Henry ‘Buddy’ Steen
Title: Executive in residence; CEO, WKU Innovation Campus
Company/organization: Western Kentucky University/Central Region Ecosystem for Arts, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CREATE)
Hometown: Glasgow, Kentucky
Lives: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Education: Bachelor of science in electrical engineering, WKU
Hobbies: Playing drums, disc golf, nature, inventing and implementing technology in general
Describe what you do.
I am focused on helping strengthen the greater Bowling Green area’s regional ecosystem and creating sustainable economic development programs that improve the economic and cultural standard of living in our region. This region of Kentucky, just north of Nashville, is the fastest growing in the state.
A significant portion of my work is helping to align all the key ecosystem entities to be ready to move quickly in support of those programs – retain talented people to stay here, bring talented folks who have left back home and to attract talented individuals from all over the world to build their future in Bowling Green.
With WKU in particular, leading the programs of the WKU Innovation Campus, I have the mandate to leverage the university’s assets and resources in service of meaningful business engagement in the region.
How did you get involved in innovation and/or entrepreneurship?
As an avid inventor, I’ve been involved in innovation since childhood.
During the 1980s, a physicist, inventor and serial entrepreneur at WKU, William Buckman, introduced me to entrepreneurship via multiple commercialization projects. In the ’90s, I co-founded what would now be called an [Internet of Things/Software-as-a-Service] company that leveraged the Internet as a wide-area network human machine interface for globally deployed, lower-cost embedded computer systems.
In the 2000s, I led CREATE and WKU transforming a 285,000-square-foot rundown mall into a thriving center for research and development.
What motivates you in your day-to-day work?
I’m fortunate to be working with a high-performing and collaborative team to create and deploy innovative and sometimes elegant solutions to challenging problems. That includes the team that manages the 20-acre property and facility that acts as our headquarters and my collaborators across WKU.
What’s a goal your organization has for 2024?
Our focus is on solidifying our region as a high-growth technological district of northern Nashville, Tennessee, one of the consistently fastest-growing business metro centers in the U.S.
We seek to do this while maintaining the identity and charm of Bowling Green and our surrounding South Central/Western Kentucky area and our identity as part of the commonwealth. Bowling Green has a rich and diverse range of talent from all over the world. And we want to invite new collaborators.
Who is an unsung hero in Kentucky’s entrepreneurial ecosystem?
James 'Bud' Layne is an avid inventor, serial entrepreneur and founder of SpanTech Inc, Glasgow, Kentucky.
Bud was instrumental in helping WKU become a 4-year [Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology]-accredited engineering school. Having a full four-year engineering program at WKU helped to elevate the university and Bowling Green brands. It continues to serve as part of our value proposition as we recruit, grow and retain scalable companies in the Bowling Green region.
For decades, Bud has mentored many new entrepreneurs, including me. Also, in 2003, he challenged me to leave the private sector to become the founding executive director of what is now known as CREATE located at the innovation campus, in his role at the time as chairman of the board of the organization.
