James Barrood is among the top leaders of the East Coast’s innovation ecosystem. Over the past 20+ years he has helped nurture entrepreneurial, innovation and technology communities. For the past five years, he led one of the largest regional tech trade associations, the NJ Tech Council. He has been recognized as a Power 100 List leader and a Top 100 Influencer. Prior to heading the Council, James led the top ranked entrepreneurship and innovation center at Fairleigh Dickinson University for 17 years. He currently serves as an advisor to Tech Council Ventures, a $55 million fund he helped launch, and the Jumpstart Angels Network, one of the nation’s largest angel groups.
James is the editor of the book Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Global Insights from 24 Leaders and co-author of Lessons from the Great Recession. He has written articles for Entrepreneur, Business Insider and other publications and has been widely quoted regionally and nationally. He frequently speaks at regional and global conferences (recently in Finland, Jamaica, Haiti and at SXSW in March and Collision in June). He sits on several boards, including the State Chamber of Commerce, the R&D Council, and Jumpstart Angels Network. He holds an MBA from Texas A&M and a BA in Economics from Rutgers University.