SPOTLIGHT on Devon Laney, COO of Innovation Depot Inc.
By Kathy Hagood
Although Devon Laney frequently is the youngest voice on many
business and nonprofit boards and committees, he’s taken a
leadership role in fostering the growth of the Birmingham metro
area.
Vice president of the Venture Club Board, as well as marketing
committee chair, Laney is the youngest member ever to serve on
that board.
Laney’s contributions as a mover and shaker have already earned
him such honors as his being chosen for 2010 Class of Leadership
Birmingham, and last year as one of the city’s “Top 40 Under
40.”
“I have a passion for business and want to get involved now in
helping shape the future direction of the city,” says the
31-year-old Chief Operating Officer of
Innovation Depot Inc.,
a high-tech and bio-tech business incubator in Birmingham.
Laney, who has been mentored for the past
five years by Chief Executive Officer Susan Matlock, helps
facilitates the growth of Innovation Depot’s dynamic new
enterprises by providing coaching, consulting and other support.
Located in downtown Birmingham the 140,000-square-foot incubator
provides young companies a full complement of services. It
operates in partnership with the University of Alabama in
Birmingham, allowing tenants to expand or contract their space
as their business grows or shrinks.
“A number of our clients have told us that without our
assistance and flexibility they likely wouldn’t have made it
though the downturn,” Laney says.
Originally from Centre, Ala., Laney received his first lessons
in sound business practices from his grandfather who had a farm
in that area.
“He wasn’t highly educated but he was a person of high integrity
who had gained great insights into what did and didn’t work in
business,” Laney says.
Another major influence was his
opting to major in international business at the University of
Alabama. His studies included a stint at the International
Business School in Groningen, the Netherlands. Not only did he
learn the Dutch perspective on business, he was also influenced
by students from many other parts of the world.
“I learned there are multiple ways of creatively solving
business challenges,” Laney says.
While working on his M.B.A. at UA Laney created
www.SoutheastConcerts.com. Then after graduating he worked for
Energen Corp. and Accenture LLP in Atlanta.
Currently Laney serves not only on business boards but also
several non-profits, including Birmingham’s Magic City Art
Connection, Alys Stephens Center Young Patrons and the UAB
Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Young Supporter’s boards.
He and his newly wedded wife Meg, an interior designer, live in
Crestwood with their three dogs. |
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