business backgrounder | economy suspected there was a lot of unlocked potential in the lab , and we have the ability to become more of a powerful force than we have been .”
It ’ s a job that fits Truman ’ s strengths , former colleagues say . The specific fields of science may be new for her , but they all come down to business potential .
Nicholas Donofrio , now retired as IBM ’ s longtime executive vice president for innovation and technology , met Truman in the mid-1990s , when the company was undergoing a massive restructuring . Donofrio was responsible for re-examining IBM ’ s investments and efficiencies in development , and Truman was on the team that recommended revamping company processes .
“ We had to hit the emergency-off button and restart the whole company , and it was she and her team that gave my colleagues and me the courage and conviction that we really needed to do this . And we did it ,” says Donofrio . “ I was forever in their debt .”
Donofrio says she will bring the same can-do attitude that she brought to IBM and other companies .
platformize
Born in Oklahoma and raised in West Virginia , Truman was one of six children . She was encouraged from a young age to work hard , inquire and achieve . A graduate of Smith College ( with a triple major in Mathematics , Economics and Industrial Engineering and Operations Research ), Truman landed her first job at Goldman Sachs by submitting a business plan that , she estimated , would save the company $ 40 million .
Over time , Truman sought out educational and professional opportunities that enhanced her knowledge of IT and business strategy . Along her career path were positions at Oracle , Ernst & Young , Booz Allen Hamilton and IBM — all , in one form or another , assignments to evaluate and improve an aspect of the business .
Robert Berg , New York-based senior vice president of marketresearch firm IRI , hired Truman for a project at IBM and has
“ Rosemarie has a passion for tech transfer , a wealth of experience and boundless energy to make things happen that are transformational .”
— Malin Young , deputy director for science and technology , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory worked with her on other ventures , including the Center for Advancing Innovation ’ s start-up challenges .
Berg recalls how Truman impressed his team at IBM with her “ unique mental horsepower ” and ability to identify problems and solutions quickly and comprehensively .
“ If you think of life as the time you spend , she doesn ’ t want to waste a minute . What she gets done in the space of a day some people couldn ’ t get done in a week ,” Berg says . “ She wants to help you do your job . She ’ ll bring everything together , and she ’ ll put it in front of you , and if you have trouble compiling it , she ’ ll start building it for you .”
After years of helping companies optimize and monetize , Truman formed the Center for Advancing Innovation to — in her words — platformize . The Bethesda , Md . -based company embarked on a study with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and determined , after poring over eight years of data , that there are some 150,000 patented inventions ( intellectual property , technology and equipment ) that haven ’ t been brought to market — “ sitting on the shelf with significant untapped opportunity ,” as she puts it . Of those , about half were produced by federal agencies .
If even 6 percent of all those inventions were brought to market , and assuming an 80 to 95 percent failure rate , they still could generate a $ 500 billion to $ 1.5 trillion impact on the economy , Truman points out .
rosemarie truman bio
• Rosemarie Truman , director of innovation impact , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Age : 44
• Education : Smith College , B . A ., Mathematics , Economics and Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
“ It was her idea to send out the best technologies from the National Cancer Institute . It ’ s a great example of how what she envisioned , in terms of the types of technology , can be accelerated for the people they can help the most .”
— Sourav Sinha , CEO , Oncolinx , a Boston company that was among the winners of the Breast Cancer Start-Up Challenge , created by Rosemarie Truman
• Business background : Investment banking , strategic consulting , growth and transformation , including positions at Oracle , Booz Allen and IBM
• Proudest Achievement : founding the Center for Advancing Innovation ( 2012 )
• “ It is hard and lonely to be an entrepreneur , especially when you ' re creating something from nothing , and when you ' re trying to make a positive sustainable impact .” winter 2017 51