Kirstie McCool
Kirstie is currently the Executive Director of GuideWell Innovation, where she works to connect Florida’s entrepreneurs and innovators with strategic opportunities at GuideWell and the broader the healthcare ecosystem. Before joining GuideWell, Kirstie was the President & CEO of the International Business Innovation Association, a global non-profit that serves over 900 business incubators, technology accelerators and economic development agencies in over 60 countries.
Kirstie has over 25 years of experience at technology companies including Sun Microsystems, Mentor Graphics and Lockheed Martin. She has also held executive roles at five venture-backed technology startups, including her role as co-founder and CEO of DigitalOwl. She raised over $15M in venture capital for these companies, and is the former Executive Director of the Winter Park Angels - a 50+ member angel investment group.
In addition to her experiences as an entrepreneur and investor, Kirstie led the financing and management of Florida’s Igniting Innovation and Starter Studio Technology Accelerators, which together directly resulted over $50 million in follow-on capital by participating companies. She also founded the Venture Lab at the University of Central Florida, where she facilitated the spin-out of three startup companies based on faculty inventions, and mentored hundreds of local entrepreneurs in business strategy and financing.
Kirstie is the recipient of the Orlando Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award, the Working Woman Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, and the Dr. W. Judson King Entrepreneurship Memorial Award. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Central Florida (UCF) and also earned her MBA from UCF.
