Technology 2020 President and Chief Executive Officer John Morris has announced his resignation effective September 30. He has worked at Tech 2020 since December 2008, and has served as president since 2011.

“I value the time I have spent around Tech 2020, first as an entrepreneurial client company, then as the director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth director and later as CEO,” Morris said in a press release Thursday. “This was not an easy decision, but I am an entrepreneur at heart, and I want to return to direct involvement with startups.”

Tech 2020 is the region’s venture development organization, working to help new technology-based companies start up and flourish. The organization supports the technology commercialization efforts at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, and is currently working with more than 30 client businesses at various stages of growth. Tech 2020 also manages a large federally-funded advanced manufacturing project, serves as the headquarters for Meritus Ventures and the newly established Lighthouse Angel Fund, and leads the state’s FIRST Robotics Program and the Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnership. [Read more…]