Managing director of programs and senior director of administration to guide university innovation center’s second decade of growth
The Harvard Innovation Labs today announced two new additions to the university innovation center’s leadership team: Dr. Rebecca Xiong, managing director of programs and engagement; and Meagan Hall, senior director of administration.
“Over the last decade, the Harvard Innovation Labs evolved from a university-wide experiment for bringing together Harvard’s community of innovators and entrepreneurs, to a thriving ecosystem that nurtures many hundreds of student- and alumni-led ventures every year,” said Matt Segneri, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Executive Director of the Harvard Innovation Labs. “Our new leadership team shares a deep appreciation for the extraordinary quality and quantity of ventures that have come out of the Harvard Innovation Labs since it opened its doors in 2011, along with an enthusiasm for making our next decade even more impactful than the last.”
The Harvard Innovation Labs’ new leaders include:
Dr. Rebecca Xiong, managing director, programs and engagement
Dr. Xiong will spearhead a strategic portfolio of programming and resources for the Harvard Innovation Labs’ community of student and alumni innovators across industry sectors, including health and life sciences; social impact; consumer products and services; and business-to-business (B2B) technology.
Dr. Xiong brings to the Harvard Innovation Labs two decades of experience in the MIT startup ecosystem. She previously served as the program director of MIT Startup Exchange, which promotes collaboration and partnerships between 2,000 MIT-connected startups and industry. Prior to that, Dr. Xiong co-founded two startups: social analytics and marketing startup SocMetrics, and Going.com, an events social network that grew to one million members and was acquired by AOL. Xiong has also held positions at DataPower (acquired by IBM) and Akamai Technologies. She received a PhD in Computer Science from MIT, and did her thesis research at the MIT Media Lab.
Meagan Hall, senior director, administration
Hall will lead the university innovation center’s core business operations across finance, human resources, operations, technology, and marketing. In supporting leaders across divisions, Hall will oversee strategic planning, performance management, and risk and compliance.
Hall brings to the Harvard Innovation Labs more than 20 years of experience leading operations for universities and businesses. Prior to joining the Harvard Innovation Labs, Hall served as the senior director of business operations for Professional Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Previously, she was director of Harvard Extension School Professional Development programs; director of learning technology services for Harvard Business School; assistant dean for the Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College; and performance operations manager at Celebrity Series of Boston, one of the nation's most highly regarded independent performing arts presenting organizations.
