Director's Advisory Board

Jonathan Opdyke is Managing Partner at Brand:Detroit, a venture studio located in Eastern Market that provides capital and resources to Detroit-based consumer brands to help unlock their world-class potential. Portfolio companies include Casamara Club, Marrow Detroit Provisions, Bev’s Bagels, Bask, Swish, and Churchspace.

Jonathan is also a Partner at Greatwater Opportunity Capital, a real estate private equity investment manager and development firm focused on multi-family housing in Detroit. Greatwater has acquired over 2,000 apartment units and invested nearly $300MM in rehabilitation efforts, contributing to the revitalization of several Detroit neighborhoods. In 2023, the company launched Greatwater Homes to build new-construction single-family homes in Detroit, initially focused on the East Village neighborhood.

Jonathan also remains active in the tech startup community, leading angel group Beyond Hook Ventures, which focuses on advertising, marketing and retail technologies, with investments including Symbiosys, MikMak, Attentive, PebblePost, Zubale and Windfall.

Earlier in his career, Jonathan co-founded HookLogic, a New York and Ann Arbor-based advertising technology business. The company was a pioneering force in retail media, partnering with industry leaders including Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, Costco and Expedia to create and manage advertising programs to help consumer brands reach shoppers at digital points of sale. Jonathan raised multiple rounds of venture capital and led the company as CEO until 2016 when it was acquired by French advertising technology firm Criteo for $250 million. His foresight and innovations helped lay foundations for what is now a $140 billion industry, with retail media accounting for 20% of worldwide ad spend according to eMarketer.

Jonathan grew up in Grosse Pointe Woods, MI and graduated from Grosse Pointe North High School. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan and remains an active participant in the U of M community as a member of the Dean’s Advisor Council for the Marsal Family School of Education and the alumni board of the Engineering Global Leadership Honors Program.