Executive profile: Gordon McConnell

Gordon McConnell, assistant vice president for entrepreneurship and innovation at ASU, was the subject of an executive profile in a recent article in the Phoenix Business Journal.

Managing innovation programs at SkySong, McConnell learned about entrepreneurship from his days managing music groups in his native Ireland.

"It was during his university years that his foray into music began," writes reporter Patrick O'Grady. "He was studying business because his father had talked him out of becoming a history major.

"But it was hauling gear into seedy clubs, haggling with the owners about costs and handling the many diverse egos that gave him a unique perspective on being an entrepreneur – particularly at a time when his entire introduction to entrepreneurship consisted of two pages in a college textbook."

McConnell told O'Grady that "those early days in music gave him a good reference point for the students who came through SkySong's programs."

McConnell says most students don't realize they are entrepreneurs; they are just trying to solve problems.

ASU is leading the nation in a movement to bring entrepreneurship to higher education, where ideas can be helped by a university's abundant resources.

"Entrepreneurship may be a French word, but the Americans own it," McConnell said in the article.

In addition to managing bands, McConnell has served as a principal in two startups and has taught at Dublin City University, the Dublin Institute of Technology and the Ryan Academy.

Access to the complete article is limited to Phoenix Business Journal subscribers.