Submitted by Saint Martin’s University
Olympia-native entrepreneur, lawyer and angel investor Brad Furber will deliver the 2017 Commencement address at Saint Martin’s University on Saturday, May 20, at Marcus Pavilion, located on the Lacey campus, 5300 Pacific S.E.
“We are excited for Brad Furber to address the class of 2017 and speak about the growing need for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, and the importance of lifelong learning,” says Saint Martin’s President Roy F. Heynderickx, Ph.D. “At Saint Martin’s, we strive to empower students to pursue a lifetime of learning and learn to make a positive difference in their lives and in the lives of others.”
Furber is originally from Olympia, Washington and lived and worked in Seattle for two decades before embarking on an overseas path, first to Copenhagen, Denmark and later Sydney, Australia. The University of New South Wales in Australia, one of Australia’s leading research intensive universities, hired Furber in 2014 as its founding business leader to take what was then a greenfield concept, and lead a collaborative design process to develop, launch, operate and expand the Michael Crouch Innovation Centre (MCIC). Since opening its doors in August 2015, the MCIC has generated more than 30,000 meaningful engagements, across a diverse spectrum of events, programs and challenges, and the MCIC network is growing exponentially.
A former Chair of the Business Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association, and Founder Editor of Preferred Returns, the newsletter of the ABA Section of Business Law Committee on Venture Capital and Private Equity, Furber is a frequent speaker and moderator on a range of topics, including innovation, entrepreneurship, public policy and law. He is the creator of Term Sheet Battle™, a program designed to demystify the negotiation of venture capital financings that has been produced in the United States, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and the UK. He is also a co-inventor of a patent that facilitates confidential and anonymous negotiation of financial transactions over public networks.
In addition to Juris Doctor from Duke Law School, Furber holds a Master of Public Policy from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington.
The Saint Martin’s University 2017 Commencement ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 20, at Marcus Pavilion on the University’s Lacey campus, 5300 Pacific Ave SE. Tickets are required for attendance; doors will open at 9 a.m. For more information on 2017 Commencement, please go to the Saint Martin’s University website.
