{"613855":{"#nid":"613855","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech taps John Avery to lead Advanced Technology Development Center","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology has named John Avery as its next director of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAvery, a serial entrepreneur who was involved in four startups, assumes his position Nov. 6. Most recently, he was engineering group manager of Panasonic Automotive Systems\u0026rsquo; Panasonic Innovation Center at the Georgia Tech campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA unit of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E), Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s outreach and economic development arm, ATDC works with more than 800 technology startup entrepreneurs each year across Georgia. Founded in 1981, ATDC has become one of the most successful, longest-running, and largest university-based startup incubators in the country.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe announcement follows a comprehensive, four-month national search for a new leader at ATDC following the departure of Jen Bonnett, who left in June 2018 to become the Savannah Economic Development Authority\u0026rsquo;s vice president of innovation and entrepreneurship.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn taking the permanent appointment, Avery will lead a team of 26 full- and part-time staff and advisors who run ATDC\u0026rsquo;s various initiatives, including its financial, health, and retail technology verticals, support statewide activities such as the ATDC @ program, and coach technology entrepreneurs in Georgia.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAvery will report to Chris Downing, EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003Evice president and director.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;John is an outstanding leader and successful entrepreneur who understands the startup journey and commercialization process, with vast relationships in the startup and business communities,\u0026rdquo; Downing said. \u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;re pleased to welcome him to EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003Eand see him bring ATDC, one of the nation\u0026rsquo;s premiere technology incubators, to even greater success in its mission of helping entrepreneurs build great companies here in Georgia.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAt Panasonic, Avery oversaw the innovation center\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;development projects in next-generation automotive systems including, infotainment, bio-sensing, machine vision, deep learning, and heads-up displays.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA tech startup veteran with broad experience in data and wireless voice technologies, Avery was co-founder and chief technology officer of Convergence Corp., a maker of software that connects wireless devices to the Internet. Amazon acquired the company in 1999. Following that acquisition, he joined Amazon as engineering manager.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2001, Avery became an early employee of Mobliss, a\u0026nbsp;mobile applications and messaging solutions company in the entertainment space. He later became the company\u0026rsquo;s chief technology officer. Japan\u0026rsquo;s Index Corp., a\u0026nbsp;developer of mobile phone content and information and other media services such as video on demand,acquired Mobliss in 2004 for $15 million.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe holds six patents and owns Onboard Now, a developer of software for embedded devices such as smart phones, Web-enabled cameras, and industrial controls.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAvery, who sits on the board\u0026nbsp;of the Midtown Alliance, is a familiar presence at ATDC, having served as a mentor to its startups since July of 2018.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I am deeply honored to join ATDC and lead this amazing team,\u0026rdquo; Avery said. \u0026ldquo;ATDC\u0026rsquo;s work has resulted in the creation of great, disruptive Georgia companies in health, financial services, hardware, and numerous other sectors. I look forward to continuing ATDC\u0026rsquo;s momentum of success and legacy of impact.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe holds a bachelor\u0026rsquo;s degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech\u0026#39;s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EComprised of a dozen programs, including the Advanced Technology Development Center, Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s Enterprise Innovation Institute is the nation\u0026rsquo;s largest and most comprehensive university-based program of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization, and economic development. Through its philosophy of\u0026nbsp;innovation-led economic development, EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003Eserves all of Georgia through a variety of services and programs designed to create, accelerate, and growGeorgia\u0026rsquo;s tech-based economy. For more information, please visit,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/innovate.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Einnovate.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nThe Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a program of Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s Enterprise Innovation Institute, is the state of Georgia\u0026rsquo;s technology startup incubator. Founded in 1980 by the Georgia General Assembly which funds it each year, ATDC\u0026rsquo;s mission is to work with entrepreneurs in Georgia to help them learn, launch, scale, and succeed in the creation of viable, disruptive technology companies. Since its founding, ATDC has grown to become one of the longest running and most successful university-affiliated incubators in the United States, with its graduate startup companies raising more than $3 billion in investment financing and generating more than $12 billion in revenue in the state of Georgia. To learn more, visit\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/atdc.org\/\u0022\u003Eatdc.org\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Technology veteran brings record of success in startups and corporate innovation."}],"uid":"28137","created_gmt":"2018-11-05 16:03:46","changed_gmt":"2018-11-08 17:00:41","author":"P\u00e9ralte Paul","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-11-05T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2018-11-05T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"613856":{"id":"613856","type":"image","title":"John Avery","body":null,"created":"1541433964","gmt_created":"2018-11-05 16:06:04","changed":"1541433964","gmt_changed":"2018-11-05 16:06:04","alt":"Headshot: John Avery is the director of Georgia Tech\u0027s Advanced Technology Development Center.","file":{"fid":"233670","name":"Avery_Headshot.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Avery_Headshot.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Avery_Headshot.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":492695,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Avery_Headshot.jpg?itok=2x5dBREN"}}},"media_ids":["613856"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"179602","name":"John Avery"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"4238","name":"atdc"},{"id":"13454","name":"advanced technology development center"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EP\u0026eacute;ralte C. Paul\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:peralte.paul@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eperalte.paul@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404.316.1210\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["peralte.paul@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}