Having served as Managing Director of the Penn Center for Innovation since 2014, John Swartley, MBA, PhD, was promoted to Chief Innovation Officer of the University of Pennsylvania earlier this year. In this new role, Dr. Swartley is developing a comprehensive program to further expand opportunities for the advancement of ideas, expertise and discoveries made at Penn. In an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, he emphasized how in his new role he is hoping to develop a more complete understanding of the broader “definition of what innovation is at Penn, from areas that have either been [traditionally] underserved or underappreciated” and then apply that learning to the creation of new resources and initiatives to further support of Penn’s global impact mission. He lauds Penn’s unprecedented gains in the technology innovation and commercialization space over the past two decades, and cites PCI’s proactive faculty support initiatives and effective business development strategies as a key factor in that success. Moving forward, Dr. Swartley will continue to work closely with PCI, and other innovation focused resources at Penn, to continue fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration and impact across a broad range of disciplines.
Read the press coverage on these innovation leadership changes here: