Core Team
Rosemarie Truman
Founder and CEO, The Center for Advancing Innovation, INC.
Rosemarie Truman is an entrepreneur, growth strategist, distinguished corporate executive, angel investor and prolific startup catalyst. Currently, Rosemarie is the Founder and CEO of the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI), a 501c3 non-profit which has been coined “Tinder for Startups” and “Shark Tank on Steroids.” CAI’s mission to identify breakthrough inventions and maximize their commercial potential. Under Rosemarie’s leadership, CAI has earned numerous awards and recognition from Health and Human Services, the White House, the Federal Laboratory Consortium and more. CAI has also been featured in the Washington Post, Wired, Huffington Post, Nature, and several other publications. Rosemarie also serves as Director of the DC-metro chapter of the Founder Institute, the world’s largest startup accelerator program.
Rosemarie’s specialty is growth and investment strategy, having led growth strategies for 50 of the global Fortune 100 companies in over 15 countries. The strategies that Rosemarie led have resulted in $300+ billion in “net new” top line yearly revenue and 190+ new products on the market.
Prior to launching her own firm, Rosemarie spearheaded IBM’s Innovation strategy practice globally. At IBM, she was awarded IBM’s most laudable honor, the Golden Circle Award. In addition, she has also held notable leadership roles at Booz Allen Hamilton, Oracle, PRTM, and Marsh & McLennan, where she served as VP of global strategy. Rosemarie began her career at Goldman Sachs. Her core competencies are in leadership, strategy consulting, investment banking and entrepreneurship.
In her spare time, Rosemarie also writes for Forbes and sits on company boards.
Rosemarie Truman is an entrepreneur, growth strategist, distinguished corporate executive, angel investor and prolific startup catalyst. Currently, Rosemarie is the Founder and CEO of the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI), a 501c3 non-profit which has been coined “Tinder for Startups” and “Shark Tank on Steroids.” CAI’s mission to identify breakthrough inventions and maximize their commercial potential. Under Rosemarie’s leadership, CAI has earned numerous awards and recognition from Health and Human Services, the White House, the Federal Laboratory Consortium and more. CAI has also been featured in the Washington Post, Wired, Huffington Post, Nature, and several other publications. Rosemarie also serves as Director of the DC-metro chapter of the Founder Institute, the world’s largest startup accelerator program.
Rosemarie’s specialty is growth and investment strategy, having led growth strategies for 50 of the global Fortune 100 companies in over 15 countries. The strategies that Rosemarie led have resulted in $300+ billion in “net new” top line yearly revenue and 190+ new products on the market.
Prior to launching her own firm, Rosemarie spearheaded IBM’s Innovation strategy practice globally. At IBM, she was awarded IBM’s most laudable honor, the Golden Circle Award. In addition, she has also held notable leadership roles at Booz Allen Hamilton, Oracle, PRTM, and Marsh & McLennan, where she served as VP of global strategy. Rosemarie began her career at Goldman Sachs. Her core competencies are in leadership, strategy consulting, investment banking and entrepreneurship.
In her spare time, Rosemarie also writes for Forbes and sits on company boards.
Dr. Cody Locke
Chief Innovation Officer, The Center for Advancing Innovation, INC.
Dr. Cody Locke is Chief Innovation Officer of CAI. He leads CAI’s invention due diligence and portfolio analysis efforts. Cody led several initiatives for CAI, including the Brain Race, the SCALE Challenge, Freedom from Cancer Startup Challenge, VABeachBio Innovation Challenge, NASA SPACE RACE and the NIH Nanotechnology Startup Challenge in Cancer. Dr. Locke also orchestrates investor forums and pitch training for CAI's startups. Prior to working with CAI, he used genetics, microscopy and electrophysiology to investigate how the brain maintains normal function. Cody was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he completed a PhD in Neuroscience and was active in the Entrepreneurship Center. As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-supported researcher, Cody established C. elegans as an animal model of epilepsy and created the world's epilepsy genetics database. Cody is passionate about applying scientific discoveries and entrepreneurial spirit to advance knowledge.
Dr. Cody Locke is Chief Innovation Officer of CAI. He leads CAI’s invention due diligence and portfolio analysis efforts. Cody led several initiatives for CAI, including the Brain Race, the SCALE Challenge, Freedom from Cancer Startup Challenge, VABeachBio Innovation Challenge, NASA SPACE RACE and the NIH Nanotechnology Startup Challenge in Cancer. Dr. Locke also orchestrates investor forums and pitch training for CAI's startups. Prior to working with CAI, he used genetics, microscopy and electrophysiology to investigate how the brain maintains normal function. Cody was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he completed a PhD in Neuroscience and was active in the Entrepreneurship Center. As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-supported researcher, Cody established C. elegans as an animal model of epilepsy and created the world's epilepsy genetics database. Cody is passionate about applying scientific discoveries and entrepreneurial spirit to advance knowledge.