Timothy Parker

Tim Parker became the second president of Grand Angels in November 2016, succeeding founding president Jody Vanderwel after a unanimous vote of the Grand Angels Board of Managers. Grand Angels is one of Michigan's oldest angel investment organizations and also operates multiple venture capital funds. As president and CEO, Parker oversees the organization, deal sourcing, investing, and portfolio management, and represents the group at networking and educational events across the region.

Parker brings a deep operating and engineering background to the role. He spent 17 years at Grand Rapids–based Bissell, Incorporated, including eight years as its global Vice President of Research and Development, and earlier worked as a launch engineer at the former Prince Corporation, a tier-one automotive supplier. He holds 13 U.S. patents, reflecting his product-development career. He earned a B.S. in Manufacturing Administration (1990) and an M.B.A. (2000), both from Western Michigan University.

Before joining Grand Angels, Parker founded T.S. Parker Global, an export, trading, and consulting startup aimed at increasing trade between Michigan and Asian markets. Over roughly seven years as an entrepreneur, he secured exclusive Asian rights for 15 U.S. brands (120+ SKUs) and built relationships with major retailers across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea.

Under Parker's leadership, Grand Angels expanded into Michigan's first statewide investor network — the Michigan Capital Network (MCN) — which brings together several affiliated angel groups, including Grand Angels, Ka-Zoo Angels (which he helped launch in August 2017), Woodward Angels, and Flint Angels. He also serves on several boards, including ACRE AgTech Business Accelerator (chairperson) and has been involved with the Center for American Entrepreneurship.

• Invests at the seed and early stage in high-potential, capital-efficient companies, with a strong preference for Michigan and Midwest founders (MCN reports ~90% of funded companies are Midwest-based).
• Sector focus: life sciences (pharmaceuticals/biotech), advanced manufacturing, advanced agriculture, and software/IT.
• Combines angel-group syndication with affiliated VC funds (Grand Angels Venture Funds I, II, and III), allowing both initial checks and meaningful follow-on capital.
• Emphasizes partnership and coordination with founders — the firm's stated belief: *"We believe in teamwork and we are only successful if the people with whom we invest coordinate with us and are successful."*
• Mission-driven framing: helping *"innovative individuals successfully transform their seed ideas into a reality,"* tied to the broader theme *"Growing Businesses – Growing Michigan."*
• Brings operational and product-development expertise (Parker's R&D/engineering background and patents) plus financial, intellectual, and networking resources to portfolio companies.