KU Innovation Park, formerly known as the Bioscience and Business Technology Center, on KU's West Campus is shown on Jan. 20, 2022. In the background, construction on a new building that will house start-up companies and other firms that want to locate near KU students and researchers is underway.

The nonprofit entity that is working to attract start-up companies, corporations and researchers to KU’s West Campus has hired a new leader following the death of its previous CEO.

The board of directors for KU Innovation Park has tapped Adam Courtney, the organization’s interim CEO, to serve as the new leader of the entity that has overseen the attraction of about 70 companies that either have located in West Campus buildings or otherwise created partnerships with the University of Kansas.

“Adam is a widely respected leader who brings both local knowledge and a fresh perspective to his new position,” said KU Chancellor Douglas Girod, who also is the chair of the KU Innovation Park Board of Directors. “For years, KU Innovation Park has been central to the university’s efforts to drive economic growth in the region, and I know Adam will help us continue to create new companies, jobs and technologies that benefit Kansas and society.”

Courtney previously was the chief financial officer for KU Innovation Park, and oversaw the financing efforts needed to build a major new office building and start-up incubator facility on West Campus. That building, which was the third such expansion for the park, has allowed the entity to take on new companies that want to work with KU researchers and students to grow their businesses.

The park could be entering a new phase of development as KU leaders pursue tens of millions of dollars in grant money to create a new cybersecurity center on West Campus, among other developments.

Currently, KU Innovation Park estimates that the 70 companies it works with have about 680 employees and generate about $45 million in payroll for the region. But if KU is successful in attracting money to create new research centers on the West Campus, those numbers are expected to grow significantly. The KU Endowment Association also is currently constructing a new live-work-play development on West Campus that is geared to make the area more attractive to companies and employees who want to be in partnership with KU.

In his new role, Courtney will be responsible for strategic planning for the nonprofit, which is a partnership between KU, the city of Lawrence, Douglas County and the Lawrence chamber of commerce. Courtney also will be responsible for overseeing business operations of the entity, and will serve as president of the nonprofit’s board of directors.

Courtney replaces LaVerne Epp, a longtime Lawrence businessman and former college president who served as the founding executive chair of KU Innovation Park. Epp died in September.