
Steven Wilson
Executive Director
Email: sbwilson@umich.edu
Phone: (734) 998-6221
Connect with Steve on LinkedIn
Steven B. Wilson is Executive Director of the Economic Growth Institute at the University of Michigan. Steve provides leadership to EGI, ensuring the guidance and resources to achieve the institute’s vision of equitable economic growth and maintain EGI as an integral part of the university’s mission. Steve also teaches graduate level innovation and technology commercialization courses in the University of Michigan College of Engineering Center for Entrepreneurship.
Steve has a passion for building diverse high performing organizations to address the challenges of technology commercialization, disruption, and economic shock. A native of Michigan, Steve has worked with companies and communities in all corners of the state and the great lakes basin, and he is excited to apply his wisdom to emerging needs.
Prior to his current role, Steve was a Senior Research Program Officer, Director of Innovation Services, and Managing Director of the Economic Growth Institute. Steve has over 35 years of experience in leadership, economic development, product development and manufacturing operations. He started his professional career at McDonnell Douglas, first in manufacturing then as a flight test engineer. He moved on to manage in the design office and key programs for the Boeing Company. Later as an executive at Boeing, Steve directed manufacturing, product development, supply chain, finance, sales and marketing, and strategic planning.
After Boeing, he operated his own consulting firm supporting high-tech startups and various business operations, which led to a transition from consulting to his role with the University. For the past 15 years, Steve has created and deployed business assistance and technology innovation programs at the University of Michigan. The many highly successful programs have been centered on manufacturing, high tech start-ups and commercialization in various sectors of science, technology and advanced manufacturing. He developed, directed and was Principal Investigator for numerous EGI programs.
Steve holds an MBA from Pepperdine University, a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cal-Poly, and completed executive education in Measurement and Control of Organizational Performance at the Ross School of Business at Michigan.
Steve and his wife Julia have 4 children and 2 grandchildren and spend as much time with them as possible.