Innovation Leaders Speaker Series: How to Catalyze a Regional Innovation Ecosystem

Featuring RoseAnn Rosenthal

Present & CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Join us for an Innovation Leaders Speaker Series webinar event featuring RoseAnn Rosenthal, President and CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania. She will discuss the importance of regional innovation ecosystems and examine how to catalyze a diverse regional economy to transition to one that embraces tech, entrepreneurship and innovation as its drivers.

Recognized by regional, national and international leaders as a pioneer of public-private partnerships and an invaluable resource for innovation-focused investment and growth in Greater Philadelphia, RoseAnn has over fifty years of experience in economic development, business investment, and regional planning. With a current portfolio of over 200 technology companies, she has led Ben Franklin since 1996, growing its reputation and impact through innovative partnerships and a solid track record of seeding hundreds of southeastern Pennsylvania’s technology leaders across all areas of technology. RoseAnn helped design and launch the region’s Health Care Innovation Collaborative, an open innovation model unifying universities, corporations, investors, healthcare providers and insurers in development of new solutions; and catalyzed the development and launch of ImpactPHL, a regional alliance focused on the growth of the Greater Philadelphia’s impact economy.

We also will enable an attendee networking forum for 30 minutes after the webinar.

RoseAnn B. Rosenthal, President, CEO, and member of the Board of Directors of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP) since 1996, has over fifty years of experience in business investment, regional planning, and economic development. Ranked by Pitchbook among the top ten most active in the US, Ben Franklin is the most active seed and early-stage investor in innovation-focused enterprises in the Philadelphia region. Rosenthal has served on regional, state, and national advisory boards addressing issues of regional development and public policy and has been recognized widely for her contributions. Under Rosenthal’s guidance, Ben Franklin has grown to create more than 32,000 technology-focused jobs in the Philadelphia region, created from the more than 2000 companies the organization has helped form. These companies have enabled the growth of more than $5.1 billion in activity to Southeastern Pennsylvania’s economy.

Rosenthal has been acknowledged for her work by many regional and national organizations. In 2019, Rosenthal received The Pennsylvania Society’s Distinguished Citizen of the Commonwealth award in recognition of her work benefitting the Commonwealth and its citizens. In 2018, she was honored by the National Venture Capital Association, the Community College of Philadelphia Foundation, and Temple University for her innovation in investing, technology commercialization, and development of new possibilities for Philadelphia and its citizens. In 2014, she was named the Legend Award honoree by the Philadelphia Alliance of Capital and Technology, the second woman to be recognized.

Most recently, Rosenthal led Ben Franklin to launch the GO Philly Fund, a regional venture fund that allows private investors to invest in a broad variety of early-stage technology-focused enterprises located in the Greater Philadelphia region. In partnership with EPAM, the innovative fund leverages blockchain technology as part of its innovative fund raising and capital management strategy, facilitating individual investor participation from around the world. In 2017 Rosenthal led the formation of Broad Street Angels, now a 100-member angel investment group within the Union League of Philadelphia.

In June, Rosenthal’s planned retirement as Pres/CEO was announced. That will take effect fully in July 2021. She will become CEO Emeritus in January 2021, will retain her role with GO Philly and will be Sr Advisory to Ben Franklin in July 2021.