Board of Directors
John Banta
John Banta serves as the CEO and Managing Director of IllinoisVentures, LLC, a premier seed and early-stage technology investment firm focused on starting and building globally competitive companies based on research conducted at Midwest Universities and federal laboratories. Conceived and launched by the University of Illinois, the firm is consistently named by Entrepreneur magazine to its national list of the top 100 venture capital firms. John also serves as the Managing Partner of the Illinois Emerging Technologies Funds managed by the firm.
John is the former President and COO of DigitalWork, Inc., a Draper Fisher Jurvetson, TL Ventures and Dell Ventures portfolio company, having served previously as its Senior Vice President of Corporate and Business Development. Prior to DigitalWork, John served as Vice President of Corporate Services for UBS, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Investment Management Consultant's Association.
John works with a wide variety of portfolio companies, with an emphasis on clean technologies including renewable fuels and chemicals, water and agriculture. He serves as a Director on behalf of numerous portfolio businesses, as well as the Board of Directors of the Illinois Venture Capital Association, the Advisory Board of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago, the Argonne Venture Accelerator Consortium, the Initiative for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern and the Midwest Energy and Sustainability Leadership Alliance. John earned an M.B.A. in finance and statistics with high honors from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business where he has been a frequent guest lecturer, and a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Illinois College of Commerce.