Rex Smitherman

Rex Smitherman spent much of his career at i2E, Inc., a nonprofit founded in 1999 to grow Oklahoma's innovation economy through investment and advisory services. He joined the organization's leadership as Senior Vice President of Operations, where he was responsible for strategic business planning, management of company operations and administrative functions, managing relationships with funding sources, and supervising the underwriting function supporting i2E's investment funds. He rose to become President of i2E, a role he held until his retirement, when Darcy Wilborn — previously Vice President of Operations — was named President effective around July 2025.

He brings more than 25 years of experience in community and economic development, having worked with state and local governments, the federal government, national and local nonprofits, economic development organizations, and some of the country's largest corporations to grow Oklahoma's economy. This economic-development finance background — rather than a traditional Silicon Valley venture path — shaped his disciplined, milestone-driven approach to funding early-stage companies.

Smitherman holds a B.S. in Accounting and an M.B.A., both from Oklahoma State University. He is recognized by the National Development Council as a Certified Housing Development Finance Professional and a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional. He is a member of Leadership Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Academy, has served on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Venture Forum, and has previously served on the boards/advisory boards of the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance and REI's New Markets, LLC.

Under his tenure, i2E and its Plains Ventures subsidiary reached a milestone of more than $100 million invested across 452 startups (announced late 2024), and i2E received the 2024 Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).

• Invests at the seed / early stage in technology-based Oklahoma companies that are scalable and address national or international markets rather than local ones.
• Favors small, incremental checks (~$50K–$100K) structured to help startups reach specific milestones and scale gradually, using both debt and equity.
• Concentrates capital in life sciences and advanced healthcare (roughly $42M of the cumulative total), alongside technology and energy.
• Uses a rigorous, finance-driven underwriting discipline reflecting his economic-development finance certifications — deals are evaluated for growth potential, scalability, and job/economic impact for Oklahoma.
• In his own words on the $100M milestone: *"Reaching the $100 million mark reflects the dedication of our team and the robust support of Oklahoma's innovation ecosystem."*