Thomas Parkinson

Thomas Parkinson serves as an Adjunct Instructor of Business Administration at Gies College of Business, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he has taught since 2017. He concurrently holds the position of Senior Director at Illinois Ventures, focusing on investments in early-stage technology-based ventures affiliated with the University of Illinois System. His professional background includes roles as a partner in a Chicago-based venture capital fund and leadership of a seed capital fund at Northwestern University.

His research interests center on entrepreneurship, venture capital, and entrepreneurial finance. His pedagogical approach has enabled students to secure over $200 million in venture funding.

Parkinson earned a BA in Economics from Northwestern University (1982) and an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management (1985).