Inside NCInnovation: A Conversation with Board Chair Kelly King

The North Carolina legislature created a once-in-a-generation $500m endowment in 2023 to help the state’s universities turn their academic research into companies and jobs that will help strengthen and diversify the state’s economy. It’s a big, broad mission, and now NCInnovation, a new public-private nonprofit partnership, is putting the building blocks in place to realize the vision.

Join NCInnovation board chair Kelly King, retired executive chairman and CEO of Truist Financial Corporation, as he discusses:

• the gap between the amount of research funding coming to the state and the number of patents and startups resulting from those investments
• the growing imbalance between the urban and rural areas in realizing the benefits of new companies and jobs linked to academic research
• how NCInnovation will use the endowment and funds raised from the private sector to boost the chances of success for startups across the state
• why building capacity for innovation more equitably will benefit all North Carolinians

This conversation is designed for directors and corporate leaders who want to understand the strategic goals of this initiative, how funds will be deployed, and how the private sector can engage with NCInnovation.

Karen LeVert, Managing Partner of LeVert Ventures and Venture Partner at Pappas Capital, will lead the fireside chat. She has a proven track record of progressing early-stage technologies from university research labs to commercialization as co-founder and CEO of two innovation labs.