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Willow Ridge Capital Management Team

STEVEN C. MERRELL
smerrell@willowridgecapital.com

FOUNDER & CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER

Prior to forming Willow Ridge, Steve spent twelve years with American Express where he served as Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager. During his tenure he was responsible for managing several mutual funds and American Express fixed income investments in the emerging markets. His role required him to meet and plan with government and business leaders around the world, including the President of Hungary, the former Prime Minister of Russia, finance ministers and central bankers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Kenya, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Korea.

"The 1990s," recalls Steve, "was a time of exciting change for developing countries. The cold war ended and these countries were finally breaking free from decades of mismanagement. I was privileged to be part of it. It was a great training ground."

But that position left him feeling quite removed from the lives of the people his decisions affected. "I wanted to work with individuals and see the positive impact I was having in their lives," he says. "So I left that world to build a business that allows me to help individuals."

Having also worked at JP Morgan in London, Steve has expertise not found among traditional financial advisors. Yet he was determined that Willow Ridge would do more than just grow the dollar figures.

"We help bring order to our clients financial lives," Steve says. "Money is a tool, and a person's wealth should support their deepest desires and most cherished values. We want to enable our clients to pursue their dreams with confidence.

"The highest compliment my clients pay me is to trust me with their financial future. Now, instead of watching the economy of a foreign country, I get to help my clients progress toward their lifelong goals. That brings me immense satisfaction."

Steve was educated at Brigham Young University where he graduated with a Master in Business Administration in 1986 and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1984.

Steve and his wife Jeanne have five children. They enjoy family activities, serving in their church and pursuing adventure while backpacking, cycling, scuba diving, or just having fun together. Steve is based in Monterey California and currently serves on the board for the for the Community Foundation of San Benito County and the investment committee for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey County. He is active in Boy Scouts and Rotary.

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GARY E.D. ALT
galt@willowridgecapital.com

CO-FOUNDER

Gary Alt created Willow Ridge to empower the lives of individuals and business owners through powerful wealth building techniques. He was probably destined to do so from a very early age.

"Years ago," Gary recalls, "I learned the power of simple savings and investing. My early experience with mutual funds ignited my interest in how the financial markets work."

While studying statistics in college Gary learned how to analyze investments and successfully began investing in mutual funds on his own. Seeing his results, his interest continuted to grow and culminated in a Bachelors degree in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1984.

Gary has spent nearly his entire life honing his financial skills. He held numerous management and executive positions in several public companies. Among other responsibilities he evaluated companies for potential acquisition, eventually leading to the $339 million acquisition of a technology company traded on the NASDAQ and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Those experiences sharpened his research skills that are now used when evaluating investments for his clients.

"My own experience with traditional financial services companies led to another realization," he says. "Very large companies and institutions get top-notch research and consulting that the typical investor doesn't have at his disposal. It's hard for an individual investor to discern whether someone is acting as their fiduciary or is merely cloaked as an unbiased financial advisor who is generating commissions. Our clients quickly learn that we have their best interest at heart."

Stepping away from the corporate world also allowed Gary to exercise the creativity he developed early on in life. "As co-founder of the firm," he says with satisfaction, "I enjoy the satisfaction of continually finding new ways to serve our clients. We can develop new services to meet the specialized needs of our clients, without interference from a corporate staff that are making decisions far removed from our clients." His results at Willow Ridge attest to the wisdom in that approach.

Gary and his wife Sheila have four children and reside in Pleasanton, California. Their love for their community finds the volenteering at schools, in church activities, Rotary Club events, and other organizations. Beyond the financial world, you're likely to see Gary outdoors with his family, enjoying hiking, runnning, cycling, and trap shooting among other things.

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RONALD J. PASQUINELLI
ron@willowridgecapital.com

Ron Pasquinelli established Pasquinelli Investment Management in Monterey, California in 1970, before merging his firm into Willow Ridge Capital Advisors in 2002. His career began with various line management positions including an assignment as a construction battalion company commander in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineering Corps. Following his time in the Navy, Ron joined the international management consulting firm of Booz, Allen & Hamilton, where he handled both domestic and international assignments in business, engineering and finance.

Ron is a graduate of Michigan College of Mining and Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. He also holds a Master in Business Administration degree from Golden Gate University.

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AMY L. HUTCHINSON
amy@willowridgecapital.com

Amy is the Director of Operations of Willow Ridge Capital Advisors. Amy is dedicated to serving others. Prior to joining the Willow Ridge team Amy served her country as a Vietnamese linguist in the United States Air Force. She earned an Associate’s Degree in Vietnamese from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center while stationed at the Presidio of Monterey in 2001. Amy graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland in 2005 with a BA in Humanities.

Amy is active in church activities, loves golden retrievers and bernese mountain dogs, fancies herself an amateur photographer and can often be found with her nose in a book.

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LISA DE VILLE
lisa@willowridgecapital.com

Lisa is our Client Services Manager.

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