LANSING – Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s new Invest Michigan initiative will include two funds using public employee pension money to attract new business to the state. The funds will be overseen by three professional capital management companies, as well as an 18-member board of state business leaders.
The Growth Capital Fund, overseen by Beringea and Credit Suisse, will act as a venture capital fund for businesses looking to start or expand in the state. The Michigan Opportunities Fund, managed by Glencoe Capital, will provide funds for acquisitions and buyouts.
“This program is designed to grow the state’s pension fund by investing in Michigan-based companies,” Granholm said. “Invest Michigan! will help diversify Michigan’s economy by retaining, attracting, and building successful small and medium-sized businesses and, in turn, creating jobs for Michigan workers.”
The governor’s new Business Leadership Council will also provide input into the operations and opportunities for the two funds. The council is led by Roger Penske, CEO of Penske Corporation.
“I am pleased to have this opportunity to work with Governor Granholm, Treasurer Kleine, the state’s investment staff, and the general partners to grow the state’s pension portfolio in a way that can create jobs in Michigan,” Mr. Penske said. “The Business Leadership Council will be instrumental in making Invest Michigan! a model for other states.”
But Senate Finance Committee Chair Sen. Nancy Cassis (R-Novi) questioned whether the program was an appropriate use of state pension resources. “Is this plan safe? That’s the most important consideration at a time of great economic uncertainty, when pension funds around the United States have suffered some losses,” she said. “Considering the investments already made by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Strategic Fund, when will we start to see Michigan’s economy and the state’s jobless rate turn around? Are we truly creating jobs or just helping sustain a bureaucracy?”
Other members of the leadership council are:
Jon Barfield, president, The Bartech Group
John Brown, chair, Stryker Corporation
Ben Carter, CEO, Detroit Medical Center
Dan Gilbert, chairman, Quicken Loans, Inc.
James Hackett, CEO, Steelcase
Jim Herbert, CEO, Neogen Corporation
George Jackson, CEO, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
Thomas Kinnear, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
Josh Linkner, CEO, ePrize, LLC
Andrew Liveris, CEO, Dow Chemical Co.
Mark Murray, president, Meijer, Inc.
Bob Naftaly, former chief operating officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Rich Peters, managing director, Transportation Resource Partners
Mary Petrovich, CEO, AxleTech International
Sandra Pierce, CEO, Charter One Bank (Michigan and Indiana)
Rebecca Smith, East Michigan regional president, Huntington National Bank
Ken Whipple, chair, CMS Energy.
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