Peter C. Mertz
Chief Executive Officer
Partner
Mr. Mertz’s primary responsibilities include setting the strategic direction for the firm and the development and implementation of investment strategies. He is also chairperson of GFP’s Board of Managers, and its Investment and Compensation Committees. Mr. Mertz has over twenty-five years of forest management, analytical, and investment experience in the timberland business. Prior to co-founding GFP, Mr. Mertz was the Managing Director of UBS Timber Investors, the predecessor business to GFP. Before joining UBS in 1995, Mr. Mertz was Division Manager of Acquisitions, Economics and Planning for International Paper Company. Mr. Mertz holds a BS in Forestry and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He is a Certified Forester and a member of the Society of American Foresters and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
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Kurtis J. Akers, CFA
Portfolio Manager
Partner
Mr. Akers is Portfolio Manager for GFP’s public market strategies, including GFP Managed Equities. Prior to this role, he was Director of Research, where he was responsible for leading the firm’s investment research efforts, including the analysis of global forest product markets and studies of the asset class. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Akers worked with International Paper Company performing financial analysis, modeling of prospective investments, and tracking valuation trends. Mr. Akers is a member of the CFA Institute and is a past Chairman of the NCREIF Timberland Committee. He is also Chairperson of GFP’s Asset Management Steering Committee. Mr. Akers holds a BS in Finance and Accounting from Purdue University and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
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Joseph F. Bachman
Portfolio Manager
Partner
Mr. Bachman is a member of the global investment team. In this capacity he has fund management responsibilities for the New Zealand funds and the World Timberfund. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Bachman served in a variety of forest management positions with Champion International Corporation. He also managed Champion’s Sustainable Forestry Initiative third-party certification program across the company’s domestic forests. Mr. Bachman is both a registered and Certified Forester and is a member of the Society of American Foresters. He holds an AB in Biology from Dartmouth College, an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, and an MF in Forestry from Duke University.
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Timothy M. Cooney
Director of Forest Productivity
Partner
Mr. Cooney provides corporate-wide technical support to fund managers, operations managers, and other professionals in all facets of timber inventory management, growth & yield modeling, strategic planning, forest appraisals, and forest operations planning. He is also a member of GFP’s Board of Managers. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Cooney contracted with GFP’s predecessor for forestry investment consulting services. Prior to that, he was Vice President and Manager of Technical Services for Canal Forest Resources. He has extensive experience in forestry research, analysis, planning, and management throughout the Lake States, Pacific Northwest, and Southeast United States, as well as in Canada and Argentina. Mr. Cooney holds a BS in Forestry from Michigan State University and an MS in Forest Economics from the University of British Columbia.
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Michael J. Edgar
Director of Asia Pacific Investments
Partner
A native of New Zealand and based in Auckland, Mr. Edgar is responsible for investments in Australia and New Zealand. In this capacity, he works with fund managers to assist with existing regional investments and develops and implements regional timberland acquisition strategies. He is also a member of GFP’s Board of Managers and its Investment and Operations Committees. Prior to joining the firm in 1999, Mr. Edgar held positions in general management, strategic planning, investment analysis, and general marketing for Fletcher Challenge, a New Zealand-based forest products company. He has extensive international experience in all sectors of the forest products industry including his role as general manager of the Chilean joint venture involving a GFP timberfund and Fletcher Challenge. Mr. Edgar holds a B Com from the University of Auckland.
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Joel C. Eshbaugh
Director of Investment Analysis
Mr. Eshbaugh is a member of the research and analysis team, supporting both the domestic and international investment teams. In this capacity he helps analyze existing investment performance as well as potential investment opportunities. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Eshbaugh served as a Forest Analyst with Temple-Inland Forest Products Corporation at their corporate office in Diboll, Texas. In this role he had key responsibilities for developing both strategic and tactical plans for sourcing raw material from company-owned and private forests. He holds a BS in Forestry and an MS in Finance from Texas A&M University.
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James J. Healy
Chief Financial Officer
Partner
Mr. Healy is responsible for the financial operations of GFP as well as the firm’s administrative functions. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Healy was an investment banker with Adams, Harkness & Hill in Boston, where he was responsible for the execution of initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions and equity private placements. Mr. Healy began his career at Alex Brown & Sons in San Francisco and at Imperial Bank in Menlo Park, California. He holds a BS from Georgetown University and an MBA from UCLA.
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Rafael E. Ide
Manager of Forest Investments – South America
Mr. Ide oversees forest management activities for investments in Latin America. He also identifies new investment prospects and provides technical and analytical support in the evaluation, due diligence and reporting processes, and is a member of GFP’s global (ex-US) Operations Committee. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Ide was Senior Manager at Ernst & Young Consulting LLP, working in process improvement with major Chilean forestry companies. Prior to that, he worked for four years at the Terranova Group as Planning and Development Manager, where he participated in teams that completed timber investments in Brazil and Venezuela. Mr. Ide is a member of the British Columbia chapter of the Forest Products Society. He holds a BS in Forest Engineering from the University of Chile and an MS in Forestry from the University of British Columbia.
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Heidi P. Kearns
Client Advisor
Ms. Kearns is responsible for client relationship management and business development for the firm. She also coordinates the periodic reporting to individual clients regarding their specific timberland portfolios. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Kearns was a senior relationship manager with UBS in international equity sales covering large institutional clients in Boston. She began her career with Morgan Stanley in Boston and in San Francisco, where she worked in institutional sales. Ms. Kearns holds a BA from Princeton University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
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Andy J. Malmquist
Forest Management Analyst
Mr. Malmquist is a member of the research and analysis team, supporting both the domestic and international investment teams in acquiring, managing and disposing of forest assets. In this capacity, he helps manage and analyze forest inventory data, with emphasis on inventory design, implementation, and growth and yield modeling. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Malmquist was a Portfolio Analyst with Prudential Timber Investments in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to that, he was Vice President for Information Technology with the Forest Technology Group. Mr. Malmquist started his career with Westvaco Corporation. While with Westvaco, he held a number of progressively more senior roles, the last of which was Manager of Westvaco's Forest Resources Information System at the company's corporate offices in Charleston, South Carolina. He holds a BS in Forest Management and an MS in Forest Biometrics from Southern Illinois University, and is a member of the Society of American Foresters.
