J.M. “Jim” Schultz
Founder & Managing Partner
Jim is the Founder and Managing Partner of Open Prairie and a fifth-generation agriculture investor and entrepreneur with over 30 years of investment experience. He has been instrumental in launching and providing capital to companies throughout the country and has a diverse background in venture capital, private equity, investment banking, and entrepreneurial ventures.
Jim has invested across a wide range of industries, including agriculture, life sciences, medical device technologies, semiconductor, software development, e-commerce, construction, financial services, and information technology. Before founding Open Prairie, he played a key role in structuring equity and mezzanine financings for numerous start-up and growth-stage companies throughout the Midwest.
In 2015, Jim was appointed by the Governor of Illinois as Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Prior to his work in private equity, he held executive-level management positions and served as Chairman of the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Small Business Advisory Council on Agriculture, Labor, and Small Business. As Chairman of PrimeBanc, a rural Illinois regional bank, he led growth initiatives that expanded assets from $40 million to $600 million, primarily through de novo expansion.
Jim currently represents Open Prairie on the Board of Directors for Tillerman Seeds, Vestaron, Metactive Medical, and Flow Forward Medical.
Education & Affiliations
Jim is a graduate of the National Venture Capital Association’s Venture Capital Institute. He earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Juris Doctorate from DePaul University College of Law. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, emphasizing entrepreneurship, from Southern Methodist University.
