AG SOLUTIONS CAPITAL - Key Persons
Charlie McElligott has skillfully worked the front-lines of ag finance as a respected banker and now as a strategic business consultant and advisor for more than 40 years. During his banking tenure, mostly with Rabo AgriFinance, Charlie managed the origination and administration of billions of dollars of ag loans throughout the Western United States while also managing related lines of business and banking offices. Charlie maintains broad and deep ag related relationships across a diversity of ag sectors throughout the United States. Charlie has a well-deserved reputation for being a practical, transparent, and relational banker, which reputation is serving Charlie well in his new consulting practice and will serve us well in the implementation our funds' model.
I was born and raised in the beautiful Walla Walla Valley of South Eastern Washington and took a keen interest in agriculture during my high school years. That took me to Washington State University where I ultimately graduated with an Ag Economics degree. Finance was my passion and that took me to the banking industry where I spent 13 years with Rainier National Bank, one of the industry's largest ag banks. After cutting my teeth in commercial and ag lending, I took a position as Credit Manager for the rich Columbia Basin Region.
In 1991 I was presented with an opportunity to move to Northwest Farm Credit Services and help start an agri-business group focused on vertically integrated operations. The project was a roaring success, and our company went from virtually zero market share in the agri-business space to the market share leader across many commodity groups. Over a twenty year plus period I was responsible for booking over a billion dollars of relationships and got to observe and learn from the "who's who" of agribusiness owners, managers and CFOs.
Jon Halverson has 25 years of experience in international business leadership, investment, development and strategy consulting including leadership roles with two of the world's leading food and agriculture multinationals, Cargill and Land O'Lakes. At Cargill, Jon served as a Director of Mergers & Acquisitions in the Strategy & Business Development group. Over five years at Land O'Lakes, Jon accessed considerable development financing opportunities from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other development finance institutions. Jon currently is a partner at Talanton Advisors an Impact Investment Fund which focuses on impact investing, strategy development, innovative financing models and leadership development. Jon's impressive involvement at all levels of agricultural operations is a valuable and welcome addition to us and our funds.
From young age, I learned of the vast scope of risks and the creativity and innovation required to create sustainable success in production agriculture from my family's dryland hay operation in Texas. This ethic was engrained into me during my development and is present in my approach today.
Subsequent to graduating from Baylor University in business I utilized the experiential knowledge from my youth in the real estate private equity space specializing in equity investments in agricultural land and operations and other resource based real estate investments. With extensive experience in capital structure optimization which balances the near-term profitability and long-term stability of an operation, I employ an ownership mentality in the key decisions that operators must make when deciding how to capitalize the opportunities presented to them.
In addition to Ag Solutions Capital, I am a member in an agricultural research operations business in which we manage test plots across the US corn belt for a global leader in agribusiness.
I am excited to work on multifaceted problems requiring complex innovative solutions collaboratively at Ag Solutions Capital with an extremely talented team with a diverse set of experiences.
Job Titles:
- Strategic Advisor
- Attorney and Co - Founder of Millennium Bridge Capital
Phil Parrott is an attorney and co-founder of Millennium Bridge Capital. As an attorney, Phil (a former partner of Kirkland and Ellis and current partner of Campbell, Killin, Brittan, and Ray), regularly works in private equity, acquisitions, financing, commercial transactions, real estate, bankruptcy and white-collar crime prosecution (Phil worked as Chief Deputy District Attorney in charge of the Economic Crime Unit of the Denver District Attorney's office for ten years), defense and prevention. Phil's legal experience includes the diligence, documentation, and administration (work-out and collection) of syndicated and non-syndicated ag loans. Phil has broad private equity experience and knowledge as a lawyer, manager, and co-founder. The combination of Phil's law, finance, and private equity experience will provide an extraordinary benefit to us and our funds.
Ruth Verhoff has enjoyed a 31-year career as a financial professional with an emphasis on the real estate industry. She began her career at Columbia Pacific Management, a senior living industry focused private equity firm in Seattle. She was eventually appointed president of that closely held investment firm, overseeing and managing $400 million of equity and assets worth $3.5 billion. Ruth also oversaw the raise and deployment of $125 million in equity to expand operations for Columbia Pacific into South East Asia and India. Over the past 14 years as an independent investor, and as a principal partner in a boutique investment group, Ruth has focused on single and multi-family development and repositioning. Ruth takes an active leadership role in her community, serving as treasurer and board president for several nonprofit organizations. Ruth has been married for 31 years and has two adult children. Ruth holds a CPA certificate; she received her B.S. in Finance and Accounting and holds an Executive Leadership MBA. Ruth brings valuable investment and organizational leadership experience to our team and funds.
Like many of the Ag Solutions Capital's team, I grew up in a family tied to the land. In my case, this connection was in the field of landscape architecture and ecological design. From my early youth, I had the privilege of joining my grandfather, a landscape architect and artist, on design visits to botanical gardens, marinas, corporate headquarters, and college campuses. This upbringing was the beginning of my passion for thoughtful design, development, and utilization of rural and urban lands for their highest and best uses.