SAN DIEGO–CONNECT, a startup acceleration program in San Diego that creates and scales great companies in technology and life sciences sectors, announced today the addition of four new members to the Executive Committee of the CONNECT Board of Directors. The new members include James Mackay, president and chief operating officer at Ardea Biosciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca, Alex Kunczynski, president and co-founder of D&K Engineering, Tim Scott, co-founder and president of Pharmatek Laboratories, Inc., and Donald J. Rosenberg, executive chairman and chairman of the board, Qualcomm Incorporated.

“All four new committee members are strong and accomplished leaders within the technology and life sciences space and our innovation ecosystem,” said Greg McKee, chief executive officer at CONNECT. “They represent CONNECT’s new direction and focus on providing meaningful content to our entrepreneurs and innovators in San Diego. Their expertise and knowledge about creating and scaling great companies is in line with CONNECT’s newly-refined mission and will be invaluable to our members.”

CONNECT’s Executive Committee is charged with supporting and furthering CONNECT’s purpose—to create and scale great companies. The members of the Executive Committee are principal advisors to the chief executive officer, providing key industry insights and strategic advice for CONNECT. The Executive Committee is authorized to meet and take certain actions between board meetings, and is the primary governance body of the organization.

CONNECT is a startup acceleration program in San Diego that creates and scales great companies in technology and life sciences sectors by creating an environment in which inventors and entrepreneurs have access to the resources they need for success. Since 1985 CONNECT has assisted in the formation and development of more than 3,000 companies and is now widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful organizations linking inventors and entrepreneurs with the resources they need for commercialization of innovative products. As a result, the program has been modeled in more than 50 regions around the world. www.connect.org