Startup Junkie Foundation of Fayetteville on Monday announced that Grace Gill has been named director of the entrepreneurial support organization’s Fuel Accelerator program.
Gill has worked for Startup Junkie since 2022. As Fuel Accelerator’s operations manager, she led key elements of program logistics and supported founders across multiple cohorts, including health technology, cybersecurity, and AI/machine learning. The AI/machine learning cohort begins next month.
In her new role, Gill will guide Fuel’s overall strategy, lead program delivery and work to deepen engagement with partners and stakeholders.
“We’re incredibly proud to have Grace in this leadership role,” Caleb Talley, executive director of Startup Junkie, said in the news release. “She’s dedicated herself to the program since her first day on the job and has been instrumental to Fuel’s evolution. Her passion, operational expertise, and ability to connect with founders make her the right leader for Fuel’s next chapter.”
Joining Gill this fall is Permjot Valia, who’s assuming the role of entrepreneur in residence and senior adviser. He’ll provide direct mentorship to cohort companies, lead workshops iand support Fuel’s broader mission of growing scalable ventures in Arkansas.
Since launching in 2018, the 10-week Fuel Accelerator has supported 10 cohorts and 84 companies from 21 states and 11 countries. Collectively, the ventures have raised more than $250 million in capital, opened dozens of offices or new headquarters in Arkansas, and created more than 170 jobs in the state, according to the release.
Sign up for Daily E-news
