Joe DiNunzio, a senior executive with three decades of creative, technical and business leadership, has joined the Mike and Renee Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship as executive director, effective July 1, 2018. He will lead the institute’s strategic direction, program development, fundraising and relations with relevant academic programs at UC Davis as well as its network of partners, donors and sponsors.

“The institute is dedicated to empowering people with the skills and networks necessary to drive innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Andrew Hargadon, professor of technology management at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management and the institute’s founder and faculty director. “As a former senior vice president at Disney overseeing Imagineering teams, an entrepreneur who has launched multiple ventures, and an educator, Joe brings a wealth of experience.”

DiNunzio has served as CFO and board member for Harebrained Schemes, an independent game developer; chairman, CEO and co-founder of 42 Entertainment, a digital advertising and alternative reality agency; and founding CEO of Z.com, a venture-backed digital media studio and network. His corporate experience includes positions at Booz, Allen & Hamilton and Procter & Gamble.

“I am thrilled to be joining the institute,” DiNunzio said. “Having served as an instructor and mentor for many years in the institute’s entrepreneurship academies, I have seen first hand the impact that we can have to support innovators and the commercialization of new technologies.”

“The institute is dedicated to empowering people with the skills and networks necessary to drive innovation and entrepreneurship.”
— Professor Andrew Hargadon

DiNunzio is an assistant adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Management, where he co-founded the IMPACT consulting capstone course for MBA students. He will continue in his role as president of Fido Management, a consulting firm that works with Fortune 500 and early-stage companies.

DiNunzio has an A.B. (psychology) from Harvard and an MBA from Stanford. He is president of the Davis Schools Foundation, chairman of the Willett Elementary School Site Council, 2nd vice chairman and board member on the Davis Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Davis Joint Unified School District’s technology and strategic planning committees.

Media contact(s)

Jenna Makus, UC Davis Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 530-752-8214, jmakus@ucdavis.edu

Julia Ann Easley, News and Media Relations, 530-752-8248, cell 530-219-4545, jaeasley@ucdavis.edu