Flanagan doubled the Irish university's spinout rate during his time there.
Tom Flanagan has retired as director of enterprise and commercialisation of NovaUCD, the innovation arm of University College Dublin in Ireland (UCD).
Flanagan joined NovaUCD in 2017 to lead enterprise development, industry partnerships, knowledge transfer and consulting services for the university.
During his tenure, NovaUCD doubled the number of startups it creates each year and trebled the seed investment its portfolio companies raised. It was also one of the founding members of the University Bridge Fund, managed by local VC firm Atlantic Bridge.
University College Dublin spun out six businesses in 2023, making it the most active institution in Ireland. It had 21 active spinouts by the end of last year, among them the country’s first spinout unicorn, ecommerce company Wayflyer.
Flanagan joined the Beyond the Breakthrough podcast in August last year to talk about UCD, which also runs an agricultural farm where pre-seed companies can develop agtech products.
Flanagan continues to be the vice president for special interest groups at the Association of European Science and and Technology Transfer Professionals, having served on the board since May 2023. Going forward, he will offer his expertise on a freelance consultancy basis, according to LinkedIn.
Thierry Heles
Thierry Heles is editor-at-large of Global University Venturing and Global Corporate Venturing, and host of the Beyond the Breakthrough podcast.
