South Carolina Research Authority adds to executive team

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The South Carolina Research Authority has a new director of finance and administration who also will serve as treasurer of SC Launch Inc.

The SCRA appointed Laura Terry to the position, where she will be responsible for leading the strategic direction of the organization’s finance and administration function, according to a news release from SCRA.

Terry has more than 20 years of executive leadership experience in finance and administration, most recently as vice president and chief financial officer of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in Charlottesville, Va. The foundation owns and operates Monticello, the only U.S. presidential and private home on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage List. She also served as treasurer of the Darden School Foundation, which supports the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

“I am happy to welcome Laura to the SCRA team,” SCRA Executive Director Bob Quinn said in the news release. “We are a close-knit group of professionals passionate about fueling innovation in South Carolina, and Laura has already displayed this same level of passion. In addition, she has a wealth of experience and new ideas for supporting our mission and helping those we serve.”

Terry earned two degrees from the University of Virginia, a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the McIntire School, and an MBA from the Darden School. She is a licensed CPA and a Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional, the release said.

She replaces John Sircy, who retires on June 30.

“John Sircy has been a vital and effective leader in the SCRA family,” Quinn said in the release. “We had many successes and reached many milestones with him leading our finance and administration. We wish him the best in his retirement.”

Chartered in 1983 by the state a public, nonprofit corporation, SCRA was created to fuel the South Carolina’s innovation economy through the impact of its comprehensive services to technology-based startups, academia and industry. SCRA provides funding and support to accelerate the growth of academic startups; high-quality lab and administrative workspaces; facilitation and funding for partnerships between and among industry, startups, and academic institutions; assistance and funding for the relocation of technology-based companies to South Carolina; and coaching and funding for startups that may also receive investments from its affiliate, SC Launch Inc.