RALEIGH – Derrick Minor, who has spent the last decade as an executive deeply involved in the Triangle’s entrepreneurial community, is joining talent solutions and consulting firm Vaco.

Minor, known for his economic development roles at the Downtown Raleigh Alliance and City of Raleigh, leaves startup K4 Connect to become Associate Director of Direct Hire Solutions in Technology at Vaco.

While working at K4 Connect, Minor remained involved in entrepreneurial activities, serving as a board member at Innovate Raleigh. He also has been an advisory board member at Raleigh Founded (formerly known as HQ Raleigh) and the NC State Technology Incubator.

“Over the past 10 years, I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of founders and technology companies throughout the Triangle, as both an external partner, and an internal company resource,” Minor said in a statement.

“Vaco’s platform will now enable me to leverage the full extent of my background to support economic growth across the Region and NC. Vaco has already assembled a world-class team and we are well positioned for continued growth in 2021 and beyond.”

Of Minor’s new role, Vaco noted: “Minor will focus on partnering with high-growth technology companies, providing support in the areas of recruiting, people operations, managed software services, transformation projects and economic development.”

From 2010-2012 Minor was Director of Downtown Development at the Downtown Raleigh Alliance. He was named Innovation and Entrepreneurship Manager for the City of Raleigh in 2012, a post he held for six years before becoming Director of Team Development at K4 Connect.

“At Vaco, we believe in the power of connection. Derrick shares in our experience that one good introduction can mean the difference between success and failure,” said Jake Shepherd, Vaco Engineering and Technical Solutions Lead, “Raleigh is well acquainted with, and has truly benefited from the blood, sweat, and tears that he put into the startup ecosystem. His individual efforts contributed to the accelerated growth of this region by giving every company a fighting chance. Derrick personifies the spirit of entrepreneurship, exemplifies integrity and makes us “proud to wear the jersey”. We are thrilled to have him as part of the Vaco team.”