Toni Sikes is the founder of three art companies, and currently serves as CEO of CODAworx, the global leader in commissioned art. CODAworx is the hub of the public art industry for artists, design professionals, and industry resources. CODAworx provides members with a platform to showcase their projects, connect and collaborate with other creative professionals, and earn recognition for these collaborations. It serves a worldwide community and facilitates transactions with a variety of tools and services.
Sikes has founded and grown three companies in the art space. In 1985, she launched The Guild Sourcebooks as a publisher of directories to connect artists with design professionals. For 24 years, these directories helped artists find greater markets for their work. In 1998, she founded Artful Home, a pioneer ecommerce company that brought the work of artists directly to consumers; Sikes raised over $52 million for Artful Home from leading venture capital firms on both coasts. In 2001, Artful Home was acquired by Ashford, a public company. Today, Artful Home is the largest retailer of artist-created home furnishings in the U.S.
Sikes is also General Partner in Calumet Venture Fund, a venture capital firm that invested in early-stage technology companies in the Midwest, a position she has held since 2010. Prior to that she was a Senior Advisor at Gruppo, Levey & Co., a New York investment bank, where she led their technology practice focused on helping technology companies in their financing and M&A strategies. She currently holds a gubernatorial appointment to the Wisconsin Investment Fund Committee, which invests in Wisconsin’s venture capital companies.
Sikes is active in Wisconsin and national economic development organizations. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Wisconsin Technology Council, the Board of Directors of Healthy Minds Innovations, and the Board of Directors of OptiMine, a software company in the marketing optimization space. She is on the national board of the Business Committee for the Arts, and serves as the President of the Wisconsin chapter of the International Women’s Forum. She is the recipient of numerous entrepreneurial awards, including the University of Wisconsin’s Entrepreneurial Achievement Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Technology Council.
Sikes holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Alabama and an M.S. in Market Research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she gives back by serving on the UW Weinert Center for Entrepreneurs Board of Advisors.
