Baldwin Wallace University names first LaunchNET entrepreneur-in-residence

Linda G. Kanner, who says she has "always been unafraid of the undefined," will fill the new EIR role within LaunchNET, a signature program of the University's Center for Innovation & Growth (CIG).
Kanner will coach BW entrepreneurs on their ventures and spread awareness of entrepreneurship and innovation across campus.
Big brand collaboration
As
a
former
partner
involved
in
the
"reinvention"
of
Phillips
Syrup
LLC,
a
Cleveland-based
food
manufacturing
company,
Kanner
has
an
in-depth
understanding
of
the
challenges
entrepreneurs
face.
By collaborating with larger brands to innovate some well-known private label products for the specialty coffee drink market, such as the Dairy Queen Moolatte® and Biggby Coffee's signature Caramel Marvel, Phillips created a whole new company product line of its own.
Advice for profitable growth
Now
consulting
and
teaching
entrepreneurship,
marketing
and
consumer
behavior
as
an
adjunct
professor
in
BW's
School
of
Business,
Kanner
says
her
approach
to
venture
coaching
is
aimed
at
fostering
bottom-line
success.
"At Phillips, our smaller size made us nimble and innovative, but also we gained valuable expertise and resources by reaching out to join forces with larger companies in product development," Kanner said. "In my current work with start-up clients, my approach is to be a collaborative problem solver and to encourage entrepreneurs to strategize, analyze cost, create pricing models and set goals for profitable growth."
Fortune 500 experience
Prior to serving as vice president of Phillips Syrup, Kanner held posts at various Fortune 500 companies. As an intrapreneur, she was responsible for new product development and market segment growth within several large telecommunications companies, including Emerson/RELTEC, Northern Telecom and USWest.
"Linda brings deep innovation experience and a heart for education to this new role," said Lacey Kogelnik, director of CIG. "Her capacity to draw on a real-life entrepreneurial journey will be invaluable to our LaunchNET student and alumni clients."
LaunchNET momentum


Kanner, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and an MBA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, also serves on the Cleveland Advisory Board of the Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI) and volunteers at their Women's Business Center of Northern Ohio.