If you’re wondering how Dr. Donald Chambers, Special Advisor : Innovation Process for Open Range Capital Partners, has become such a globally respected authority on entrepreneurship, startups, SMEs, innovation, incubators and accelerators. It’s academic. And we mean that quite literally.
In addition to being a valued advisor and subject matter expert to Open Range Capital Partners, Don is a remarkable intellect and scholar. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Entrepreneurship at the University of Georgia, teaching several courses in entrepreneurship and leading entrepreneurial eco-system initiatives. He has designed courses in customer discovery, design thinking and finance while also co-facilitating the UGA Idea Accelerator—an eight-week program incubating new business concepts. Off campus, he has studied dozens of incubation and accelerator programs and his knowledge is so extensive, he was recruited for a study by the U.S. Department of Energy.
But Don’s extraordinary knowledge goes far beyond the world of academia. (Again, quite literally.) He has worked with and advised companies in over a dozen industries, as far-reaching as a renewable energy firm in Sri Lanka. He began his career in accounting and quickly rose to CFO. From there he moved into operational roles and as a COO, leading the sale of an energy-related business to a Fortune 500 company.
Don has vast experience, profound intuition and an obvious passion for studying entrepreneurship, business management and best practices. It should be no surprise, he also comes with multiple, notable credentials; a BBA in Accounting, an MBA from UGA and a Doctorate in Management from Case Western Reserve University. Needless to say, having Don onboard at Open Range is of immense value to drive quality, consistency and predictable performance.
Don has his BBA-Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, an MBA from the University of Georgia and his Doctor or Management from Case Western Reserve University where his dissertation covered culture and entrepreneurial orientation. His current research includes assessing best practices in order to derive a new operating model for both University and non-University led incubators and accelerators.