Greg Needham
Greg Needham
Greg arrived at UNC Charlotte as Director, Office of Research Partnerships in May 2022. He is responsible for facilitating and promoting the establishment of mutually beneficial research relationships with businesses, industries, start-ups, national laboratories, and government agencies. Additionally, Greg works with regional and state economic and development groups, industry associations, incubators and accelerators in supporting new business ventures and the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Greg has worked across a variety of industries – manufacturing, robotics/automation, consumer products, data science, and SaaS – managing enterprise and pilot programs, leading brand and commercial marketing, refining operations, expanding business domestically and internationally, launching first to market products and services, funding and fundraising, and founding new ventures.
Education, especially higher education has played a powerful role in Greg’s life. He attained a master’s in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas at Austin, an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and a bachelor’s in business from North Carolina Wesleyan University. As adjunct faculty and an Executive-in-Residence in Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Poole College of Management, North Carolina State University, Greg taught and mentored STEM and MBA students in the practice of technology commercialization and entrepreneurship.