The Maine Technology Institute this week announced that three new members have joined its board of directors.
The new directors—Stacey Huth, Rick Ganong, and Meredith Mendelson—bring to the board expertise in the fields of finance, biotechnology, and aquaculture. Gov. Paul LePage has appointed each to a three-year term.
“We are absolutely thrilled that individuals of the caliber of Rick, Stacey and Meredith are willing and able to serve on the MTI board,” Brian Whitney, MTI’s president, said in a statement. “Their background and knowledge will add a great deal of value to board deliberations and will help position the organization for continued relevance and impact.”
Stacey Huth of Yarmouth is the director of molecular program management at EnviroLogix Inc., a Maine-based biotechnology company and subsidiary of Ensign-Bickford Industries. Prior to EnviroLogix, Huth spent 20 years working in research and development at Idexx Laboratories. Gov. LePage appointed Huth to the board seat representing the biotechnology sector.
Rick Ganong of Brunswick has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry with a focus on venture capital and hedge fund investing. He was a partner at Tudor Investment Corp., an international diversified asset management firm, and was a founding partner of Tudor Venture Group, a tech-focused private equity firm. He also has had stints at Boston-based Windhorse Capital Management and Portland-based North Atlantic Capital. He also recently spent two years at Bowdoin College serving as its senior vice president of development and alumni relations. Gov. LePage appointed Ganong to one of the two finance and venture capital seats on the MTI board.
Meredith Mendelson of Camden is deputy commissioner for the Maine Department of Marine Resources, a position she has held since May 2012. Prior to assuming that role, Mendelson staffed for Sen. Olympia Snowe on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, managed a groundfish sector, and worked for the Community Program at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Gov. LePage appointed Mendelson to the MTI board seat representing the aquaculture and marine technology sector.
MTI, based in Brunswick, is a publicly financed nonprofit organization created by the Legislature in 1999 to support research and development activity at companies within the state’s seven targeted technology sectors—biotechnology, aquaculture and marine technology, composite materials technology, environmental technology, advanced technologies for forestry and agriculture, information technology and precision manufacturing technology.
Its board consists of 13 voting members and two non-voting members. The governor appoints 10 directors, one to represent each of Maine’s seven targeted technology sectors, an eighth at-large seat that can represent any of the sectors, and two that have demonstrated finance, lending or venture capital experience. The three additional voting members are the commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, the chancellor of the University of Maine System, and the president of the Maine Community College System. The two non-voting members are always the MTI president and the director of the Office of Policy and Management.
The current board consists of 11 voting members representing six of the seven targeted technology sectors. The board seat representing the information technology sector and the at-large seat are currently vacant.
Huth, Ganong, and Mendelson replace Steve Smith, Chris Davis and Linda Diou—each of which served on MTI’s board for two three-year terms.
Whitney took the opportunity to thank the departing board members for lending their time and expertise to furthering MTI’s mission.
“Each performed a fundamental and valuable role at MTI and had a meaningful impact on Maine’s innovation ecosystem,” Whitney said.
