Ms. Karen Robinson Cope, co-founder and senior vice president of business development at NanoLumens, has been presented the Atlanta Outstanding Entrepreneur Award by the Mercer University Stetson School of Business, which lauded her for her mentorship of young professional women and entrepreneurial spirit.
Mercer University made the presentation last month at the Stetson School of Business 2015 Entrepreneurial Festival in Atlanta.
- "Karen Robinson Cope is a serial entrepreneur who has been CEO of four high-growth ventures over the last two decades," said Dr. Susan P. Gilbert, Dean of the Stetson School of Business. "She has raised over $100 million for her companies, more than any other woman in Georgia. She was named Women in Technology's (WIT) first Woman of the Year in Technology in 2000."
Karen Robinson Cope was chairwoman, president and CEO of Enrev Corporation, a technology firm, which was acquired in 2001. Next, she led Prime Point Media, one of the largest out-of-home advertising companies in the U.S., as president and CEO, which she sold to a public company in 2006. That same year, she and her husband, Richard "Rick" Cope, founded NanoLumens with one goal — to create displays that would change the industry forever.
As senior vice president for business development at Nanolumens, she spearheads the strategic growth of the company, which has been featured by The Wall Street Journal and Forbes magazine, among other major publications.
"I am honored to accept this award on behalf of every woman who has ever had the courage and tenacity to follow their dreams in today's business environment," said Karen Cope. "I would like my life and my achievements to serve as a reminder to young women that they can achieve their highest goals and aspirations if they are willing to meet head-on the challenges that professional women still face in today's America."
Ms. Cope is also a leader in developing future entrepreneurs. In 2010, she founded the nonprofit Atlanta Council of Board Advisors (COBA) to offer strategic advisory services to small firms. She is the first female president of the Atlanta chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a nonprofit organization that fosters entrepreneurship globally, and she serves on the board of StartupChicks, another nonprofit aimed at creating a global community of female founders. In addition to Mercer, she has spoken at MIT, Georgia Tech, Harvard and Emory.
