BEAUFORT, S.C., August 12, 2021 – Beaufort Digital Corridor announced today that Kevin Klingler has resigned from the organization's board of directors and his role as Chairman of the board effective as of June 18, 2021.

Mr. Klingler served as Chairman for 3 and a half years. Under his leadership, he created and pitched the BDC's entrepreneur and company development plan to the City of Beaufort which resulted in grant funding from the city. This plan was also used as the basis for the South Carolina Department of Innovation's $65,000 Relentless Challenges Grant which was awarded in January of 2019 and used to provide the incubator with resources to develop three companies, one of which has continued to thrive under his continued mentorship.

Mr. Klingler was on the core team of the Southcoast Cyber Center's Department of Defense Grant (OLDCC Grant) of $1.3 million. He wrote the BDC's strategic Cybersecurity plan for funding its portion of the grant. Through his leadership, he doubled the original suggested Corridor budget of $110,000 to $212,500.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Klingler closed an Angel (seed) Investment fund of $250,000 specifically for BDC incubating companies from Utah-based fund company JustStartGo. Mr. Klingler currently serves as a mentor for BDC resident company Rooler and expects to deploy the first of those funds to provide seed funding for the start-up in the next few months.

Mr. Klingler created strong relationships with area entities such as the Beaufort County Economic Development Corp, Bluffton's DRCI incubator, and Savannah's Creative Coast incubator, creating new opportunities for collaboration that will enhance the economic development of the entire region. He also created relationships with venture capitalists from Atlanta and Charleston, creating awareness for Beaufort's efforts in those cities and bona fide interest in supporting it financially.

After the January 2018 start of Mr. Klingler's tenure, the Corridor's BASEcamp incubator was full by the spring of 2019 and has remained a coworking facility, even throughout the pandemic.

He departs knowing the Corridor has a rock-solid foundation and a great team to continue to move it forward. Click here to read about the BDC's newly elected Board Chairwoman, Melissa A. Venable, Ph.D.