Kathleen F. Hagan, an entrepreneur with extensive experience in international marketing, management and government affairs, has been named executive director of the MIT Enterprise Forum.
The Enterprise Forum is an international, nonprofit organization supported by MIT to provide entrepreneurship education services to innovative and technology-based companies. It operates through 18 chapters in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Israel and Taiwan.
"With its vibrant chapters in many cities in the US and now overseas, the Forum is a unique expression of MIT's commitment to entrepreneurship development and the commercialization of technology in the marketplace," said William J. Hecht, executive vice president of the Association of MIT Alumni and Alumnae, in announcing Ms. Hagan's appointment.
"Since its founding in 1978 by a dedicated group of alumni/ae, professors and interested entrepreneurs," Mr. Hecht continued, "the Forum has become a nationally recognized leader in the field of hands-on entrepreneurship education. With a strong national board of directors made up of successful entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and MIT alumni/ae, a new director and increasing market demand for practitioner-oriented entrepreneurship education, the Forum is well positioned for further innovation and growth.
"Under Kathleen's leadership I believe that the MIT Enterprise Forum can become a significant force benefiting not only the entrepreneurs it serves and the many local economies in which it operates, but also the Institute itself."
Ms. Hagan has more than 20 years of international business and government affairs experience. She founded (in 1987) and was president of Hagan & Co., an international marketing and management consulting firm. Before that she was director of foreign trade (1980-86) for the Massachusetts Port Authority, the quasi-public corporation that owns and operates Logan Airport, the Port of Boston and the World Trade Center in Boston.
In that post she managed the Authority's overseas offices in London and Tokyo and directed programs to develop international business for New England companies in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. From 1971-79 she was executive assistant to former US Senator Edward W. Brooke and specialized in economic development and government regulatory issues.
Ms. Hagan, who holds the MBA with honors from Boston University and the BA from Trinity College, Washington, is also an adjunct professor of international marketing at Northeastern University. She is an author and frequent speaker on international topics and has testified before Congress on the issues of small business and international trade. She sits on several corporate, professional and nonprofit boards.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on March 8, 1995.
