When Karen Mills announced in February that she would not stay on for a second term as head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), she still planned to remain in her post until the government agency named a replacement. But those plans apparently changed as Mills told the SBA staff on a conference call Wednesday that she will be leaving her post at the end of August.
In September 2010, the SBA selected ten economic “clusters” as part of a pilot program to aid regional businesses. Each cluster is a collaboration of businesses, non-profits and academic institutions to advance a specific sector, ranging from nuclear energy to agriculture. The idea, according to SBA Chief Mills, is to support small business participation in regional clusters, “which are enhancing the ability to create jobs locally and compete on a national and global scale.”
Mills will continue work on economic issues surrounding entrepreneurship at both Harvard Business School and Harvard’s Kennedy School starting this fall, according to a statement from Emily Cain, press secretary for the SBA. In addition, Mills will “pursue business opportunities,” Cain says. Specifics were not provided.