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MCGRAIL NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OCAST

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Oklahoma City (July 12, 2022) ­- Oklahoma Secretary of Science and Innovation, Elizabeth Hutt Pollard and the Oklahoma Science and Technology Research Board of Directors (OSTRaD) have named Jennifer McGrail, MBA as the new Executive Director of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST).  McGrail takes over for C. Michael Carolina who retired at the end of June.  

Jennifer McGrail comes to OCAST following more than four years as the Director of AXIS Powered by Francis Tuttle Technology Center, where she provided leadership, vision, and oversight for the pre-accelerator, state-certified business incubator, and entrepreneurial ecosystem building efforts.  She brings an abundance of experience in leadership and economic development.

“Jennifer has provided visionary leadership, mentoring and connections to client companies through her extensive work developing business incubators and accelerators in Oklahoma. She has formed strong and beneficial relationships across the state that are critical to furthering our innovation ecosystem,” said Oklahoma Secretary of Science and Innovation, Elizabeth Hutt Pollard. “To continue executing the State's 2021-2026 Science and Innovation Strategic Plan and to ensure alignment through my cabinet, OCAST, and the entire Oklahoma innovation ecosystem, I have asked Jennifer McGrail to serve as my Deputy Secretary of Science and Innovation for Oklahoma.  I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work more closely with Jennifer in this capacity.”

“I’m immensely excited to accept the position as Executive Director of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology and the Deputy Secretary of Science and Innovation role,” said McGrail. “OCAST has a successful 35-year history of helping entrepreneurs and innovators launch new technology-based businesses in Oklahoma that are at the forefront of innovation and development. We’ve seen company growth, job creation, and leading innovations in a variety of industries due to our state’s efforts, through OCAST. I look forward to building on this wonderful history to ensure we continue to be the leader in technology and innovation.”

McGrail joins an established staff at OCAST, whose programs and resources in the last few years helped Oklahoma technology-based businesses create or retain more than two-thousand jobs, saw the formation of 19 companies, and had a total financial impact of more than $1,002,255,392 for the state.

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology is a state agency tasked with leading Oklahoma’s technology–based economic development efforts, supporting startups and entrepreneurs to transform promising innovations from concepts into commercial products.

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Last Modified on Jul 13, 2022
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