Michael Burcham to lead Entrepreneur Center
Burcham to lead Entrepreneur Center
Nashville Post
By Erin Lawley
May 12, 2010
The Nashville Entrepreneur Center has named Michael Burcham its first president.
The NEC, launched in September, is a joint project of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Nashville Technology Council designed to connect would-be entrepreneurs with resources necessary to start and grow successful businesses. The organization’s 26-member board chose Burcham after a six-month search that drew 90 applicants from across the country.
“Our board of directors set out to identify a strong, strategic and passionate leader, and after carefully considering an impressive pool of candidates, we wholeheartedly believe Michael Burcham is the right person for the job,” said EC Chairman Clayton McWhorter in a statement. “Under his leadership, we are confident the EC will be a strong catalyst for entrepreneurial activity in our city.”
Burcham is currently a clinical faculty member at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, where he teaches entrepreneurial courses and leads the school’s Summer Business Institute. His nearly 30 years of professional and leadership experience includes stints as president of ParadigmHealth, president of Theraphysics Corp., VP of managed care at Centennial Medical Center and regional coordinator of physical therapy services at National HealthCorp.
“Nashville has provided me the opportunity to develop myself as an entrepreneur,” Burcham said in a statement. “The creative energy and business talent in this city is just amazing. I look forward to working with the people of this great community to help turn ideas into successful businesses.”
Joe Kustelski, product manager for the NEC, said the nonprofit’s Web site has had traffic statistics “in the thousands” every week, and it’s got hundreds of followers on Twitter.
“We’re actually pretty psyched with how things are, just based on the limited resources we have to work with,” he said. “We’re looking forward as we begin our programming, and Michael really gets the center up and really takes it to the next level, we’re just expecting to see more growth.”
Kustelski said finding physical space for the NEC will likely be a priority for the organization once Burcham assumes the leadership role July 5.
© 2008 NashvillePost.com