Executive Director of Innovation

Texas A&M Innovation (TI)–the centralized office supporting inventors and commercializing innovations across the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS or A&M System)–invites applications and nominations for the role of Executive Director of Innovation. Few roles combine scale, momentum, and mission as powerfully as this one. As one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, TAMUS operates on a level of impact that few institutions can match.

The Executive Director of Innovation is the second-in-command of the Texas A&M Innovation Office and the chief execution officer of the office’s strategic plan. The Chief Innovation Officer sets vision, strategy, and external direction; the Executive Director makes it happen — translating strategy into operating plans, holding the senior team accountable to milestones and KPIs, instrumenting the data and reporting backbone, and ensuring that every commitment made to the Chancellor and the Board of Regents is delivered on time and to standard.

This is an internally facing, operationally rigorous role. The Executive Director is deeply experienced in academic technology transfer, research administration, and innovation operations — fluent in disclosures, licensing, compliance, conflicts of interest, export control, and the institutional plumbing that makes a system-scale innovation office run. They are tactical, data-driven, and detail-obsessed. They do not need to be the visionary in the room; they need to be the person who turns the vision into a roadmap, a dashboard, and a delivered result.

All Innovation Office directors report through the Executive Director: the Director of Marketing, Director of Business Development, Director of Licensing, and Director of New Ventures, along with operations and compliance staff. The Executive Director represents the Innovation Office in internal meetings, working groups, and System-level forums when the Chief Innovation Officer is unavailable, and serves as the trusted proxy on day-to-day execution and decisions.

Texas A&M Innovation has retained Isaacson, Miller to assist in this search. All inquiries, nominations, and applications should be directed below. Andy Lee is leading this search with Raul Bernal and Madeline Fitzpatrick.