Caralynn Nowinski

Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, UI LABS

As the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of UI LABS, Caralynn Nowinski oversees the entire research and commercialization collaborative, including the $320-million Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute.
Prior to UI LABS, Caralynn was Associate Vice President for Innovation & Economic Development at the University of Illinois. Caralynn spent her early career in venture capital and corporate finance, primarily focused on technology-based university spin-outs. She was a Principal with early-stage venture capital firms ARCH Development Partners and Midwest Venture Partners, and Senior Vice President of Sikich Investment Banking. As a graduate student, she co-founded SanoGene Therapeutics, an early-stage biotechnology company, where, as CEO, she led the company’s spin-out from the University of Illinois and raised a strategic equity investment.