Valentin Livada

Valentin Livada is a Senior Lecturer in the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship.

Livada founded Weybridge Partners in 1996 as a network of formal and informal associations of practitioners and organizations focused on the creation of innovation ecosystems. The network includes business and technology consultants, venture capitalists and angel investors, academics, entrepreneurs, and lawyers in the United States and abroad. Livada brings 30 years of consulting experience to his clients. He was director at Braxton Associates, an international strategy planning consulting firm, and vice president at Pugh-Roberts Associates (PRA), a technology management firm established by Prof. Ed Roberts from MIT. Prior to establishing Weybridge Partners, he was the leading practitioner in the area of innovation management for the PA Consulting Group. During his career, Livada has combined expertise in the areas of strategic planning and organizational dynamics with a detailed knowledge in the areas of innovation, product development, and research, development, and extension (RD&E) management. While at Braxton, PRA, and PA Consulting Group, he focused primarily on Global 200-type companies, addressing issues such as research and development (R&D) effectiveness and corporate entrepreneurship.

Livada is a judge for the Innovation Competition organized by the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center, which coordinates the activities of all universities, teaching hospitals, and research centers in Massachusetts. He is a “catalyst” at MIT’s Deshpande Center, working with different innovation teams. Livada is also active in efforts to stimulate activities among U.S., European, and Asian organizations. In Europe, he has worked with many firms in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, and Scandinavia. He has been instrumental in establishing U.S. operations for several European companies, including Nokia Research, Pro2Kem, and ETeCH. Recently, he has been one of the founders of I-Cube, a nonprofit group organizing innovation competitions in Eastern Europe. In Asia, traditionally strong ties to South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan are now being expanded into China and Australia. In 2006, Livada helped found Nanonexis, an organization dedicated to the convergence of nanotechnology and the built environment, and Boston Instruments, a group consolidating emerging companies in the molecular spectroscopy sector.

Livada holds an SB from MIT and an MA and a PhD from Tufts University.