Brad Burke, executive director of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and associate vice president for industry and new ventures at Rice University, is retiring on 30 June after 25 years with the institution.
John (JR) Reale Jr will step in as interim associate vice president and executive director of Rice Alliance on 15 April, when Burke will take on an advisor role to ensure a smooth transition.
Reale joined the Rice Alliance in October last year as managing director for startup and investor engagement. He is also the managing director of innovation district Ion.
“Working with an amazing team to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Rice, in Houston and beyond, has been the privilege of my career. It has been extremely gratifying to hear entrepreneurs say our efforts changed their lives, while bringing new innovations to market.
“The organisation is well-positioned to help drive exponential growth across startups, investors and the entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Brad Burke
Burke has been with Rice University since 2001 and has helped shepherd thousands of startups through the Rice Alliance’s programme.
He helped turn Rice’s business school into the top-ranked graduate entrepreneurship programme for the past seven years, as analysed by the Princeton Review.
He also established the Rice Business Plan Competition, which grew from nine student teams competing for $10,000 to an annual competition welcoming 42 teams competing for more than $1 million.
Additionally, he helped create the Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week and co-founded the Texas University Network for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Since 2016, the Rice Alliance has also led the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, established to foster the sharing of best practices.
