New Batten Institute Executive Director Returns to UVA for ‘Massive Opportunity’

Omar Garriott joined Darden as executive director of the Batten Institute on 1 September.

“I’m deeply honored to be selected as the fifth executive director of the Batten Institute,” said Garriott, who holds an undergraduate degree from the UVA McIntire School of Commerce. “I’m thrilled to return to the university I love in this capacity after many years in tech. It’s a massive opportunity at a critical time.”

A successful corporate intrapreneur, venture founder and author with leadership experience in a variety of technology firms, Garriott leads the institute in supporting Darden’s mission to improve the world by developing responsible leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences.

Founded in 1999 thanks to a transformative $60 million endowment gift from entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Batten Sr., the Batten Institute plays an integral role positioning Darden as a global leader in the entrepreneurial economy and in technology, innovation and venture capital. The institute has been at the heart of many innovations at Darden, leading the i.Lab Incubator, the Venture Capital Initiative and Collaboratory for Data Science in Business with the UVA School of Data Science, among other efforts.

After McIntire, Garriott took a position in Washington, D.C., with Teach for America. The experience helped inform his outlook and career, which has included leadership roles with the education divisions at companies such as Adobe, Apple, LinkedIn and Salesforce. Most recently, Garriott served as global head of education at Qualtrics.

“As we searched for a new leader, Omar stood out for his passion for UVA, Darden, education and successful track record across Batten’s key focus areas,” said Dean Scott Beardsley.