Consulting engagements with startups, venture capital firms, universities, economic development projects, and other clients focused on launch and acceleration phases.

The Center for Quantum Networks (CQN) aims to lay the foundations of the quantum internet, which will revolutionize how humankind computes, communicates and senses the world, by creating a fabric to connect quantum computers, data centers, and devices. The CQN Innovation Ecosystem will help translate those inventions to commercial products and services to strengthen America's economy.

Applying nearly forty years of experience with startups, large corporations, and academia to help UArizona students, community entrepreneurs, and corporate members of FORGE. I plan to help develop partnerships to collaborate on research and development, commercialize new technology via Tech Launch Arizona, and provide students with opportunities for experiential learning and employment.

Created, staffed, and led a new corporate engagement initiative to advance the strengths of the University of Arizona’s research portfolio by connecting, coordinating, and communicating with industrial partners and other external stakeholders. Developed $2 million of new sponsored research relationships with multiple Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller companies in Arizona.

Led initial angel investment in private aerospace firm targeting operationally-efficient reusable launch vehicles. Active board member through all stages of company growth, including substantial international fundraising and recruitment of new CEO.

Led staff of 200 (150 full-time) at the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2). Managed $20 million annual budget (95% from non-university sources). Recruited and promoted top-notch management team across 14 disparate departments. Launched highly-successful new programs targeting local, national, and international audiences in commercialization, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, and health information technology. Attracted nearly a dozen Fortune 500 corporate innovation centers to Technology Square on the Georgia Tech campus. Selected as one of the first Principal Investigators for the NSF I‑Corps program, helping to develop a disciplined national curriculum for university commercialization (now expanding to other Federal agencies). Frequent public speaker and educator. Engaged in national debate on entrepreneurial immigration (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, etc.). International engagements in Brazil, Chile, Ireland, France, Italy, China, South Africa.

Created the Commercialization Services group within EI2, including the nationally-recognized VentureLab program. Streamlined the handling of intellectual property, accelerated the licensing of technology, and made the Institute’s resources more readily accessible to business and industry. Recruited experienced entrepreneurs to partner with faculty in launching new companies. Managed over $2 million/year in Georgia Research Alliance grants and loans to university spinout companies.

Taught second-year MBA class in entrepreneurship emphasizing venture creation, capital formation, and exit strategies. Advised and judged multiple student competitions (Business Plan Competition, Venture Capital Investment Competition). Served as Entrepreneur in Residence at ATDC.

Led the nation’s oldest and largest university-based business incubator. ATDC is part of EI2; Fleming took direct control as a “second hat” in addition to Vice President role at Georgia Tech after a period of management turnover. Stabilized staff, expanded entrepreneur programming, and launched new sponsor-funded financial technology accelerator.

Because of its long experience with successfully forming companies from university research, Georgia Tech was selected in July 2012 to be among the first institutions to become ”nodes” teaching the I-Corps curriculum. I was the principal investigator for the Georgia Tech node since inception.

A unique investment platform for individuals by offering them the ability and the tools to create their own private investment portfolios armed with a more qualified selection of opportunities, professional monitoring and strategic exiting

Part-time position assisting entrepreneurs with business strategy, capital formation, and recruiting of talent.

Recruited as second general partner of early-stage venture capital firm sponsored by the Georgia Research Alliance.  Helped complete fundraising for ATV-I ($35 million under management), and instrumental in raising ATV-II ($75 million in 1998) and ATV-III ($150 million in 2000). Made 18 investments in companies building wireless equipment, telecommunications systems, semiconductors, enterprise software, and Internet services, of which four led to successful IPOs while nine more were acquired, including a sale to Dell for $650 million. Personally responsible for investing $65 million over eight years, returning an IRR of 47% net of all fees and expenses. Very active in Atlanta technology community and state of Georgia’s public policy debates concerning high technology.  Continued close relationship with Georgia Tech, endowing a chair and serving on multiple advisory boards.

Began work as a field engineer for the optical cable division, installing and teaching splicing techniques for some of the first large-scale single-mode fiber installations in the world. Introduced first 135 Mbps, 565 Mbps, and small-footprint DS3 multiplexers to the U.S. market. Promoted to product management in 1986 as part of a new division focusing on the nascent broadband marketplace. Responsibilities included negotiating product features and schedules with marketing, design engineering, and manufacturing (including a third-party OEM arrangement with Tellabs). After returning from LICOM (see below), responsible for introducing Nortel’s new line of SONET equipment to the Federal government and to Bell Atlantic (now Verizon). Relocated to U.S. headquarters in 1988 as Director of Strategic Marketing for all of Nortel’s broadband products. Created an “intrapreneurial” startup focused on ADSL and cablemodems. ADSL business sold to Texas Instruments for more than $400 million. Cablemodem and cable telephony products migrated to Arris (a joint venture between Nortel and Antec), where they produced over a billion dollars of revenue in less than six years.

LICOM raised $22 million of venture capital from a top-tier syndicate (Warburg Pincus, Welsh Carson, and Oak) and built an award-winning fiber optic multiplexer for the telco carrier marketplace. Unfortunately, a standards shift from SYNTRAN to SONET made the product unattractive to telcos. As VP of Product Management and as acting VP of Marketing, Stephen led an effort to reposition the product for private corporate networks. This repositioning was successful, and LICOM was acquired in 1989 by a manufacturer of T1 multiplexing equipment.

Mr. Fleming began his career as an Associate Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1979 while still a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. While at Bell Labs, he published some of the first experimental data regarding single-mode optical fiber splicing. He also pioneered the use of 3D graphics to analyze viscoelasticity of various polymer compounds used in optical fiber and copper cables. These graphical analysis programs, run on an early Cray-1 supercomputer, were used for years afterwards in Western Electric factories.