Sign On WFSC has over 30 investment professionals across the United States based in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Charlotte, Chicago, and Houston.
Jim Jeffries
Head of Wells Fargo Strategic Capital
Jim is responsible for directing the efforts of the investing team across target focus areas, including healthcare, technology, energy and diversified industries, as well limited partner investments in qualified funds. Jim has more than 25 years of investing and capital-raising experience across a wide variety of industries, spanning from early-stage companies to the largest global corporate entities. Jim earned a BS in Business from Miami University and an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Jim is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
John Hukari
Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer
John oversees the regulatory, legal, capital, and risk requirements of Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and serves on the Advisory Council for new investments. During his 34-year career at Wells Fargo, John has managed the bank’s multi-billion-dollar portfolio of third-party private equity fund and other strategic investments and originated leveraged debt and equity co-investment financings for financial sponsor-led transactions. John received a BS in Business Administration from the University of Missouri – Columbia and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. John is based in San Francisco, California.
Anne Marie Hillary
Senior Vice President and Business Manager
Anne Marie is responsible for the overall operations of the business group, including strategic initiatives focused on operational efficiencies and effective risk management. Anne Marie has been with Wells Fargo since 2005, and has spent her career holding various customer support, strategic planning, and execution roles within Commercial Banking. Anne Marie earned a BA in Communication and Spanish, magna cum laude, from Loyola University – Chicago. Anne Marie is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
John Albright
Managing Director and Head of Capital Markets
John helps originate and structure deals across all sectors for Wells Fargo Strategic Capital (WFSC) and specializes in executing private capital solutions for our clients who have capital needs that exceed WFSC’s appetite or are not well suited for commercial banks, WFSC or the broadly syndicated markets. John has spent the majority of his 20-year career executing non-investment grade capital raises for businesses across diverse industries. John earned a BS from Colgate University. John is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Zachary Johnson
Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Management
Zach leads portfolio management for Wells Fargo Strategic Capital. Zach previously focused on the origination of private equity and mezzanine debt investments primarily within the energy sector from 2007 until 2020. During his 23-year career at Wells Fargo, Zach has also served in origination roles within Wells Fargo’s Middle Market and Corporate Banking Groups. Zach received both his BBA and MBA from Texas Tech University. Zach is based in Dallas, Texas.
Senior investment professionals
Richard Gan
Managing Director – Head of Diversified Industries
Rich manages a team of investment professionals responsible for a portfolio of clients covering a wide range of sectors within general industries as well as in the energy sector. The team’s primary goals for its portfolio companies is to provide access to Wells Fargo’s broad network of resources to help them succeed financially while generating the appropriate risk-adjusted returns. Rich has spent more than 31 years at Wells Fargo balanced between being a generalist and specializing in the energy industry. Rich received his BA from California Polytechnic State University. Rich is based in Houston, Texas.
Tim Rafalovich
Managing Director - Head of Fund Investing
Tim is responsible for fund investments on behalf of WFSC. Additionally, he serves on the investment committee for the bank’s own fund, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital SBIC I. He is the lead contact to the Small Business Administration for the bank SBIC, or Small Business Investment Company. Tim is a 35-year corporate finance professional, having served as an institutional private funds investor, merger and acquisitions EVP, investment banker, and business owner. Tim earned his BS in Finance from the University of Southern California and is completing his Ph.D. with expertise in behavioral finance. Tim is based in Irvine, California.
C. Thomas Richardson
Managing Director – Head of Principal Technology Investments
Tom runs a team of 11 Private Equity/Venture-type investors that make strategic and technology investments on behalf of Wells Fargo. The team has made 35 investments since 2015 mostly centered in fintech, with a focus on the following sectors: Payments, Cyber, Digital Identity, AI/Machine Learning, Capital Markets Technology, RegTech, Logistics Tech, Mortgage/Real Estate Tech, and the Blockchain/DLT space. Tom was formerly the head of Market Structure & Electronic Trading Services for Wells Fargo Securities. Tom earned a BS in Business Administration from the University of Richmond. Tom is based in New York City, New York.
John F. Ryan
Managing Director – Head of Healthcare Investments
John leads the healthcare division of WFSC which is focused on direct equity and debt investments in companies across all subsectors of the healthcare industry. John has been a venture capital and private equity investor for more than 24 years and has participated in the founding, building, and financing of companies, ranging from startups to established industry leaders in a wide array of healthcare sectors. John started his career as an investment banker covering the healthcare industry. John earned a BS with high honors from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and an MBA from Harvard Business School. John is based in San Francisco, California.
Rodney D. Altman, MD
Managing Director – Healthcare
Rod specializes in investing in all sectors of healthcare. His prior experience includes more than 20 years of healthcare investing, extensive clinical experience in emergency medicine, and P&L experience in healthcare services. Rod has an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and an MD degree from McGill University. Rod is based in San Francisco, California.
Keith Cable
Managing Director – Diversified Industries
Keith covers opportunities in the Midwest and Northeast U.S. His primary responsibilities include originating, structuring and executing new junior capital investments as well as managing his existing portfolio. Prior to joining Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, Keith was the Senior Vice President and Regional Lead for Wells Fargo’s Middle Market Bank’s Chicago Office. He has over 20 years of commercial and merchant banking experience with a focus on middle market and privately owned companies. Keith graduated with a degree in business from Valparaiso University. Keith is based in Chicago, Illinois.
Chris Carter
Managing Director – Diversified Industries
Chris covers the Southeast U.S. His primary responsibilities include originating, structuring and executing new junior capital investments as well as managing his existing portfolio. Chris has been with Wells Fargo for 18 years, with the last 15+ years focused on providing junior capital financing solutions to key bank clients and prospects. Chris graduated magna cum laude with a BBA in Finance from Texas A&M University . Chris is based in Houston, Texas.
Basil Darwish
Managing Director – Principal Technology Investments
Basil leads the group’s focus on fintech and B2B Enterprise Software. He brings more than 20 years of experience, which spans deep tech product development and venture investing across the U.S. and Asia. Basil’s focus areas include fintech, RegTech, AI/Machine Learning & Analytics, Enterprise Infrastructure Software, and Information Security. Basil holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business with a double major in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management; a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University and a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Jordan. Basil is based in Palo Alto, California.
Inessa Even
Managing Director – Principal Technology Investments
Inessa heads Capital Markets and WealthTech Investing for the group. She brings expertise across market structure, digital ecosystems and fintech infrastructure to her investment practice. Inessa holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management with a double major in Finance and Management and Strategy as well as a BA in International Relations from Emory University. Inessa is based in New York, New York.
Michael Nepveux
Managing Director – Diversified Industries
Michael develops and executes private equity and junior capital opportunities, covering the Rockies and Midwest. He specializes in general industries, energy, and power. He has 20 years of experience in private equity and junior capital and is an experienced board member. Michael holds a degree in finance from The University of Texas at Austin. Michael is based in Denver, Colorado.
Mikhail Zhukov
Managing Director – Diversified Industries
Mikhail is responsible for origination and underwriting of highly customized junior debt and equity capital solutions across a broad range of general industries. Prior to joining Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, Mikhail was a managing director in the Leveraged Finance Group at Wells Fargo Securities. Mikhail holds an MBA from UC Davis and a BA in International Economics from the State Economic University in Saratov, Russia. Mikhail is based in San Francisco, California.
