Celebrating 35 Years of Reed McManigle's Contributions to Entrepreneurship in Pittsburgh

As this academic year comes to a close, the Scott Institute wants to wish a fond and well-deserved congratulations to Reed McManigle, Senior Manager and Mentor in Residence at the Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation (CTTEC). With over 35 years of experience in the entrepreneurship space, there are many in the Pittsburgh region and beyond who are celebrating Reed’s successful and impactful career.

Reed joined the CMU community in 2006 and has earned a reputation as CMU’s “Startup Guru,” advising students and researchers in protecting their intellectual property and developing their business strategies for technology commercialization. With a special interest in energy and cleantech, Reed has been involved in a wide array of Scott Institute initiatives. Beyond making connections and doing crucial outreach, he has supported the Scott Institute’s efforts for activities like the Cleantech University Prize and our Innovation Incubator Channel Partnership work.

“Reed has been absolutely critical in making CMU and the Scott Institute the research-to-market powerhouse that it is,” says Daniel Tkacik, Executive Director of the Scott Institute. “His impact on the CMU and regional innovation ecosystem is immeasurable.” 

He has also represented the Scott Institute and energy startups across the university at key conferences like the National Renewable Energy Lab’s Industry Growth Forum or the ARPA-E Summit. He recently shared his winning networking strategy with us: Wearing his CMU baseball hat, Reed stands guard at these conferences’ coffee table so that anyone who wants their caffeine must hear about CMU’s startup portfolio first.

Reed “has always taken a special interest to supporting energy-related efforts at CMU,” according to Jay Whitacre, former Director of the Scott Institute. “He is dynamic, dedicated and frequently goes beyond the call of duty. He is an excellent mentor, participates in several mentorship programs and is fantastic at making key connections between would-be collaborators and innovators.”

One example of Reed’s efforts to make connections takes shape annually in the CMU Energy Week Investor Forum and Startup Pitch Showcase. Every year, Reed invites a variety of investors from around the country to hear energy tech startups from Pittsburgh and the surrounding regions pitch their innovations. He also facilitates one-on-one meetings at the event and follow-up introductions for interested investors who can’t make the event in person. If you’re a startup working with Reed, you know you’re in good hands.

“I owe Reed McManigle much credit for making Farm to Flame Energy a success story,” said Kwaku Jyamfi (’20), Chief Executive Officer of Farm to Flame Energy, who worked with Reed on his startup. Reed’s “infectious enthusiasm has fostered a culture of innovation, driving our team as well as others in the cleantech ecosystem – the very one he helped create and thrive in the Pittsburgh region – to surpass expectations and create lasting change.”

In addition to his roles within the university, Reed has also helped with the West Virginia University, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh Engines Project. A National Science Foundation-funded initiative, this project aims to bolster grid resiliency and improve decarbonization efforts in the Southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia region. Reed is involved on both the planning committee and the translation to practice committee.

Costa Samaras, Director of the Scott Institute, said, “Reed’s mentorship to the CMU community has already had a huge impact on entrepreneurship, and it will reverberate forever. CMU is a great place because of Reed and we all strive to be like him.”

The innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Pittsburgh will benefit from Reed’s involvement for years to come, and we look forward to keeping in contact with Reed as our newly-retitled “Mentor in Retirement.”