Amanda Oborne is leaving her role as executive director of Oregon Entrepreneurs Network this fall. A search for her successor is already underway.
Oborne has led the 30-year-old nonprofit for two years and orchestrated a turnaround after years of financial challenges. In early 2020 the group laid off staff and gave up its downtown office space. Existing challenges were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Oborne, working with the board, has revived the organization. Board Chair John Williams said OEN has a large reserve, its events are profitable and it has hit growth targets for events.
“She came in at a time of tremendous turbulence for OEN,” said Williams, who was brought onto the OEN board by Oborne in January 2020. “It was really just a time for OEN to evolve. It’s the classic business turnaround. She has totally done that in spades. She has put us on firm financial footing, she has brought in a really capable and diverse board.”
The board plans to have the executive director position posted on its own website and job boards this week. The board does not plan to use an executive search firm.
Oborne will continue with OEN through September to help with events and to work with the incoming executive director. The board hopes to have a new executive in place by Aug. 1.
On Oct. 1, Oborne will join Portland-based Ideaship, a private equity fund that invests in companies by doing patent strategy and development work. Ideaship is a partnership between Global Technology Transfer Group and Panasonic Intellectual Property Corp of America.
She will be managing director of Ideaship Fund.
Oborne said she was not actively looking for a new job.
“It was a tough decision,” she said, adding that she is happy she won’t be leaving the entrepreneurial community completely. “People have been incredibly gracious and supportive. People are happy to see OEN in a healthy place. It’s a good job for someone to step into.”
Oborne has been instrumental in expanding OEN's statewide reach, including bringing on board members outside the Portland metro. Williams is based in Ashland. Last year the group added nine new board members. It's added two more this year.
Oborne and the board have been talking about the transition for some time.
“We are super happy for her,” Williams said of Oborne’s new role.
As for a successor, the group is looking for someone who can collaborate with a variety of partners, whether it's other nonprofits, businesses or state government. They also want someone who has a vision for a statewide organization and who can steer diversity and equity work.
“As is a typical business outlook, we see every opportunity like this has a silver lining. We are sad to see (Amanda) go but excited about the future,” Williams said.
Oborne just wrapped up the group’s new Angel Oregon Life and Bioscience event, which named a winner last week. She will continue to work on its next big event, Oregon Angel Food, which kicks off next week. The finale for OregonAF, which is aimed at food and beverage startups, is in September.
The group's signature events are sector specific angel investment conferences under some variation of the Angel Oregon name. Those events include a founder education series culminating in a public event. There are also monthly PubTalk events that bring together founders, investors and others in the ecosystem.
