Karl R. LaPan

About Me

Karl R. LaPan was appointed director of UF Innovate | Accelerate in May 2021. He oversees its business incubation and commercialization programs and promotes the entrepreneurial energy and community within the Gainesville Innovation District and Progress District in Alachua, FL.

UF Innovate | Accelerate operates two best-in-class facilities encompassing nearly 130,000 sq feet, has a resident client portfolio of over 90 active companies, an average client wage rate 43% higher than the state of Florida average, assisted in securing nearly $11.4 billion in client invested capital, and since inception, supported over 300 client companies. Since its inception, the UF Innovate | Accelerate program has generated over $25.3B in economic impact, advancing the Gator Nation’s impact globally.

Before that position, he was president and CEO of an advanced biometric identification company, NBS Imaging Systems. He started his career at General Electric and worked in six different strategic business units of GE, including Aircraft Engines, Power Systems, Marine Services, Appliances, Corporate Headquarters, and Financial Services. He is also a program graduate of their prestigious Financial Management Program.

Karl is an advisory board member of the College of Business (COBAB) at his alma mater, Franklin Pierce University, the current president of the Florida Business Incubation Association (FBIA), and an adjunct instructor in Entrepreneurship at Franklin Pierce University. Previously, he served on the Board of BioPoly LLC, an orthobiologics early-stage company. Additionally, he is a community advisory board member for the InBIA Ecosystem Builder Leadership Project (EBLP).

Karl’s professional interests are healthcare, innovation/entrepreneurship, and customer experience. Previously, he was an associate faculty member in the MBA program at IPFW and an Executive-in-Residence/Adjunct Faculty member in the MBA program at Taylor University. Additionally, he served on the Taylor MBA Business Advisory Board, IPFW Doermer School of Business Advisory Council & IPFW ETCS Industrial Advisory Board, Manchester University President’s Leadership Council, and the IU School of Medicine-Ft. Wayne Advisory Board.

After 18 years of service, Karl retired from the Board and his position as Secretary of Physicians Health Plan (PHP), a physician-owned and managed not-for-profit HMO, and, before its sale, he was a former board member of IAB Financial, a $1B community bank, where he chaired the Bank’s Enterprise Risk Management Committee. Additionally, he served on the Board of directors of the Indiana Chamber, assisted in the implementation of a system-wide innovation program at Parkview Health, and was on an advisory board for the Ball State University Entrepreneurship Center. Additionally, he received the IPFW Chancellor’s Award and the InBIA President’s Award of Excellence.

LaPan received his Bachelor of Science, business management, summa cum laude from Franklin Pierce University. He obtained his master’s degree in human resource development from American University in Washington, DC, and is a Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society member. He has completed executive education programs in non-profit leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation at Stanford University, Harvard University, Babson College, and the University of Notre Dame.