With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, there is no more appropriate time for us to pause and reflect, gather with loved ones, enjoy our favorite foods, and count our many blessings.
I am incredibly blessed and honored to lead this unique public-private partnership. It is extremely humbling to guide an organization that has such a monumental impact on the livelihoods of Mainers and our state’s economic vitality.
As you know, MTI’s core mission is to help diversify and grow Maine’s economy by helping to catalyze innovation and its transformation into new products, processes, and companies. We have been providing early stage capital and commercialization assistance, as well as entrepreneurial guidance and mentorship, for 25 years now. Since its inception, MTI has disbursed over $372 million across more than 4,000 distinct projects throughout Maine and that funding has leveraged well over $2.2 billion in private sector matching investment. This fiscal year alone, MTI deployed $7.6 million across 238 distinct projects generating an additional $24.9 million in matching funds.
MTI also demonstrated its immense value this past year by assisting the state and federal government in the deployment of much-needed funding and support to help Maine businesses sustain and grow operations. The organization also led a consortium of Maine organizations that earned designation from the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) as a Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Technology Hub. This designation recognizes Maine’s potential to become a global leader in bioproducts that replace plastics, sequester carbon in buildings, or use nanocellulose polymers to replace harmful synthetics. It is another example of how MTI and Maine’s technology-based companies and research institutions play a leading role in our nation’s economic recovery.
In light of MTI’s achievements, I want to convey my considerable thanks to the people that are most responsible for the organization’s success. First, MTI’s dedicated and exceptional staff truly embodies a passion for helping to support entrepreneurs and propelling Maine’s innovation economy forward. You can view all their biographies here but I want to personally commend them individually for their efforts. Thank you, Shane Beckim, Emily Braley, Scott Bursey, Celina Gauthier, Tom Kittredge, Bianca Kowal, Greg Lee, Wanda McNeil, Abby Osei, Bria Ryder, and Lou Simms.
The staff and organization are guided by an impressive Board of Directors, made up of private and public-sector representatives, who freely give of their time, talents, and expertise to guide the strategic direction of MTI. Capably led by Chairwoman Melissa LaCasse, the biographies of each of the Directors can be found here. My profound appreciation goes out to Melissa, Amberlynn Esperanza, Jake Ward, Meredith Mendelson, Ian Swanberg, Mike Cassata, Jed Beach, Rob Pierson, Colin March, Charlotte Mace, Dan Belyea, Scott Kleiman, and Susan Tapley for their many contributions.
I also want to recognize and thank the amazing contractors that assist MTI and our portfolio companies. The talented contractors include Krystal Williams and Merritt Carey; as well as our accomplished E-Residents led by the indefatigable Matt Hoffner and complemented by Grace Chen, Ben Chesler, John Karp, and Colleen McCracken; and, finally, our technical assistance team including Karen West Morgan, Suzanne Hamlin, Cindy Talbot, Stan Gavitt, Jo Anne Goodnight, Jan Knight, Kelly Berry, Joshua Tracey, and Tobin McGregor, that help Maine companies and entrepreneurs develop competitive federal funding proposals.
As you know, MTI invests its funds in Maine’s seven targeted technology sectors. Each of those sectors is assigned a board of volunteer subject matter experts within the sector who evaluate MTI’s funding proposals. There are over 100 Tech Board members advising MTI currently and I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to them.
Finally, I want to acknowledge and convey my appreciation to our many valued partners.
Again, due to the amazing efforts of the entire team, it has been another productive year of growing and diversifying Maine’s economy through MTI’s support of innovative organizations across the state.
Thank you and happy Thanksgiving!
Brian