Chester County Economic Development Council (CCEDC) has announced new leadership and honored Michael S. Harrington, one of its chief supporters and founding members.

Since 2013, Harrington has been the board chair of the CCEDC's Ideas x Innovation Network (i2n), a public-private partnership that serves life sciences and advanced technology companies. Harrington is a partner at Fox Rothschild and was presented with i2n's Golden Hammer Award in recognition of countless deals hammered into place, dozens of board meetings gaveled to order, and years of leadership to the startup community. Last year, i2n announced that its client companies had surpassed $250 million in funding raised.

Guy Fardone, executive chair of Bridgepointe Technologies, has been elected incoming board chair, and Christopher F. Wright, shareholder at McCausland Keen + Buckman, is vice chair, effective July 1.

This summer marks i2n's 10th anniversary. Founded in 2012 as a merger between the Delaware County and Chester County Keystone Innovation Zones, i2n is a public-private partnership that has served hundreds of entrepreneurs and early-stage companies, resulting in more than 2,000 direct jobs created, $16.3 million in grants and innovation tax credits, and $257 million in startup capital raised. Serving software, biotech, medical services, digital health, clean tech, and additional sectors, funding support includes access to KIZ tax credits, pitch coaching and business development strategy, state and federal R&D tax credits, guidance for SBIR and STTR applications, and seed and bridge funding from a regional network of individual and group investors.

Entrepreneurs interested in becoming involved with i2n and its network of supporters can attend the organization's free i2n Entrepreneurs Roundtable Series. For information, contact i2n director Patrick Hayakawa at phayakawa@ccedcpa.com.

More information about i2n is available at http://www.i2npa.org.

The CCEDC is a private, nonprofit economic development organization promoting smart growth in Chester County and the surrounding region for more than 60 years. For more information, visit https://ccedcpa.com/.