Also in this section: People Organizational Chart 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. 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, in which 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. Joseph F. Bachman Portfolio Manager Mr. Bachman is a member of the global investment team. In this capacity he has fund management responsibilities for the New Zealand funds and is involved in 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 a both a registered and Certified Forester and is a member of the Society of American Foresters. He holds an AB in Biology and an MBA from Dartmouth College, as well as an MF in Forestry from Duke University. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 and an MBA from Dartmouth College. 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.