Mark Walsh is now part of the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) after being named the Associate Administrator for the Office of Investment and Innovation.
The office administers the agency’s Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC).
As an associate administrator, Walsh will be in charge of an office that has provided management assistance, long-term loans, equity capital to qualified small businesses through its SBIC program since 1959. He will also lead the STTR and SBIR programs that have helped entrepreneurs commercialize their products and services and provided small businesses with funds for projects that meet government research needs, boosting technological innovation in the private and public sectors.
Walsh, a Harvard Business School graduate, brings an array of entrepreneurial experience to the SBA having run several large public and private founded startups. He has held senior executive positions at GeniusRocket.com, GE, AOL, HBO and Verticalnet, and brings a wealth of experience and expertise in mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, customer service, consumer acquisition and financial management.
“We are delighted to welcome Mark to the SBA team. As a seasoned entrepreneur and executive, Mark has made public-private partnerships a focus of his career. With his deep understanding of small businesses in the technology sector, we know he will bring a fresh perspective and pioneering spirit to the Office of Investment and Innovation. We look forward to his leadership and dedication on behalf of America’s small businesses,” SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet said in the agency’s press release.
As Walsh settles into his new role, his wealth of experience should prove beneficial not only to small businesses but also to budding new entrepreneurs.
Image: Mark Walsh/Twitter
