Stefanos Zenios

Stefanos Zenios is the Investment Group of Santa Barbara Professor of Entrepreneurship and Professor of Operations, Information, and Technology at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Zenios is recognized for his academic research at the intersection of entrepreneurship, healthcare innovation, and technology, with a focus on addressing challenges in business and medicine. His work has influenced policy in the United States and Europe, and his research on the ethical implications of technology allocation has been featured in Financial Times.

At Stanford GSB, Zenios serves as faculty director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and co-director of the Program in Ecopreneurship, a joint initiative between the Graduate School of Business and the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. He is known as the architect of "Startup Garage," an experiential course that helps Stanford GSB students and executives learn and apply innovation processes central to the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Companies such as DoorDash, Zum, and Gold Leaf Farming trace their origins to "Startup Garage," and alumni of the course have raised more than $3 billion in venture capital. Zenios also oversees the Stanford GSB Venture Studio, a facility for graduate students interested in designing and creating viable ventures.

Zenios has contributed to the field of medical technology innovation by introducing courses on the interface between medicine, engineering, and management in the MBA curriculum. He previously designed and co-taught "Biodesign Innovation," a project-based course on developing and launching new medical devices. Zenios is a senior author of the textbook "Biodesign: The Process of Innovating Medical Technologies," published by Cambridge University Press, which serves as a guide for medical device entrepreneurs. His research on maximizing the benefits of medical technology when resources are limited, particularly in kidney failure and organ allocation, has informed healthcare policy. His research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation.

Zenios has co-founded ventures that extend his academic work into practice, including Konnectology.com, a National Institutes of Health-funded website designed to help kidney patients find transplant centers. He advises medical device and biopharmaceutical companies on health economics and outcomes studies for marketing and reimbursement strategies. Zenios is a keynote speaker on topics including entrepreneurship, innovation, disruption, and technology, drawing on both scholarly expertise and practical experience in building ventures and advancing healthcare innovation.