Chang Robotics Names Three-time Dean and Serial Entrepreneur Don Capener, PhD, as Chief Strategy & Culture Officer
-Among his roles, Chief Executive and Business Dean, Dr. Don Capener will manage the Chang Robotics Fund, positioned to raise $50 million over the coming 12 months-
Serial entrepreneur and three-time academic dean Don Capener has been appointed Chief Strategy and Culture Officer of Chang Robotics, an impact-focused engineering firm specializing in disruptive automation. Capener brings extensive professional experience, including three prior exits (one through an IPO) and various entrepreneurial and university executive roles. Since 2022, he has been a strategic advisor to Chang Robotics while also serving as a former business dean, current business professor, and experienced fundraising lead.
In September 2024, Chang Robotics was named to two of Fast Company’s 2024 Top Innovation categories: Chang Robotics has been named one of the 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators and acknowledged as a finalist to the Top Artificial Intelligence and Robotics list for 2024.
One of Capener’s key assignments at Chang Robotics will be his role as Chief Administrator and Fund Manager for the Chang Robotics Fund, which is positioned to raise $50 million over the coming 12 months. Investments in the Chang Robotics Fund will underwrite the company’s next tier of impact-focused automation in fields including robotics in healthcare, breakthroughs in BEV and hybrid industrial equipment, automated warehouse and supply chain innovations, and elimination of PFAs “forever chemicals” in food packaging.
Matthew Chang, Chang Robotics founder and Professional Engineer, said:
Don Capener has been impacting my career since my days as one of his MBA students at Jacksonville University.
“He has made an indelible impact on our growth, particularly within the past two years, and we look forward to expanding that influence still further in the seasons to come.”
Don Capener’s extensive experience makes him uniquely qualified for his new roles with three successful exits: Above the Rim CoFounder (acquired by Reebok), Netcentives CMO (IPO on NASDAQ), and as President of the Capener Company Advertising in San Diego, CA. He is a top influencer in fundraising on LinkedIn, representing the top one percent of contributors. Additionally, he served as the former Business Dean at Marshall University and Jacksonville University, along with Dean of Continuing Education and Associate Provost at Utah Valley University. In his current role, he continues to serve as a full professor of management at Marshall University’s Lewis College of Business. Prior to his CEO roles he was also an executive at Leo Burnett/Frankel in Chicago and San Francisco.
I am extremely impressed with Chang Robotics’ progress, but most especially in the last two years.
Capener said. “Now, as we launch the Chang Robotics Fund, the pace of innovation is accelerating, as demonstrated by being named one of Fast Company’s Top 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators—and the only Florida-based honoree. Chang Robotics is cultivating one of the most distinctive work cultures through exceptional accountability, lean principles, and community engagement. I am tremendously honored to play a role growing with one of the best minority-led companies in any facet of engineering.”
Capener’s education includes a Ph.D. in International Management from ISM, an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management (ASU), and a BS in Political Science and Economics from BYU-Provo.
Chang Robotics Names Three-time Dean and Serial Entrepreneur Don Capener, PhD, as Chief Strategy & Culture Officer, source.
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