Iona College Launches 'Entrepreneur-in-Residence,' Naming Accel7 Managing Director Danny Potocki to Inaugural Role
Danny Potocki, Iona Alumnus and Harvard Grad, will mentor students at Iona’s Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
Left to right, Christoph Winkler, Ph.D., Danny Potocki ’06 and James Hynes ’69, ’01H.
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Iona College is delighted to announce that Danny Potocki ’06 has joined the Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation as its inaugural entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR). Potocki is managing director of Accel7, an accelerator that invests in and advises founders and teams building environmental, social and governance (ESG) companies. While in the role of EIR, he will work as a student mentor, helping to build out the Hynes Institute’s mentor and community engagement network. He also will teach undergraduate and graduate capstone courses.
“Having Danny on campus is a game changer for us as we continue to build our program and establish even stronger links between our students and the surrounding professional community,” said Christoph Winkler, Ph.D., endowed professor and founding program director at the Hynes Institute.
Potocki said he was “humbled by the unique opportunity to help build the next generation of entrepreneurs who will lead communities, companies and governments with empathy and precision.”
Prior to launching Accel7, Potocki founded Finis Ventures to advise pre-seed technology startups on business development, and was head of strategic initiatives at Praescient Analytics, with projects on six continents in over 40 countries. He has served as an advisor and consultant on projects at the White House, the United States Congress, the Pentagon, Fortune 100 companies and major nonprofit organizations. Potocki serves on the Board of Trustees of Salesian High School in New Rochelle and is a board member of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation (HVEDC). Potocki holds a master’s degree from Harvard University, and is a 2006 alumnus of Iona College and a 2002 graduate/alumnus of Iona Preparatory School.
The Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation was established in 2017 thanks to the generosity and record setting $15 million gift to Iona College from James ’69, ’01H and Anne Marie Hynes. The Hynes Institute is an emerging program that aims to prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders to move the world. It ensures that students develop the knowledge, skills and experience required to create, innovate and lead in a global economy.
Danny Potocki ’06, center, has been named 'entrepreneur-in-residence' at Iona College’s Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation in New Rochelle. He recently coached students left to right Riana Khan ’22 and Emma Cruz ’21.
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona is widely recognized in prestigious rankings, including The Princeton Review’s 2025 national list of “The Best 390 Colleges” and The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s “2024 Best Colleges in America,” which ranked Iona at #66 in the nation overall and #8 in the nation among Catholic schools. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just six percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2023.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian. Connecting to its Irish heritage, the University also recently announced it is expanding abroad with a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.