Michael Steele took the helm as Activation Capital’s President and CEO in August. A Virginia native, he returned to the Commonwealth after more than two decades of leadership experience as a life sciences executive. He recently set aside some time to answer a few questions about leading Virginia’s innovation ecosystem development organization into its next phase of growth.
What appealed to you about the President/CEO position with Activation Capital?
I see Activation Capital as an instrument to support Virginia’s life science ecosystem and to work with other stakeholders to take it from good to great. I grew up in Virginia but left after graduate school because there were not a lot of biotech opportunities in the Commonwealth at that time. Twenty plus years later, across four different states and multinational companies, I was looking for a way to give something back. I didn’t want the current generation to find themselves in the same situation I did when I got out of school.
Activation Capital can be the North Star and driving force for biotech in the greater Richmond area and possibly across the Commonwealth. As a vehicle to affect change in the life sciences ecosystem, I am confident we can create more jobs and opportunities for both current and future generations.
What do you see as the greatest challenge for the organization? What are the opportunities?
There seems to be some confusion about Activation Capital’s place in the ecosystem, especially given our long list of accomplishments. This organization was the developer of the 34-acre VA Bio+Tech Park. Activation Capital was instrumental in creating the Alliance for Building Better Medicine in order to make Central Virginia an APM hub and help reshore pharmaceutical manufacturing. Activation Capital also led the way in Central Virginia securing $53.4M in federal funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration under the Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) initiative. And in 2024, Activation Capital secured $5M in funding from GO Virginia for Project VITAL (Virginia Innovations and Technology Advancements in Life Sciences) to scale life sciences in Virginia, with our focus on Virginia’s economic Region 4.
While we have evolved over time, the common thread is all tied into attracting, cultivating, maturing, and retaining life science technologies and the companies driving their commercialization. We have to find new ways to build upon our foundation we and our partners have built in order to retain talent and support the life science ecosystem.
How can Richmond (and by extension Virginia) continue to expand as a life sciences/biotech hub?
We have to accelerate the current momentum by doubling down on the wide array of assets we bring to the table. Tie-ins to our entrepreneurial programming will attract talent, drive innovation, and help expand company footprints. We also have to develop a next generation strategic life science ecosystem roadmap and work with our partners to execute it. With Activation Capital demonstrating leadership in strategic planning, supporting our partners whenever possible, and executing our own projects in support of overall goals, I believe both the Richmond region and the Commonwealth will continue to grow as bio centers.
With the recent announcement of Astra Zeneca and Eli Lilly expanding their manufacturing to Virginia, what do you see as Activation Capital’s role regarding future biomanufacturing in the Commonwealth?
Four items are key: continued access to workforce talent, innovation and entrepreneurial hubs with close proximity to research facilities, favorable tax and incentive environments, and an advanced infrastructure.
We need to work with these companies and our partners to anticipate their needs and exceed their expectations. If we do that, we accelerate the likelihood that that other companies will follow.
Virginia is home to several research universities. How can we keep graduates in the Commonwealth instead of losing them to other areas like Boston and San Francisco?
Pound for pound I would put Virginia up against any state in terms of higher education. Our R1 universities do a great job. But almost half of Virginia’s college graduates leave the state within five or so years of graduating. This “brain drain” has to stop.
There has to be a concentrated effort across the Commonwealth to create more job opportunities and to support local environments favorable to life sciences and the recent announcements are a testament that all Commonwealth stakeholders are up to the challenge and delivering.
You recently embarked on a stakeholder “listening tour.” What have been some of the takeaways from those conversations?
There is general excitement with all the recent developments around the advanced manufacturing cluster, the general state of play for bio across the Commonwealth, and optimism around what the future holds. One of the questions that often comes up is how to capitalize on this momentum to get the flywheel spinning faster.
I think we need to re-evaluate our strategic roadmap and for Activation Capital to focus our efforts on the gaps. We have to demonstrate our leadership in assessing where we are along our pathway and filling any gaps, while also being supportive of our partners.
What are your interests and hobbies outside of work?
Being there for my family and spending time with them is incredibly important to me because I have spent so much time at the office and on business travel. I enjoy hiking, fishing, boating, and playing tennis.