Robert Wooldridge

Associate Vice President for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation

Bio

Bob oversees the CTTEC team and all elements of the licensing and start-up commercialization processes within the center. He spearheaded the reorganization of CTTEC after becoming Director in 2002. Under his leadership, the center went from a $2M loss to break-even in three years. The Milken Institute, in its April 2017 publication, “Concept to Commercialization, The Best Universities for Technology Transfer”, has Carnegie Mellon ranked #10 in the United States.

During his time at Carnegie Mellon, he has personally negotiated over 350 license, research, and other complex agreements with companies ranging in size from start-up to multinational.

Bob also developed then implemented new spin-off guidelines in 2002, which were designed to both encourage entrepreneurship and facilitate investment; on average, the program resulted in a 250% increase in the number of new companies per year and a reduction in the time to spin-out by 60%.

Bob has been personally involved in the formation of several dozen CMU spin-offs. Bob has previously served as a member of the board of directors for a number of startup companies and entities including Mediasite, Inc., Wisdom Technologies Corporation, Carnegie Interactive, Inc., Chromodynamics, Inc., Carnegie Technology Holdings, and the Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association. He has participated in nine rounds of venture capital, six acquisitions and one bankruptcy (and found each one to be a unique learning experience). He is currently a Director at iCarnegie, Inc. 

In 2005, after several years of promoting the concept regionally, Bob submitted a successful proposal to the Heinz Endowments to establish a “Gap Fund” to make small, awards to researchers exploring start-up opportunities. Since that time, in concert with his colleagues in CTTEC, more than $4M has been raised from various foundations and other agencies to support new company formation.  Over $3.7M has been distributed to date.

Prior to CTTEC, Bob spent ten years in industry, the majority of that time with a manufacturer of electrical and electronic components. He worked closely with industrial customers on commercialization, starting with the design/R&D stage through product development and, finally, introduction. Bob's expertise covers a wide range of industries including electrical assemblies and systems, automotive, and telecommunications.

Bob received his BA History/Mathematics and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. He has also attended the Venture Capital Institute and the Harvard Program on Negotiation.