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10 n e w h a v e n B I Z | M a y 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m O n T h e R e c o r d | Q & A Spark to Flame Josh Geballe will help turn Yale innovations into profitable businesses By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo J osh Geballe knows what it takes to transform an idea or invention into a successful venture, and now he is helping the Yale University community do just that. Geballe is well-known for his work in Gov. Ned Lamont's administration, where he had high- ranking roles such as chief operating officer and commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services. But Geballe on Feb. 14 returned to his entrepreneurial roots when the Yale graduate joined the university to lead its entrepreneurship and innovation efforts. Geballe spent roughly 17 years in the technology sector, most recently at ermo Fisher Scientific. He joined that company aer it acquired Branford- based soware firm Core Informatics LLC in 2017, where Geballe had been CEO since 2013. Geballe's business background also includes an 11-year stint with IBM. In his new position, Geballe will lead efforts to translate research in Yale's labs into real-life products and services. In 2021 alone, 11 startups spun out of Yale with $53.3 million raised in new venture financing. A record-breaking five IPOs occurred in the past five years for Yale spinouts including Arvinas, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Inozyme, NextCure and IsoPlexis. In yet another example of research turning to innovation, Yale launched its SalivaDirect test for COVID-19 in 2020, to help fight the pandemic. Geballe will also work closely with the Tsai Center for Innovative inking at Yale (Tsai CITY), which helps the university's student entrepreneurs. In April, Yale announced it was launching Yale Ventures, a new initiative to support and expand innovation and entrepreneurship throughout both the university and Greater New Haven region. Geballe is leading the organization as managing director, and he will work to translate Yale research into products, services and social ventures. Geballe joins Yale just as it prepares to host the annual Yale Innovation Summit, slated for May 17-18 at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, back as an in- person event. New Haven Biz recently chatted with Geballe about his new role. Here's what he had to say: Tell us about Yale Ventures and how it will work. It is a new organization that we have created to broaden the support that the university provides to our faculty, our students, and the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem — to help launch new innovations and new startups that are tackling the biggest challenges facing society. We're providing help in four main areas. e first is technology transfer, so the patenting and licensing of Yale developed innovations. e second is training programs to help people develop their ideas and turn them into new ventures. e third is around corporate partnerships, leveraging more resources from the private sector to help accelerate research and innovation. e fourth is around "innovation community," so helping to build a broader entrepreneurial ecosystem in New Haven that can help increase the chances of success for new startups and attract and retain talent here. What will your new job entail and what do you hope to accomplish? I'll be the managing director of Yale Ventures, leading the team. Our goals fall into three main categories. e first is to provide great service to the community to help them launch their innovations and navigate what is a very challenging and daunting task of starting a new venture, or translating your innovation into new products and services. e second big set of goals is around having the greatest impact that we can, seeing these innovations become products and services that cure different forms of cancer or address climate change, or other major challenges we are facing in the world. And in so doing drive economic development, job creation, and inclusive growth here in the New Haven region. e third goal we have is to build the entrepreneurial community, to really make this one of the absolute top destinations for innovation in the world, and become a magnet for the top scholars, students and innovators. How often does Yale launch a new company? We have been averaging about 10 new startups per year over the last several years. Many of them have now grown to become very meaningful companies. Arvinas (a New Haven-based biotech company developing treatments for ailments such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease) is going to be the anchor tenant at the 101 College St. development. We are very optimistic that with additional services and support, we can launch even more than that in the years to come. What are some examples of recent Yale ideas that have turned into business ventures? A couple of the most noteworthy ones are going back a couple of decades. Alexion was a Yale spinout that of course grew tremendously and was acquired last year by AstraZeneca, one of the largest biopharma companies in the world. Josh Geballe Managing Director, Yale Ventures Education: MBA, Yale School of Management Age: 47 Josh Geballe is leading Yale Ventures, the university's new entrepreneurship platform. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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