Schrankler posted at UChicago’s Polsky Center

University of Chicago has selected Jay Schrankler (pictured) as associate vice-president and head of its commercialisation operation, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Schrankler’s role at the university begins on August 1 and includes oversight of the Polsky Centre’s current expansion strategy, as well as the launch of international outreach initiatives in locations including Hong Kong, London, Paris and Delhi.
He will be tasked with executing an innovation strategy that pulls together UChicago’s various scientific and entrepreneurship initiatives, and will also look into opportunities for collaboration with both private and public-sector organisations.
Schrankler was previously associate vice-president at University of Minnesota’s Office for Technology Commercialization (OTC) for a 12-year tenure, helping the tech transfer office register $550m in revenues over a 10-year period as well as steady growth in licensing activity and industry research sponsorships.
From 1990 until 2007, Schrankler was a business unit president with industrial products supplier Honeywell, following a two-year spell in a co-founding capacity at edtech startup Edutronics.
Schrankler also founded aviation innovation accelerator Aero1217 in May 2017. He resigned from the company last month, but remains an aircraft provider and adviser for air pilot training provider Hummingbird Aviation, having started in the job in 2015.
Steven Kaplan, the Kessenich EP faculty director at Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, said: “We are looking forward to welcoming Jay and continuing the great success we have had in developing companies and commercialising technologies at the university.”