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Bendis Leaving KTEC for Philly
Richard Bendis, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC), has accepted an offer to lead the newly created Innovation Philadelphia Corporation. Mr. Bendis has been involved with KTEC since the organization was created in 1987. He was appointed to the KTEC board of directors by the Governor and served as the board’s first chairman. Mr. Bendis served as interim president in 1994 before being named president in 1995.
The decision to leave was tough, Mr. Bendis said, but the Philadelphia job appeals to his entrepreneurial spirit. “I’ll be starting with a blank sheet of paper to build an entity that can help make the Philadelphia region a more vibrant participant in the New Economy.”
According to an Oct. 17 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Innovation Philadelphia Corporation will create local companies to commercialize technology developed at the University of Pennsylvania and other area institutions. The city provided $2.5 million in first-year seed funding to get the corporation started.
At KTEC, Mr. Bendis was instrumental in the formation several affiliated seed capital funds across the state, and has been a tireless advocate for state efforts to stimulate greater access to seed and venture capital for small technology companies in Kansas. He also implemented Return on Public Investment criteria for all KTEC programs so that returns from successful client companies are re-invested to help new clients. During his’ tenure, KTEC has built an equity portfolio of 73 companies and has established royalty agreements with almost 150 companies.
A strong advocate nationally and internationally for state efforts in technology-based economic development, Mr. Bendis is a member of SSTI's Board of Directors and has served as chair of the Federal Business Investment Committee on the Science and Technology Council of the States. The committee's work under Mr. Bendis's leadership was instrumental in the design and creation of the new Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) administered by the SBA (see related story in this issue).
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