Dr. Michael Helmstetter serves as Founder and President of TechAccel LLC (Technology Acceleration Partners) and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of RNAissance Ag.
TechAccel is a first-of-its-kind private capital development company that invests in, acquires, and accelerates early-stage discoveries and technologies in agriculture, animal health, and food ingredient sectors. TechAccel targets higher risk innovatons in need of advancement capital coupled to scientific expertise. The innovations are advanced in collaboration with Global Strategics, Universities and/or emerging start-up companies.
Before founding TechAccel, Michael served as the fifth President and Chief Executive Officer of MRIGlobal – one of the nation’s most prominent research institutions. Over his 14 years with MRIGlobal (formerly Midwest Research Institute), he was critical to the growth of MRIGlobal from 2 locations to 17 locations in 9 states, as well as several international locations. He was integral to the spin-off of several companies and played a leadership role in the company’s win of a $1 billion Department of Energy contract.
Michael has more than 30 years of experience working with both the private sector and government agencies. His start-up, spin-off and technology advancement expertise spans many sectors including agriculture, defense and biotechnology. His personal success in laboratory research and development covers biotechnology, toxicology, chemical instrumentation, sampling designs and complex data analysis.
Michael received a Ph.D. in Chemical Toxicology/Oceanography from Old Dominion University and a B.S. in Biology from Allegheny College. He has been a panelist, keynote speaker, lecturer, reviewer to several journals, and is the author of numerous publications, technical articles, book chapters, and technical reports. He is a contributing opinion writer for Forbes.com.
He serves as Managing Partner of Covenant Animal Health Partners, a TechAccel subsidiary that focuses on development of “revenue-ready” animal health products for both companion and farm animals. He has served on numerous boards and committees including:
Labconco Corporation Board of Directors
Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute Board of Directors
University of Missouri-Kansas City Board of Trustees
Animal Health Corridor Advisory Board
Kansas City Area Development Council Board of Directors
Civic Council of Greater Kansas City Member
Greater Kansas City Chamber Board of Director, Executive Committee and Big 5 Committees for Animal Health and Entrepreneurship
Michael lives in suburban Kansas City. You can reach him via the TechAccel website (
www.TechAccel.net), on Twitter (@Tech_Accel) and LinkedIn (
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhelmstetter).
