As I noted in August, I am committed to ensuring that MTI continues to function as a vital lynchpin in helping to “encourage, promote, stimulate and support research and development activity leading to the commercialization of new products and services” in Maine. I hope you feel, as I do, that MTI has functioned proficiently during this transition and that the organization has sustained and furthered its operations and mission. While I am gratified that little interruption was experienced in Maine’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, I am prouder still that MTI has not merely conducted business as usual during the past 6-7 months. We have initiated and engaged in efforts to improve the delivery of MTI programs and services to ensure that the organization remains relevant and successful. Additionally, after the addition of a number of dynamic and talented individuals, the MTI Board of Directors now features a full complement of members eager to fund, grow and connect innovators, entrepreneurs, and businesses with the resources they need to commercialize their technologies and create jobs in Maine.
My experience at MTI has been immensely rewarding and valuable and that’s why I was deeply humbled and incredibly honored to be nominated recently by Governor LePage to become the organization’s full-time Director. I am eager to continue to work with MTI’s exceptional staff and board, as well as the Governor, lawmakers, MTI’s portfolio companies, and its strategic partners to more fully leverage MTI’s capabilities and vault it and Maine’s innovation economy to grand new heights.
I look forward to working with each of you to advance our state’s research, development and commercialization efforts and to stimulate economic growth and job creation in Maine.
Best,
Brian Whitney