Mike Venerable is just the second leader to serve as CEO at seed stage investment firm CincyTech. In January, he will pass those reins on to someone else.
Venerable is stepping down from the Avondale-based venture firm, the organization announced Thursday, culminating a 17-year career there, including seven as its president and chief executive. He will be succeeded by Emma Off, currently a partner with Thompson Hine, one of Cincinnati's largest law firms. She is expected to start Jan. 8, 2024.
Venerable will continue to support CincyTech’s portfolio and the team as an adviser, according to a news release.
Since the launch of CincyTech’s first fund in 2007, the organization has invested $87 million in 90 startups, attracting more than $1.7 billion in co-investment, including more than $1 billion in venture capital. CincyTech has also catalyzed more than $4 billion in enterprise value to date.
“When regional civic leaders came together to create CincyTech more than 20 years ago, they saw the region’s potential to grow scalable startups that would create jobs and grow our economy,” Venerable said in the release. “I’ve been honored to be a part of this organization’s growth and impact. I’ve always believed in the great collaborative mission of CincyTech, and I’ve been inspired by the founders, inventors and researchers who start new companies."
Venerable joined CincyTech in late 2006 as a consultant, working with founding CEO Bob Coy to build a regional seed fund and fill a critical capital gap for local startups and research spinouts, from institutions like Cincinnati Children's Hospital and others.
Venerable rose to the top role in January 2017. CincyTech quietly advertised for his successor.
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Venerable, in the release, called Off, a “generational leader for the organization.” He added new leadership “is critical to unlocking even more of our regional potential.”
Off joined Thompson Hine in 2014 and was named a partner in 2020. She brings deep expertise in private capital markets and advising, CincyTech said, and is a seasoned mergers and acquisitions specialist “who has served as an adviser to high-growth companies, venture funds and the founders, investors and boards that support them.”
Her experience representing clients in the life sciences and emerging markets space aligns with CincyTech’s mission.
“I began working with the team at CincyTech early in my career at Thompson Hine. I saw firsthand how investing in novel technology, like the world-class genetic testing that was commercialized by Assurex, can transform an industry and impact countless lives,” Off said in the release. “Succeeding Mike is an opportunity for which I am deeply grateful. With the support of our team, I look forward to expanding CincyTech’s role as a driver of economic development and continuing our mission to transform regional startups into world-class high-growth companies.”
Off, a Cincinnati native, earned her J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law and her bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky. She has been actively involved in organizations such as ArtWorks, ArtsWave, the Ohio Arts Council and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and serves on the board of the local chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth.
CincyTech, which is based at University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub, has backed companies like Mason’s Assurex Health, which was acquired by Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ: MYGN) in 2016; Enable Injections and Astronomer, which rank as two of Cincinnati’s rare unicorns, or startups valued at more than $1 billion; and Standard Bariatrics, its most recent exit. Standard sold in October 2022 to global medical technology company Teleflex (NYSE: TFX) in a transaction worth $300 million, including earnouts.
She steps in as CincyTech works to raise a $100 million fund, its sixth and largest ever. The most recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June shows more than $12.3 million has been sold to date.
