Maggie Brickerman, the new president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, has laid out her vision for the organization’s future, which includes driving more investment deals in the state.
Speaking yesterday at the group’s Early Stage Symposium in Madison during her third day on the job, Brickerman discussed how her past work with startup accelerator gener8tor will shape her approach to leading the organization. She succeeds Tom Still, noting the longtime Tech Council leader will be on speed-dial as she navigates the new role.
Along with leading efforts in Wisconsin around developing and retaining science- and tech-based businesses, the Tech Council weighs in on various policy issues, advocating for the state’s technology sector.
“I’m an entrepreneur, I’m a builder, and Tom has built a great organization,” Brickerman said. “And so, if you had been looking for someone to … keep this great thing going just the way it is, I wouldn’t be the right person. But I think having this moment where the ecosystem has changed since 2001, we have this great foundation, what are the opportunities to build on?”
Brickerman emphasized the group’s ability to connect Wisconsin’s academic community and the investment ecosystem, noting it’s no secret that the state needs more venture capital. She said there’s an “opportunity for the Tech Council to take accountability” for getting more investors, banks and others to engage on this challenge.
She also said she wants to put a new focus on the number of investment deals happening in the state, in addition to the more attention-grabbing larger deals that have driven much of the activity in Wisconsin.
“Because if we have one company that’s doing a mega-round, and we’re kind of hiding the fact that it was really only one company and not a bunch of others, we’re not really getting that end result that we want, which is the impact on the economy,” she said.
Brickerman said she has ideas for new partnerships that could make the state’s tech landscape more interconnected, including a greater effort on coordinating talent acquisition.
She noted individual roles can get hundreds of applicants from across the country, and helping some of these highly qualified professionals get connected with other opportunities in Wisconsin would boost the entire ecosystem.
“When you think about like, what do we all have in common? Whether we wake up every day to do it or not, we all are part of this high-tech economy that if it’s firing on all cylinders, really can unleash the full potential for the entire state,” she said.
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