OCTANe Announces Bill Carpou as New President and CEO

ALISO VIEJO, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 12, 2015) - The Orange County Technology Action Network (OCTANe) today announced that Bill Carpou has been selected as the next President and CEO of OCTANe.

Carpou will be integral in helping OCTANe to connect people and resources to drive technology industry growth enabling new company creation and new jobs in Orange County. Through its LaunchPad™ SBDC accelerator, programs and signature events, OCTANe is also on a mission to create 10,000 new jobs in Orange County by 2020. Since the start of the LaunchPad™ program in 2009, more than 3,500 new jobs have been created in Orange County by LaunchPad™ companies.

"We are delighted to have Bill as the next CEO of OCTANe," commented David Perry, Chairman of OCTANe's board of directors. "He brings a unique combination of high technology, leadership, and investment experience and will complement the team in a very positive way."

Carpou joins OCTANe after an accomplished career, most recently at Kaplan Performance Solutions; as Executive Vice President and Partner at RGIS, a Blackstone portfolio company; Profit Recovery Partners, a privately held professional services firm; and 18 years in a variety of senior executive positions with IKON Office Solutions. Prior to joining IKON Office Solutions, Mr. Carpou served as Vice President of Investments for Merrill Lynch in Philadelphia.

"I am very excited to be a part of this team," noted Carpou. "Building the technology ecosystem within this region will have a lasting impact for all of us and our children. By working together, we can leverage the outstanding capabilities within Orange County to ensure that new entrepreneurial companies continue to be formed, existing mid-cap companies continue to grow, and large companies continue to flourish in our regional innovation clusters."

In 2014 alone, OCTANe produced more than 50 educational events and conferences that were attended by more than 6,000 people. Additionally, more than 50 companies participated in the LaunchPad™ SBDC accelerator in 2014 and in aggregate raised more than $150 million.

"I am delighted with the committee's selection," remarked outgoing CEO and continuing board member Matthew Jenusaitis. "We have all worked hard to build the organization to make a lasting impact on Orange County, and Bill is a superb choice to lead us toward our goal of building new companies and creating 10,000 new jobs in Orange County by 2020."

Carpou has a bachelor's degree in marketing from Villanova University. He has served on the board of the Barclay Theatre, serves on the Dean's Advisory board at the Villanova School of business and is a member of the Chief Executive Roundtable at the University of California, Irvine. He resides in Laguna Beach.

He will assume his full-time responsibilities on March 30.

About OCTANe

OCTANe connects people and resources to drive technology industry growth enabling new company creation and new jobs in Orange County. Its members represent Orange County technology executive leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, academicians, and strategic advisors, all working together to fuel innovation in the OC. The organization has helped more than 800 companies via the LaunchPad™ SBDC accelerator. LaunchPad™ companies have received more than $700 million in investment and equity exits. These investments have supported the creation of more than 3,500 new jobs in Orange County. OCTANe annually welcomes more than 6,000 people to its programs and events. More than 2,000 business leaders throughout the Orange County region are OCTANe members. For more information, visit www.octaneoc.org.