Value Creation: The Role for EECS

Gabriel Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm committed to fostering technology innovation by actively assisting entrepreneurs.
As engineer turned venture capitalist, Rick Bolander
knows what it takes to build technology companies from the ground up.
His lifelong passion for innovation and relentless pursuit of disruptive
opportunities have resulted in some of Silicon Valley’s best known
successes, including Chegg, NetScaler and Placeware.
Mr. Bolander will offer his perspective on value creation, the prerequisites
for game changing opportunities, and why EECS is increasingly relevant in
today’s global economy. He will also discuss new areas of opportunity and
present a challenge for the University of Michigan College of Engineering.
Rick Bolander is managing director
of Gabriel Venture Partners, an early stage
venture capital firm he co-founded in
1999. During his venture career, he has
been involved in more than 50 venture
deals and has led over $100 million in
early-stage financings. Before joining
Gabriel, he served as General Partner at
Chicago-based Apex Investment Partners.
Mr. Bolander began his career as an
engineer for Chevron Oil in the Systems,
Planning, and Development Department
and later served in a number of executive
roles at AT&T Lucent.
Mr. Bolander earned his BSE and MS
degrees in electrical engineering from the
University of Michigan and an MBA from
Harvard University. He is also a charter
member of the Indian venture group, TiE.