UGA has tapped the former CEO of one of the nation’s fastest-growing sports apparel companies to lead a new, campus-wide initiative focused on entrepreneurship.
Bob Pinckney, former CEO of Athens-based EvoShield LLC, has been named UGA’s director of entrepreneurial programs. In this new role, he will be housed in the Terry College of Business and work closely with all of UGA’s schools and colleges to expand opportunities for students to gain core skills that enable them to develop and implement new ideas and start their own businesses and nonprofits.
“Bob Pinckney brings a wealth of experience from the private sector to the University of Georgia,” said Provost Pamela Whitten. “By giving students new classroom and hands-on opportunities related to entrepreneurship, we are helping them thrive in today’s dynamic business environment while also increasing the university’s $4 billion economic impact.”
Pinckney’s appointment builds on several programs and experiential learning opportunities at UGA. The Terry College and the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, for example, offer a certificate program that gives students the skills needed to start a business, gain employment with a startup or become a social entrepreneur in the public or nonprofit sector.
Pinckney has founded or co-founded several consulting, software and telecommunications companies over the course of his career and joined EvoShield as its CEO in 2010. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Terry College and an MBA from Harvard.
“To me, entrepreneurship is the intersection of vision and leadership,” Pinckney said. “You need a vision for what you want to accomplish and the leadership to be able to implement that vision. My vision is to make the University of Georgia a national hub of entrepreneurship, and I’m excited about partnering with the administration, faculty, staff and students to make that vision a reality.”
