Directory Entry For: Jack Manzella

Biography

Jack Manzella is the Director of Community Engagement and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Louisville College of Business, where he works to connect students, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and the broader Louisville startup ecosystem. He also serves as Managing Director of the College’s Sandbox program and teaches entrepreneurship and venture development to graduate students.

In addition to his work at UofL, Jack is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Sofab Inks, an advanced materials startup developing technologies for next-generation perovskite solar cells. At Sofab, he leads business operations, commercialization, strategic partnerships, and customer development as the company works with solar manufacturers and research organizations around the world.

Jack is a certified NSF I-Corps instructor and has participated in both regional and national I-Corps programs as a founder. Through his work at UofL, he mentors student and faculty entrepreneurs, supports early-stage ventures, and develops programs that help founders validate ideas, build businesses, and bring new technologies to market.

Prior to founding Sofab Inks, Jack worked at FirstBuild, GE Appliances’ innovation lab, where he helped develop and commercialize new products using rapid product development, customer discovery, and entrepreneurial methods. He began his career in GE Appliances’ IT Leadership Program, with a focus on cloud technology and AWS.

Jack earned his B.S. from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and his MBA from the University of Louisville. He also holds a Distilled Spirits Business Certificate from UofL and an Executive Degree from the University of Indiana Bloomington in IT Management.

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