Mr. Wilhelm founded Woodland Venture Management in 1999 with a vision of bringing investment capital to traditionally underserved areas of the country. While hoping to spur economic development, Mr. Wilhelm simultaneously believed that the Midwest and Central Appalachian capital gaps presented outstanding investment opportunities for private equity professionals willing to explore what some refer to as �fly-over America.'

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) licensed Woodland's first fund, Adena Ventures, as the nation's first and largest New Markets Venture Capital Company in 2002. Hopewell Ventures was founded shortly thereafter to focus on the Midwest and was licensed by the SBA to operate as a Small Business Investment Corporation in 2004.

In addition to founding Hopewell and Adena, Mr. Wilhelm co-founded the public affairs consulting firm of Wilhelm & Conlon in 1997. In 2004, he sold his interest in the firm to focus exclusively on private equity. Prior to Wilhelm and Conlon, he was Senior Managing Director of Kemper Securities (later EVEREN Securities).

Mr. Wilhelm is well known for his political career, which included managing campaigns for President Bill Clinton, Senator Paul Simon, Senator Joe Biden, Governor Rod Blagojevich and Mayor Richard Daley. In 1993, he became the youngest ever chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Mr. Wilhelm earned his Bachelor's from Ohio University and his Master's of Public Policy from Harvard. He currently teaches at the University of Chicago and serves on numerous nonprofit boards.