TC's Paul Sutherland Is Out To Change The World

When you look at the vast list of projects that comprise Traverse City entrepreneur Paul Sutherland’s life, they might at first appear to be all over the place, the product of a manic mind that can’t stay in one place.

There’s FIM Group, the Traverse City-based money managing firm Sutherland started decades ago that’s grown into a financial giant; there’s Yen Yoga, the upscale fitness studio on Front Street; there’s the Utopia Foundation, a nonprofit organization that looks for ways to help people who are struggling, particularly children in Africa; there’s Spirituality & Health magazine, a national publication about mind and body; and there’s TEDx Traverse City, an annual speakers series that Sutherland brought to northern Michigan.

But as Patrick Sullivan writes in this week's Northern Express - sister publication of The Ticker - that list doesn’t include the many other less notable happenings in Sutherland’s life: the speeches around the world, the children’s books he’s written for kids in Africa or his seat on the board of directors of Gaiam, the yoga products manufacturer. But there is a common theme among it all, says Sara Harding, who’s worked for Sutherland for a dozen years. Sutherland makes lots of money, and he uses it to do good in the world. 

“He’s such an anomaly in such a good way. FIM Group, he’s been doing that for over 30 years. He started that on his own out in Suttons Bay and has grown it to manage over 800 million in assets,” Harding says. “That’s been a vehicle for him to do more good. He’s great and super talented at investment management, but he wanted to do more.”

Sutherland is one of a group of siblings notable around Traverse City for their accomplishments – brother Bob created and owns Cherry Republic, Matt and his wife Victoria publish Foreword Reviews magazine, Tim is a tennis guru and Mike owns The River recreation outfitter. “My dad taught us that you do the right thing because it’s the right thing," Sutherland says. "That was embedded in me when we were young; that was how we were raised, my brothers and I.”

What makes Sutherland’s accomplishments even more remarkable is that, for the past 18 months, he’s been doing it all from his home in Kampala, Uganda. Sutherland and his family are in Uganda to adopt a child – a lengthy process. Being on the ground has given Sutherland a glimpse of what works and what doesn’t in terms of charity. He wants to create jobs, for example, because that’s a sustainable way to contribute to Ugandan society, but he doesn’t necessarily want to create jobs for men. “In large swaths of the developing world, if a mother has a job, the children go to school and everything sort of works out,” he says. “If a woman has a job, it can make a big difference.”

Read more about Sutherland's inspiring story - and the many diverse projects the entrepreneur currently has underway - in this week's Northern Express cover story, "Paul Sutherland Is Out To Change The World." The Northern Express is available online, or pick up a free copy at one of more than 600 distribution spots across 14 counties.