News Release: Epicenter appoints new president and ceo
Epicenter Appoints Anthony Young New President and CEO
Young has been serving as interim President and CEO since June 2024
[MEMPHIS, Tenn, October 22, 2024] Epicenter, Memphis’ leading destination for entrepreneurs, startups and corporate innovators, announced today that Anthony Young, who has served in an interim capacity, has been appointed as President and CEO of Epicenter. Young succeeds Jessica Taveau who left the role in June 2024.
Young previously spearheaded ecosystem-level capital deployment as Epicenter’s Director of Capital Programs from 2018 to 2022. Most recently, Anthony served as the President of Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a Community Development Financial Institution headquartered in Little Rock, Ark. Preceding his work at Epicenter, Anthony served as the Economic Development Director at River City Capital, an affiliate of Community LIFT.
“On behalf of Epicenter’s Board and staff, we are thrilled to announce the appointment of Anthony to the role of President and CEO and remove interim from his title. ” said Kojo McLennon, Chair, Epicenter Board of Directors. “Anthony surpassed all the expectations set for identifying Epicenter’s next leader during his tenure as interim executive, and with a truly talented team and strong, ongoing stakeholder support, Epicenter is well-positioned to continue its mission to help scale tech-enabled businesses,” said McLennon.
“I’m thrilled to continue in this role as President and CEO of Epicenter,” said Young. “I want to thank the Board of Directors and the Epicenter team for putting their trust in me and to the entrepreneurs and innovators we serve. We know our important role as a catalyst for inclusive innovation in Greater Memphis, and we’re looking forward to continuing to deliver high-impact resources for tech startups and scaling businesses in the region.”
Epicenter has successfully navigated an ever-changing landscape to develop the partnerships, services, and programs required to serve Memphis’ growing entrepreneur community. Their flagship programs include ZeroTo510, a nationally recognized medtech accelerator, the Logistics Opportunity Challenge, Patents2Products, and the Capital Readiness Accelerator.
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About Epicenter
Epicenter leads the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Memphis area through a network of economic development, academic, corporate, and government partners by increasing support to new and existing innovative businesses, academic entrepreneurs and others across industries and stages of growth. Epicenter and its partners connect these entrepreneurs and their innovative ideas to programming, capital, customers, and talent in order to create a just, inclusive, and growing economy that accrues to all Memphians. More information is at epicentermemphis.org.
