LENEXA, Kan. – (June 17, 2013) – The Enterprise Center of Johnson County (ECJC), a venture development organization and early stage company incubator in the Kansas City Metro, today announced the appointment of George Hansen as President & CEO. Mr. Hansen joins ECJC as a next step in his distinguished career of building and financing companies across multiple industries in Kansas City and throughout the world.
In his new role, Mr. Hansen will lead ECJC’s efforts to fuel new venture development and facilitate the associated rapid growth in employment opportunities in Johnson County and the surrounding metropolitan region. George replaces Joel Wiggins, who recently accepted the position as President of his alma mater, Crown College in Minnesota.
“George Hansen’s leadership will provide a tremendous boost to a new era of venture acceleration in Johnson County and the Greater Kansas City area,” said Jim Dodd, Chairman of the ECJC. “He has a proven track record and a deep understanding of how businesses are started, financed, built and accelerated. George has a keen sense for what strategic choices need to be made at critical stages of any organization. At a time when new models for start-up acceleration are appearing throughout the KC area, we are pleased to have an executive that will keep Johnson County and Kansas at the forefront of innovation and company creation.”
Most recently, as CEO of Zave Networks, Mr. Hansen led the on-line commerce company through an acquisition by Google. Prior to that, he worked with one of the larger regional private equity concerns, TGP Investments. This followed successful CEO-level leadership roles at Corporate Lodging and CARSTAR, both Midwest-based, high growth, leading players in their industries. Hansen spent time in various locations in the United States and Europe while advancing to senior management levels earlier in his career at Thorn EMI, PLC.
“I am delighted to be joining ECJC and look forward to working with its board to advance venture development efforts in a new era,” said Hansen. “ECJC has been a pioneer as a local incubator, and is well-positioned to take on new challenges as the landscape changes. Johnson County is fertile ground for building great companies. We offer entrepreneurs a strong network of potential business partners, investors and experienced mentors.”
About the Enterprise Center of Johnson County
The Enterprise Center of Johnson County is a non-profit venture development organization providing advisory services, access to funding resources, entrepreneurial education, office space and networking connections for high-growth companies. For more information visit, www.ecjc.com