Rick Bolander

Rick Bolander is a board member of Traxen and has been a private investor since 1988 launching Blue Sky Ventures, a real estate investment firm, and entering the venture capital industry in 1994 at Apex Venture Partners where he was a general partner. In 1999, he co-founded Gabriel Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in and assists information technology startups. Rick has been involved in more than 50 venture deals, and has led over $100 million in early-stage financings and has had over $200 million in realizations. Prior to his investment career, Rick held various operational roles ranging from product development, operations management, regional marketing and sales management at AT&T and Lucent. Rick has also taught computer architecture at the University of Michigan and is a board member of the University of Michigan’s Center for Entrepreneurship, He was the 2010 College of Engineering Merit Award Winner. Rick received a BS in Electrical Engineering and MS in Electrical Engineering (summa cum laude) from the University of Michigan and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.