Award presentation clip from Innovation Expo 2019 where Gene McGowan (presenter) awards the Spirit of Enterprise Award to Mark Luecke for entrepreneurship and regional commercialization efforts. Gene summarizes Luecke's background (USD business grad, CPA, Arthur Andersen, private equity and Fortune 500 roles), his 2009-led commercialization program (with $6M early funding, ~2,000 invention disclosures reviewed, 50+ patent applications, 20 licenses, and 10 startups), and impacts (Prairie Aquatech's 30,000 ton/year aquaculture feed facility, Medgene Labs' USDA-licensed vaccine facility, ~$200M new capital into South Dakota, 100+ jobs). Mark gives brief acceptance remarks thanking mentors, his team, and family.
Questions this video answers
Mark Luecke
Prairie Aquatech and Medgene Labs
$6 million
Over 2,000
Over 50 patent applications
Chapters
The Spirit of the Enterprise Award is given annually by the Enterprise Institute to an individual in recognition of personal commitment, dedication and achievement in entrepreneurship. These individuals are directly responsible for helping shape the entrepreneurial culture of our state. The award is sponsored and Presented by the McCowan Capital Group. this time, I'd like to bring up Gene McGowan to announce this year's winner. Thank you very much.
Thank you everybody. It's good to see everybody again and especially in a kind of day like what we had today. I hope that didn't keep anybody away. Well, McGowan Capital is once again pleased to be able to sponsor and present the Spirit of Enterprise Award for Innovation Expo. It's hard to describe this year's candidate for the Spirit of Enterprise Award. You know, it can be easier some years because there was an event or a special accomplishment to deserve the recognition. But in this case it's been a marathon divided between a distinguished way back there and an awesome present just a little bit on the way back there. Here's a few highlights. This gentleman is a USD business grad, CPA Arthur Anderson Consulting. He's managed dozens of acquisitions, managed their integration, turned around companies, created exits, ran a private equity firm, served as vice president of global services for a Fortune 500 company. That looks to me like a lifetime of success for most of us. He did this all before the age of 35, but he was just getting started. So now for the awesome present the last 10 years. In 2009, he was hired to create a company dedicated to the commercialization of research coming from our universities. With $6 million in early stage funding, he and his team reviewed over 2,000 invention disclosures, filed over 50 patent applications, 20 license agreements and created 10 startup companies. Now getting more laser focused on just two of that effort and leveraged a future fund grant of 600,000. He's led the creation of of a high quality food ingredient for the aquaculture industry. The first USDA licensed vaccine facility in the state of South Dakota. And this combined effort has provided over $200 million of new capital invested in South Dakota and creating over 100 jobs. Prairie Aquatech recently completed a 30,000 ton a year facility producing a high quality feed ingredient for the aquaculture market. At Medgene Labs, he leads an exceptionally qualified team of renowned research scientists as they pioneer and produce animal vaccine technology that will improve animal health worldwide. And although still a startup, they are already receiving international recognition and awards. There's many things in his drive for success and excellence. Among them are his spirit, tenacity, Drive, high energy, commitment, more energy, and every other quality it takes to accomplish whatever it takes. I am so pleased to be able to present this year's Spirit of Enterprise Award to the guy who is CEO of both Prairie Aquatech and Medgene Labs, Mark Luecke. You knew this was coming. Would you like to say a few words for everybody?
Thanks, Gene. And quite humbled, actually. As an entrepreneur, you never feel like you deserve this because you're always building and you never feel like you're done building. And we're in the process of building something great, actually. If I could do this, if I could have anybody that's been part of my journey over the last 10 years, just raise your hand, please, because there's a lot more of you that aren't raising your hand. This is part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem here in South Dakota, which I've been in a lot of places across the United States and the world. Second to none here. So I want to thank a group of mentors, civic entrepreneurs that brought me back to the state. I grew up in a small farm here in South Dakota. They included Gene McGowan, Van Fishback, Al Kurtenbach, Roger Musik, David Cheekwin. Kind of got the group together when he realized that we didn't have technology transfer infrastructure in the state of South Dakota, and Dan Newell, who I've been working with for over 20 years. And there isn't a better person that you can look up to and admire as an executive. I also, I don't know if any of my team is here. If you think about an all star team, I have that. You know, I've got the best baseball card collection that you can possibly imagine. These are people that have spent their entire careers at very large companies, leading industries, and they're now here with us to do big things. So I want to thank that team of people and most importantly, and you entrepreneurs can appreciate this. I want to thank my family, my wife Amber, our kids, Avery and Aiden. Avery probably rocked her physics test today. Aidan is rocking his freshman year of high school. They will be down here someday as part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem as well. I'm quite confident. So, again, very humbled. Thank you. We've got a great crop of entrepreneurs coming up, too. I think so. Thanks.
