Our Team

In 2004, Bill Tarr and Brian Dunn observed that institutional and individual investors required a specialized and focused team to find and evaluate leading investment opportunities in the rapidly emerging and fragmented areas of Clean Technology, Sustainable Natural Resources, and Healthy Living. Together, they recognized that these and many of the other sustainable investment themes were not industries in and of themselves, but rather a set of business models and new technologies being applied to increase efficiency and reduce waste in some of the largest industries in the world. They developed Aquillian’s investment thesis and are building a specialized team and network in order to surface the growing number of sustainable best-in-breed investment opportunities being created at a time when finite resource supply is being systematically outstripped by global demand at an unprecedented scale and rate.

 

Bill Tarr

As a founding partner, Bill is responsible for Aquillian’s overall firm strategy, business development, and strategic partnerships. In addition to developing the team’s consulting, and advisory practices, Bill plays an active role in sourcing investment opportunities and research initiatives. Since 2004, Bill has developed an extensive network comprised of industry leaders in the areas Aquillian covers, enabling the firm to provide comprehensive industry research, deal flow, and due diligence in order to help investors make prudent investments and maximize the potential returns and positive impact of their portfolios across asset class, industry area, and geography.

Before founding Aquillian Bill was a management consultant with Origo Global Business Partners. At Origo, Bill co-developed and launched the Social Enterprise Services business division, and managed a variety of sustainability oriented consulting projects for international foundations, corporations, and sustainable development think tanks. Prior to Origo, Bill was a program director for New Sector Alliance, an Accenture backed management consulting initiative. At New Sector, Bill sourced and managed a number of consulting projects serving Bay Area social and sustainable enterprises.

Before working in management consulting, Bill was the business development and product marketing manager for Octopus Software. At Octopus, Bill orchestrated a $200 Million acquisition opportunity by a top six software company.

Prior to pursuing his business endeavors, Bill spent a year abroad serving as a high school teacher and micro enterprise consultant in Ebeye, Republic of Marshall Islands. In his free time, Bill hikes, surfs, plays golf, and tutors learning disabled and disadvantaged youth. Bill is also on the advisory board of Juma Ventures. Bill received his BA in Political Science from Dartmouth College.

 

Brian Dunn

As founding partner, Brian works with a wide range of individual and institutional clients, evaluating client needs and helping to implement appropriate investment strategies. In addition, Brian is responsible for Aquillian's financial, operational, and day-to-day business implementation, and assists with due diligence analysis. Brian envisioned Aquillian Investments as a mechanism to provide information and infrastructure to a highly fragmented investment field, confronting our world's most pressing problems through profitable (and thus scalable) solutions.

Prior to starting Aquillian, Brian worked at Tennyson West, a boutique investment banking firm in San Francisco, on a variety of deals in natural foods, personal care products, and healthcare staffing. Brian served as the primary point of contact for businesses looking to raise money, and crafted due diligence studies, valuation analyses, and private placement memoranda. Previously, Brian was hired as the first staff member of Investors' Circle, a national angel investment group that has facilitated more than $130 million in investment capital. He evaluated thousands of early stage investment opportunities and gained exposure to a tremendous network of professionals that continue to be incredibly helpful. Brian managed Investors' Circle through a key inflection point, and is credited with laying the groundwork for its current success.

In his earlier years and in the free time he has remaining, Brian travels the world. He has canoed the Congo and bicycled solo across the United States, and has 90 countries under his belt. Brian now lives in San Francisco with his wife and daughter. He swims frequently in the Bay's cold waters, and serves on the board of Save the Bay, the oldest and largest organization working to protect, restore and celebrate San Francisco Bay. Brian has FINRA Series 7, Series 24, Series 27, Series 63, and Series 65 registrations. He earned a BA from UC Berkeley, an MA in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University, and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.

 

James Everett

James works on opportunities in real assets, energy efficiency, green building, water, solar, and carbon markets. James is committed to the integration of economic and ecological sustainability, believing that green ideas have increased potential for scale and impact when they are directed toward practical solutions of business problems.

Before joining Aquillian, James was Conservation Finance Manager for the Pacific Forest Trust. He conducted financial analysis of forestland acquisition opportunities and led marketing of carbon offsets generated from sustainable forest management. James also managed integrated conservation and development projects as a Natural Resource Management Specialist for the World Conservation Union in Iran.

