By Ethan J. Snyder
Youngstown State University announced Craig J. Zamary will begin his position as the Williamson College of Business Administration entrepreneur in residence.
“We are excited to have Craig join the WCBA,” said Betty Jo Licata, WCBA dean. “His entrepreneurial expertise and passion for entrepreneurship education will enable us to create new and innovative opportunities for our students.”
EIRs usually work with investment firms, law schools and business schools to scout and screen investments. Recently, the EIR role expanded to include someone whose responsibility is to bring a strategic mind to whatever project they are assigned. EIRs also work in the university community and with small businesses.
In addition, EIRs work in academic institutions in advisory roles. Zamary will take student or faculty ideas and help develop them into viable business models. He is a business consultant with the Ohio Small Business Development Center at YSU.
Zamary will predominantly focus on implementing the NASA Glenn Technology Transfer University Commercialization initiative.
T2U is part of the NASA Technology Transfer Program. Through the program, NASA engages with hundreds of students each year and allows students to work with their patent portfolio.
“We’re bringing real-world, NASA-proven technologies into the classroom. Business students creating market assessments and business plans can now hone their abilities by working with our high-tech patent portfolio,” said Christie Funk, program coordinator at NASA. “They also receive access to the NASA scientists and innovators, giving them a unique look into the fine-grained details of the technology they are working on.”
Zamary has a bachelor’s degree from Mercyhurst University and an executive MBA from Kent State.
He also holds a certificate in international studies from the University of Newcastle, Australia, a certificate in entrepreneur mindset from The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and a certificate in user innovation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology MITx program and a certificate in Digital Strategy and Action from Babson College. Zamary also received training from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Previously, Zamary was a managing partner for U.S. Wine Exports Company Ltd., the president and chief executive of Green.TV and a Fulbright specialist in Bucaramanga, Colombia.
Zamary used his entrepreneurial background to build numerous successful programs for companies, including the IBM Watson A.I. XPRIZE Foundation, Cleveland Clinic, the Kauffman Foundation, USAID’s Global Innovation Exchange and the Department of State.