Portland Pacesetters: April 11, 2007

Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR), Apr 11, 2007

EDUCATION

Christopher Klemm, who most recently served as the executive director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington, is the new director of Oregon State University's Austin Entrepreneurship Program.

Klemm since 2004 worked at the University of Washington, where he helped improve the business school's U.S. News & World Report entrepreneurship rankings to 15th for the undergraduate program and 29th for the MBA program. In 1990, he co-founded Optimus Consulting and served as the firm's president for 14 years. Originally from Schenectady, N.Y., Klemm received his Ph.D. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

FINANCE

The Partners Group has hired Scott Schaerer as a retirement plan consultant.

Schaerer will work in the corporate benefits division of The Partners Group, working with existing retirement plan accounts and developing new business opportunities. Schaerer earned a business degree from the University of Oregon and has worked for a variety of financial firms in the Portland area. Most recently, he was a contribution plan adviser at Mercer Defined Contribution Advisors, where he was responsible for delivering consulting services to retirement plan sponsors.