Dr. Tom O’Neal Named National Business Incubation Assn. Secretary, Executive Board Member

ORLANDO – Dr. Tom O’Neal, founder and executive director of the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Program was recently appointed secretary for the National Business Incubation Association, the business incubation industry’s leading U.S. trade association.

Dr. O’Neal was also appointed to the 25-year-old association’s executive board.

Since launching the UCF Business Incubation program at the University’s east Orlando campus in 1999, the program has expanded to include incubator sites in Orlando, Sanford, Winter Springs, Kissimmee, St. Cloud and Leesburg, and plans to open a new site at the Daytona Beach International Airport in May.

Dr. O’Neal has said that business incubation is a fast-growing tool to develop local economies that will accelerate their growth and job creation.

Currently, The UCF Business Incubation Program serves close to 100 client companies and ranks as one of the largest incubation programs in the U.S.

Since its launch the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 150 client company startups, Dr. O’Neal said.
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For more information contact: Dr. Thomas D. O’Neal, Executive Director, UCF Business Incubation Program and Vice President of the UCF Department of Research and Commercialization, 407-882-1120, oneal@mail.ucf.edu

About the UCF Business Incubation Program: Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 160 emerging companies (including nearly 100 current clients) create over $800 million in annual revenue and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With eight – and soon nine – facilities opened across the Greater Orlando community, the Business Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, The City of Sanford, Lake County, the City of Leesburg, Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee, City of St. Cloud, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and will be adding Volusia County. For more information, please visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.