The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation Names Senior Executive Team

Institute Selects Industry Vet Rick Friedman as Senior Director of Technology Advancement and Licensing;

Expands Role of Dr. Richard Hull to Senior Director of New Ventures and Alliances

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Demonstrating the University of Southern California's deep commitment to advancing breakthrough ideas from lab to marketplace, the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation announced today the appointment of industry veteran Rick Friedman as Senior Director of Technology Advancement and Licensing and the expansion of Dr. Richard Hull's role to Senior Director of New Ventures and Alliances.

"As a rising national leader in innovation and research commercialization, USC is committed to speeding the transition of new ideas to society, where they can drive new industries and stimulate economic growth. As a result, successful and streamlined technology transfer operations continue to be one of our key priorities," said Krisztina "Z" Holly, USC Vice Provost for Innovation and Executive Director of the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation. "These updates to our team demonstrate our commitment to continue building on our success to date."

As newly-hired Senior Director of Technology Advancement and Licensing for the USC Stevens Institute, Rick Friedman leads the efforts to identify socially and commercially promising technologies within USC and to develop and implement IP and business development strategies for translating these technologies into practical application through licensing and other arrangements.  Important elements of his responsibilities are to ensure that the USC Stevens Institute's policies and practices encourage the private sector to do business with USC, and to collaborate with other units within USC to provide IP and licensing guidance and support to achieve broad impact with USC innovations..

"For the Senior Director of Technology Advancement and Licensing, we sought a strong leader with a solid track record of success in identifying and transferring to market promising early-stage technologies from a major research university. Rick fits the bill with his expertise, passion, and dedication to advancing breakthrough technology to market," said Krisztina "Z" Holly.

About Rick Friedman 

Rick Friedman brings to USC more than twenty years professional experience establishing business relationships that support the commercial development of early stage technologies.  He has served effectively in leadership roles in a university technology commercialization office, a publicly-traded software company and a law firm, as well as in non-profit organizations.

Prior to joining USC, Rick served as Associate Director of Licensing at the University of Texas at Austin where he played a significant role in increasing deal flow and revenues, developing an infrastructure to scale operations, and establishing relationships for recurring business with major strategic partners.  

Rick also has considerable experience in financing and exit transactions for technology ventures as a result of his work as a partner in the Silicon Valley office of Heller Ehrman and as a consultant to technology startups and investors.

"Throughout my career, I have been attracted to opportunities at organizations committed to the advancement of new technologies," said Rick Friedman. "Given the national reputation for innovation programs at USC, the strong support for these programs by senior leadership at the university, the fact that Los Angeles is becoming a major center for technology advancement, and the scientific and entrepreneurial talent within the university, I am extremely excited to join the team at USC Stevens to help USC innovators make a broad impact with their ideas."

Expanded Executive Team

The new senior executive team at USC will also include Dr. Richard Hull, who will move into the role of Senior Director for New Ventures and Alliances. Dr. Hull, who has been with the USC Stevens Institute for two years as head of licensing efforts on the Health Sciences Campus, will now focus on building a broader environment for innovation and accelerating new venture creation across USC.

In this expanded role, Hull will lead a team dedicated to accelerating startup creation, expanding the network of investors and entrepreneurs in USC's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, working with local governments and other partners on developing the regional infrastructure and resources to support these emerging start-ups, and creating strategic relationships with major industrial partners to stimulate and accelerate the translation of USC research into products and services.  

Hull's expanded position is designed to serve the needs across the university, bridging the Health Sciences Campus, the University Park Campus, and all other USC research institutions. Notably, Dr. Hull's team will also be managing a newly launched, signature program titled "Ideas Empowered," to invest grants and mentoring into promising ideas in order to move them from the laboratory to the market.

Rounding out the team, the USC Stevens Institute is opening new positions for individuals with experience in communications, finance, operations, and commercialization.  For more information about the positions as they get posted, and to apply, please visit: http://stevens.usc.edu/careers.php

About the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation

The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation (http://stevens.usc.edu) is a university-wide resource in the Office of the Provost at the University of Southern California designed to harness and advance the creative thinking and breakthrough research from USC for societal impact.  The USC Stevens Institute identifies, nurtures, protects, and transfers to the market the most exciting innovations from USC, and in turn, provides a central connection for industry seeking cutting-edge innovations in which to invest.  As part of this role, the Institute manages the university's intellectual property portfolio stemming from its $560M in research expenditures annually. Since its launch three years ago, the USC Stevens Institute has been creating dynamic interface between USC research and the community of entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate partners and has been nurturing a robust local innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Furthermore, the USC Stevens Institute develops the innovator as well as innovations, through educational programs, community-building events, and showcase opportunities.

SOURCE USC Stevens Institute for Innovation