The Advanced Technology Development Center, the state of Georgia’s technology startup incubator, has named José Mallabo startup catalyst for Savannah. In this role, he will manage the incubator’s ATDC @ Savannah programming.

Mallabo is the co-founder and chief executive of Vireo Labs, a company that develops career path discovery and education planning tools. The company also developed C’reer, which is designed to make career and college exploration accessible to everyone. He now leads corporate strategy, product development, UX/UI design, fundraising, channel sales/marketing, partnership development, and he manages the board of advisors. 

He has extensive experience in e-commerce, social media, and mobile from his work in global corporate communications and marketing positions at eBay, LinkedIn, GSI Commerce, and Ketchum Public Relations. While at eBay he worked on more than 40 acquisitions and joint ventures around the world and created the eBay Classifieds Group brand to house its multiple online classifieds sites in Europe, North America, and Asia. At LinkedIn, Mallabo launched offices in Mumbai, Toronto, Amsterdam, and Sydney as part of the company’s international expansion.

“With the work ATDC has done to establish a base of technology startups and with the talent and resources in Savannah, its potential to become a draw for entrepreneurs in the region is tremendous,” Mallabo said. “My objective is to continue the great work of other catalysts and mentors, while extending community building to other areas of the business sector to ensure we mobilize every resource possible to grow this tech economy.”

His experience as an entrepreneur, working with some of the world’s biggest technology companies, and deep ties in Savannah, made him a great choice for the position, said Amy Love, the ATDC @ program manager. ATDC @ takes the incubator’s education and programming across the state and, in addition to Savannah, operates in Alpharetta, Athens, Augusta, Peachtree Corners, and FlatironCity in downtown Atlanta.

“José has worked with Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, and Kodak and early stage companies across several technology sectors,” Love said. “That gives him keen insight into what startups need to learn, launch, scale, and succeed, as well as how to connect large corporations with innovative startups.”

A former senior vice president of marketing and public relations at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Mallabo also serves on the boards of Healthy Dining Finder, a nutrition technology company, and IDEA, an education technology nonprofit. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in communications from La Salle University and a master’s degree in mass communications from San Diego State University.