AbsolutelyNew names Copman to head corporate development

SAN FRANCISCO AbsolutelyNew, a consumer products company that brings independent inventors’ best ideas to market, on Tuesday named Mark Copman, 3M Company vice president for corporate development and mergers and acquisitions, to its advisory board.

Copman currently leads 3M’s mergers and acquisitions function and advises 3M’s senior executives with respect to corporate development matters and strategic transactions.

“[Copman] brings extraordinary experience, judgment and scientific savvy to the AbsolutelyNew team,” said Richard Donat, CEO of AbsolutelyNew. “We believe his strengths will make our Advisory Board significantly stronger, which will in turn make the entire AbsolutelyNew organization a more powerful champion of innovations.”

Other AbsolutleyNew board members include Myra Hart, a retired Harvard Business School professor and founder of Staples, and Ray Brown, a former vice president of retail at Sears and Kmart.

Copman holds BS degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Political Science from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard Business School.