05 May Former WEDC, Commerce secretaries back creation of state ‘fund of funds’
A bipartisan group of supporters headed by eight former secretaries of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. or its predecessor, the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, are supporting the creation of a state-backed “fund of funds” to invest in early-stage companies.
Endorsing the goal of the Wisconsin Fund Coalition are (in alphabetical order):
- Reed Hall, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Secretary
- Mark Hogan, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Secretary
- Paul Jadin, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Secretary
- Dick Leinenkugel, former Wisconsin Department of Commerce Secretary
- Brenda (Blanchard) Luckritz, former Wisconsin Department of Commerce Secretary
- Bill McCoshen, former Wisconsin Department of Commerce Secretary
- Cory Nettles, former Wisconsin Department of Commerce Secretary
- Aaron Olver, former Wisconsin Department of Commerce Secretary
Five of the eight were appointed by Republican governors; three by Democratic governors.
Co-chairs for the organization are Nettles, founder and managing partner for Milwaukee-based Generation Growth Capital Inc., and Mark Bugher, who headed two state agencies (Revenue and Administration) and was later director of University Research Park and chairman of the Wisconsin Technology Council.