Jones resigns as RIO director

Terry Jones has submitted his resignation to the Baton Rouge Area Chamber as head of its Regional Innovation Organization, BRAC officials announced this morning. Details on why Jones is departing, and exactly when, remain scarce as of press time. “He’s offered to stay on through the transition period as we begin a national search for a new director,” says Mike Odom, BRAC spokesman. “We’re very appreciative of everything he’s done. Since the launch of RIO last year, he’s been instrumental in helping build collaboration between the incubators and universities in Baton Rouge, as well as launching the first Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week, securing a Startup Bus for Louisiana and getting a pretty significant federal grant.” In a short statement Jones provided Daily Report this morning, he says: “It has been my absolute honor and pleasure to serve the entrepreneurs, economic development professionals and entire entrepreneurial community over the past 19 months as the managing director of RIO. Together, with strong support from the entrepreneurial community and the many great entrepreneurial organizations we have here in the Capital Region, we have made great strides in building a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem and have begun achieving national recognition for our startups and our region. I look forward to watching as our region continues to make great progress and achieve new highs.” Jones did not touch on reasons for his departure or what his future plans may be in the statement. Read a Business Report story from February 2011, when Jones was hired as the RIO director, here —Steve Sanoski