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Michael J. McFetridge
Investment Analyst
Mr. McFetridge is a member of the finance team, and also supports the domestic and international investment teams. In this capacity he helps analyze existing investment performance as well as potential investment opportunities. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. McFetridge served as a consultant with the Sustainability and Benchmarking practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Vancouver, B.C. He also worked with a forest inventory consulting firm advising Canadian forest products companies on forest management planning. Mr. McFetridge is a registered member of the Association of British Columbia Professional Foresters. He holds a BS in Forestry from the University of British Columbia and an MBA in Finance from McGill University.
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Colin R. McKenzie
Director of Portfolio Management
Partner
A native of New Zealand and based in New Hampshire, Mr. McKenzie is the team leader for global (ex-U.S.) investments. He is also a separate account portfolio manager and is a member of GFP’s Board of Managers and its Investment Committee. In this capacity, he develops and implements portfolio strategy in concert with asset management teams. Prior to joining the firm in early 2002, Mr. McKenzie was the COO of Jaakko Poyry Consulting and Team Leader for Business and Marketing Strategies for the Asia Pacific region based in Singapore. Mr. McKenzie is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Forestry. Mr. McKenzie holds a BS in Math from the University of Auckland and an MS in Forest Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Philip M. Nash, CFA
Director of Research
Mr. Nash is Director of Research. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading the firm’s investment research efforts, including the analysis of global forest product markets and studies of the asset class. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Nash worked for nine years with a U.S. domestic timberland investment management organization in the capacity of Director of Research. Earlier in his career, he managed a diverse portfolio of commercial real estate assets at a major U.S. bank. Mr. Nash began his investment career working in mergers and acquisitions with S.G. Warburg, a U.K. merchant bank. Mr. Nash is a member of the CFA Institute, and is a past chairman of the NCREIF Timberland Committee. Mr. Nash holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.
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Jan B. Persson, CFA
Senior Advisor to Global Forest Partners
Mr. Persson assists with client relationship management and business development for the firm. He also advises GFP with regard to certain of its investment activities, including Investment Committee deliberations, and participates in strategic planning for the business. Prior to joining GFP out of retirement, Mr. Persson worked in client service and business development for UBS and Brinson Partners since 1995. Prior to that, he was President, CEO and CIO of LaSalle Street Capital Management in Chicago, where he directed over $4.5 billion in institutional and mutual fund assets. In addition, he sat on the global investment committee for the parent company, ABN/AMRO Corp., with over $35 billion under management. He holds a BA from the Northwestern University, an MA from the University of Rochester, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
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William H. Proom, CFA
Portfolio Manager
Partner
Mr. Proom is a fund manager for four international timberfunds. His primary responsibilities include coordination and oversight of the strategic direction of investments for each timberfund and preparation and oversight of quarterly communications with fund investors. He is also a member of GFP’s Investment Committee. Prior to joining the firm in 1995, Mr. Proom was an Investment Officer for a private college endowment. Mr. Proom holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
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John A.N. Scott
Director of Latin American Investments
Partner
A native of Chile and based in Santiago, Mr. Scott is responsible for investments throughout South America. In this capacity, he works with fund managers to assist with existing investments and develops and implements regional timberland acquisition strategies. He is also a member of GFP’s Board of Managers and its Investment, Compensation and Operations Committees. Prior to joining the firm in 2000, Mr. Scott was CEO of Terranova Group, a forestry company with operations in Latin America and the U.S. Prior to that he worked for eight years with the New Zealand forest products company Fletcher Challenge and for 10 years with the Chilean forest products company Arauco. Mr. Scott is an active board member of the Forest Industries Association in Chile (CORMA). He holds a BA in Forestry from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
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Phil Stelling
Director of Australian Investments
Mr. Stelling oversees the management of investments in Australia. In this capacity, he manages GFP’s existing investments as well as identifies and evaluates new regional investment opportunities. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Stelling held senior marketing positions with Forests NSW for 10 years. Earlier in his career he held various roles with a private timber company and a transport company in Australia. Mr. Stelling is a registered member of the Institute of Foresters of Australia.
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Alberto Voulminot
Manager of Forest Investments - Uruguay
Mr. Voulminot oversees the management of investments in Uruguay. In this capacity, he provides technical, analytical and evaluation support for GFP’s existing investments. Mr. Voulminot also assists in identifying and evaluating new regional investment opportunities, and maintains key relationships with various constituencies. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Voulminot co-founded the only John Deere Forestry dealer in Uruguay, which pioneered in the selling and servicing of timber harvesting systems in the country. In this role, he had key responsibilities for developing and advising clients on timber procurement strategies and implementation. Mr Voulminot holds a Forestry degree and a Masters in Finance from the Universidad de la Republica, as well as an MBA from UCLA.
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Fernando Zamorano
Manager of Forest Assets - Brazil
Mr. Zamorano oversees the management of investments in Brazil and Guatemala. In this capacity, he provides technical, analytical and evaluation support for GFP’s existing investments. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Zamorano spent 10 years in various management functions in both planning and operations at Masisa in Venezuela. Before this, he worked with a large Chilean forestry company, with responsibilities in planning, inventory, thinning and final harvesting. Mr. Zamorano holds a BS in Forestry from the Universidad de Chile.
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