RTP's turning point.

• Author: Mildenberg, David
• Position: NC TREND: Triangle Region

Its hard to imagine a more influential board in North Carolina than the group running the Research Triangle Foundation, which oversees the world-famous research park. Members include Duke University's Richard Brodhead, UNC Chapel Hill's Carol Folt and N.C. State's Randy Woodson mixed with Bob Winston, Smedes York and other Triangle business leaders.

But powerful people can be the most demanding, so perhaps it isn't surprising that Bob Geolas is out after five years leading RTR The group announced his resignation on Sept. 14 for reasons that remained unclear at press time.

While RTP created North Carolina's reputation as a tech hot spot, much of the industry's growth in recent years has occurred in downtown Raleigh, where Red Hat and Citrix have enlivened the center city, and in downtown Durham at the startup-friendly American Underground campus.

Asked about RTP's key achievements in recent years, interim CEO Liz Rooks says, "We've been reconnecting with our university partners and we're looking at how RTP can help generate economic development throughout the state." That's not as specific as Geolas' Linkedln page, which notes RTP added 21 companies, 800 jobs and $1 billion in investment during his tenure.

The statement announcing Geolas' departure noted his efforts to shift RTP from a focus on selling property to multinational companies--big employers include Bayer, Cisco Systems and GlaxoSmithKline--to developing space for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Geolas, who graduated from N.C. State in 1988, had emphasized that the 57-year-old park needs a refresh to appeal to younger, tech-savvy workers. A former senior economic developer at N.C. State and...