"I saw a startling sight today,
a politician with his hands in his own pockets."
Mark Twain
From Bay City, Michigan to California and Around the World.
United Auto Worker, electrician, attorney, entrepreneur, venture capitalist.
Singer songwriter, coach, referee
Illinois Candidate for the United States Congress
The Details
Born in Bay City, Michigan. I started working early as a paperboy for The Bay City Times. I worked my way through school as a shoe salesman, grocery clerk, factory worker, machine operator, electrician.... A serious car accident and back surgery had ended my dream of flying jets for the United States Air Force. But life goes on.
In time, I was working second shift as a machine operator at Prestolite in Bay City on the eve of Thanksgiving, when the foreman tapped me on the shoulder, told me I was doing a great job and that because the company had lost a major government contract, I was getting laid off effective the end of that shift. With a wife and young daughter at home, I needed to find something less cyclical and I started working as a collector for a consumer loan company, CreditThrift of America and later became a Banking Officer for Peoples National Bank. I was in the finance business.
By 1984 I was a State Employee, I joined the Michigan Department of Treasury’s newly formed Venture Capital Investment Division, having been recruited from my position in the Small Business Development Division of the Michigan Department of Commerce. At the time I joined Treasury the $500 million allocation represented the nation's largest commitment by a state retirement system to the venture capital sector. I had an opportunity to learn the venture capital/private equity business and helped establish many of the processes and procedures utilized for the analysis and management of the venture portfolio.
I left the Treasury Department in 1987 to become an associate with Newtek Ventures, a San Francisco based venture capital firm focused on early stage healthcare and industrial technology investments. Two years later, Newtek became an investor in Capital BIDCO a Michigan based, Business and Industrial Development Company which I founded to provide debt and equity financing to growing small businesses. Capital BIDCO funded many successful small businesses and in 1997, I sold my interest in Capital BIDCO and relocated to Southern California, becoming the Chief Operating Officer for EC2, The Business and Technology Incubator for the University of Southern California.
Later, along with Dick Huntington I was co-founder and Chairman of San Diego based, Huntington Capital, a federally licensed Small Business Investment Company and Huntington Capital II. Both Huntington funds were focused on mezzanine investments in small and mid-sized businesses. Huntington investors included the pension funds for the State of California and California State Teachers, Pacific Life, Union Bank & Trust and many others. I'm proud to say, the funds I helped manage and the funds which I co-founded have created thousands of good paying jobs in dozens of companies in a wide variety of industries. I also served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of O'Melveny Consulting a subsidiary of the international law firm of O'Melveny and Myers. I subsequently purchased the firm from O'Melveny and operated it as BWilson Partners serving a variety of clients in Southern California. We lead the creation of the Mission Innovation Institute for one of our clients, Mission Hospital. The Institute was created to address needed innovations in healthcare. Life was going well but always has surprises for us. In 2003, a catastrophic illness struck our family when my wife of 24 years was diagnosed with breast cancer. I paused much of my business activities to focus on her care and recovery. Unfortunately, we didn't win that battle and she passed away in 2005. At that point I concentrated on raising our daughters. To provide the freedom I needed to be with my daughters, I launched a business venture with some success until the recession of 2008 hit. During Mary Kay's illness and through the failure of my business I learned a great deal about facing financial adversity. The important thing is today I have four daughters who are all happy and doing well and I have turned my attention to trying to impact the future of this country I love so dearly. Why, Central Illinois? Well, the fact is a consulting engagement brought me to the area and a few walks through Starved Rock State Park and the area's towns and cities convinced me that this was where I wanted to settle.
I'm a graduate of Michigan State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and earned my Juris Doctor Degree from Western Michigan University's Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
I left the Treasury Department in 1987 to become an associate with Newtek Ventures, a San Francisco based venture capital firm focused on early stage healthcare and industrial technology investments. Two years later, Newtek became an investor in Capital BIDCO a Michigan based, Business and Industrial Development Company which I founded to provide debt and equity financing to growing small businesses. Capital BIDCO funded many successful small businesses and in 1997, I sold my interest in Capital BIDCO and relocated to Southern California, becoming the Chief Operating Officer for EC2, The Business and Technology Incubator for the University of Southern California.
Later, along with Dick Huntington I was co-founder and Chairman of San Diego based, Huntington Capital, a federally licensed Small Business Investment Company and Huntington Capital II. Both Huntington funds were focused on mezzanine investments in small and mid-sized businesses. Huntington investors included the pension funds for the State of California and California State Teachers, Pacific Life, Union Bank & Trust and many others. I'm proud to say, the funds I helped manage and the funds which I co-founded have created thousands of good paying jobs in dozens of companies in a wide variety of industries. I also served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of O'Melveny Consulting a subsidiary of the international law firm of O'Melveny and Myers. I subsequently purchased the firm from O'Melveny and operated it as BWilson Partners serving a variety of clients in Southern California. We lead the creation of the Mission Innovation Institute for one of our clients, Mission Hospital. The Institute was created to address needed innovations in healthcare. Life was going well but always has surprises for us. In 2003, a catastrophic illness struck our family when my wife of 24 years was diagnosed with breast cancer. I paused much of my business activities to focus on her care and recovery. Unfortunately, we didn't win that battle and she passed away in 2005. At that point I concentrated on raising our daughters. To provide the freedom I needed to be with my daughters, I launched a business venture with some success until the recession of 2008 hit. During Mary Kay's illness and through the failure of my business I learned a great deal about facing financial adversity. The important thing is today I have four daughters who are all happy and doing well and I have turned my attention to trying to impact the future of this country I love so dearly. Why, Central Illinois? Well, the fact is a consulting engagement brought me to the area and a few walks through Starved Rock State Park and the area's towns and cities convinced me that this was where I wanted to settle.
I'm a graduate of Michigan State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and earned my Juris Doctor Degree from Western Michigan University's Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
End