Michael Grandillo

Michael A. Grandillo is a longtime college and university leader, not an investor. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Ohio Northern University, a Master of Science in education from the University of Dayton, and a Ph.D. in higher education and Italian Renaissance history from the University of Toledo. By the time of his most recent appointment he had accumulated more than 43 years of experience in higher education.

His administrative career began in advancement and development roles in Ohio: nine years as director of development at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, followed by 17 years as vice president for development and public affairs at Tiffin University. During this period he was also active in civic life, serving four terms on the Tiffin City Council. He later moved into the presidency, leading Lakeland College (now Lakeland University) in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

In February 2015 Grandillo became the seventh president — and the first lay president — of Madonna University, a Felician-sponsored Catholic institution in Livonia, Michigan. Over his roughly seven-year tenure he oversaw substantial expansion: launching 11 new athletic programs (including football), adding performing-arts offerings (dance, jazz ensemble, pep band, repertory theater, string ensemble), completing a 28,000-square-foot Welcome Center and new residence halls, and adding 23 new academic programs, among them a doctorate of education in leadership and innovation and an accelerated B.S. in nursing. He announced his retirement effective February 21, 2022, citing health reasons.

After retiring from Madonna, Grandillo returned to leadership in Ohio. In December 2023 the Ohio Dominican University (ODU) board of trustees named him interim president; he became president-designate on December 6, 2023 and assumed the role on December 16, 2023, succeeding Connie Gallaher. He had previously consulted on ODU's presidential search. (More recent reporting lists other acting leadership at ODU, indicating his interim role has since concluded.)

• No stated investment thesis exists. Grandillo is a higher-education executive; no public record shows angel investing, venture capital, syndicate participation, or personal portfolio activity.
• His professional "focus" has been institutional advancement (fundraising/development), academic program growth, athletics and arts expansion, and university operations — not startup financing.
• Any "Seed Round" / angel-investor characterization should be treated as an aggregator error until corroborated by a primary source.