Our Team

Zac Strobl is the Director of Northern Kentucky University's Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and an Entrepreneurship professor. Zac has played a major role in the success and growth of a multitude of university programs, businesses, and community initiatives. He co-founded and grew the INKUBATOR, a pre-seed stage  accelerator, into one of the top five university business accelerators in North America. Under his leadership, teams have raised $7.3 million in outside funds, created 64 jobs, and launched 37 businesses. Zac's background also includes launching multiple ventures, working at a start-up company, running/selling a family business, and consulting with start-ups/small businesses through the Small Business Development Center.

Jeff Varrone is the Assistant Director for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and serves as a faculty member in Entrepreneurship.  He also works with students on various events and academic programs to prepare them for business opportunities and to help create awareness of entrepreneurship across campus and in the community.  He joined the Entrepreneurship Program while completing his Master’s Degree with a focus on Entrepreneurship at NKU.

Dr. Schneider served as the CEO of Rem Brands, Inc., a technology incubator of high performance patented chemistries and proprietary formulas before joining NKU as the CIE Director. Spanning a 30-year career, he brings a wide variety of business experience to the CIE, from launching startups as an entrepreneur to guiding established public and private companies as the president/CEO. He has extensive experience negotiating and executing contracts in multinational environments including North America, Asia and Europe. Dr. Schneider is also the inventor on 29 granted patents as well as several pending patents and has leveraged this technical expertise to help other entrepreneurs pursuing intellectual-based businesses in the region.