Oregon State University Advantage

Nicholas Fowler owns Orion Ventures, LLC and is CEO of Northwest Medical Isotopes, LLC, a startup assuring a domestic supply of critical medical isotopes.  Mr. Fowler is a high technology industry veteran, serial entrepreneur, and active seed stage venture investor.   Spanning 25 years with the Hewlett-Packard Company, Mr. Fowler led the creation of several major new businesses including notebook computers, personal digital assistants, printing services, and internet sales and support.  He developed company strategies, created new business models, and managed large and complex global businesses.  Following his HP career, Mr. Fowler established Orion Ventures, LLC, an investment fund providing seed stage investments that continues to make two to four investments per year.

He serves on the Boards of portfolio companies, including: Perpetua Power Source Technologies, Inc., a startup commercializing thermoelectric power harvesting technology; ZAPS Technologies, Inc., a startup developing spectrophotometric detection instruments; TryEco, LLC, a startup advancing novel, starch-based super absorbent polymer technology; and Wave Sciences, LLC, a startup innovating signal processing technologies for audiology and security applications.

His public service commitments include Member, Committee of Visitors of the National Science Foundation (NSF);  Chairman of Oregon Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network (RAIN); Planning Commissioner for Benton County, Oregon; Public Safety Commissioner for the City of Albany, Oregon; member of the Oregon State University Executive Commercialization Advisory Council; Trustee of Whitworth University; and Advisor to Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s Regional Solutions Center.

Mr. Fowler holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University.  He and his wife, Sheila, a teacher at Crescent Valley High School, have three adult children and live in rural Benton County, Oregon.