Stephen Fleming, a highly successful executive and thought leader in the field of open innovation and entrepreneurship, has made significant contributions throughout his distinguished career. Fleming has held leadership positions in startups, multinationals, private equity, and university-based economic development. He has been recognized as a prominent figure in economic development and entrepreneurship, especially for his role in creating the I-Corps program. Fleming served at Georgia Tech, where he led successful economic development and entrepreneurship initiatives.

As a general partner of a $260 million early-stage venture capital firm, Fleming led 18 investment initiatives resulting in 13 successful exits. He transferred his skills to Nortel Networks, where he successfully introduced broadband products. He also worked as a Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at a venture-funded startup, LICOM. Fleming began his career as a bench scientist at AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Currently, Stephen Fleming serves as Director of Innovation Ecosystem at the Center for Quantum Networks at the University of Arizona. He has strong bonding with the entrepreneurship community and is an active angel investor, mentor, and community leader.