NEWS - Economic Development

SBJ Staff Report

Jan 4, 2011 - The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) announced today that Mark Lytle, formerly Director of GDEcD’s Foreign Direct Investment team, became Division Director of the Georgia Centers of Innovation (COI) on Jan. 1.

Lytle will provide strategic oversight and general management of the COI program, which accelerates the growth of six of the state’s strategic industries: aerospace, agribusiness, energy, life sciences, logistics and advanced manufacturing. He has been with the department since 2002 and has helped support the location of more than 40 companies and $1 billion investment in Georgia.

Most recently, he has served as Director of International Investment, managing teams based in Georgia and its international offices in Beijing, London, Munich, Seoul and Tokyo. Prior to that, Lytle was Director of Statewide Projects, and was responsible for domestic and international project assignments as well as managing the statewide project managers.

From 2006 until 2008, Lytle led the team responsible for recruiting Kia suppliers to Georgia. Before joining GDEcD, he was President and COO of Williams Power Corp., a nationwide industrial construction company, and Senior Vice President of Business Development at Law Engineering (now MACTEC), a global engineering company. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

“Mark Lytle is absolutely the right person to lead the Centers of Innovation,” said Chris Cummiskey, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “His broad diversity of experience in economic development and the private business sector gives him a unique perspective on the value the Centers of Innovation program can bring to companies and on its role in growing Georgia’s economy.”

Launched in 2003, the centers are located across the state and connect high growth-potential companies with university research and industry expertise as well as other Georgia resources, resulting in long-term job growth and increased statewide investment. A common goal of the centers is to help commercialize new products, services and business models in these industries.

The Centers of Innovation program is housed at GDEcD, ensuring a continued close-knit partnership with GDEcD’s industry-focused business recruitment and expansion teams and remaining an integral resource for companies seeking to grow in the state. 

In July 2011, the Centers of Innovation were integrated with the programs of the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), which came under the umbrella of the Department of Economic Development. He succeeds Sidney W. Elliott, Director of Strategic Planning and Program Evaluation for the GRA, who served as interim director of the Centers of Innovation prior to his retirement at the end of 2011.