09-03-2025
Rich Sikora joined Purdue on August 18 as an executive advisor for innovation and entrepreneurship. Housed in the Purdue Research Foundation (PRF), he’ll work with the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Innovates and PRF to enhance the university’s innovation and entrepreneurship activities.
He likens the activities to those carried out across campus by football coach Barry Odom.
“A football team has complementary units with offense, defense and special teams, and their cohesion leads to a winning team,” says Sikora, who retired from Boeing last year after serving as senior executive director of defense, space and security. “I’m hoping to make efforts more integrated here, particularly with the Daniels School.”
Brooke Beier, senior vice president of Purdue Innovates, is pleased about the industry experience the proven business leader and serial entrepreneur will bring to campus and the connections he will provide.
We have a unique opportunity to be one of the top business schools in the Big Ten for entrepreneurship and innovation.”Rich SikoraPurdue University's new executive advisor for innovation and entrepreneurship
“We are excited about the collaboration between Purdue Innovates and the Daniels School of Business as we bring our units closer together to leverage our collective strengths,” Beier says. “By uniting world-class business expertise with innovation and commercialization resources, we are creating a stronger foundation to accelerate the path from breakthrough ideas to market impact, support startups and empower entrepreneurs.”
Sikora defines innovation broadly as doing something better in a differentiated way. That certainly covers new inventions, but also applies to better processes, both in management and science. He also believes he’s entering a space with great momentum.
“I’m excited to lead and collaborate across Purdue’s technology and innovation ecosystem. To be in the top five for four years running for U.S. patents speaks volumes about the quality of the people and invention discovery created here,” he says.
A serial entrepreneur himself, with nine startups to his credit, Sikora is no stranger to the world of risk.
“The fact is that most startups don’t make it. The key is to ‘fail fast forward’ and keep learning. You also have to expect that a product or idea will morph over time. And the inventor or innovator may not have the skills to effectively lead a company once it begins to grow, so other experts may need to be hired,” he says.
Sikora will champion the development and collaboration of academic entrepreneurship and innovation programs, as well as events, in the Daniels School. He’ll also connect business school faculty and students to Purdue Innovates programs and resources, aligning academic content with real-world experiences.
Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Daniels School Jim Bullard says that’s vital to the business school’s mission.
“It’s crucial for us to own the integration of business and technology,” he says. “Every company today is a technology organization, and business leaders have to understand how specific technologies can create competitive advantages for their organizations. We believe Rich’s experience in entrepreneurship and innovation will lead to great partnerships with companies and alumni that can sponsor research faculty, as well as hiring some of our outstanding students.”
Sikora looks forward to leveraging Purdue’s technology scale and business school expertise.
“We have a unique opportunity to be one of the top business schools in the Big Ten for entrepreneurship and innovation,” Sikora says. “After all, we are in the business of STEM.”
