Indiana University has appointed David Rosenberg as the president and chief executive officer of IU Inc., a new nonprofit arm of the institution that aims to drive more external partnerships.
IU Inc. was authorised by the board of trustees in February, though it has yet to file its application to become a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
It will be incorporating three existing entities, including the IU Launch Accelerator for Biosciences (IU LAB), of which Rosenberg has been the inaugural president and CEO since January 2025.
IU Inc. will also include the IU Applied Research Center and IU Realty, which will build a portfolio of non-academic real estate to generate revenue.
Indiana University runs a research enterprise worth more than $1 billion, and IU Inc. has been tasked with facilitating partnerships with industry, startups, and government agencies to grow commercialisation activities.
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Lilly Endowment, a private foundation set up by the family that founded pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, provided a $138 million grant in December 2024, enabling the creation of IU LAB.
During his time with IU LAB, Rosenberg has helped secure the university’s largest-ever industry-sponsored research agreement with Eli Lilly and first-of-their-kind partnerships with Cook Medical and Zimmer Biomet.
Pamela Whitten, president of Indiana University, noted Rosenberg’s “exceptional ability to bring together higher education, industry, government and capital to deliver real results for Indiana.”
She added: “IU Inc. is how Indiana University will bring the full strength of IU research and innovation to market at speed and scale, and David is the right leader to accelerate our impact even further.”
Rosenberg was previously the secretary of commerce for the State of Indiana from August 2023 to January 2025. Before this, he spent two years as the chief operating officer and chief of staff of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
Across his career, Rosenberg has helped secure close to $2 billion in state funding for innovation, workforce, and economic development initiatives.
