson Community

• Debi Kleiman, Executive Director of the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College
• Inner City Weightlifting, founded by Jon Feinman MBA'10
• Paint Nite, co-founded by Dan Hermann MBA'10
• Runkeeper, founded by Jason Jacobs MBA'05
• Parlor Skis, co-founded by Mark Wallace MBA'14
• Tara Foley MBA'13, President of Follain
• True Fit, co-founded by Jessica Arredondo Murphy MBA'06 and Romney Evans MBA'06
• Sam Aquillano MBA'14, Founder and Executive Director of Design Museum Boston Foundation

Adding to its growing presence in the broader innovation community, Babson College this year announced the opening of its brand new campus--Babson Boston. Located in the heart of the Financial District at 100 High Street, the multi-floor, 9,000 square feet space provides students, alumni, corporate and nonprofit partners the opportunity to learn, gather, collaborate, and innovate through graduate level courses, special programming, and networking events. It will also be home to the college's recently launched Global Entrepreneur in Residence Program (GEIR), which will help qualified international entrepreneurs from Babson and other area colleges qualify for an H-1B visa and remain in Massachusetts, continue to build their high potential startup businesses, and bring new, high-skill jobs to the region. Babson is the first private college to pursue a GEIR program.

About BostInno's 50 on Fire Awards

Each year, BostInno receives thousands of nominations highlighting companies and individuals who are disrupting their industries and making an impact in Boston and beyond. One hundred fifty finalists have been chosen, and a celebration will commence at the Moakley Courthouse on December 7 during which winners in each category--Civic, Design, Food and Drink, Education, Retail, Health and Medicine, Marketing and Advertising, Professional Services, Sport and Fitness, Technology, and Investment--will be announced. Be sure to follow BostInno and #50onFireBOS on Twitter.

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader of Entrepreneurship of All Kinds(r). The top-ranked college for entrepreneurship education, Babson is a dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society. We prepare the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to make a difference in the world, and have an impact on organizations of all sizes and types. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought & Action(r) as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value. Visit www.babson.edu

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CONTACT: Michael Chmura, 781-239-4549, [email protected]

SOURCE Babson College

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