CT can be known for innovation, new agency leader says
Connecticut has long been known as the “land of steady habits.” But the new head of one of the state’s most-prominent businessdevelopment organizations wants to see it forge a reputation for inventiveness.
Onyeka “Ony” Obiocha has been named the new executive director of CTNext, a state-backed agency that develops programs and provides funding to help startups and early-stage businesses grow in Connecticut. Drawing on his experience building and supporting new firms, Obiocha sees the opportunity for CTNext to play a key role in Connecticut becoming a major hub for entrepreneurship and innovation.
“As a Connecticut native, I’ve always said that Connecticut has everything it needs to be successful,” Obiocha said in an interview. “I’ve always been excited about the potential here. Providing opportunities for businesses to blossom is something I could not say no to.”
Obiocha, 32, a New Haven resident and Windsor native, has joined CTNext after serving as director of the Heron Foundation’s Integrated Capitals and Learning program, playing a key role in managing a $350 million endowment.
The University of Connecticut alumnus previously worked as managing director of the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale, where he focused on the development of programming and resources for students to launch and grow businesses across the country. In addition, he co-founded A Happy Life, a New Haven-based coffee company, and founded Shareological, an e-commerce platform.
“Connecticut is so much more than an in-between of Boston and New York,” Obiocha said. “We have our own culture, people and ecosystem.”
As the new executive director, Obiocha takes over an agency with a current-year budget of about $14 million; that funding comes from state bonding. He succeeds Glendowlyn Thames, who concurrently served during the past two-and-ahalf years as deputy commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
“Ony brings both leadership insight and the necessary experience to cultivate vibrant innovation ecosystems throughout Connecticut,” Revell Horsey, CTNext’s board chairman, said in a statement. “We have a number of programs at CTNext that have the ability to scale and succeed. Ony embodies the entrepreneurial mindset in action and spirit, and has the skillset required to enhance current programming and maximize impact for the entrepreneurs we support.”
While he will report to the CTNext board, Obiocha will also work with officials at Connecticut Innovations, the state-chartered venture capital organization. CTNext is a wholly owned subsidiary of Connecticut Innovations.
“Ony is going to critically examine all the investments we’ve made across the board and come up with a plan,” Connecticut Innovations CEO Matt McCooe said in an interview. “He has a really terrific opportunity. He’s a highly charismatic and very smart young man who wants to have a big impact and make a difference.”
Among his top goals, Obiocha said he wanted to further develop CTNext’s flagship program, Innovation Places, a multiyear initiative to foster technology and entrepreneurship in Connecticut’s urban centers. The program has allocated $7.7 million to New Haven, $6.5 million to Hartford, $6 million to Stamford and $2.5 million to the New London area.
“Innovation Places is an amazing program,” Obiocha said. “That’s a program I’m really focusing on because it keeps in mind all of the primary economic drivers — including insur(ance)-tech in Hartford and fin(ancial) tech in Stamford. But it also thinks about what does it mean to create an ecosystem.”
Obiocha said he also wants to expand CTNext’s network of partners.
“I think a part of my job is to capture hearts and minds,” Obiocha said. “I’m hoping my enthusiasm and pure delight for this job and Connecticut is contagious because I want all those folks who haven’t been at the table to come join me.”
Obiocha said he is bullish about Connecticut’s economic prospects in large part because of the students and young professionals in cities such as New Haven, Stamford and Hartford. He believes the state’s demographics position it well to learn from successful economic development in other states and countries.
“I’ve had the opportunity to travel and look at other entrepreneurial ecosystems — whether it’s in Budapest or Barcelona or Chicago or Detroit,” Obiocha said. “We live in a global economy, so why can’t Connecticut operate at that scale?”