Peter Hicks, President of the Connecticut Venture Group (CVG), an Industry trade association representing the risk capital community, entrepreneurs and service firms engaged in assisting start-up firms and those seeking funding, announced today that the organization has appointed Elizabeth (Liddy) Karter as its new Executive Director beginning January 1, 2011. Ms. Karter of Old Lyme, Connecticut is an experienced entrepreneur and investor.
“We are excited to have Liddy as our new leader and the voice of the risk capital community and looking forward to beginning a closer association with CTC”
CVG also said it will be entering into an alliance with the Connecticut Technology Council (CTC), a statewide trade association serving the technology community, to manage the Group, create events and develop joint opportunities to improve the environment for technology and entrepreneurship in Connecticut.
“We are excited to have Liddy as our new leader and the voice of the risk capital community and looking forward to beginning a closer association with CTC,” said Hicks, Manager of the Emerging Growth and Technology Group for Webster Bank.
“Our challenge is to improve the regional climate for growing the venture industry and innovative companies that are the engines for job growth. We intend to aggressively coordinate the capital resources in the state and reengage the local venture funds. We have great Connecticut companies and we must find the funds to have them grow and succeed here. I am excited by the challenge and honored to have this opportunity,” said Karter, the principal of Karter Capital, an investment and advisory firm.
The CVG, formed in the 1980s and one of the oldest venture capital trade associations in the country, is known for its annual Crossroads Venture Fair, the largest gathering of investors and innovative firms looking for capital in the region. Organized with active volunteers around the state, the CVG holds events for industry groups, investors and start-up firms throughout the year. The association with CTC will facilitate more coordination across the technology community for events and programs.
“We are delighted to be working with the CVG and see this as a chance to create a stronger and more unified voice for the high growth innovation sector in the economy – the only place where jobs are created and one of the most important business constituencies for our new Governor,” said CTC Chairman Chris Kalish, Executive Director of GE’s Edgelab.
The CVG board had recently been engaged in a process to plan for the group’s future strategy. They chose Karter in part for her ability to bring the regional risk capital community together and to find new sources of support to strengthen the venture capital supply for start-up and growing firms in Connecticut and the region. Karter was a founder of the Angel Investor Forum and former Director of the state funded, CTC-managed Innovation Pipeline Accelerator. She is a board member of the national Angel Capital Association, where she leads the public policy committee. Karter is a graduate of Barnard College and the Yale School of Management.
Leaders of the CVG and CTC expect that by working collaboratively they can more effectively serve their membership. “Tapping into the many resources of the state to encourage investment into Connecticut based companies, supporting their growth and working together to keep these firms here and connected with our established innovation community is the goal of this new alliance,” added the CVG’s Hicks and CTC’s Kalish at a joint announcement.
To learn more about becoming a member of the CVG, visit: http://www.ct-venture.org/.
To learn more about CTC, visit http://www.ct.org.
Contacts
Connecticut Venture Group
Peter Hicks, 203-444-6620
Connecticut Technology Council
Mike Scricca, 860-289-0878 x334 mscricca@CT.ORG
