Len Ludwig, CEO & Co-Founder
Len has more than 20 years of experience in venture debt financing and capital equipment leasing. Prior to co-founding Vencore, he founded and owned FirstCorp, a leading equipment leasing firm, from 1980 through 2003. Before FirstCorp, he served for nine years as director of administration at a Fortune 500 company in Portland, Oregon and also as an independent consultant on management control and profit improvement projects. Len received a B.S. degree in engineering science from Case Institute of Technology.
Art Hiemstra, President
Art has more than 20 years experience leading teams of lenders in providing financing to emerging growth companies. Previously, he managed a technology-lending unit at First Interstate Bank of Oregon and in 1991 co-founded the Northwest Division of Silicon Valley Bank. In this role, his offices generated more than $1 billion in bank deposits and several hundred million in loan commitments. Art earned a B.A. degree in communications from Pacific University and an MBA from Stanford University.
Jim Johnson, Chief Credit Officer, SVP & Co-Founder
Jim is a co-founder of Vencore and was previously with FirstCorp's Venture Leasing Division where he held senior management positions as well as serving as a sales manager and leasing consultant. Before FirstCorp he was at Household International in California, Alaska, and Washington as a branch manager responsible for consumer credit, mortgage lending, vendor programs, customer service, and collection operations. Jim graduated from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey and has a B.S. degree in finance from California State University.
John Saefke, CFO
John has more than 10 years of experience in lease accounting acquired through his involvement with emerging growth companies. Prior to joining Vencore, John was controller at FirstCorp where he managed a portfolio of more than 15,000 leases valued at more than $120 million. In addition, he has implemented and managed up to 20 separate debt facilities, including a $75 million securitization portfolio. John has a B.S. degree in finance and management from the University of Oregon and a post-baccalaureate degree in accounting from Portland State University.
Tom Linnemann, Vice President
Tom joined Vencore after serving as the CFO for two contract manufacturing firms. As CFO, he was instrumental in turning each organization around and re-establishing profitability. Prior to this, he was at FirstCorp for seven years, where he was a staff consultant and later a division operations manager. Earlier in his career, he served as controller and CFP for a number of manufacturing companies. Tom has an MBA from Lehigh University.
Tom is based in Portland.
Tim O'Loughlin, Managing Director, Northeast
Tim has 19 years of experience in commercial and venture debt financing for high technology companies. Prior to joining Vencore in 2003, he was a senior vice president at Silicon Valley Bank where he managed a team that created 50 full-service relationships in three years. In addition, he served as a senior credit officer with final approval for all nationwide communications and Internet-related transactions of up to $5 million per client. Earlier, he was a vice president with BayBanks. Tim has a B.A. degree, magna cum laude, in economics from Boston College and holds series 7 and 66 licenses.
Tim is based in Boston.
Joe Flynn, Managing Director, PA/NY/NJ/DE
Joe has more than 10 years' experience working with small and mid-market companies. He joined Vencore from the Merrill Lynch Global group, where as a vice president of middle-market finance and business financial services he was responsible for cash flow, asset-based, and mezzanine financing. Earlier, Joe was a vice president in the Technology/Life Science division of Silicon Valley Bank, where he managed all aspects of equipment leasing arrangements and working capital loans. Joe has a B.S. degree in business administration from Rider University and an MBA from LaSalle University.
Joe is based in Philadelphia.
Beth Roireau, Managing Director, Mid-Atlantic Region
Beth has more than 18 years of experience in financing technology, life sciences, and knowledge-based industry companies. She joined Vencore from Comerica Bank, where, as a senior vice president, she assisted technology companies in supplementing their venture capital and extending their development runways.. She has also held senior management positions at City National Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and the Bank of Boston. Beth has a B.S. degree in business administration from the University of Miami and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
Beth is based in Charlottesville, VA.
David Dolezal, Managing Director, Rocky Mountain Region
Dave has 15 years of experience in providing financing solutions to technology companies from start-up to IPO and beyond. Prior to joining Vencore, Dave served as a vice president and relationship manager with Silicon Valley Bank in Boulder, Colorado for seven years. In this role, he was responsible for providing a variety of financing solutions, including leases, term loans, revolving lines of credit and structured asset-based loans to technology company clients. Dave has a B.S. degree in business administration with a concentration in finance and accounting from Portland State University.
Dave is based in Denver.
Micah Adams, Managing Director, Texas Region
Micah is a graduate of University of Texas and received his MBA from University of Oregon. Micah has been with Vencore Capital for over two years working as a Relationship Manager for National Accounts, and now, as a Director. Micah’s extensive knowledge of this area will help to provide the support and know-how to the up and coming companies of the future.
Micah is based in Austin.
Jon Krogstad, Managing Director, Silicon Valley
Jon has 15 years' experience providing innovative financial solutions to emerging technology companies. Prior to joining Vencore, he was a founding member and manager of Greater Bay Bancorp's Venture Banking Group where he built a team that grew the company to more than $600 million in assets. Earlier in his career, Jon held lending positions at Cupertino National Bank and Union Bank. Jon has a B.S. degree in business administration with a finance concentration, graduating as the Dean's Medalist from California State University Fresno.
Jon is based in Palo Alto.
Eric Speer, Managing Director, Southern California
Eric has more than 20 years of banking and asset-based lending experience and is skilled in structuring revolving, term, and cash-flow loans for early-stage, emerging-growth companies. He was a senior vice president with Coast Business Credit in Los Angeles, providing growth capital financing for acquisitions, re-capitalization, and restructuring for seven years. Eric has B.S. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine.
Eric is based in Los Angeles.
