Christopher L. Rizik is the Chief Executive Officer and Fund Manager of the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund. With two decades of experience in technology, finance and law, he has played a principal role in over 50 multi-million dollar venture capital transactions.
Chris most recently served as a co-founder, partner, and Board member of Ardesta, LLC, an industry accelerator dedicated to the development of microsystems and other small technologies. Previously, Chris served as a Managing Director of Avalon Investments, Inc., a $100 million Ann Arbor, Michigan-based venture capital firm targeted at investments in technology-oriented ventures. During his tenure at Avalon, he accepted on behalf of the firm three consecutive “Deal of the Year” awards from the Michigan Venture Capital Association.
Prior to joining Avalon, Chris was a senior partner with Dickinson Wright PLLC, one of the Midwest’s oldest law firms, where he led the Emerging Company department. He also passed the Certified Public Accounting examination and worked at PriceWaterhouse Coopers.
Chris Rizik is the Chairman of NextEnergy, the public/private economic development organization formed by the State of Michigan to advance alternative energy technologies in the state. Mr. Rizik was also the founding Chair of the Michigan Microsystems Alliance, a consortium formed by the State of Michigan, the U.S. Government, educational institutions and private companies to further the development of micro- and nanotechnology in Michigan, and has also served in board or committee positions with several community, charitable and economic development organizations. Chris was named by Crain’s Detroit Business magazine as one of its “40 under 40,” a recognition of outstanding business leaders under the age of 40.
Jeffrey Rinvelt is the venture analyst for the Fund. Jeff’s diverse background in venture capital and technology along with his experience working in various start-up ventures uniquely positions him for this role.
Jeff was previously part of Ardesta, where he was Director engaged in sourcing, evaluating, and conducting due diligence on investment opportunities, as well as monitoring and providing assistance to the companies in Ardesta’s portfolio. Prior to joining Ardesta, Jeff was a co-founder of GrapeVINE Technologies, providing Product Management and Marketing for their knowledge management product, eventually resulting in an acquisition by Sun Microsystems. Jeff was also part of the start-up team for MAXfunds.com, an Internet company providing complete coverage of the mutual fund industry, including hundreds of funds not available on any other site. In addition, Jeff spent five years with Ernst & Young’s Information Technology group as a senior consultant.
Allison Scott brings over 15 years of administrative experience to the Fund, having worked for a variety of businesses in venture capital, manufacturing, software and law.
Allison served as Office Manager at Ardesta, LLC, a small technology accelerator, and at the venture capital firm Avalon Investments. At TriMas Corporation, Allison worked directly for the Vice President-Controller and Vice President-Administration, compiling and working with the financial data collected from the 16 various subsidiary companies as well as the general office administration functions at the corporate level.
While with the software development company, Allison worked directly for the President, assisting with financial analysis as well as travel and scheduling coordination.
Her time spent with various law firms included corporate law with Dykema Gossett and civil, criminal, family, and product liability law with a local sole practitioner.