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Managing Director & COO

Nia Batts

Nia Batts is a versatile corporate executive, entrepreneur, and investor, currently holding the position of Managing Director & COO of Union Heritage.

With a track record of innovation and social impact, Nia is also known for her co-founding of Detroit Blows, her philanthropic leadership with Detroit Grows, and her strategic advisory role at First Women’s Bank, all of which reflect her commitment to inclusive growth and women’s economic empowerment.

Sectors of Interest

Consumer Technology Mobility Clean Energy / Climate Tech Media, Sports, & Entertainment

Recent Deal

Nia Batts is the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Union Heritage, an investment advisory company with three lines of business: public equity, venture capital, and philanthropic investment. Union Heritage is one of the nation’s leading minority-owned, diversified investment management companies; and the only majority African-American owned, and majority women-owned venture capital firm in the state of Michigan.

A former entertainment and media executive, most recently serving as the Head of Strategic Partnerships and Social Innovation at ViacomCBS Inc. (now Paramount), Nia is a seasoned corporate executive, entrepreneur, and investor.

Nia’s entrepreneurship journey launched with co-founding an inclusive beauty salon and impact-driven retail store, Detroit Blows, along with its philanthropic arm, Detroit Grows, which supported Detroit-based women entrepreneurs and women reentering the work force. 

Alongside Sophia Bush, Billie Jean King, Allyson Felix, and Wes Felix, Nia serves as a Strategic Advisor to First Women’s Bank; a first-of-its-kind, purpose driven bank with a mission to grow the economy and advance the role of women within it. The Bank is the only women-founded, women-owned, and women-led commercial bank in the country with a strategic focus on serving the women’s economy. 

Most recently, Nia was selected to join a 12 person cohort to represent the state of Michigan for the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (REAP), a global initiative that engages influential stakeholders to accelerate innovation-driven entrepreneurship in their home communities. 

Nia was appointed to the role of Independent Director for Surge AI, sits on the Advisory Board of the Michigan Founders Fund, is a founding member of the Board of Directors of Birth Detroit, is an Executive Committee member of the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan, and serves on the Museum Committee of the Cranbrook Art Museum. 

Nia is carrying her impact-focused work back into the entertainment industry, and alongside her producing partner, Sophia Bush, was an Executive Producer of the EmmyⓇ Nominated Documentary ANOTHER BODY, a documentary that follows a college student’s search for answers and justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online.

Nia earned a B.A. from Columbia University, Executive Education Certificates in Corporate Social Responsibility and Alternative Investments from Harvard Business School, a Certificate in Venture Capital from University of California – Berkeley Law School, and a professional certificate in Film Producing from New York University. She also pursued an MBA at the University of California, Berkeley – Haas School of Business.

Nia resides in Detroit, MI with her son, August.