VIC Tech appoints Sarah Goforth as chief growth officer

VIC Technology Venture Development, a Fayetteville-based venture development company, recently named Sarah Goforth as chief growth officer and managing director.

In this role, she will lead the company’s growth strategy, brand positioning and investor relations. She will oversee the growth of its portfolio of 18 technology and life science companies while spearheading capital formation strategies to support companies across all growth stages, from seed financing through series A, B, and C rounds.

Goforth has more than 25 years of experience in technology commercialization, venture creation and strategic communications. Most recently, she was section head for regional innovation in the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships at the National Science Foundation, where she led a $470 million portfolio of national investments in technology and innovation. She previously was executive director of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Arkansas, where she scaled operations 40-fold and helped launch the university’s first affiliated venture fund.

Goforth’s connection to VIC dates back to her early career, when she led a boutique science communications agency that included VIC as a client.

“Sarah has spent her career building ecosystems, scaling innovation infrastructure, and translating complex science into compelling, investment-ready opportunities,” said Calvin Goforth, CEO of VIC Tech. “We have a strong and diverse portfolio ranging from new startups to revenue-generating market leaders and Sarah’s deep experience across federal technology policy, venture strategy, and stakeholder engagement makes her uniquely suited to accelerate our continued national expansion.”

Before her leadership roles at NSF and the UA, Goforth was chief communications officer at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and served in senior roles at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Discovery Inc. She earned a Master of Arts in science journalism from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a Bachelor of Arts in biology with honors from Hendrix College.

“VIC Tech has built a proven model for scouting high-potential technologies and developing them into commercially successful companies that improve human health, longevity and well-being,” Goforth said. “My whole career has been about building the bridge between science and society, and VIC’s model leverages the distributive power of the market to do that. I’m excited to work with our co-founders, portfolio executives and co-investors to fuel our next phase of growth and capital formation.”