Executive Team
Experienced Leaders and Mission-Driven Investors
Wes Moore
Chairman
- CEO of Robin Hood Foundation to May 2021
- Founder and CEO of BridgeEdU, White House Fellow to Condoleeza Rice, Rhodes Scholar, Veteran
- US Army Officer
- New York Times best-selling author, Board Member of Under Armour and IAC
Carl Stanton
Chief Executive Officer
- Former Head of PE for Invesco; Managing Partner of Wellspring Capital
- 27 years of PE Investing and Board Member to >15 portfolio companies
- Former firm closed funds totaling $3.1bn during tenure
Wray Thorn
Chief Investment Officer
- Former MD & CIO for Private Investments at Two Sigma; architected & led PE/VC efforts
- Established Two Sigma impact investment business; leader in proactive ESG, application of data / tech in private investing
- 28-year private investing career, $2.8bn+ invested capital, approved / part of investments in >120 companies, served on 34 boards / committees
Ernest Lyles
Chief Financial Officer
- Founder of PE firm, The HiGro Group
- Former Head of Technology and Business Services, UBS Investment Bank
- 10 years of Investment Banking experience; Board observer and Lead Director, respectively, for two portfolio companies
Chadd Hunt
Director
- Managing Director, The HiGro Group
- Former Managing Director, Dryden & Co.
Howard Sanders
DIRECTOR
- Founder and Managing Member of
Auldbrass Partners - Former MD at Citi Holdings
- Board member of the Partnership for New York City Foundation
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNER
- Leading Secondary firm with top quartile performance for recent fund
- Founded in 2011, spin-out of Citi Holdings, 15 professionals
- Career totals of >$5 billion in secondaries transactions (500 fund transactions) completed
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNER
- Leading Secondary firm with top quartile performance for recent fund
- Founded in 2011, spin-out of Citi Holdings, 15 professionals
- Top quartile performance for recent fund
- Career totals of >$5 billion in secondaries transactions (500 fund transactions) completed
Board of Directors & Advisory Board
Alongside the management team, FOCUS has assembled a best-in-class and diverse team, highly equipped and incentivized to add value to the FOCUS process.
Derek Ferguson
ADVISORY BOARD CHAIR
- Chief Administrative Officer, TIAA
- Former COO, Robin Hood Foundation
- Former President, Combs Enterprises
ESG & Mission
Morgan DeBaun
- CEO, Blavity
- Millennial media executive
Shawn Escoffery
- ED Roy & Patricia Disney Family Foundation
- Former Program Officer, Surdna Foundation
Tom Perrotti
- Former COO, ADP Corporation
Investing
Erik Anderson
- Leader in global innovation and proactive ESG
- Founder & CEO of WestRiver Group; CEO of Decarbonization Plus family of ESG SPACs
- Executive Chairman: Singularity University, SVB Capital Credit Platform, Topgolf (former)
Josh Kaufman
- Principal, Kaufman Holdings
- Former Founder, Brenner West and Investor MSD Capital
Tom Kichler
- Senior Advisor, CVC
- Operating Partner, SJL (S Korea)
- Board Member: Dussur (Saudi Arabia)
Leadership
Troy Carter*
- CEO of Q&A and notable Angel Investor
- Former Global Head of Creator Services, Spotify
- Board Member: Aspen Institute, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Dawanna Williams*
Dabar Development Partners, Managing Principal
Former Attorney, Sidley Austin
Board Member: Apollo Theater
Rusty O'Kelley
Co-Head, Board and CEO Advisory Practice, Russell Reynolds
Board Member: Lincoln Theater
Operations
Jerri DeVard*
- Founder, Black Executive CMO Alliance
- Former CCO/CMO, Office Depot and ADT
- Board Member: Under Armour, Cars.com
Ron Pasek
- Former CFO, NetApp
- Board Member: Spectra
Microsystems
Corey Harrison
- Executive VP, NFL
- Former White House Fellow, KKR, UBS
Note: (*) indicates an Independent Director on our Board of Directors. Otherwise, individuals appearing on this page are advisory board members.