Manoa Innovation Center manager quits in dispute

By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer

The manager of the state's high-technology business incubator has resigned after two months on the job amid clashes with the state over the handling of some programs.

State officials said yesterday that they had been in talks with Michael Possedi over disagreements about the way the Manoa Innovation Center's incubation program was being run.

"(The resignation) was a mutually agreed upon decision that both parties felt was in the best interest for the center," said Nola Miyasaki, executive director and chief executive officer of the High Technology Development Corp., which oversees the center. "Unfortunately, there were issues that could not be resolved involving our new incubation program and management of MIC."

Miyasaki declined to comment further about the disagreement. Possedi could not be reached.

Possedi, a technology specialist with high-tech credentials that previous center managers had lacked, was brought in in mid-June to help revitalize the center, one of the only incubators in the state for startup technology companies.

The move was part of a shakeup at the center, which had been targeted for reform by state officials and outside consultants who said the incubator needs a fresher mix of tenants, an improved communications infrastructure and more experienced managers.

Manoa Innovation Center has provided a home for 73 early-stage technology enterprises. Fifty of the companies have left the center and 35 are still in business, generating $18.6 million in revenues in 2000 and providing $9 million in payroll, according to the state. The center's approximately two dozen current tenants employ about 225 people.

Miyasaki said the recently launched incubation program will continue to go forward.

"This is not a setback by any means," she said. "We will not delay the program, and we will pick up where Michael left off and just keep going."

Other Hawai'i tech officials also said Possedi's departure is not expected to have a significant impact on the center or Hawai'i's fledgling high-tech industry.

Keith Mattson, director of University Connections, a program that links primarily university researchers with business and investment communities, said the center had already started moving in a positive direction with its retooled incubation program.

Possedi "was there only a short time," said Mattson, and the High Technology Development Corp. "will obviously go back to the well and see who else they can bring on board."

Miyasaki said she will appoint an interim manager until a permanent replacement is hired.

Through the 1990s the 46,000-square-foot center has been home to several dozen startup technology businesses.

In its earlier years, it had been run by a mix of state employees, many of whom had little previous experience working with technology companies. In recent years, the center had fallen on hard times as its infrastructure aged and the state's economy slowed.

Steve Kim, a tech consultant who has worked for the past year to help shape the center's program, will continue to assist the center.

The High Technology Development Corp. is undergoing a period of change and that requires some adjustments, Miyasaki said.

"We are confident that the adjustments we have experienced will not affect our desired outcome, which is to facilitate the growth of high technology in Hawai'i," she said.

Reach Frank Cho at 525-8088 or at fcho@honoluluadvertiser.com.