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94 BUILDING THE OHIO INNOVATION ECONOMY
DAY 2
Welcome and Introduction
David Morgenthaler
Morgenthaler Ventures
Mr. Morgenthaler welcomed participants to the second day of the
symposium. He said that in addition to his own work as a venture capitalist, he
is a member of President’s Circle of the National Academies, which advises the
presidents of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of
Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine, and a member of the Academies’
STEP Board, where he has served for many years. “My own interest,” he said,
“is that what happened to the Rust Belt cities of the U.S. should not happen to
the U.S. I’m trying to make sure that does not happen, and this conference is
part of that effort.”
Mr. Morgenthaler reminded the audience that the National Academies
study on state and regional innovation policy is taking place in various locations
around the country. “We’re reviewing the state, regional, and Federal efforts to
once again develop a manufacturing base in the Rust Belt cities and address
critical national needs, such as those of renewable energy.” The study is also
identifying best practices among state and regional innovation programs to
develop and reinforce high-tech clusters. “We’ve all realized that once we’ve
gotten all the food we need to eat, we eagerly go out and buy the new iPads and
iPods and other innovations of the world. This is driving our economy, and we
want to make sure our regions are in the lead as innovators.”
Mr. Morgenthaler offered a brief review of his own productive career,
in which he began as a mechanical engineer at MIT and evolved through
numerous entrepreneurial activities to founding the Cleveland venture capital
firm he still leads, Morgenthaler Ventures.
“In 1950,” he recalled, “Cleveland was king of world. It had world-class
manufacturing facilities. In 1957, when I was involved with a company
headquartered in Birmingham, England, Cleveland was treated by these people
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PROCEEDINGS 95
with great respect and as an equal. We had 50 of the Fortune 500 headquarters,
and were one of the leading manufacturing centers of the world.”
MISSING TWO INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS
Cleveland was so strong during the 1940s and 1950s, he suggested, that
it was slow to respond when change came. The area had a powerful economic
driver in the automobile, from 1900 to 1960, “and unfortunately the region rode
it for another 40 years without recognizing that we had missed two new
industrial revolutions, the electronics revolution and the biotech revolution. We
are trying belatedly but very sensibly to make up for that now. We’re making
investments to maintain the level of economic activity that we’ve become
accustomed to, and to adapt to the changing global economy. I’m pleased with
the commitment shown in this meeting to develop the strategies and policies to
restore Ohio as an economic engine and a leader in innovation.”
Mr. Morgenthaler thanked the sponsors of the meeting, including the
Department of Energy, the Economic Development Administration, the
Technology Innovation Program of NIST, and especially the Cleveland
Foundation, the lead sponsor. “We in this region can give profound thanks to
our foundations who have stepped up as our corporations have gradually slid
away. The foundations have done far more than could have been expected from
them, and the Cleveland Foundation has been the leader.” They had been joined
by the George Gund Foundation, he said, “and a great many additional
supporting sponsors and organizers.”
