Tuesday, July 14, 2009 | 11:56 a.m. CDT
BY The Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY — A St. Louis man has been picked to lead a quasi-state entity that focuses on life sciences and high-tech research.
Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday picked Joseph G. Bannister to be the chairman of the Missouri Technology Corporation. Bannister is the CEO of the consulting firm JGB Advisors and had been the director of new technology development at Clayco in St. Louis.
The Missouri Technology Corporation helps private business link with universities conducting high-tech research. The governor appoints 11 of the corporation's 15 board members and selects the chairman.
The corporation has encountered controversy in the legislature because a previous chairman helped lead efforts to pass a 2006 stem cell constitutional amendment. The organization also has faced lawsuits from embryonic stem cell research critics.