Stewart becoming incubator's chairman; search on for new CEO

It’s a time of change at the Colorado Springs Technology Incubator.

Duncan Stewart, 39, is stepping down as CEO of the incubator to assume the role of chairman. He replaces Gary Markle, who recently retired as chairman of the nonprofit organization, which assists startup companies.

Markle was also the incubator’s first CEO; he turned over the CEO’s post and day-to-day management to Stewart in 2007. With Stewart now becoming chairman, a new CEO will be selected by year’s end and will take over the post in March, Stewart said.

“I told the board when I took this job 3½ years ago that I would only do this for three or four years. You always want an entrepreneur cycling through as CEO to bring in fresh ideas,” said Stewart, who agreed two weeks ago to become CEO of Grant Dental Technology Corp., a Colorado Springs-based startup company that has developed a new type of dental implant, and will handle business development for Lamina Systems, another local startup.

The changes at the top come as the incubator’s board has embarked on a growth initiative. With a growing network of partners, the incubator plans several joint initiatives, including a business intelligence database program and a grant writing assistance program. The incubator also envisions creation of a multipurpose Innovation Center with laboratory and light manufacturing capabilities.

“Duncan has done an amazing job reimagining what the incubator could and should be,” Alan Steiner, another past chair of the incubator, said in a statement. “The board is fully behind Duncan and the new Innovation Center initiative. With his leadership as chairman, the transition to another dynamic CEO will be smooth as we enter this next exciting development phase.”

Several new clients have joined the incubator program recently, including Peak Aging, a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs spinout focused on cognitive assessment tools; Spectware, which specializes in construction equipment inspection software; GreenGold Lubricants, maker of non-toxic industrial machining oils; and Carroll Range Designs, developers of innovative golf products.
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Bill Radford of The Gazette contributed to this story.