Chris Ghere
Chris Ghere works with faculty/staff, post-docs, Ph.D. students and entrepreneurs to help establish companies based on UMN invented technology. The Venture Center team is responsible for leading the formation and launch of new companies based on a broad range of technologies coming out of the research enterprise at the University of Minnesota. Chris’ responsibility in the Venture Center focuses on the early projects that need assistance with team formation, strategy and seeking early staged capital.
Chris is also responsible for managing Tech Comm’s MNBridge network. This function connects UMN inventors to non-dilutive capital and service partners to assist with advancing UMN inventions towards a product and training entrepreneurs in the skills needed to run early staged companies.
For the past decade, Chris managed Tech Comm’s software, artificial intelligence and robotics intellectual property portfolios and worked to bring these early staged technologies to market. Prior to joining Tech Comm, Chris co-founded a software startup and was the engineering lead in another. He has worked with both investors and start-ups on business strategies and raising early-stage investment capital.
Chris earned an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. Chris also has a B.A. in computer science from Carleton College. He lives in south Minneapolis with his wife, two children and their dog.