Ray Leach

Ray Leach is the founding CEO of JumpStart Inc. Under Ray’s leadership the Cleveland-based organization has gained national recognition for its innovative model and economic impact in Northeast Ohio, leading to its launch of its JumpStart America initiative in January 2011. One of the first implementation partners of the Startup America Partnership, Ray is leading JumpStart America’s effort to build public, private, and philanthropic partnerships across the country to develop and grow entrepreneurial ecosystems and transform regional economies. Ray began his career at IBM before founding and bootstrapping two startup companies. Both were sold to Multigraphics Inc. in 1997, after which Ray became Vice President of Sales. In 2000, he founded Capella Investments, Inc., an investment and management consulting firm focused on startup IT companies.

Prior to JumpStart, Ray taught at the MIT Sloan School of Management while earning his MBA as a Sloan Fellow. He also served as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence for CommonAngels, Boston’s largest angel investor organization. Ray is a member of the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), which supports the national innovation strategy by developing policies that foster entrepreneurship. He also serves on the board of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) which has over 400 members and serves as the voice of the United States venture capital community and advocates for policies that encourage innovation and reward long-term investment. Ray also earned a BA in Finance from the University of Akron.