TBED People and Orgs

Renee Winsky has resigned as the CEO of the Tech Council of Maryland. Winsky has headed the technology trade group since September 2009. Larry Letow, chairman of the council, will serve as CEO on an interim basis. Tom Ballard has retired as director of partnerships at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and accepted the position of director of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Initiatives at Pershing Yoakley and Associates. Mark Lytle has been selected to become the division director of the Georgia Centers of Innovation. Most recently, Lytle was director of the Georgia Department of Economic Development's foreign direct investment team. He succeeds Sidney Elliott, who served as interim director of COI before retiring at the end of last year. Gov. Phil Bryant has tapped businessman and philanthropist Jim Barksdale as interim director of the Mississippi Development Authority. The governor said he expects the interim term to last 90 to 120 days. Gov. Jay Nixon has named Jason Hall as the new director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. Hall is currently the executive director of the Missouri Technology Corporation. He succeeds David Kerr. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has appointed Catherine Lang to serve as director of the Department of Economic Development. She will continue to serve as the Commissioner of the Department of Labor. Carl Schramm, the president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, is stepping down from the organization. Kauffman trustee Benno Schmidt has been appointed the interim president.