Saul Kaplan
Executive Director
Saul Kaplan is the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. Kaplan serves as the Executive Counselor to the Governor on Economic Growth and Community Development.
Kaplan is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Quonset Development Corporation and for the Slater Technology Fund. He also is a member of the Board of Directors for Family Services of Rhode Island and for The Big Picture Company.
Kaplan created and leads Rhode Island's unique Innovation @ Scale economic development strategy aimed at increasing the state's capacity to grow and support an innovation economy, including an effort to turn the state's compact geography and close-knit public and private networks into a competitive advantage. Kaplan was appointed by Governor Carcieri to the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council.
Kaplan is also the founder and Chief Catalyst of the Business Innovation Factory (BIF), a non-profit dedicated to enabling collaborative innovation. Kaplan started the non-profit in 2004 with a mission to bring public and private sector partners together to explore and test better ways to deliver value. As Chief Catalyst, Kaplan oversees BIF's portfolio of Collaborative Innovation Projects — projects with transformational potential in areas including health care, security, education, ubiquitous computing and customer experience innovation.
Prior to his state leadership role in economic development Kaplan served as a Senior Strategy Partner in Accenture's Health & Life Science practice and worked broadly throughout the pharmaceutical, medical products, and biotechnology industry. His work focused on assisting organizations in the design and implementation of global strategies to bring new products to market faster and increase the profitability of existing products. In addition to his client-focused work, Kaplan held many practice leadership roles within the organization and was instrumental in the formation and rapid growth of Accenture's pharmaceutical and medical products practice.
Prior to his career in management consulting, Kaplan spent eight years working for the Pharmaceutical Division of Eli Lilly and Company. As a Marketing Plans Manager, Kaplan was responsible for developing the launch strategy and successful introduction of Prozac into the U.S. market.
Kaplan holds an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute focusing on the strategic management of technology and a BS in Pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island.
Phone: 401-278-9100 ext. 130
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