Nashville Entrepreneur Center Names New President and CEO

Stuart McWhorter

John R. Ingram, Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Nashville Entrepreneur Center, has announced Stuart McWhorter, Chairman and Co-founder of Clayton Associates, as The Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s new President and CEO, beginning April 9.

McWhorter will succeed Michael Burcham, who announced plans to leave the nonprofit for the private sector in December. Burcham was the EC’s founding President and CEO since 2010.

McWhorter has been Chairman of venture capital firm Clayton Associates, and will continue as a member of its board of directors. His background is in venture capital, business planning, and finance. He is a graduate of Clemson University, and earned his masters in health administration fro the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He and wife Leigh Anne Hendrix have five children and attend Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood.

Additionally, McWhorter serves on the boards of directors at FirstBank of Tennessee, the Tennessee Business Roundtable, and Nashville’s Agenda Steering Committee.

“We have searched far and wide to identify the right CEO for the next phase in the EC’s growth and service,” Ingram said. “We knew it was critically important to assess where the EC is in its development – and in light of its stature now as a known and successful organization. It was important first to understand the requirements of this next phase and then to identify and recruit the best possible leader for what the EC needs now. Stuart McWhorter is the right CEO for this dynamic next period.”

McWhorter says he is “excited to become part of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center family and ecosystem. A strong foundation of success has been established, and I look forward to building off of its platform to make this the gold standard locally, regionally and nationally.”

“Nashville’s entrepreneurial spirit is easy to see in the many innovative and creative individuals in music, healthcare and other sectors in our city, and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center has established itself and our city as a leading locale for start-ups and their founders,” Mayor Karl Dean said. “Stuart McWhorter knows what it takes to lead and develop companies from bright ideas into thriving companies, having done exactly that for several industries in the Middle Tennessee region.He has a keen eye for budgets, planning and simply making businesses better at filling niches and serving their customers. I know Stuart, and he is an excellent choice to lead the EC into its next phase of growth and continue our city’s momentum as the best place to start a new business.”