Entrepreneurs-in-Residence

The Entrepreneur-in-Residence program provides mentorship and coaching to the University of Chicago community. Four successful Chicago-based entrepreneurs are available to meet with students, alumni, and faculty throughout the academic year. We also host regular small group sessions and workshops with the EIRs over breakfast and lunch.

Michael Alter

Michael Alter

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Focus: Entrepreneurship
Program involvement: New Venture Challenge, SeedCon, student lunch and learns

Michael Alter was CEO of The Tie Bar—the No. 1 e‐commerce destination for stylish men’s accessories. Prior to The Tie Bar, Michael was a cofounder and CEO of SurePayroll, a SaaS technology company that is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Paychex®.   Michael co-founded SurePayroll in 2000 after six years with McKinsey and Company, where he was a cofounder and leader of its service operations practice.

Jim Gray

Jim Gray

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Focus: Entrepreneurship and finance
Program involvement: New Venture Challenge, student lunch and learns

Jim Gray founded optionsXpress Holdings, Inc., an online options, futures and stock brokerage, which fundamentally changed how retail investors use exchange-traded derivatives for investing and strategic portfolio management. Charles Schwab acquired optionsXpress in 2011. Currently, Jim is CEO of G-Bar LP, one of the nation’s largest independent options, and futures trading firms.

Alex Hodgkin, MBA '14

Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Senior Advisor Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition

Focus: Entrepreneurship through acquisition and financial services
Program involvement: Booth Search, Search Fund Conference, Search Fund Investor Summit

Alex Hodgkin, MBA ’14, has spent the bulk of his career in investment banking and entrepreneurship. He has worked at Salomon Smith Barney and Headwaters MB. He is the co-founder and managing partner of Intrinsic, a financial services firm providing valuation opinions and transaction advisory services to venture- and private equity-backed companies and high net worth individuals.

Chris McGowan

Chris McGowan

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Focus: Private equity, venture capital, entrepreneurship, finance
Program involvement: Co-teaches Private Equity and Venture Capital Lab; Senior advisor, Sterling Partners Investment Thesis Challenge; Senior advisor, Oxford Chicago Global Private Equity Challenge; Private Equity Workshops with Career Services; New Venture Challenge; student lunch and learns

Chris is the general partner of CJM Ventures, a private equity firm focused on buyouts and growth equity investments in companies located near Chicago.  In 2011, Chris retired as a managing director from Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP), where he co-headed their basic industries practice for the last five years of his 12-year career there.

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Startups weren’t so sexy 25 years ago. It was pre-Google, pre-dot-com bubble, pre-unicorn. The University of Chicago’s business school, renowned for finance, didn’t offer an entrepreneurship concentration. Steven Kaplan, a…

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