Venture capital executive Matthew McCooe is the new chief executive officer for the state’s technology-investment arm, Connecticut Innovations Inc., effective July 13.
McCooe (pronounced Muh-coo-ee) replaces Claire Leonardi, who left last Dec. 18, CI said late Wednesday. His salary is $275,000, CI said.
CI finance chief Phil Siuta has been interim CEO.
McCooe, 47, comes to CI from Chart Venture Partners, where he was a managing partner and fund manager focusing on investments in communications, green technologies, software and computer vision.
Before that, he worked at Columbia University Science and Technology Ventures, where he managed a large portfolio of spinout companies and the deployment of Columbia’s highly profitable seed fund. During his tenure at Columbia, nearly a dozen portfolio companies went public or were acquired by publicly traded companies.
“Connecticut Innovations is one of the most active early-stage investors in the United States, and it has a reputation for having an experienced team that thoroughly analyzes its deals and provides strategic guidance — all of which lead to favorable returns,” McCooe said in a statement.
Prior to Columbia, McCooe co-founded Eureka Networks, a communications and application software organization that sold for $110 million. Earlier in his career, he managed product development, sales, marketing, and new product rollouts for two Fortune 500 companies, Becton Dickinson and MCI.
McCooe has an MBA from Columbia and a BA from Boston College.
