Lesley Millar-Nicholson has been announced as the next director of Massachusetts Institute’s (MIT) tech transfer office, Technology Licensing Office (TLO), and will take on her new role in July 2016.

She will replace Lita Nelsen, who steps down after 30 years in the office and 23 years as director. Nelsen received GUV’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and gave the keynote at last year’s GUV Fusion conference in London.

Millar-Nicholson is currently the director of the Office of Technology Management at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At TLO, she will be responsible for all business and operations.

Nelsen is entering her retirement. Between Nelsen stepping down and Millar-Nicholson beginning in July, Jack Turner, associate director of TLO, will serve as interim director.

Karen Gleason, associate provost and professor of chemical engineering, said: “I want to again thank Lita for her many years of exceptional service to MIT. Under her leadership, the TLO has maintained a position of national prominence among centres of technology transfer.”

– Image courtesy of LinkedIn