Experienced executive named Chairman of CEI Board of Advisors
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Timothy L. Cannon, Ph.D., Executive Vice President-Strategy and Alliances at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and a former senior executive at Microsoft, has been appointed Chairman of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation’s Board of Advisors at the Warrington College of Business Administration.
“We are excited at the prospect of working closely with Tim on strategic planning initiatives for the Center and look forward to building upon the foundation of success that we’ve established at the graduate and undergraduate level in the area of entrepreneurship education,” said CEI Director Jamie Kraft.
Dr. Cannon provides leadership in expanding HMH’s scope and entry into new markets especially through innovative strategic relationships around the world. HMH is one of the world’s largest providers of scholastic education solutions and is one of the longest-established publishing houses.
Before arriving at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Dr. Cannon spent more than two decades working in the high-tech field in strategy and business development capacities, most recently with Microsoft as Chief of Staff-Worldwide Public Sector. During his career with Microsoft, Dr. Cannon served in various roles focusing on strategy and innovative business models for expanding markets. In addition, Dr. Cannon has served in executive roles with industry leaders Oracle and Compaq as well as executive positions in two startups.
“I am thrilled to chair the Board of Advisors,” said Dr. Cannon. “By combining cutting-edge faculty, state-of-the-art facilities, and extraordinary students, we have the unique ability to create rich learning experiences for students across the university. Innovation and inspiration are the key ingredients to entrepreneurial success.”
Dr. Cannon received two academic degrees from the University of Florida: A Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1976 and a Master of Engineering in 1978. He also earned an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of New Orleans in 1982 and a Ph.D. in Information Technology from George Mason University in 1988.
CEI was created to teach, coach and inspire students to be entrepreneurial in their lives. The Center provides students the tools and experiences necessary to creatively pursue new opportunities and innovations in the startup, social and corporate venture arenas. Through courses, degree programs and complementary activities such as speakers and workshops, CEI currently serves more than 2,000 students per year. Partnering with other colleges at the University, CEI delivers introductory and specialized courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level, provides practical learning opportunities through GatorNest—an experiential learning laboratory, and offers every graduate student at the University of Florida the option to earn a certificate in new venture creation.
