Meet Our Leadership - Cascade (2024)

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Michael Larson founded Cascade in 1994. As Cascade’s Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Larson oversees and directs all investment activities for William H. Gates III and the Gates Foundation Trust, including strategy, capital allocation, sourcing, structuring, transaction execution, and managing relationships with key partners.

Mr. Larson currently serves on the Board of Directors and various committees for Republic Services, Inc., Ecolab Inc., Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA), and Western Asset Funds. Mr. Larson has been named as one of the “Top 20 Value-Creating Directors in America” by Chief Executive Group.

As a Trustee at Claremont McKenna College, Mr. Larson serves as Co-Chair of the Investment Management Company for the school. He is also Chair of the Investment Committee for the University of Washington’s Investment Management Company (UWINCO).

Mr. Larson holds a B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and earned an M.B.A from the University of Chicago.

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Alan Heuberger joined Cascade in 1996. He is a Senior Investment Manager, providing oversight on a variety of direct private equity and real asset portfolio investments, including Cascade’s agriculture-related investments.

Mr. Heuberger currently serves on the Board of Directors for Deere & Company. He also serves as Co-Chair of the Financial Economics Institute Board of Advisors at Claremont McKenna College and is an Investment Committee Member of The Seattle Foundation.

Previously, he served on the Board of Directors for Hamilton Lane and GAMCO Investors.

Mr. Heuberger holds a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Claremont McKenna College. He also has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

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Keith Traverse joined Cascade in 2001. He is a Senior Investment Manager, overseeing Portfolio Analysis, Asset Allocation, and Risk (PAAAR). Mr. Traverse also oversees the finance, investment operations, and technology teams.

Prior to joining Cascade, Mr. Traverse worked at Russell Investments and State Street Corporation.

Mr. Traverse currently serves on the Gates Cambridge Trust’s Investment Committee, as Chair of Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System’s Investment Advisory Committee, and as a Trustee of Lakeside School.

Mr. Traverse holds a B.A. in Economics and French from Middlebury College. He also has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

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Katie Pelczar joined Cascade in 2020. As Head of Real Estate Investments, she oversees real estate investment strategy, sourcing and execution across all property types and geographies.

Prior to joining, Ms. Pelczar was an Executive Director in UBS’ Real Estate and Private Markets division, where she closed more than $3 billion of real estate transactions, primarily on the East Coast. Prior to UBS, she was a Senior Real Estate Economist with Property & Portfolio Research.

Ms. Pelczar currently serves on the Board of Directors for Water Street Tampa and Strategic Property Partners. She chairs the Columbia Business School Real Estate Symposium and is a member of the Columbia Business School Real Estate Circle. She has also served on the board of Commercial Real Estate Women of Connecticut and the Connecticut Main Street Center.

Ms. Pelczar holds a B.A. in French and Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis and earned an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School with a concentration in Real Estate Finance.

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Jeff Dardarian joined Cascade in 2021. As Head of Markets, he is responsible for analysis across a broad range of markets and asset classes, oversight of a multi-asset centralized trading desk, treasury/liquidity management, and counterparty relationship management. His systematic and analytical approach blends both fundamental and quantitative factors to deliver optimized results.

Prior to joining Cascade, Mr. Dardarian spent 14 years at Blue Mountain Capital Management, most recently as Global Head of Trading and a member of Blue Mountain’s Counterparty Risk Committee. He also held various trading and research roles at BBT Fund and Sandelman Partners and began his career as a Market Maker at Knight Securities.

Mr. Dardarian currently serves on the Investment Committee of the United Negro College Fund’s Gates Millennium Scholars Program. He has also served as a Luminex Advisory Council Member, an ISDA 2011 Equity Derivatives Definitions Working Group Member, and as a STANY Guest Speaker and Panelist for Market Structure: The Coming Changes to US Markets.

Mr. Dardarian holds a B.S. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Lori Sabet joined Cascade in 2020. As Cascade’s Chief Human Resources Officer, she is responsible for all aspects of the organization’s human capital strategy, including talent attraction, total rewards and incentives, diversity and inclusion, employee development, and engagement and culture. She also oversees Cascade’s security and workplace services teams.

