Trainer & Consultant Profile:
Joseph Donovan
Joseph Donovan
Director; Innovation and Entrepreneur Center
Fun Facts
For my first career I was a Firefighter/paramedic; retiring as a Fire/EMS Chief in greater Cincinnati.
My fourth career was as a college professor.
Publications
Global Consortium of Entrepreneurial Centers Economic develop in the creative economy
Society of Community Development Economic development in Native American areas; University of Cincinnati
Society of Community Development Creative economic development in the challenged urban intercity; Charleston, SC
Society of Community Development Creative Economy partnerships
Ashville, NC
Rural Opportunity Initiative (ROI) Mississippi State University
Rural Investment Conference at Georgetown University
Starkville, MS
Presentations-Strategic Planning
University of MS Medical Center MS State Treasurer’s Office MS Governor’s Office MS Center for Nonprofits MS Council on Economic Education Beth Israel Temple
Additional Information
Thirty years of progressive senior management experience, with 25 years as the Chief Officer, (CEO, COO, CFO, and Executive Director) in a wide range of organizations, including public, private, non-profit, government, and academic institutions. This includes leading companies through multiple growth stages, including pre-revenue through capital investment and successful exits. I currently serve as the Division Director with the Mississippi Development Authority responsible for developing an entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem within Mississippi.
Biography
Mr. Donovan currently is the Division Director of the The Entrepreneur Center @ Mississippi Development Authority. Donovan’s is to re-organize The Entrepreneur Center, focusing on developing an environment that ‘raises entrepreneurs’, building an entrepreneurial eco-system targeting next generation technologies.
Joe Donovan has been best described by the Mississippi Business Journal as a “serial entrepreneur”. Prior to MDA he was the principle at The Donovan Consulting Group, (DCG). The DCG focused on business development including startups, business development plans, business restructuring, re-branding, growth and expansion along with M&A.
As the founding Director of Entrepreneurial Development at Millsaps College, Else School of Management coordinating a new core focus on entrepreneurship within the Undergraduate and Graduate business programs at Millsaps College.
From June 2011through December 2015, Mr. Donovan served as the Executive Director of the MS Center for Non Profits. This continues his career in nonprofit work which he started as firefighter/paramedic in 1975, in a suburban Cincinnati department, retiring as EMS Chief in 1992.
Mr. Donovan, has twenty-five years of progressive senior management experience, serving in the last 18 years as a Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and CFO/Vice President of Finance for three multi-state organizations with gross sales exceeding $165 million annually.
Mr. Donovan was co-founder of three companies that made up Allan Holdings – Pro Derma LLC (2002), Pharma Pac, LLC (2003) and Allan Pharmaceutical (2004). From March 2002 to September 2010, Mr. Donovan served Allan Holdings LLC and related companies as Vice President and CFO where he was responsible for overseeing financial operations including initial corporate set up and raising capital from both governmental agencies and traditional lenders. He also oversaw the financing and construction of four facilities.
Mr. Donovan earned his B.B.A. from Thomas More College and Xavier University along with his M.B.A. from Millsaps College.
Affiliations
American Management Association
American Statistical Association
School Board Member – Saint Richards Finance Committee Chairman
Mississippi Coding Academies Co-Founder/Board Member
Mississippians for Emergency Medical Services Secretary /Treasurer/ President
MS Association of Grantmakers Member
Association of Fundraising Professionals Member
Community Development Society Member
Catholic Charities; Diocese of Jackson Board Member
Millsaps Conservatory of Music Board Member
Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Board Member
University of Mississippi Research Foundation Board Member
Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Foundation Board Member/Treasurer
Rotary international (Milford, OH) Past local president
NASA EPSCoR grant program (R&D). Technical Advisory Board
Mississippi Council for Economic Education Board Member
St Paul Catholic Church Parish Council Board Member