Athens, Ga. – Mark “Dill” Driscoll has been appointed an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. He is the first to hold the honorary title, according to Dean Robert T. Sumichrast.
An internationally recognized experiential marketing pioneer, Driscoll is the chairman and co-founder of ignition Inc., the Atlanta-based experiential marketing agency behind some of the world’s most ambitious marketing campaigns and events.
As an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Driscoll will work with Terry College faculty to expand and improve the college’s entrepreneurship program and help create opportunities for Terry students who want to become entrepreneurs themselves.
“Our connection to the business community is vitally important. The business leaders we invite to campus give our students valuable insights to the art of managing and motivating people and the practice of business,” Sumichrast said. “Dill’s honorary appointment as Entrepreneur-in-Residence formalizes and expands the working relationship that has developed. He’s made a lasting impact on our students and offered them practical business and life lessons that they can apply to any field.”
“Giving back to the academic community is central to ignition’s mission of making a positive difference in people’s lives,” Driscoll said. “This is an outstanding opportunity to not only share tactics and advice, but also to show students what kind of impact they can make on the world when they combine business savvy with compassion for others.
Driscoll has been a frequent guest lecturer at UGA and will continue in that role, speaking on marketing topics, as well as the challenges and rewards of owning your own business. He will work with student project teams during office hours and mentor students individually. He also plans to help the college and its students expand their networks in the business community.
Though he is the first to be given the Entrepreneur-in-Residence title, he joins a select group of five Distinguished Executives-in-Residence who continue to serve the college.
Driscoll has started eight businesses during his career, but he is best known as a pioneer in the field of experiential marketing. He founded several of the industry’s formative ventures, including World Sports Promotions, McCann Event Marketing, and Momentum Worldwide.
At ignition, he has been the creative force behind Coca-Cola’s Olympic Torch Relays, the FIFA World CupTM Trophy Tours, the Live Earth concert, and the Blue Planet Run. The agency is also one of the first to fully integrate environmental sustainability across its operations and projects.
