SFI has selected Will Tracy as its new Vice President for Strategic Partnerships. Tracy will begin work May 11 as VP Designate on a part-time consulting basis and, beginning July 1, will join SFI full-time as the VP for Strategic Partnerships.

The creation of a Strategic Partnerships group at SFI signals a shift toward a greater number and diversity of collaborative partnerships with companies, universities, nonprofits, and other organizations; it combines the previous functions of Advancement (responsible for relationships with SFI’s donor community) and the Applied Complexity Network (known as ACtioN, formerly the Business Network) into a new leadership role responsible for developing and maintaining all of the Institute’s high level partnerships.

“We are delighted that Will will be joining us as the new VPSP,” says SFI President David Krakauer. “He is uniquely qualified for this position, having a deep familiarity with business, education, and complexity science. Furthermore, he is familiar with SFI through his engagement with our international summer schools. With Will occupying this new position, our partnerships and our Applied Complexity Network (ACtioN) will increase in reach and relevance.”

Tracy has a longstanding relationship with SFI. He took part in the Institute’s Complex Systems Summer Schools in Beijing from 2004 to 2008, serving as an associate director, faculty member, assistant, and student during that time.

“SFI is one of my all-time favorite communities,” says Tracy. “I am thrilled to return at this exciting moment in the Institute’s history. David has laid out a bold vision for the new Strategic Partnerships group and ACtioN. Partnerships will play an increasingly important role in purposefully disseminating the insights and breakthroughs that occur at SFI. I look forward to working with David and the entire SFI community to help make this vision a reality.”

Tracy comes to SFI from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, where he is the undergraduate program director for the Lally School of Management, assistant professor of strategic management, and an affiliate faculty member of the Severino Center of Technological Entrepreneurship.

He is also a guest research faculty member of the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India; has worked for the World Bank in Washington, D.C.; and co-founded an internet advertising startup in the U.S., later establishing that firm’s office in Shanghai. He holds a PhD in management with a certificate in human complex systems from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.