Jim has played an active leadership role in the growth of the Pittsburgh startup and entrepreneurship community over the last 20+ years. At Carnegie Mellon University, Jim is a Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship at CMU's Tepper School of Business and the Director of the Corporate Startup Lab, a Tepper-Swartz Center initiative that helps companies adapt and integrate entrepreneurial best practices into their own innovation practices. Previously, Jim co-founded AlphaLab, a nationally ranked accelerator program (and one of the first accelerators in the U.S) and subsequently helped launch AlphaLab Gear (hardware/robotics/advanced materials), AlphaLab Health (life sciences/healthcare) and the Robotics Factory with corporate and industry partners. Jim also led initial investments in over 200 pre-seed and seed stage companies for Innovation Works and guided some of Pittsburgh’s fastest-growing tech companies, resulting in several billion dollars of exit values and additional investment. Prior to moving to Pittsburgh, Jim led product management at multiple Silicon Valley-based companies, both venture-backed and Fortune 500. As a management consultant, Jim advised consumer-oriented companies on strategic planning and revenue growth strategies. Jim holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts, in Economics and a Master of Business Administration, all from Stanford University.