ANN ARBOR – Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest has announced the appointment of three new board members: Ken Kousky, chief executive officer, MidMichigan Innovation Center; Remos J. Lenio, a founder and principal, Hartwick Capital Group LLC; and Paula Sorrell, managing director of entrepreneurship, Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

GLEQ is a nonprofit organization designed to accelerate the development of high-growth companies in Michigan with entrepreneurial education, one-on-one coaching, connections to resources, exposure to investors and a statewide business competition.

?Ken, Remos and Paula each bring high-quality experience, contacts and perspective to GLEQ, that will add depth and new ideas to our programs,? said Diane Durance, GLEQ executive director. ?I am delighted to welcome them to our board of directors.?

In addition to serving as CEO of the MidMichigan Innovation Center, Kousky is President and CEO of IP3, Inc., an information security consulting firm. An experienced chief executive and financial economist, Kousky is a veteran of the information technology industry and has successfully started three companies and played instrumental roles in two turnarounds and two IPO?s. In 1988, Kousky founded an IT services company, Wave Technologies, and within six years, guided the company through a successful IPO. An active investor in start-ups, Kousky is a founding member and executive director of the BlueWater Angels Investment Network, a Michigan-based funding network that reviews more than 100 potential businesses annually.

Prior to starting Hartwick Capital in 1999, Lenio was an investment banker with P&M Corporate Finance, LLC, the investment banking affiliate of Plante & Moran, LLP, where he was responsible for originating and closing transactions in the western region of Michigan. From 1992 through 1995, Lenio was vice president of finance for Barak, Ltd., a Grand Rapids-based holding company, responsible for all the financial operations of the parent and subsidiary companies. Prior to that, he held in various positions of responsibility with several financial institutions.

Sorrell has held senior management positions at several early-to mid-stage companies, all of which were sold, went through IPOs or are still going concerns. Nationally, she has run entrepreneurial and research projects, including screening early-stage technology companies for Fortune 500 companies, and screening and/or coaching cleantech companies for investors, national labs, the U.S. Department of Energy, and a European university technology consortium. Sorrell has also been a national trainer for economic development centers, universities, and a consultant for early-stage commercialization strategies and supporting eco-systems. At the MEDC, she oversees programs for the state’s SmartZones?, business incubators, SBTDC, business plan competitions, and university tech transfer.

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