BUFFALO, N.Y. — Launch New York, a Buffalo–based venture-development organization for upstate New York, announced it has appointed George Chamoun as chairman of the board.
Chamoun, president of sales & marketing at Synacor Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNC), takes the reins from Launch NY co-founder David Colligan, managing partner at Colligan Law LLP and new trustee for the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, according to a Launch New York news release.
”Since joining the Launch NY board, George has contributed his deep entrepreneurial expertise, insights and energy toward creating long term plans for Launch NY,” Colligan said in the release. “The timing is ideal for an entrepreneur of his caliber to take on the chairmanship, given the high priority for growing the region through promising startup businesses.”
Launch NY says it is focused on making the 27 counties of Upstate a “thriving hub of start-up business activity.” It seeks to connect all of Upstate’s entrepreneurship education and programs to a pathway to success by generating proof-of-concept capital and providing mentoring support.
Chamoun, a Syracuse native, co-founded Synacor in 2000 through the merger of MyPersonal, a portal company, with Chek.com, a messaging provider. Prior to the creation of Synacor, Chamoun was co-founder and CEO of Chek.com. He has been recognized for his accomplishments throughout the cable and telecommunications industry, according to the release. Chamoun oversees Synacor’s sales, account management, business development, and marketing activities.
“Knowing the challenges of starting and growing a business, I am committed to Launch NY’s mission to drive startup ‘wins’ and a self-sustaining entrepreneurial ecosystem that transforms the regional economy,” Chamoun said in the release. “I am honored to become chairman with a vision to continue the organization’s momentum by building a robust nonprofit seed fund that will increase the impact of our well-established mentoring services.”
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