THE TEAM
"We at ARCH Venture Partners have really enjoyed working with the Growth Fund. The Growth Fund partners have deep knowledge of defense and government verticals and have a wide network of industry contacts. We welcome the opportunity to work with this value add group."
Keith Crandell
Managing Director and Co Founder
ARCH Venture Partners
David Strickler is President of GF Private Equity Group, Assistant Finance Director of the Southern Ute Growth Fund, and he chairs the Group’s Investment Committee. Mr. Strickler currently serves on the board of directors of Calpont, Madison Grey. Pixtronix and PRISMedical Corporation. In addition to his responsibilities at GF Private Equity Group, Mr. Strickler assists the Finance Director of the Southern Ute Growth Fund in day-to-day responsibilities including investment decisions across the real estate and private equity portfolios.
Early in his career, Mr. Strickler obtained an Electrical Engineering Degree and began working for Nissan Motor Manufacturing Company as a product development engineer including a two year stint in Japan. Mr. Strickler quickly progressed to production manager of one of Nissan’s manufacturing plants, managing a team of six area managers and over 200 production technicians producing new Nissan trucks and achieving best-in-class quality goals.
After nine years with Nissan Motor, Mr. Strickler graduated with a Masters of Business Administration degree from Vanderbilt University, and began work at a middle market merger and acquisition advisory firm called Bowles Hollowell Connor & Co., now the M&A department of Wachovia Bank. During this time he worked with private equity firms providing merger and acquisition advice to numerous clients focused on automotive and industrial investing.
Mr. Strickler was subsequently offered a position to work for a large private equity firm, Heartland Industrial Partners, with a $1.3 billion fund focused on industrial investments. With over five years of leveraged buyout and direct private equity investing experience, he participated in a broad spectrum of large and small buyouts across multiple industrial sectors.
In addition, Mr. Strickler worked for a family office of a high net worth individuals managing a large portfolio of commercial real estate property just prior to coming to the Growth Fund.
David Fallace is a Vice President of GF Private Equity Group and serves on the Investment Committee. In that role, he is involved in the review of all investment proposals considered by the company. He also conducts extensive research involving private equity funds and specific business and asset investment opportunities. He takes an active role in the acquisition process, due diligence research during the acquisition phase and the monitoring of companies after investment.
Mr. Fallace currently serves on the board of directors of Amphora, Calpont, Cswitch and Madison Grey. He has also served as a board member on Impinj, Pathscale and as a board observer of Teros and Alfalight.
Mr. Fallace earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics from Stony Brook University, and he has a Masters of Business Administration degree and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Buffalo, specializing in Finance and Tax. He is a member of the Bar of New York State.
Ken Lucas is a Vice President of GF Private Equity Group and serves on the Investment Committee. He is responsible for conducting investment research as part of the private equity investment team. He also identifies new business acquisitions and private equity investment opportunities in a variety of industries, conducts due diligence research, and has significant responsibilities in the ongoing monitoring and supervision of portfolio companies. He is currently a director of NOVX Systems and a board observer of AlfaLight. In addition, he also writes and evaluates business plans for start-up operations.
Mr. Lucas has over twenty-five years of senior level financial and business management experience in financial services, natural resources, manufacturing, telecommunications, and retail-based companies in the U.S., Europe, China, and Canada. Mr. Lucas has been president of a publicly-traded company and has been actively involved in dozens of IPO’s, structured private placements, and private equity investments.
Mr. Lucas earned a Masters of Business Administration degree in Finance and Accounting from Regis University, Masters of Public Administration in Management and Operations from Drake University, and a Bachelors of Arts degree in Public Affairs from Drake University.
James Thompson, Ph.D. is a Vice President of GF Private Equity Group and serves on the Investment Committee. He researches investment opportunities including investments in specific business and private equity funds. He also performs due diligence, assists with the acquisition process and monitors existing investments. He is currently a director of Kotura and a board observer of Cswitch and Impinj.
Mr. Thompson was previously a manager with Standard & Poor’s Corporate Value Consulting (now a part of Duff & Phelps) where he helped clients determine the value of businesses and business assets in relation to acquisitions, divestitures, litigation, and taxes. Early in his carrier, Mr. Thompson worked in a research and development role with an early-stage telecommunications company.
