TEAM
We are a small family office, so that means everyone is related to some degree and you’ll often hear us refer to each other as “brother” or “sister” among the tribe. The three principle players are:
RAY RODGERS
RAY’S THE GUY WHO OWNS THE PLANE AND TELLS IT WHERE TO GO.
A deeply personal connector of people, Ray has never met a stranger, and somehow keeps in close contact with everyone he’s ever met. His 40 year commercial real estate finance career has yielded a strong base of investment knowledge and experience, as well as a platform for all kinds of alternative investments over the years in private lending, equity investing, venture capital and asset management. Ray moved from Dallas to Fredericksburg in the 1990’s, still doesn’t have a German accent and has two of the three kids living within a ten-minute drive from home.
BYRON FANNING
BYRON’S THE PILOT WHO’S GETTING US THERE.
The most wonderful blend of hyper-analytical and hyper-relational we’ve ever met. He’s most at home in front of a hundred pages of data, but will happily put it down to learn about someone’s life, history or current context, investing need-not be a part of it. Despite being a brainy and technical engineer from South Africa, he’s a thoughtful aesthete and a good listener. Byron’s been translating his engineering upbringing to investing over the past 5 years since moving to the USA and marrying Ray’s daughter, Molly (told you we we’re all related).
BEN RODGERS
BYRON’S CO-PILOT TO MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND BE ANOTHER PAIR OF HANDS.
Articulator and distiller. Ben’s most happy taking complex ideas and making them easy enough for anyone to understand. Listening is part of his calling in life, so his relational style is one of asking big questions and making time to hear a long answer. He’s at the forefront of our communications processes. Being Ray’s son, he grew up going to investor meetings as a pre-teen and has been more hands-on over the past 9 years. He lives in Maine now, but comes home to work in Fredericksburg often.
ADVISORY
The fund is intentionally and providentially brimming with experts in many of the areas we invest in. We operate with extreme transparency and invite the comments of every member of our funds and ventures on every major decision. In many cases, our investors have personal experience dealing in one or more of our categories and provide expert guidance.