Prior to joining Cascade, Ms. Sabet spent a twenty-year career with The Carlyle Group where she was CHRO and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. She also was the CHRO for Octagon, an athlete representation and sports marketing firm and for Delphi International, an international training firm.

Ms. Sabet currently serves on the President’s International Advisory Council for St. Cloud State University, Atalaya Capital Management’s Advisory Board, and is a governing body member for the Seattle, WA CHRO Executive Summit.

Ms. Sabet holds a B.A. in Public Administration, with a concentration in Human Resources Management from St. Cloud State University and earned a M.A. in Human Resources Strategy and Management from Marymount University.

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Mike Rodden joined Cascade in 2007. As Cascade’s General Counsel, he leads the legal and compliance teams and works closely with the investment teams on a variety of transactions. Over the course of his career, Mr. Rodden has accumulated extensive experience in corporate finance, M&A, investment management, corporate governance, and litigation management.

Prior to joining Cascade, Mr. Rodden was Deputy General Counsel at Vulcan, Inc., where he was the lead lawyer supporting Vulcan Capital, Paul Allen’s investment arm.  He also was General Counsel at Mercata, an e-commerce company, and started his legal career in private practice with Stoel Rives.

Mr. Rodden currently serves on the boards of Rainier Scholars and Akin.

Mr. Rodden holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California State University and earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Washington, where he was a member of the Washington Law Review and Order of the Coif.

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Robert Fritz joined Cascade in 2007. He is the Lead Director of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Board of Directors. On behalf of Cascade, Mr. Fritz works closely with the Four Seasons Executive Team and Board of Directors on strategy, capital allocation, and corporate governance matters.

Prior to assuming his current role, Mr. Fritz was Co-Head of Real Estate Investments. He has also held a variety of leadership roles across public and private investments and was a senior public equity analyst focusing on environmental services, industrials, specialty chemicals, and consumer companies.

Mr. Fritz has served on numerous corporate boards including Strategic Property Partners, Delos Living, and Lineage Logistics (observer). He remains a thought partner to the Real Estate Investment and Public Equity teams at Cascade.

Mr. Fritz holds a B.S. in Hotel Administration with a concentration in Real Estate Finance and Investments from Cornell University. At Cornell, Mr. Fritz was the captain of the golf team.

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Jerry St. Dennis joined Cascade in 2000. He is a Senior Advisor, specializing in private equity investments, including venture and buy-out funds, real estate, and direct investments in companies at Cascade.

Prior to joining Cascade, Mr. St. Dennis was a Managing Director of John Rutledge Partners. He also held several executive positions at CalFed Inc. including Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Economist. Additionally, Mr. St. Dennis was consultant to both Office of Management and Budget and the Treasury under President Ronald Reagan and a Founding Partner of the Claremont Economics Institute.

Mr. St. Dennis served as Chairman of the Boards for California Federal Bank, AdobeAir, Inc. and Fluidrive, Inc. He also taught at UCLA, Harvey Mudd College, and Claremont McKenna College.

Mr. St. Dennis holds a B.A. and M.A. in Mathematical Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has been listed as a noteworthy Banker by Marquis Who’s Who.

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Tom Handley joined Cascade in 2019. He is a Senior Advisor, a role he assumed after serving as Chief Operating Officer for four years.

Prior to joining Cascade, Mr. Handley spent sixteen years at Ecolab in various executive positions, including seven years as President and COO. He also spent twenty-two years in a variety of general management and marketing roles at Procter & Gamble in the U.S. and internationally.

Mr. Handley currently serves on the Board of Directors for Republic Services, Inc., H.B. Fuller Inc., Signature Aviation, and the 5th Avenue Theater Association. He is a retired member of the Executive Board of the National Association of Manufacturers and former Board Member and Chair of the Ordway Center for Performing Arts.

Mr. Handley holds a B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and earned an M.B.A from the University of Chicago.