Prof. Gordon McConnel (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) KSA

Gordon holds the title of Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship in KAUST since May 2016 and has been the Head of the Entrepreneurship Center since May 2014. During which time he has led the activities of the center including the deployment of for-credit and non-credit Teaching & Learning programs, startup accelerators such as the TAQADAM University Entrepreneur Accelerator and the Takamol 910ths Startup Accelerator. He also created the KAUST Corporate Innovation programs which has supported twenty eight organizations across the Kingdom. Prior to Saudi Arabia, he was Associate Vice President of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University, Principal Investigator of the ASU Center of Excellence in Technology Transfer, and an Assistant Professor of Practice. Previously Gordon was Deputy CEO of the DCU Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship in Ireland. He was a co-founder of two funded start-up companies and also worked in a number of industry management roles including Westinghouse and the strategy practice of Accenture. He has developed and taught entrepreneurship and management curriculum in a number of colleges and universities and has been a mentor to a number of startup companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United States and Ireland. McConnell was awarded the title of Arizona Tech Titan in 2014 by the Arizona Business Journal and an Award for Excellence from KAUST in 2015. Gordon received a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Comm) and a Masters in Business Studies (MBS) from the National University of Ireland, and an Executive Certificate in Leadership and Management, MIT Sloan School of Management.