Ryan Weber (left) will serve as the first president of the newly formed KCnext – The Technology Council of Greater Kansas City, the organization announced today.
As we reported last month, KCnext formed from two Kansas City-area technology initiatives joining forces to take a more regional approach to representing Kansas City’s technology interests. KCnext is a fusion of the Software and Information Technology Association of Kansas (SITAKS), a group that supported Kansas’ software, telecommunications and IT companies, and KCnext, a technology initiative launched by the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC).
Today’s announcement follows KCnext’s Friday unveiling of its 10-person Board of Directors. The board:
- Darren Bonawitz, co-owner, 1102 GRAND
- Keith Braman, director of technology commercialization,University of Kansas Information and Telecommunications Technology Centerf
- Matt Denney, director human resources,Tradebot Systems
- Gary Fish, president and CEO,FishNet Security
- Lirel Holt, president and CEO, U, Inc.
- Greg Kratofil, attorney/shareholder, Polsinelli Shughart PC
- Bob Marcusse, president and CEO, Kansas City Area Development Council
- Keith Molzer, president and CEO, Balance Innovations
- Perry Puccetti, president and CEO, Triple-I Corporation
- Dr. Joel Wiggins, president and CEO, Enterprise Center of Johnson County
As the president of KCnext, Weber’s responsibilities include working to support KCnext tech council members and growing the region’s tech ecosystem; developing valuable and relevant educational programs and networking events; attracting funders to Kansas City; working with regional resource partners to encourage collaboration on events; and supporting the Kansas City Area Development Council in its efforts to recruit new technology companies to the area.
Weber comes to KCNext on the heels of a stint as director of the Midwest Division of the Angel Capital Group, where he focused on recruiting angel investors to the Greater Kansas City area. Prior to his time there, Weber served as a development officer for the College of Business Administration at his alma mater Kansas State University and spent time as a consultant with Pennington & Company of Lawrence, Kan.
Weber is co-founder and board member of KC Hub, a non-profit organization created to support and foster the growth of entrepreneurial businesses in Kansas City. KC Business magazine recently recognized him as a “2012 Rising Star.”
Along with the announcement of its president and board this month, KCnext also launched an expanded website featuring new information and resources: KC Tech Advantage providing information on the KC region’s tech assets; Google in KC highlighting news updates and produced video around the Google Fiber project; the NextTalk Blog showcasing regional and national industry news; and the KCnext TV video carousel featuring produced videos of regional tech innovators, as well as interview clips from the IT Networking Happy Hours and more.
