SSTI Digest

Ron Gifford is the new president and CEO of the Indy Partnership. Gifford replaces Gordon Hendry, who left to take an executive position with CB Richard Ellis.

Linda Hartsock was hired by Empire State Development to serve as regional director for Central New York.

John Hertig was appointed executive director of the Alfred Mann Institute for Biomedical Development at Purdue University.

Marilyn Higgins joined Syracuse University as vice president for community engagement and economic impact.

Kenneth Kahn will be the Avrum and Joyce Gray Director of the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at Purdue University, effective Jan. 1. In addition to directing the center, Kahn will be a professor in the university's Department of Industrial Technology.

Daniel Krichbaum was named Gov. Jennifer Granholm's new chief operating officer, replacing Mary Lannoye who left the administration as chief of staff.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has selected Brian McGowan to replace Yoland Benson as deputy secretary for economic development in California's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. McGowan, San Bernardino County's economic development administrator, will start his new position in January. Gov. Schwarzenegger also has appointed Teresa Takai as the state's first Cabinet-level chief information officer.

Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal has appointed Stephen Moret as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development. Moret will assume his new post on Jan. 14, leaving behind his duties as president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce.

Mark Robinson resigned as chief operating officer of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council to join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Steven Zylstra was appointed as vice president of global corporate communication and public relations for Mylan. Zylstra had been president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council and the Pittsburgh Biomedical Development Corp.

Listen or read the business news media and the dreaded “R” word, recession, is back in common parlance. State revenue cycles seem to feel it first. Already, with more than a dozen states projecting budget deficits for both current and coming fiscal years, it seems certain: Spending cuts in programs and services and/or tax increases are imminent. The nationwide housing market slump, the rising cost of energy and health care, and increased state spending are cited as a just a few of the reasons for shortfalls in state budgets. The lack of a fiscal year 2008 federal budget, now nearly one-quarter over, does not help state fiscal planning.   In June, the Government Accountability Office released State and Local Governments: Persistent Fiscal Challenges Will Likely Emerge within the Next Decade, which found that an unexpected explosion in health-related expenditures combined with no new policy changes will result in fiscal challenges for state and local governments over at least the next 10 years (see the Aug. 8, 2007 issue of the Digest).   Then, last week, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released a report forecasting a…

Although Missouri frequently ranks in the top 20 states for federal research grants and academic R&D, the state consistently ranks much lower in the creation of new high-tech companies. A recent report by Dr. Mark Parry of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Bloch School of Business suggests that early-stage high-tech entrepreneurs and companies have been unable to secure sufficient capital to launch successful ventures. Part of this capital deficit has been due to a lack of state investment in capital formation and access programs, he contends. While neighboring states spent an average of $2.79 per resident in 2006 on capital formation initiatives and similar states such as Arizona, Ohio and Minnesota spent $2.94, Missouri spent only $0.10. Parry argues that this lack of spending has contributed to the state's persistent difficulty in translating its intellectual capital into new companies.   One problem identified by the report is that although the amount of early-stage capital under management in Missouri has increased over the past six years, the amount invested in Missouri companies has declined. Angel and venture investors are not…