Simon’s Ain Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation appoints new executive director and faculty advisor, receives $2M gift

Mark_Ain_Roberto_Colangelo

LEFT: University of Rochester Trustee Emeritus Mark S. Ain ’67S (MBA), RIGHT: Executive Professor of Business at Simon and New Executive Director and Faculty Advisor of the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Roberto Colangelo

Simon Business School’s Ain Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation appoints new executive director and faculty advisor, receives $2M gift 

October 15, 2024 

Updates underscore University-wide commitment to enriching the student experience

Simon Business School is pleased to announce new leadership and support for its Ain Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation that will enrich the student experience. Effective September 13, Roberto Colangelo, executive professor of business at Simon, began serving as the center’s new executive director and faculty advisor. Additionally, Mark S. Ain ’67S (MBA), a University of Rochester trustee emeritus, has made a $2 million gift that will provide immediate funding to the center and help grow its programs.   

Colangelo, from Argentina, is a senior executive with extensive experience in technology, finance, and sales. His career spans Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch & Lomb, at which he held diverse leadership roles. In 2013, he founded the Colangelo Innovation Group, LLC, where he focused on technology-based business development between the US, Europe, and emerging markets, particularly Latin America. Colangelo has been at Simon since 2019, teaching a variety of classes and serving in multiple roles that leverage his skills in business and competitive strategy. 

“Roberto brings an extraordinary level of real-world, global experience to the Ain Center,” says Simon Dean Sevin Yeltekin. “His background in business transformation and innovation across multiple industries and startups have benefitted Simon and our students and will certainly advance the Ain Center as it continues to generate and transform ideas that create economic and societal value.” 

Mark Ain’s most recent $2 million gift will help students develop essential skills such as writing business plans, while also enhancing the center’s focus on experiential learning, a priority in the University of Rochester’s 2030 Boundless Possibility strategic plan. “We are grateful to Mark for his ongoing support and for his latest gift, which will help serve students with a passion for entrepreneurship,” adds Yeltekin.

The Ain Center began as the Center for Entrepreneurship, an initiative launched by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to the University in 2006. It was renamed the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship in 2015 in recognition of Mark Ain and his wife, Carolyn, and their visionary leadership and support of entrepreneurial students University-wide. In 2022, the center was renamed as the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, to better reflect the University’s broad definition of entrepreneurship and to highlight the important role innovation plays in the entrepreneurial process.

Learn more about the Ain Center. Plus, find out how to get involved and explore ways you support student, faculty, and program success at Simon.