Michael W. Blackburn

Mike is a founding partner of Petra Capital Partners. Prior to founding Petra, he was a venture partner with Richland Ventures, a Nashville-based venture capital firm focusing on healthcare, telecommunications, media, and entertainment. Mike joined Richland at its inception in 1996 and contributed to its development into one of the largest venture capital firms in the Southeast.

Prior to that, Mike was an associate with Lawrence, Tyrrell, Ortale & Smith (LTOS), a venture capital firm focused on healthcare services and information technology. Before that he worked for six years as a commercial lending officer. He has served as a director for numerous private companies, including STI Knowledge, Navigator, CapRock, United Asset Coverage, American Hometown Publishing, Insource Contract Services, AirServ, Yorktel, Santé Pediatric Services, Opportune IT and Midwest Automotive. Mike is currently serving on the board of GBS Enterprises, DataPath, Highstreet IT Solutions, JLab Audio and United States Appraisals.

Mike has been involved in 64 private company investments across seven different funds. He is past Chairman of the Small Business Investor Alliance. He earned his BA & MBA from Vanderbilt University. Mike is a member of the Board of Trust of Harpeth Hall School. Also, he is a past member of YPO.