(Originally published: Teknovation.biz)

(If you’re interested in joining the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council as a mentor, click here.)

A well-known player in two of the Launch Tennessee-supported mentor networks has an additional assignment as of today.

Gary Rawlings begins a part-time role as a Technology Consultant working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) “Innovation Crossroads” start-ups.

“We’ve known Gary for several years and have always been impressed with his knowledge and experience in both the corporate and start-up realms,” says Tom Rogers, ORNL’s Director of Industrial Partnerships and Economic Development. “As we’ve grown ‘Innovation Crossroads’ to eight companies and have opened applications for six more, he’ll be a great addition to our team.”

Rawlings and his wife moved to Murfreesboro in early 2015 to be closer to two of their three children who live there. Prior to that, he had spent his weeks commuting seven hours each way from their home in Greensboro, NC to Columbus, OH where Rawlings served for six years as Vice President for Commercialization at TechColumbus, the non-profit now known as Rev1 Ventures. That work followed a more than three-decade corporate career that included nearly 24 years with Monsanto.

The Houston TX native is a mentor in programs operated by the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council’s and Life Science Tennessee with support from Launch Tennessee. Rawlings also serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Cumberland Emerging Technologies in Nashville.