CEO of JumpStart to present Morgan Lecture on March 18

Published on March 02, 2026

College of Business and Economics

ASHLAND, Ohio – Lorne Novick, the CEO of JumpStart, Inc., will be the keynote speaker at Ashland University’s 2026 Burton D. Morgan Lecture on Wednesday, March 18. The program is free and open to AU students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as the Ashland community, with advanced registration. It will begin at 11 a.m. (doors open at 10:45 a.m.) in the Faculty Room of the John C. Myers Convocation Center (820 Claremont Ave.).

As CEO of JumpStart, Novick leads a nationally recognized venture development organization providing capital, services and connections to help entrepreneurs grow and innovate. Overall, he possesses nearly three decades of diverse leadership background in law, business operations and entrepreneurship, and his career reflects a consistent focus on innovation and impact.

Prior to his appointment as CEO, Novick held a progression of senior roles at JumpStart, including chief services officer in which he oversaw statewide entrepreneurial services, capital initiatives and key strategic partnerships.

Before joining JumpStart, Novick served as legal counsel for the Cleveland Browns where he negotiated high-profile partnerships and supported organizational growth. He also was the chief administrative officer at Baunfire Athletics, a startup focused on performance-driven sports apparel, and taught as an adjunct professor at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Novick earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Miami University and also holds both a juris doctor and MBA from Case Western Reserve University.

To register for the Morgan Lecture, please RSVP by Friday, March 13, at this link or email Tom Sudow, director of the Burton D. Morgan Center at AU, at tsudow@ashland.edu.

AU’s Burton D. Morgan Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, established in 2003, focuses on serving the educational needs of all academic disciplines by actively promoting, encouraging and developing entrepreneurial knowledge through experiential learning. The center facilitates, and its programs, serve as a vital tool in the overall integration of entrepreneurship across the AU campus, allowing students opportunities to practice entrepreneurial skills and to receive mentorship in a low-risk environment.