A legendary Omaha businessman, C.R. Bob Bell, has been named vice
president for business and community development for UNeMed Corp., a company
that is instrumental in transferring research discoveries and intellectual
property at the University of Nebraska Medical Center into the marketplace.
Bell retired this summer after serving as president of the Greater Omaha
Chamber of Commerce the past 12 years.
As president of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Bob has been
a tremendous supporter of the Medical Center and the university, said
Harold M. Maurer, M.D., UNMC chancellor. As president, he and the Chamber
supported our effort to obtain tobacco settlement funds for biomedical
research. There is no person who better understands the relationship between
science and business development. He is extremely well thought of in Nebraska
and will be a real asset as we move forward to relate science to business
development and community benefit. We are delighted to have him on board
at UNeMed.
A native of Baltimore, Md., Bell joined the Chamber in 1989 after retiring
from the U.S. Navy as a vice admiral with 35 years active duty. He graduated
from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, in 1953. During his naval career
he held a variety of positions, serving in the U.S. and Europe. His area
of expertise was nuclear submarines. He wound up in Omaha when he was named
vice director of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff at Offutt Air
Force Base.
During Bells tenure as president of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce,
the staff grew from 26 to 43 people and its overall budget rose from $1.8
million to nearly $4.8 million. His many accomplishments as Chamber president
include initiating the Target Omaha campaign in 1994 to boost Omahas economic
development efforts and establishing the Applied Information Management
(AIM) Institute, the Omaha Job Clearing House and the Omaha Business Hall
of Fame.
Im excited to take on this new challenge, Bell said. Its especially
exciting to join an already established institution like UNMC and to have
the opportunity to be a player in helping UNMC and NHS become a world-renowned
health science center. I know first-hand the significant impact that UNMC
has on the community and the major contribution it makes to economic growth.
I have many years of experience in facilitating partnerships involving
business, government, education and the community, and I think those skills
make me a good match for this position. I appreciate the confidence that
Chancellor Maurer has placed in me, and I look forward to helping UNMC
achieve its goal of being a world-class facility.
Don Leuenberger, vice chancellor for business and finance, expressed
his optimism for what Bell brings to UNMC. Bob is a perfect fit for our
organization, he said. He is connected to the business world and has
a thorough understanding of what it takes to create business successes.
Im thrilled that he would join our team and allow us to tap into his
many talents. With UNMCs increasing interest in commercializing research,
Bob will play a key role in seeing that important research discoveries
find their way into the marketplace and that their business potential is
maximized. In addition, we see him playing a key role in representing the
chancellors office in a variety of community capacities.
Leuenberger said Bell will have six key responsibilities in his new
position:
biomedical technology advancement;
urban community development surrounding the campus;
fund-raising for facilities in conjunction with NHS;
UNMC/NHS collaboration in the community;
assisting with the legislative agenda;
assisting with implementation of the strategic plan.
UNeMed is a for-profit corporation that was established in 1992. Its
purpose is to develop and transfer UNMCs intellectual property to the
marketplace in an effort to maximize UNMCs long-term commercial benefit.
UNeMed provides the management, marketing and financial expertise necessary
to manage joint ventures with other partners and to facilitate the start
of Nebraska-based biotechnology.
UNMCs research activities have resulted in the discovery of more than
300 new inventions, more than 35 technology licenses and several technology-based
companies in Omaha. UNeMed/UNMC receives an average of 30 to 40 new invention
disclosures each year.