Stephen Olenick

Mr. Olenick is the founder of R&D Initiatives LLC established in 2011 to connect innovative small businesses with the resources to commercialize their ideas. Steve is a 39 year veteran of the US Military communications market. His breadth of experience includes 10 years as a US Army R&D engineer followed by 25 years as a government R&D/Product contractor. After retiring for a weekend in 2007 he spent 4 years as a consultant to a large communications equipment supplier to the US Military. During his contractor tenure he has worked for large contractors, second tier suppliers and one small business that won numerous SBIR contracts (commercializing some) and was successfully sold. Positions included Project Engineer, Systems Engineer, Principal Engineer, Program Manager, Director of Finance and Accounting, Director of Engineering and COO. His professional memberships include the WIN Forum, AUSA, AFCEA and IEEE, currently serving on the Executive Committee of the Cincinnati Chapter.

His education includes a BSEE from Youngstown State University, a MSEE from Fairleigh Dickinson University-Ft. Monmouth Extension and an MBA from the University of Cincinnati. He has also taken numerous short courses and holds one patent.