Wichita-based entrepreneurial organization NXTUS Inc. has a new CEO.
The organization announced Tuesday that Mary Beth Jarvis will take on the role of president and CEO after previously serving as executive director.
She succeeds Josh Oeding, who will remain on the NXTUS board of directors, but will now focus more on his Tenzing Capital venture fund.
“Under Josh’s leadership, NXTUS honed its focus, developed excellent programs and grew tremendously in its ability to secure assets,” Erik Pedersen, NXTUS board chair and president, and COO for NetWork Kansas, said in a news release. “All of us on the board are excited for Mary Beth and the team to continue helping Kansas succeed in today’s innovation economy by giving growth-minded entrepreneurs the support they need.”
Jarvis will take the helm next month. She originally joined NXTUS in August 2019, helping the nonprofit group expand it reach throughout the startup community, including through its NXTSTAGE Pilot Competitions.
Prior to joining NXTUS, Jarvis — a 2022 WBJ Women in Business Hall of Fame inductee and 2019 40 Under 40 Hall of Fame inductee — led Wichita Festivals Inc. as president and CEO for more than six years. She spent 15 years with Koch Industries Inc. before that and also served as a public affairs officer in the U.S. Air Force from 1990 through 1996.
With NXTUS, Jarvis has helped champion the region’s growing entrepreneurial environment through boosting resources around the state and connecting startups with crucial potential customers.
“The work we do to help entrepreneurs grow companies of significance is vital, and we’re at a pivotal time for it,” she said. “The NXTUS team and I are ready to keep expanding our impact on entrepreneurs’ journeys and helping Kansas design a ‘next us’ that enables our people and our economy to thrive.”
Under Oeding’s leadership since 2018 — he is also a former Koch employee — NXTUS rebranded and evolved from its preceding organization, e2e, and increased the number of entrepreneurs reached annually from around 30 to nearly 400.
It has also helped provide more than $6 million in growth capital for startups, while pulling in increased funding from the private sector, regional foundations and federal dollars through the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
“It’s been an honor, and one of the highlights of my career, to lead this organization,“ Oeding said. “I’m thankful for the support and collaboration we received from many within the community and proud of the significant milestones achieved. The work to support our innovators is never done, and I’m excited to keep doing that as I scale Tenzing Capital and continue my work with NXTUS as a board member.”
Oeding founded the venture fund in 2021.
In addition to the CEO change, NXTUS announced three new board members for the organization.
Those are Abel Frederic, vice president of community impact with the United Way of the Plains; John Messman, principal partner of the Messman Group and a startup investor; and Tonya Witherspoon, associate vice president of industry engagement and applied learning at Wichita State University.
They will align for 2023 with continuing board members Pedersen and Oeding, as well as Trish Brasted, president of entrepreneurial growth ventures for NetWork Kansas; Luis Rodriguez, president of Keycentrix; Kaye Monk-Morgan, new president and CEO of the Kansas Leadership Center; and Gary Oborny, CEO of Occidental Management.
Bill Gardner, owner of Gardner Design, and Kylie Stupka, president of empowered, will cycle off the board following three years of service.
