DETROIT – Michigan Treasurer Jay Rising blew a perfectly good opportunity to place a new venture capital program within the control of Michigan’s fine and talented private equity leaders recently. Instead, Rising gave the new, state-sponsored $150 Million “fund of funds” management to CSFB in New York.
One can imagine the heavies at CSFB yelling down their hallways at their juniors to throw a presentation together and get their ass to Michigan. The decision to place the responsibility of Michigan’s state-sponsored VC future in the hands of these gentlemen from New York does little to inspire me. It’s as if to indicate that “our” people aren’t good enough for our own money.
Mitechnews.com’s Mike Brennan (no relation) said in his article that “neither Almodovar nor Bhaskar ? a University of Michigan Business School graduate ? did more than speak in generalities about how they have managed similar funds in Oregon and Indiana.”
I know fund managers in Michigan?as I’m sure you do, too?that can speak in more than generalities about Michigan venture capital tactics.
Almodovar and Bhaskar will see to it that 8-10 venture capitalists from Michigan will receive money from the fund (thus, the nomenclature “fund of funds”). But, do you have confidence that Almodovar and Bhaskar really have a street level knowledge of Michigan private equity? How often will they be in Michigan to show their faces and actually manage this thing?
Reilly Brennan (no relation to Editor Mike Brennan) operates a web site for social networking called 104Nights.Com.
