RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. … Charlotte entrepreneur Dave Rizzo has been selected as president and chief executive of MCNC and will be responible for leading the nonprofit research center through a major restructuring.
Rizzo, who sold his applications integration company, Osprey Systems, in March, also is chairman of the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technologies Association.
After 22 years as a catch-all research center, MCNC is splitting into two units: One will provide computing services and the other will conduct research and development work into fields like electronics.
Following the split, Rizzo will head the R&D operation and MCNC Vice President Thom Dunning, who currently heads the supercomputing center, will lead that operation.
Rizzo tells Local Tech Wire that he was attracted to the MCNC job because of its technology bent, venture capital capability and mission to create cutting-edge companies and jobs in the state.
“No other place in North Carolina can you do all three things,” he says.
Rizzo is buying a house in Chapel Hill but will retain his home in Charlotte for a few years until his children complete high school.