Chair Professorship to Prof Jean-Luc Boulnois and Prof Dr Carlos Scheel

The School of Business, Woxsen University, has set a Chair to honour Prof Dr Jean-Luc Boulnois contributions to academia and industry. The Chair Professorship will be established as Jean-Luc Boulnois Professor of Entrepreneurship and the selection process for the chair holder is currently ongoing. Dr Boulnois is President and CEO of Quadrature, a Boston-based strategic advisory firm for MedTech companies with a focus on early-stage and mid-market enterprises.

From 2005 to 2016, Dr Boulnois was Chairman and CEO, and in 2013 Executive Chairman, of Microline Surgical, Inc., a Boston company that designs, manufactures, and markets worldwide responsible minimally invasive electro-surgical instruments used in various surgical specialties; in 2009 he led the acquisition of Starion Instruments, an energy delivery company. Dr Boulnois has been involved with Microline for over 20 years, first as an angel investor, and, over 11 years as CEO strongly focused on operations, expanding sales to more than 60 countries, and driving a period of revenue and profit growth exceeding 14% year-on-year.

In 2004, he served as Venture Partner at Dover Medical Ventures, a Boston-based venture fund in creation dedicated to financing seed and early-stage medical device enterprises.

From 1999 to 2004, Dr Boulnois served as Executive Director of New Technology at Arrow International: as part of the Global Business Development Group he lead the technology and market assessment team engaging in more than 35 company diligences resulting in 2 strategic acquisitions. From 1995 to 1999, Dr Boulnois was co-developer, President and CEO of Sometec, an innovative international company in the non-invasive ultrasound-based cardiovascular monitoring space sold at a 10X revenue multiple to a leading publicly listed US critical care company.

From 1989 to 1994, he was President and COO of Technomed International Inc., an international urology company specialising in non-invasive ultrasound and laser technologies: he achieved a 60% growth over 2 years, obtaining several major FDA approvals. He also participated in the Initial Public Offering of Technomed International on the Paris, France, and "Second Marché" Exchange.

During the prior nine years, Dr Boulnois held various positions at Quantel SA, a French company where he developed scientific and medical lasers, first as staff scientist and later as Vice-President of Research. He also was a Director of Quantel International, the California parent company. Dr Boulnois served 4 years on the Princeton University Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department Advisory Council and until 2016 he also was Senior Advisor to Metalmark Capital, a Private Equity firm.

As an experienced Board Director currently serving on several US and European boards such as FineHeart, BioModex, and NanoDx, three Venture Capital financed companies, Dr Boulnois advises entrepreneurial teams on operations, strategy, capital raising, product development, and regulatory affairs. He is also a Trustee of the French Cultural Center, a Boston non-profit organization.

Since 2000 Dr. Boulnois has also been an Adjunct Professor at the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College, MA, teaching several courses in entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial finance, and business models, as well as regularly lecturing at the Babson School of Executive Education.

Dr Boulnois is co-author of 6 books and more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific articles in laser sciences, applied physics, and biophysics, published in leading journals with one article having more than 670 citations. His educational achievements include: Aeronautical Engineering Degree, Ecole Supérieure des Techniques Automobiles et des Constructions Aéronautiques, France; M.Sc., Centre d'EtudesSupérieures de Mécanique, Paris University; Visiting Professor, HEC and ESCP, France; EMBA, HEC Paris, France; and Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University. Dr Boulnois is bi-national American and French, and has lived for 37 years in the United States.

The endowed chair/professorship holder is expected to continue outstanding scholarly activity. This may include scholarship in discovery, integration, application, or teaching. Evaluation criteria include impact and contribution to the holder's department, the profession, and society at large. The endowed chair/professorship holder is expected to provide leadership and impact, on an ongoing basis and in the broadest sense possible, throughout his or her term as an endowed chair/professorship holder. 

Dr Sairam Chair – Centre for Management Research, Woxsen University will hold the Carlos Scheel Professor of Circular Economy and Sustainable Innovation, with a strong focus on management-oriented technological innovations.

Prof Dr Scheel holds a Doctor of Engineering (PhD) in Optimal Control Systems

(University of Houston, USA) and a Master of Engineering (MSc) in Computing, Control and Communications Engineering (University of Michigan, USA).

He has been a professor at the Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico, since 1973. As an expert in innovation, technology, and sustainability strategies, Dr Scheel's research, development, and teaching focuses on the areas of dynamics of complex systems, technological innovation, cluster strategies, innovation, creation of unusual business models, technology-based entrepreneurship, distributed systems and information technologies, concepts on which he has taught short courses and specialized seminars in more than 30 institutions in 16 countries.

Since 2007 he has designed and validated in several countries the SWIT model (Sustainable Wealth creation based on Innovation and Technology) for the creation of sustainable regional wealth at three levels of empowerment: zero waste circular chains (ZRIES); development of circular value ecosystems (CVES); creation of regional shared value systems (SVS) and the development of conditions and infrastructure for Innovacities.

Throughout his career, Dr Scheel has been an advisor on international technical cooperation for various governments. He has participated in more than 20 international projects for the development of strategies, systems, and policies, for the implementation of industrial clusters; as well as science and technology innovation programs, related to regional innovation systems, which include transfer, technological cooperation and technology-based entrepreneurship. These projects have been sponsored by different organizations such as the IDB, UNIDO, USAID, World Bank, UNDP, UNEP, EU Framework Program, and/or national governments.

Dr Scheel is a member of the National System of Researchers, since 2007 level I, and since 1989 a senior researcher at the Innovation, Creativity and Capital Institute (IC2) of the University of Texas at Austin (USA). Previously, he was Director of the Graduate School of Information Technologies, Electronics and Telecommunications at Tecnológico de Monterrey (1985-2001).

The endowed chair/professorship holder is expected to continue outstanding scholarly activity. This may include scholarship in discovery, integration, application, or teaching. Evaluation criteria include impact and contribution to the holder's department, the profession, and society at large.

The endowed chair/professorship holder is expected to provide leadership and impact, on an ongoing basis and in the broadest sense possible, throughout his or her term as an endowed chair/professorship holder.