Christopher Noble retired in 2024 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the Director of Corporate Engagement for MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative. He was previously a Licensing Officer for MIT, and also led international technology-transfer capacity-building engagements.
Before joining MIT, Chris worked in engineering, marketing, M&A and executive management for international energy and technology companies. He was on the founding teams of two startups, as VP Sales & Marketing and CEO. He is the lead inventor on two issued patents. Chris also spent ten years as a consultant and investor, valuing M&A transactions, raising and negotiating financing for early-stage companies, and serving on the boards of private technology companies and non-profits.
Chris is a Certified Licensing Professional (2015-2021), a Registered Technology Transfer Professional, and a published author in peer-reviewed journals. He received the Licensing Executives Society Deals of Distinction award in 2011, for designing multi-party collaborations between clean-tech startups, traditional energy companies and university researchers. He lectures, consults and provides audits worldwide on university technology strategy, IP valuation & patenting, capacity building, partnerships with industry, startup mentoring, raising funding for startups, startup governance, and entrepreneurial ecosystems. He is an active startup mentor and currently serves on the board of Florrent, a VC-funded energy-management technology company.
Chris served on the Board of Directors of AUTM from 2017 to 2020. He was named an Emeritus Member in 2024 and received the Chair's Award for career contributions to AUTM in 2025. He has a B.Eng. from McGill University and an MBA from MIT. Born and raised in Montreal, Chris has lived and worked in the US, Canada, Europe and Latin America, and is fluent in French and Spanish. He is a citizen of the US, France and Canada.