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Managing Partner
Michigan Capital Network
Managing PartnerSince 2020, Jody Vanderwel has served as a managing partner at Michigan Capital Network, a firm that provides early-stage investment, entrepreneurial support and portfolio oversight involving four venture capital funds and five regional angel investing groups.
Prior to that, she served as president of Grand Angels, a Grand Rapids-based angel investing organization. Before entering the angel investing industry, Vanderwel had a 16-year career at Herman Miller, where she served as both corporate counsel to the firm, and later as vice president of corporate giving.
Vanderwel has devoted the past 20 years of her professional life to helping entrepreneurs develop and launch their ideas into the marketplace through advice, networking and early-stage investing. She is widely regarded as one of the founders of the angel investing movement in Michigan. She received the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Michigan Venture Capital Association and West Michigan Dealmaker Hall of Fame award in 2023 from MiBiz, the predecessor to Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. She also was recognized as one of the 200 Most Influential Business Leaders in West Michigan by Crain’s Grand Rapids Business in 2023 and as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Michigan in 2016.
She currently serves on the boards of Plymouth Growth Partners Fund III, Invest Michigan, Northern Trust West Michigan and Baker Publishing, as well as chairs the board of Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services. Previous board work includes Michigan Venture Capital Association, Michigan Strategic Fund, Priority Health and the Grand Rapids and Holland symphonies.