ST. LOUIS — Missouri Technology Corp., the state-sponsored venture capital entity, announced Tuesday its CEO, Jack Scatizzi, will step down early next year.
Hired by MTC in 2020, Scatizzi, who has a Ph.D. in molecular microbiology and immunology from St. Louis University and spent several years working with a California startup investment fund, has overseen a significant expansion of MTC’s programming and funding.
Scatizzi
In 2022, it won a multi-year, $95 million federal grant that continues to fund its startup investments, which MTC says have amounted to $50 million in 160 companies that have gone on to raise more than $2 billion and create 8,000 jobs over the last decade. He also helped implement a new accelerator program focused on geospatial technology in partnership with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.
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Missouri lawmakers have significantly increased the agency’s funding in recent years, allowing MTC to provide more grants for lab space and programming to organizations that support tech innovation ecosystems around the state.
That strong state support, however, took a hit this year when the Missouri Senate cut out the $8.5 million Gov. Mike Kehoe requested for MTC’s budget.
Scatizzi has said MTC can continue many of its initiatives, but the loss in state funding puts its long-term strategic plan at risk and already has led the organization to curtail some of its grant programs focused on nonprofits and tech infrastructure.
Scatizzi will be stepping down while the MTC tries to rebuild support in the state legislature as the next state budget cycle begins. He plans to stay on through the end of January so the MTC board can conduct a nationwide search for his replacement, according to a news release.
MTC Board Chair Dan Cobb called Scatizzi a “steady hand and visionary leader†and applauded the development and implementation of agency’s strategic plan he oversaw.
“The results speak for themselves — Jack has been instrumental in MTC’s ability to catalyze innovation and entrepreneurship across ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ over the past five years,†Cobb said in a statement.
Scatizzi told the Post-Dispatch he plans to stay in St. Louis and has no specific plans, but is “excited about the opportunities that will present themselves†in the coming months. In an earlier statement, he called it an “honor†to work for MTC and the state’s entrepreneurs.
“Together, we developed a strategy, built the infrastructure, and secured the funding, allowing the organization to be the catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship that the state wanted and needed,†he said.
