ANN ARBOR – Dr. Geoff Duyk, who manages a $500 million venture capital fund in Silicon Valley, thinks he knows how to help Michigan pull out of its economic freefall. If the trapped assets at the state’s major corporations could be freed and commercialized, they could become the catalyst that would lead Michigan into a new era of economic prosperity.

Duyk, managing director of the Texas Pacific Group, will share his thinking with attendees at the 25th anniversary Michigan Growth Capital Symposium May 16-17 at the Eagle Crest Conference Center in Ypsilanti. On line registration for this event ends May 12.

Presented by the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and its Center for Venture Capital & Private Equity Finance of the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, the MGCS is the original university- based venture fair. This nationally-attended two-day event provides an opportunity for financiers to connect with up-and-coming Midwest businesses.

“The MGCS is a great networking event for national investment industry leaders,” said David J. Brophy, director of the University of Michigan’s Center for Venture Capital & Private Equity Finance. “This is an event where deals happen, relationships are forged, and the coastal divide is bridged by bringing investors from across the country together with Midwestern entrepreneurs seeking funding. More importantly, it offers VCs from across the country the opportunity to create lasting partnerships with other regional investors.”

The 25th Michigan Growth Capital Symposium will kick off with an institutional investors panel with representatives from alternative investment funds at Dow, TIAA-CREF, and the State of Michigan. The MGCS will also showcase seven other panel discussions on topics including: advances in the life sciences, emerging technologies, alternative energy, trends in spin-outs and early-stage investing from a VC perspective, negotiating your exit, intellectual property for the entrepreneur and small business, and how to build a company with angel investing.

To register online, click on MichiganGCS.Com