Richard W. Chylla
Richard Chylla joined the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group in January 2022 as the Executive Director.
Rich comes to the University of Virginia from the Innovation Center at Michigan State University where he served as Executive Director of MSU Technologies since 2012. He also served on the board of directors for the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) and held the AUTM chair position in 2019. He has more than 25 years of experience in university technology transfer, research leadership, and business development.
Rich has extensive experience in licensing and technology commercialization in both academic and industry settings. He has amassed career accomplishments with top-tier organizations including the University of Michigan and BASF Corporation. He also has broad international experience having worked in various technical roles with Johnson Polymer in Singapore, Japan, and the Netherlands.
At Michigan State, Rich was instrumental in launching two translational funds totaling $7M since 2014 in partnership with economic development agencies. These supported more than 160 projects to advance university technologies generating licenses with industry, new startups, and jobs. He doubled the number of licenses and options since 2013, grew the total licensing revenue, and strengthened relations between the university and the local entrepreneurial community. MSU Technologies grew the number of university startups launched each year and attracted more than $100M in follow-on capital.
Education:
- Executive MBA-Global Management Development (‘99): Joint program between IESE University of Navarra (Spain) and The University of Michigan Business School (USA) Barcelona, Spain
- Ph.D., Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology
- B.S. with Honors, Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology
Professional Memberships:
- AUTM, Chair 2019
- Ocean Exchange
- Licensing Executive Society (LES)
- Chemical Marketing Development Association (CDMA) past officer