50 word version:
Stephen spent 15 years in operations roles in telecom companies and has 25 years of experience as a technology-focused investor. Stephen retired (2004) from the NSF-funded Center for Quantum Networks at the University of Arizona. He is the founder and chair of the Arizona Space Business Roundtable.
100 word version:
Stephen trained as a physicist, and spent 15 years in operations roles at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Nortel Networks, and a venture-funded startup. He has 25 years of experience as a technology-focused venture capitalist and angel investor. Stephen moved to Tucson in 2017 to develop the University of Arizona’s engagement with the private sector, where retired (2004) from the NSF-funded Center for Quantum Networks. He is an investor in over a dozen private aerospace startups, a founding member of the Space Angels Network, and is the founder and chair of the Arizona Space Business Roundtable.
At various times, Stephen Fleming has been paid to be an optical physicist, laser fabricator, software developer, field engineer, product manager, corporate trainer, marketing executive, salesman, general manager, entrepreneur, author, venture capitalist, board member, investment banker, consultant, angel investor, public speaker, adjunct university faculty, commercial landlord, academic bureaucrat, and economic developer.
As a venture capitalist, Stephen has over 15 years of private equity experience at the General Partner level. Prior to his venture capital career, he spent 15 years in operations roles at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Nortel Networks, and LICOM (a venture-funded startup).
An Atlanta native and summa cum laude graduate of Georgia Tech, Stephen returned to his alma mater in mid-2005 where he served as Vice President, Economic Development and Technology Ventures, Executive Director of the Enterprise Innovation Institute at Georgia Tech, and Director of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). He moved to Tucson in 2017 to serve as Vice President, Strategic Business Initiatives, at the University of Arizona, where he focused on improving the university’s engagement with the private sector. Since 2020, he maintained that focus as Director, Strategic Partnership and Innovation, for the NSF-funded Center for Quantum Networks, headquartered at UArizona. Stephen also joined Arizona FORGE as its first Executive-in-Residence in July 2020, where he applies nearly forty years of experience to help UArizona students, community entrepreneurs, and corporate members of FORGE. He retired from his U of A roles in June 2024.
Stephen is active in the “alternative space” industry; he is an investor in over a dozen private aerospace companies and is a founding member of the Space Angels Network. He is the founder and chair of the Arizona Space Business Roundtable. He also maintains a consulting business at Boostphase. Mr. Fleming serves on the boards of the Arizona Technology Council and DM50. Formerly, he served on the boards of the Technology Association of Georgia and of Culture Connect, a not-for-profit fostering cultural fluency between immigrants and the community at large. He is a former board member of the Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta, and of Tech High School, a charter high school that emphasized science, math, and technology in urban Atlanta. He is a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2014.
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Updated August 2024.
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