Christopher Calnan

A former Texas Emerging Technology Fund official is now on the board of the biotechnology company that received the second-largest non-research grant in the fund’s history and caused controversy three years ago by allegedly circumventing the fund’s normal approval process.

Bob Pearson, a former member of the ETF’s 17-member advisory committee, has joined the board of Genprex Inc., an Austin-based biopharmaceutical company founded in 2009 as Convergen LifeSciences Inc. by Gov. Rick Perry campaign donor David Nance. In 2011, Convergen attracted a measure of attention after it collected a $4.5 million grant from the ETF without approval by the Central Texas Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization.

The ETF, which is managed by Perry’s office, typically requires grant applicants to go through a multi-step review process before being awarded state money. The Convergen grant sparked allegations of political influence and calls for greater transparency in ETF operations. Lawmakers sharply reduced the amount of capital it allocated to the ETF, which consequently slowed its investment activities statewide.

Last month, the Texas Department of Information Resources appointed Brian Engle as the state’s cybersecurity coordinator.

He had been the DIR’s chief information security officer, or CISO, since March. Before that, he was CISO for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and CISO for Austin-based Temple-Inland Inc., which was acquired by International Paper Co. in 2012.

Austin Business Journal asked about his plans for the new position:

ABJ: Could you explain exactly what your job will entail?

Engle: The first role is the state of Texas chief information security officer. Fundamentally, my job in this role is to help state agencies implement security programs that will effectively protect information systems and agency data from cybersecurity threats.

Texas rodeo officials have always been quick to boast about providing scholarships to youths. In the rodeo world, it’s touted as a prime reason for existing. Call it their blue-ribbon program.

But financial reports for the state’s four major rodeos — all of which are nonprofits — show a large disparity in how much they award in scholarships compared with annual revenue. The reports also highlight how well rodeo executives are compensated for leading organizations largely operated by volunteers, making how they spend their money a communitywide concern.

Austin-based Asure (Nasdaq: ASUR), which bought PeopleCube Holding BV in July

2012 for $9.8 million, demands a reduction in the price paid in December 2012. But PeopleCube officials are claiming Asure is not entitled to the adjustment, according to a Wednesday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It has asked a judge in Massachusetts for a ruling on the issue, and Asure’s federal lawsuit was filed in Austin.

State transportation officials are missing the on ramp to privatizing their technology department, contractors say.

The Texas Department of Transportation conducted two pre-bid conferences in February for a contract that could be worth up to $700 million, but vendors said the department was woefully unprepared.

Such conferences typically provide potential bidders with answers so they can set their prices. But TxDOT officials didn’t provide an adequate number of chairs during the first conference and detailed questions were left unanswered, some said. Instead of a conventional informational meeting, representatives from more than 40 technology companies were cycled into the room in smaller groups and presented an eight-minute video.

State officials recommend replenishing the Emerging Technology Fund with $7.2 million during the next two years, far below the requested amount.

The Legislative Budget Board is proposing a 92 percent decrease “due to the estimated obligation of grant funding within the 2012–13 biennium,” according to the proposed budget released this week.

The ETF was established in 2005 to promote the development and commercialization of technology with grants awards. The Legislature initially replenished the ETF with more than $100 million every two years.

Dell Inc. is suing a former high-level sales executive to recover more than $780,000 in company stock options he received before going to work for arch rival Hewlett-Packard Co.

The lawsuit involving Round Rock-based Dell and James Merritt highlights the competitive nature of the technology industry while underscoring the intricacies of noncompete agreements required by a growing number of employers.

The suit, which was filed in the Superior Court of the state of Delaware in January, alleges that Merritt, senior vice president and general manager of HP’s enterprise servers and storage and networking sales in Asia Pacific and Japan, engaged in conduct detrimental to Dell.

Organizers of the Texas Venture Capital Association said the lobbying group remains an effective watchdog for the state’s VC industry even though its budget is less than half of what it was before the recession.

The State Auditor’s Office is recommending that all major technology projects receive approval by a designated group of tech experts following a spate of cost overruns and blown timelines.

After six years of development, video game maker BioWare is about to release a “Star Wars” game that parent company Electronic Arts Inc. is betting will steer it away from the financial dark side.

Canada-based BioWare’s entire Austin office has been devoted to the game. BioWare was acquired by Electronic Arts in 2007 and has reportedly spent $100 million in making “Star Wars: The Old Republic,” a so-called massively multiplayer online game, or MMO, scheduled to be released this month.

For California-based Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS), the timing is crucial.