Virginia Tech announced Thursday that Brett Malone will become the next president and CEO of the university’s Corporate Research Center (CRC), effective July 1. Malone succeeds longtime CRC President and CEO Joe Meredith, who retired in February after 27 years in the position.

A “triple Hokie” (earning his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Virginia Tech), Malone formed his first software company, Phoenix Integration, at the CRC after completing his doctorate in aerospace engineering. Since then, he has served in several executive roles at engineering, biotech and software companies in Virginia, Maryland, Colorado and California over the last 20 years.

“I started my career in the park,” Malone said in a statement. “I’m really looking forward to coming back. It’s very much full circle for me.”

After a national search, the Virginia Tech Foundation appointed Malone to the position, which he will start in a couple of weeks.

“I’m delighted to turn the reins of the CRC over to Brett,” Meredith said in a statement. “We share aerospace degrees, entrepreneurial spirits and a passion for Tech as alumni. His experience creating a software company, and more recently working with biotech companies, will help him contribute to the creation and growth of CRC’s next generation of companies.”

The CRC sits on 230 acres adjacent to Tech’s Blacksburg campus and is home to approximately 200 research, technology and support companies. Founded in 1985, it is a space for research and development for tech companies.

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