Mr. Thompson holds an M.B.A. from the Johnson School at Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His Ph.D. work spanned the fields of experimental biophysics and nanotechnology. Mr. Thompson has published numerous technical articles and filed one US patent.
Elliott “Chuck” Wimberly is a Vice President of Business Development for GF Private Equity Group and an accomplished business executive with experience in global business development, organizational leadership and tactical execution of successful business development plans. He is currently a member of the Group’s Investment Committee and a director of PRISMedical Corporation and Calpont Corporation.
Mr. Wimberly has 25 years of high-caliber management qualifications, including 15 years at the senior executive level that demonstrates an extensive and solid track record of international business experience in Europe, Middle East, Africa and East Asia. Mr. Wimberly has an in-depth knowledge of United States government acquisition practices and its relation to private sector product procurement. He has served 20 years in the intelligence community of the United States. He is multi-lingual in English, French, Arabic and Farsi and maintains a United States Government top secret security clearance.
Mr. Wimberly’s educational credentials include a Bachelors of Science in Plant Chemistry and a Masters of Business Administration in International Marketing.
Jonathan Abshagen is the Senior Portfolio Analyst for GF Private Equity Group. He provides investment analysis and research for direct investments in companies as well as fund investments. In addition, he helps to manage accounting, valuation and cash flow management. He also performs due diligence, assists with the acquisition process and monitors existing investments. He is currently a board observer of VeraLight.
Mr. Abshagen previously worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers as an accountant and auditor of private equity and venture capital funds, early stage technology companies and large semiconductor manufacturers.
Mr. Abshagen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance and accounting from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Linda P. Sency is the Office Manager for GF Private Equity Group. Ms. Sency began her career as the office manager for a ceramic mold design and manufacturing company and served in that capacity for 15 years. In addition to the day-to-day management of the business, she was responsible for the investments related to the company’s pension and profit sharing plans.
Ms. Sency spent several years as the Director of Purchasing for a high-volume computer manufacturing firm maintaining a component inventory of over 2000 items and interfacing with production to set a rigorous fabrication schedule before managing her own business as a Financial Planner affiliated with IDS Financial Services currently known as Ameriprise Financial, Inc.
Upon relocating to Colorado and prior to her employment with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe Growth Fund, she was employed as the Office Manager / Marketing Coordinator for a general contractor / construction management firm designing responses to RFP’s and pre-qualification packages for $13M to $20M projects in the commercial and government building sectors.
Her educational background includes 2 years study in a Business Administration degree program with 2 years in Computer Science at Mercer County Community College in New Jersey.
Heather Liggett is the Marketing Coordinator for GF Private Equity Group. She is responsible for the planning and execution of all Marketing activities for the Group and provides strategic marketing support to various portfolio companies.
Prior to joining GF Private Equity Group, Ms. Liggett was the Director of Marketing at High Desert Foods, an international gourmet, organic food manufacturer where she was responsible for the development and implementation of all aspects of a multiple line marketing strategy. Prior to this, Ms. Liggett worked for three years as the Marketing and Events Coordinator at Sky Ute Lodge and Casino, another division of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. In that capacity, she served on the Durango Area Tourism Office Board of Directors, representing the region’s large attractions. Ms. Liggett also served as an Event Coordinator for United Way of Southwest Colorado and the La Plata County Historical Society.
Ms. Liggett received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing from Fort Lewis College in Durango, where graduated as Senior Class President, with honors.
Martha Elbert is the Contract Compliance and Transaction Administrator for the Group. Her duties include tracking legal aspects of deals from inception to exit, facilitating direct investment and fund legal transactions, and monitoring the legal review, contract compliance and due diligence processes.
Ms. Elbert was previously contract administrator and assistant data manager for Haugen Custom Financial Systems, Inc., an equity research firm providing quantitative predictions of stock performance to institutional investors. She is a member of the State Bars of Texas and Alabama. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from Vanderbilt University where she was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law.
Snowbird Frost is the Administrative Assistant for GF Private Equity Group. Ms. Frost, a member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, has served the Tribe in several administrative capacities including Receptionist, Mail Clerk and Secretary of Tribal Information Services. She also held a seat on the Tribe’s election Board for two years where she helped to ensure that the yearly Tribal Election’s ran smoothly.