The rest of the 100 (in alphabetical order): Jason Pariso, director, University of Chicago Innovation Fund
Jason Pariso is director of the University of Chicago Innovation Fund, which invests in startups and spinouts emerging from University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory.
Pariso joined the fund in 2013, having previously been a teaching assistant in Chicago’s Booth School of Business for a year and a half, and before that vice-president of product management for patient-physician engagement platform Pinpoint MD.
He has been a media and telecoms investment banker, founded an educational non-profit and, from 2005 to 2007, developed a corporate strategy for technology company Dell’s consumer finance business Dell Financial Services. He has been a Kauffman Fellow since 2016.
The Innovation Fund has invested $6m in 56 startups to date, receiving its capital contributions through alumni donations. The fund operates as an evergreen vehicle intended to become a permanent feature of University of Chicago’s ecosystem.
