Chris Ervin, an entrepreneur and a former head of entrepreneurship at UNC-Charlotte, is the new director of business development at the North Carolina Research Campus.

Ervin replaces Clyde Higgs, who left the NCRC, which is located in Kannapolis, last summer.

“There is a lot of interest in the game-changing potential of the research at the NCRC,” Ervin said in the announcement made Monday. “Making this the right time to focus on moving research through the commercialization process and into the marketplace.

“I’ve worked for a large corporation, for a university, with start-up companies and as an entrepreneur. Each of these cultures is represented on the campus, and I have a track record of successfully working with each of them.”

The NCRC, founded by billionaire David Murdock,focuses on life science.

“We are very pleased to welcome Chris,” said Mark Spitzer, Castle & Cooke North Carolina vice president of operations, which oversees the NCRC. “The skill set he brings to Castle & Cooke strengthens our role supporting the NCRC and the economic development of Kannapolis and the surrounding region.”

Ervin has been working at the NCRC since May 17. He worked at UNCCharlotte from 1999-2003, at Duke Energy, as an executive consultant, and also formed and later sold two startups.

He’s graduate of Catawba College in Salisbury with degrees in accounting and computer science.