Kissimmee tech nonprofit Bridg has named John Allgair its interim president.
He's the man chiefly responsible for authoring the proposals that have brought in major funding for Bridg. Allgair, the organization’s chief technology officer and sometime CEO, previously was credited by outgoing President Jim Vandevere as being the strongest on the Bridg team for proposal development.
“He's very good at that. We always go to him on that because proposal writing is one of the things he does really well,” said Vandevere in a 2023 interview with Orlando Business Journal.
Vandevere had been Bridg’s senior executive since December 2021. It's unclear why Vandevere left, and he couldn't be reached for comment on this story.
Bridg — which stands for Bridging the Innovation Development Gap — is partly responsible for steering the 500-acre, mixed-use business park NeoCity in Kissimmee. NeoCity is home to tech businesses that include semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging businesses.
Allgair is a 20-year veteran of the semiconductor industry who has been with Bridg since 2016, according to a news release about the leadership change. His promotion likely is due, in part, to his expertise in advanced package integration, factory design, process integration, yield enhancement, lithography and materials characterization — his skills touted in past interviews with company executives. Allgair and others with Bridg couldn't be reached for comment.
Allgair has worked in roles focused on business growth, innovation, and bringing new products to market during tenures at Nanometrics, Global Foundries, AMD, SEMATECH, Freescale and Motorola.
A Bridg-led, grant-seeking coalition — which includes Osceola County, the University of Central Florida, Imec, Orlando Economic Partnership, University of Florida, Valencia College, the Florida High Tech Corridor and CareerSource Central Florida — won a $50.8 million federal Build Back Better grant in Sept. 2022. The coalition also is a likely recipient of a $160 million U.S. NSF Regional Innovation Engines grant, which should be announced early this year.
Allgair played a key role on both grant applications.
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