Innovation Lab appoints new managing director

Jodi Goldstein will become the Evans Family Foundation Managing Director of the Harvard Innovation Lab (i-lab). The i-lab is a University-wide facility that fosters team-based and entrepreneurial activities, and provides a forum for interactions among students, faculty, alumni, and the surrounding community. Goldstein will officially assume her duties in June following the departure of current Managing Director Gordon Jones.

Goldstein has been a key member of the i-lab management team since its launch in 2011, conceiving and delivering high-quality programming and resources across the University and in a range of interest areas. In 2014 she spearheaded the Launch Lab, a business incubator for Harvard alumni that is already demonstrating the potential and future of Allston as a solutions-centered community built on interdisciplinary collaboration.

“We all can be proud of the i-lab’s extraordinary success, beyond what any of us might have imagined when it opened its doors just over four years ago,” said Nitin Nohria, dean of Harvard Business School and director of the i-lab advisory board. “In this next stage of its development, there is no better choice than Jodi to serve as its leader.”

“Her demonstrated commitment to supporting young entrepreneurs, ability to build relationships and map new paths, and deep commitment to the i-lab’s mission make her the right person to guide the i-lab to new heights,” added Harvard Provost Alan M. Garber.

Goldstein has held a variety of roles at General Electric, TA Associates, and multiple startups ranging from product, market, and business development to strategic consulting. She is widely known in the Boston startup ecosystem, having been an entrepreneur and investor in the region for 20 years.

Goldstein earned her bachelor’s of science degree in international business from the University of Vermont and also holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.