Governor Appoints New Members of MassVentures Board of Directors
WALTHAM, Mass. — Governor Healey appointed new members of the MassVentures Board of Directors.
The appointments to the Board, chaired by Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley, come as Massachusetts continues to strengthen its position as a leader in academic research, innovation and emerging technology. New members include William "Mo" Cowan, Chief Legal and External Affairs Officer, Devoted Health; Russ Wilcox, Chief Executive Officer, Trellis Air; Larry Wittenberg, Retired, formerly Partner at Goodwin Procter LLP; and Elizabeth Kennedy, Director of Government Relations, Activate.
"Massachusetts' strength has always been in the people who power our innovative economy," said Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley, who chairs the MassVentures board. "These new members of the MassVentures board bring deep experience in law, life sciences, climatetech, government, and entrepreneurship that will help guide our strategy and ensure we are backing the next generation of transformative companies. Their leadership will be critical as we continue to grow early-stage startups, create jobs, and keep Massachusetts at the forefront of global innovation."
Justin Griffin, Michael Valanzola, Cynthia Bouthot, and Bill Asher recently stepped down from the MassVentures Board after several years of service.
New Board Member Bios
William "Mo" Cowan, Chief Legal and External Affairs Officer, Devoted Health?
Senator Cowan (retired) is Chief Legal and External Affairs Officer for Devoted Health. A member of Devoted Health's executive leadership team, Cowan is responsible for all legal, corporate governance, regulatory, and public affairs functions for this next generation, tech-enabled, all-in-one healthcare company. Immediately prior, Cowan led global government affairs and global litigation for General Electric. Earlier in his career, Cowan was a partner at a major law firm and was President and CEO of a national government affairs consulting group. In 2013, he served as the interim U.S. Senator representing Massachusetts, serving on the Agriculture, Commerce and Small Business Committees. From 2009-2013, Cowan held senior leadership roles (Chief Legal Counsel, Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor) in the administration of Governor Deval Patrick. He currently serves on governance and advisory Committees for the Massachusetts General Hospital, Ratio Therapeutics, MassChallenge, Stackwell Capital, and Mass General Brigham. Cowan is also a founding member of the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund. Cowan is a graduate of Duke University and Northeastern University School of Law. He holds honorary degrees from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, Bridgewater State College, and Newbury College.
Russ Wilcox, Chief Executive Officer, Trellis Air
Russ Wilcox was a founder and CEO of E Ink which commercialized an electronic paper display?technology invented at MIT. Under his leadership the company conducted breakthrough research, built a factory in Western Massachusetts, and reached $200 million in revenue. E Ink was acquired for half a billion dollars in 2009. He next started and led university spinouts related to energy and drug discovery. Wilcox then gained eight years of investment committee experience as a General Partner at Pillar VC, a Boston-based venture capital fund. At Pillar he led seed investments related to AI architecture, biotechnology, 3D printing, robotics, hardware, and deep technology. Currently he serves as CEO of Trellis Air, a cleantech startup seeking to increase the efficiency of HVAC equipment. Wilcox also co-teaches the LaunchLab entrepreneurship course at Harvard University for MS/MBA joint degree students who have launched seventeen venture-backed?startups to date. Wilcox studied Applied Math at Harvard College and earned an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School. He is an EY New England Entrepreneur of the Year, Mass High-Tech All-Star, and co-inventor of thirty issued US patents.
Larry Wittenberg, Retired?(formerly Goodwin Procter LLP)
Larry Wittenberg spent more than 40 years counseling and advising startup technology companies and their investors in connection with financing, intellectual property collaborations and general corporate legal issues. He focused primarily on Life Sciences companies and founded and led the Life Sciences Practice at Goodwin Procter LLP, an international law firm. For 20 years he also served as a director and legal counsel to MassBio, the Massachusetts biotechnology industry organization. Wittenberg is a graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Law School.
Elizabeth Kennedy, Director of Government Relations, Activate?
Elizabeth Kennedy is the Director of Government Relations at Activate, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that developed the model of entrepreneurial fellowships for scientists commercializing their research. Prior to Activate, Kennedy served as Head of Corporate Development at Portal Biotechnologies and as Vice President of Business Development and Strategy at the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) developing partnerships and initiatives with a wide variety of stakeholders from large corporations to small biotechnology companies as well as academic institutions, hospitals, government, and venture capital. Earlier in her career, Kennedy served as Chief of Staff at Landmark Bio and as a Special Projects Manager at Harvard. She was also a fellow in the Harvard Kennedy School's Emerging Technology Policy program.
