Office of the Vice President for Engagement
David Gard, Executive Director
As executive director of the IU Office of the Vice President for Engagement, David Gard is charged with promoting new business ventures, managing the transfer of IU-generated technology advances into market opportunities, and developing partnerships across regional and international markets. His efforts are especially focused on the healthcare, life sciences, and informatics sectors.
Before joining IU’s Office of Engagement in December 2008, Gard worked with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), the state’s lead agency for job creation, where he was deputy director of Small Business and Entrepreneurship and of Indiana’s 21st Century Research and Technology Fund. He managed the fund’s portfolio, which included more than $75 million invested in 60 Indiana ventures developing and commercializing innovative technologies.
He is also a former venture development manager and business performance consultant with Duke Energy and a former corporate trust officer with Fifth Third Bank. His experience includes strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting, business plan development and evaluation, economic development, venture capital and investments, and technology incubation, among other areas.
In appointing Gard to the position with IU, Vice President for Engagement Bill Stephan noted that “David brings a unique blend of private and public sector experiences that greatly enhance our efforts as we work with a broad range of stakeholders within the university and our broader network of statewide partners.”
Gard works with Bill Stephan and Tony Armstrong, president and CEO of the IU Research and Technology Corporation, to support Innovate Indiana, which is IU President Michael McRobbie’s signature effort to expand the university’s economic development initiatives throughout the state of Indiana and across IU’s eight campuses.
As a representative of the Office of Engagement, Gard also works to advance the Indiana Innovation Alliance, an unprecedented collaboration between Indiana and Purdue Universities, through encouraging partnerships between bioscience and life sciences experts in industry, academia, and government.
Gard says that his position with the IU Office of Engagement aligns ideally with his interests and background in the areas of business strategy, economic development, technology commercialization, and new business incubation.
A Greenfield native, Gard earned a B.S. degree in business economics and public policy from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and began his career as a U.S. Navy Supply Corps officer in support of Operation Desert Storm. He later returned to Bloomington to earn an M.B.A. degree with a Certificate in Global Business Achievement from the Kelley School.
