The Rhode Island Life Science Hub is about to lose its first permanent leader, just over a year into his three-year contract.
Dr. Mark Turco will step down as president and CEO of the state-funded life science agency on March 11, taking a job with an unnamed private sector medical device company, Rhode Island Commerce announced Wednesday. Turco’s sudden departure comes less than 14 months after he began the job under a three-year contract with a $400,000 annual salary.
Meanwhile, the $45 million in federal pandemic aid to Rhode Island used to establish the agency has an end-of-year expiration, though Gov. Dan McKee has proposed a $115 million economic bond that includes some money for life sciences in his fiscal 2027 budget.
“It’s a critical time for the organization,” said Patrice Milos, who sits on the 15-member volunteer board. But she was not worried about the upheaval for the still nascent agency.
“I think it’s not that big of a deal as long as we as a board act quickly,” Milos said in an interview Wednesday. “What we really want to do is make sure our funding is extended, and we’ve got a bond campaign.”
An interim leader for the quasi-state agency will be named “in the near term” while plans for the search for a replacement CEO will be discussed by the board at an upcoming meeting — a date for which was not specified in the Commerce press release.
Also unclear: where Turco is going, or why he is leaving.
In a statement, Turco called the position “a true honor.”
“Together, we have worked to build meaningful partnerships and do the groundwork needed for sustained growth in the life sciences sector,” he said. RILSH is well positioned for its next chapter, with strong organizational momentum. I remain deeply committed to Rhode Island’s innovation community and look forward to continuing to support its mission in new ways.”
Turco could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
A 30-year industry veteran, Turco was plucked from a field of more than 320 applications through a national search. The life science board offered him the job in October 2024, with the requisite confirmation by the state Senate in January 2025 when the legislative session resumed.
Milos said she was not surprised to learn of Turco’s departure, which was shared with the 15-member board last week.
“I think it’s been a frustrating job for him,” she said. “I think he is going to enjoy going back to the private sector.”
Milos also did not know where Turco would be working. Before coming to Rhode Island, he helmed two cardiovascular tech firms: Boston’s Cardiac Implants LLC, and heart valve maker JC Medical. He also worked as chief innovation officer at the University of Pennsylvania and founded the Center for Penn-Health Tech, which brought together the school’s engineering and medicine departments to build medical technologies.
‘A matter of fit’
At the time of his hiring, proponents lauded his stacked Rolodex of industry contacts nationwide and experience across a breadth of private, public and academic fields. But Milos said she thought Turco struggled with the collaborative nature of the work in Rhode Island — with the board of directors and other private and public sector partners.
“It’s very different from the role of a typical biotech CEO,” she said.
But, Milos added, “he did a great job putting in place some of our programs and framework.”
The board’s most recent meeting, on Jan. 20, included a scheduled, closed-door session on CEO job performance. Milos declined to comment on whether the performance review might have affected Turco’s decision.
Jack Warner, Rhode Island College president and another board member, said he had “nothing but praise” for Turco’s work.
“We were hoping he would stay longer,” Warner said in an interview Wednesday. “He connected us with a lot of startups and helped us make quite a few investments in startups and existing companies that are likely to pay off for Rhode Island down the road.”
Neil Steinberg, former chairman of the board who helped hire Turco and worked with him for the first nine months on the job, alluded to the possibility of a strained relationship between Turco and the board. Steinberg stepped down as chairman in September 2025.
“Sometimes it’s a matter of fit, not necessarily competence,” Steinberg said.
Asked directly about his relationship with Turco during his tenure on the board, Steinberg said “no comment.”
Warner, however, said he saw no tension between Turco and board members.
Steinberg, like Milos, acknowledged the challenges of leading a new agency with a herculean mission to put Rhode Island on the map as the next hub for life science innovation and growth. He should know; as chairman of the board, he was tasked with filling out the rest of the volunteer panel, finding a president and setting up the framework for agency programs and goals.
“Everything was brand-new,” Steinberg said. “We had to do bylaws, work out budgets. It was a lot to do.”
He continued, “I found it very exciting, very positive, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t challenging.”
The search for a full-time director took longer than expected. From July 2024 to January 2025, Milos stepped in as interim director, overseeing daily operations on a contractual basis.
Asked Wednesday whether she would consider taking over as interim director again, Milos deferred to the rest of the board.
“Potentially, yes,” she said.
But she was not interested in assuming the CEO position full-time, she said.
The agency was scheduled to hold an advocacy day at the Rhode Island State House Thursday, but the event has been postponed, Milos said. She referred to the decision to postpone to Rhode Island Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor, the hub’s interim chair.
Giselle Mahoney, a spokesperson for Commerce, acknowledged but did not respond to questions about the event as well as a request for a copy of Turco’s resignation letter.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.