It was a goal that many leaders in the Cleveland area thought
was unachievable. But Baiju R. Shah had faith that a dramatic
increase in the region’s investment in the biosciences could
and should be made.
And so BioEnterprise was born, helping Cleveland to become a
hot spot for the bioscience industry, life sciences and economic
development. The organization is actually a partnership of Case
Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, Summa Health
System and University Hospitals.
A value-driven organization, BioEnterprise defines its success by
the success of its clients and the community. Shah, the company’s
founding executive, president and CEO, has built a culture of team-work and collaboration in which the company works with external
partners toward a common goal.
Business development team members are empowered to develop relationships, make decisions and work together and are held
accountable through team performance. Shah works to cultivate
relationships between entrepreneurs, Cleveland’s research institutions, the region’s political powers and venture capital firms to support the effort.
Shah founded the “Summer on the Cuyahoga” program in 2002 to
create opportunities for area college students who are not from the
Cleveland area to spend their summers living and working in
Cleveland. The program is geared to reducing the region’s brain
drain and has involved more than 100 Cleveland companies.
BioEnterprise is different from other organizations in that it’s not
really an organization at all but rather an initiative. It was created
so that a well-functioning, entrepreneurial bioscience community
could become established to foster the growth of talent, ideas and
capital for bioscience development.
Through Shah’s strong leadership, other regions around the country are attempting to replicate the success of BioEnterprise and are
seeking guidance from Shah as they look to create similar programs.
Shah is well on his way to leading the initiative to its goal of helping people around the world live better lives.
HOW TO REACH: BioEnterprise, www.bioenterprise.com or (216) 658-3999
