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BALTIMORE, MD (March 14, 2012)—Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) announced that Deborah A. Tillett has been selected as the new President and Executive Director of the Emerging Technology Centers (ETC), Baltimore City’s business incubator program, a venture of BDC. The ETC, which focuses on growing early stage technology and biotechnology companies in Baltimore City, consist of two separate incubator facilities: the Emerging Technology Center at Canton and the Emerging Technology Center at Johns Hopkins Eastern.
“Providing inventors and entrepreneurs with a supportive incubator program like the ETC is vital to growing Baltimore in the next ten years,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake. “Deborah Tillett has the experience and energy needed to support Baltimore’s technological innovators in an increasingly competitive marketplace of ideas.”
Ms. Tillett, who begins her new position on April 2, will be responsible for management of ETC budgetary, administrative, and programmatic functions; strategic planning in coordination with the ETC Board of Directors and BDC; and team building and supervision of ETC staff.
Recently, Ms. Tillett served as president and co-founder of Immersive 3D, LLC, a technology start-up providing web-based 3D computer gaming solutions for K-20 education and offering contract-based technology services.
From June 2009 to April 2010, Ms. Tillett was President and consultant for Kalypso Media USA, Inc., a subsidiary of a German-based publishing company, where she provided start-up guidance and strategic direction for its U.S. operation. Additionally, she ran her own business, Deborah Tillett Consulting, LLC, providing management, marketing, and media consulting for technology start-ups and growth-stage companies interested in global strategies. Ms. Tillett also worked as president and executive vice president from 2001-2008 for BreakAway Ltd., a technology software company, where she was responsible for the growth and oversight of its entertainment division.
Ms. Tillett succeeds retiring President and Executive Director Ann Lansinger who has directed the ETC since 1999.
“Deborah Tillett’s broad spectrum of knowledge and experience in the technology industry ideally suits her to lead the ETC to further growth,” said BDC President M.J. “Jay” Brodie.
In 2011, the ETC increased its number of clients from 74 to 77; on December 31, 2011, the facility occupancy rate was 96.5%. During 2011, 33 new companies joined the incubation program and 30 graduated.
The ETC’s client companies currently employ 449 people at an average annual salary of $64,500 and have average annual revenues of over $1 million. In 2011, ETC’s client and graduate companies received nearly $70 million in external funding from private investors and from Federal and State sources. The ETC was one of two finalists for the “Incubator of the Year” award by the National Business Incubation Association.
“Ms. Tillet brings a skill set and knowledge of the local technology community that uniquely qualifies her to lead ETC as we continue to provide programs and services to help Baltimore’s entrepreneurs launch and sustain successful high-tech and bio-tech ventures,” said Darius L. Davis, ETC Board Chair.
Ms. Tillett received a B.S. degree from Towson University in 1976 and a M.B.A. from Loyola Sellinger School in 2000. She is the Emeritus Chair, Board of Advisors for College of Business and Economics at Towson University; and a board member for the Julie Center (a non-profit community organization run by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur). Ms. Tillett was named the 2004 Innovator of the Year by The Daily Record; received the 2005 Bravo Award, Smart Woman Magazine; and was a 2006 Dean’s Recognition Award Distinguished Alumni, Towson University. She was named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Gaming in 2006.
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