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Press release
Saburro Joins Linc-The Lighting CultivatorTM as Director of New Ventures
Malta, N.Y. – Linc-The Lighting CultivatorTM, a not-for-profit corporation working with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center and the private sector to foster commercialization of new lighting products and services, announced the addition of Richard M. Saburro as Director of New Ventures.
“Mr. Saburro has extensive experience in high technology industries including working with start-up businesses to assist in product commercialization,” said Eugene Schuler, Linc Executive Director. “We’re excited about the opportunity to draw from his broad based leadership experience as we work to transfer sustainable lighting technologies from the lab to the marketplace.”
In his new role, Saburro will concentrate on expanding Linc services and pursue financing for commercialization through a variety of federal and state program sources including Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) grants; the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA); the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR); and equity funding from venture funds and angel networks.
Saburro draws from decades of experience that began with a manufacturing management position at General Electric Company in Schenectady, New York, and grew to include executive management positions for a variety of technology companies in New York’s Capital Region and serving as a Commander in the US Air Force.
Saburro served as the president and CEO of Starfire Systems, Inc.; Deputy Director for Business Development at University at Albany’s New York State Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology; and Business Analyst at the Center for Economic Growth. His accomplishments include being the first New York State winner of the annual Small Business Administration’s National Tibbetts Award designed to recognize small firms, projects, organizations, and individuals judged to exemplify the very best in SBIR program achievement. He was named New York State Small Business Person of the Year 2006, and received national recognition for his role in the 1999 US Air Force rescue of Dr. Jerri Nielsen, the physician who diagnosed herself with malignant breast cancer while living at a U.S. base at the South Pole.
Saburro served as the president and CEO of Starfire Systems, Inc.; Deputy Director for Business Development at University at Albany’s New York State Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology; and Business Analyst at the Center for Economic Growth. His accomplishments include being the first New York State winner of the annual Small Business Administration’s National Tibbetts Award designed to recognize small firms, projects, organizations, and individuals judged to exemplify the very best in SBIR program achievement. He was named New York State Small Business Person of the Year 2006, and received national recognition for his role in the 1999 US Air Force rescue of Dr. Jerri Nielsen, the physician who diagnosed herself with malignant breast cancer while living at a U.S. base at the South Pole.
He graduated from Union College in 1970 with a B.S. in physics. He currently resides in Saratoga, New York, and has three grown daughters.