One of the longest-serving technology leaders in Georgia, Lee Herron, has died after a long battle with cancer.
On March 31, Herron retired from the Georgia Research Alliance, where he served for 16 years in various roles. When he retired, he was serving as GRA’s senior vice president, and he was leading the Greater Yield Initiative, which nurtures promising agricultural technologies to boost Georgia’s farm and agribusiness industries.
“It’s hard to articulate just how important Lee was to GRA,” wrote Tim Denning, GRA’s president and CEO, in an email Tuesday to technology stakeholders. “From 2008 until his retirement this past spring, he shaped and led our efforts to develop research findings into products and companies. This program, now called Innovation & Entrepreneurship, led to the formation of hundreds of startups out of university labs. The companies so far have attracted over $2.3 billion in venture investment — but more important, so many of them have delivered real benefit to people and businesses everywhere.”
At a GRA board meeting on Feb. 1, Herron spoke openly about his battle with cancer, which he had been waging for more than a decade. He said he wanted to keep contributing for as long as he could.
“Personally, Lee was wise and curious beyond measure,” Denning said. “His love of invention and science was ever-present in his work. His ability to engage and talk candidly with entrepreneurs made him a trusted mentor to many. Most importantly, he was a loving and dedicated husband, father and grandfather. He was proud of his family and always made them a priority.”
Susan Shows, who worked side-by-side Herron during his tenure at GRA, sent me an email to share the news and let me know how much she treasured the photo I took of her and Herron at their joint retirement party.
“He leaves a tremendous legacy,” Shows said. “I will miss him a lot.”
A visitation for Herron will be held on July 18 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Roswell Funeral Home at 950 Mansell Road in Roswell. It will be followed by a funeral service at 2:30 p.m.
Here is a tribute Denning shared with the GRA board when Herron’s retirement was announced:
Tribute to H. Lee Herron
Meeting of GRA Board of Trustees • February 1, 2024
Before we adjourn today… I’d like all of us to take a moment to celebrate an invaluable member of the GRA team.
Sixteen years ago, GRA had the foresight and wisdom to invite Lee Herron to come to work here. The year was 2008. The venture development program was off the ground and starting to gather momentum. A brilliant effort to help university researchers shape and start companies around their inventions … but also, an effort in great need of someone who knew how to scale it.
At the time, Lee was advising early-stage life sciences companies over at ATDC, the Advanced Technology Development Center, at Georgia Tech. But he was well-acquainted with GRA: A few years earlier, he had provided advice to Mike Cassidy and Susan Shows as they started this whole new venture enterprise for the Alliance.
Lee accepted the offer — and arrived fully prepared for the challenge. Aside from the six years he spent at ATDC, he had founded his own company, SeaLite Sciences, in the medical diagnostics sector. He was on the team of founders for three other bioscience startups. He’d established North America operations for a German biotech.
And before all of that – he’d earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from UGA, taking his first job at a practice in North Carolina. His predecessor at the practice, the vet who had just left, was another UGA-graduated DVM — by the name of Sonny Perdue.
It’s hard to overstate Lee’s impact on GRA’s venture development program these past 16 years.
- There are the metrics that are beyond impressive – and we have the latest numbers right here in our packets.
- There are the incredibly talented team members he’s worked with – Ashley, Connor, Andrew.
- There is GRA Venture Fund, a truly novel public-private fund that Lee helped to engineer, launch and grow.
- There’s the Greater Yield initiative, an out-of-the-box spinout effort that Lee just briefed us on.
But there’s something else … something more… to the difference Lee has made in the chapter of his career he’s spent with us.
Somewhere along the way, the staff gave Lee the nickname, “The Dream Killer.” It was in recognition of his ability to spot different variables around startups that others hadn’t yet thought of.
These are variables that help determine whether a startup will succeed. And when Lee pointed them out, it was often: Back to the drawing board.
But in my view, a better nickname is “The Dream Maker.” Getting an invention out of the lab and into the marketplace is a monumental challenge.
It takes extraordinary vision, planning and due diligence. Lee has set that bar high to prepare our university scientists and founders for the road ahead.
It takes a constellation of connections to get a business going and growing. Lee’s made countless introductions … and opened so many doors … for our young companies.
And it takes truly sage advice and counsel for startup leaders to make the right moves and best decisions. Lee has been unfailing in his patience … his candor … his encouragement … and his good humor.
Of the innumerable investments GRA has made in its 34-year history, one of the greatest is right here in this room today. Lee Herron.
