Judge, 2018 Undergraduate Central
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Chris Rizik is the Chief Executive Officer of the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, a strategic venture capital fund of funds formed by a consortium of Fortune 1000 and major private companies that works to invest in and strategically connect venture capital funds and start-up companies with major corporations, and to help grow the Michigan entrepreneurial ecosystem. Chris is also the founder and publisher of SoulTracks.com, America’s most popular soul music online magazine. Chris was also a co-founder and partner in two of Midwest’s largest venture capital investors, Ardesta and Avalon Technology Ventures, and received of four consecutive “Deal of the Year” awards by the Michigan Venture Capital Association.
Chris currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee and is the Finance Subcommittee Chair of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (the state’s economic development organization), and chairs the Executive Committee of the high tech accelerator TechTown and the Investment Committee of the innovative First Step Fund. Chris also serves on the Steering Committee of the New Economy Initiative, the National Advisory Board of the University of Michigan Office of Technology Transfer, and boards or advisory boards of Invest Detroit, the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan, University of Detroit Jesuit, and several venture capital funds, including the Procter & Gamble-led fund of funds, Cintrifuse. Chris is a 2017 EY Entrepreneur of the Year winner for Michigan and NW Ohio, and a past Crain’s Detroit Business magazine “Newsmaker of the Year.”