Wyoming accommodates Mason

University of Wyoming has selected Jack Mason (pictured) as the chief operating officer of its new Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE).
Mason is the former director of entrepreneurial studies at Duquesne University’s Palumbo Donahue School of Business Administration.
He started at IIE earlier this month to help the institute pursue its founding objective of strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems across the university and Wyoming state.
IIE will cultivate spinouts, tech transfer, public-private partnerships and the integration of entrepreneurial ethos throughout campus programs.
Mason spent five years from 2013 at Duquesne leading efforts to improve the university’s entrepreneurial academic programs and building connections with the wider business community.
He also served as an adjunct faculty member on University of Colorado, Boulder’s engineering management course from 1995 to 1997, and later joined the university’s Denver campus to teach global energy management in 2010. His research has covered fields such as knowledge-based businesses that provide services rather than physical products.
Mason has helped found eight businesses including electronic commerce firm EnergyWindow and professional services provider Advanced Technology, and also has experience promoting innovation from inside existing companies, having previously acted as principal of consulting firms Mason Energy and Prism Consulting.
Mason holds a master’s degree in management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in addition to a master’s and PhD in engineering from the same university. He had previously earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the United States Naval Academy.
Mason said: “About 40% of all businesses and about 27% of the workforce are involved in the knowledge economy. With these kinds of businesses, you could live and work in Wyoming, but create value globally.”