Previously, James worked in commercial finance with GATX Capital, where he conducted financial analysis and due diligence on investments in rail, air, marine, distributed power generation, telecommunications, and natural resources; worked in timberland investment and management with Wagner Forest Management; led a research and demonstration center for sustainable and renewable technologies; worked for a photovoltaic systems integrator on installation of some of the first grid-tied PV systems in the San Francisco Bay Area; and has run his own arboricultural consulting business.

He holds a Master of Forestry degree from Yale University and a BS in Environmental Policy and Management from Humboldt State University, and completed the UC Berkeley Venture Capital Executive Program. He has FINRA Series 7 registration.

 

Robert Steiner

Robert is responsible for identifying, evaluating, and monitoring clean technology investment opportunities within the traditional and alternative assets classes. With a sector focus on water, waste, air, and environment, Robert meets with a number of industry leaders within each value chain to conduct the necessary due diligence in his analysis of investment opportunities. From his unique background, Robert is committed to and places a particular emphasis on the strategic overlap of the current global trends, environmental health and human health.

Prior to joining Aquillian, Robert served as the Executive Director for the WaterLeaders Foundation, a Bay area nonprofit that is dedicated to providing appropriate, sustainable safe water solutions to the developing world. Prior to his work in the private sector, Robert was an officer in the US Public Health Service and served within the Department of Health and Human Services, specifically within the Office of the Secretary, the Office of the Surgeon General and the Office of Global Health Affairs.

Robert holds a Masters degree in Public Health from George Washington University with a concentration in Global Health Policy and a BS from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. Robert has FINRA Series 7 registration.

 

Rebel Ely

As an independent consultant, Rebel helps drive Aquillian’s growth strategy and business relationships with clients, affiliates, and partners. From her investment banking background, Rebel works with private equity firms, hedge funds, and fund of funds looking for investment opportunities and asset allocation advisory in the clean technology sector. Rebel also brings an extensive background in operations, finance, and law to Aquillian's management team.

Prior to Aquillian, Rebel served as a Director for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). At Microsoft, she oversaw strategic development and implementation of all new platform solutions for the financial services industry globally. As the executive responsible for making formal recommendations on all Microsoft investments and acquisitions involving financial services industry products, Rebel evaluated over 250 organizations to identify strategic extensions to the Microsoft platform.

Prior to Microsoft, Rebel ran Business Development for Octopus Software, a Silicon Valley venture-backed company that delivered a programmable streaming data platform to consumers and financial services companies and was acquired by Ask (NASDAQ: ASK). Before Octopus, Rebel started the Internet Business Development Group for WebEx Communications (NASDAQ: WEBX), a data and video conferencing software company that was recently acquired by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO).

Rebel began her career as an investment banker in the Technology Group for Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and as a securities and commercial defense attorney for the international law firm Coudert Brothers. Rebel holds a BA from Yale College and a JD from the University of Michigan. She is a member of the California State Bar Association and a Series 7 Registered Securities Representative, and an active member of 100 Women in Hedge Funds.

 

Jason Malkin

Jason is responsible for Aquillian's Midwest business development and client service. Based in Chicago, Jason serves as the regional head of consulting and advisory services to individual and institutional investors seeking prudent exposure to the areas that Aquillian covers. Jason joins Aquillian with an extensive background in the fields of investment management, financial services, and philanthropy. Aquillian's platform to help investors accomplish their sustainable investment goals serves as a natural complement to Jason's domain expertise.

Prior to joining Aquillian, Jason was the Director of Business Development and Client Service at CTS Strategic Investments. At CTS, he oversaw the strategic development and implementation of socially responsible investment solutions within the domestic equity arena for mission-based organizations, family offices, and investment advisors.

Previously, Jason managed several Chicago-based proprietary trading firms and was a member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, holding multiple securities registrations and licenses between 1994 and 2006. Between 1998 and 2001, Jason worked at Man Financial, where he was a partner on the securities team, and developed a specialty practice serving as a liaison between high-net-worth clients and derivative traders, focusing on strategy implementation and risk management. Jason is also an adjunct faculty member at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and was an executive director on the development team between 2003 and 2005. Mr. Malkin has a BA from the University of Illinois (Chicago), an MS in Financial Markets & Trading from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

 

David Hansen

David is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and analyzing a majority of the hedge funds and fund of funds Aquillian monitors. With a concentration in funds that utilize domestic and international equities in the long-only and long/short space, David has a deep understanding of the alternative landscape and the numerous opportunities that harness emerging themes. As new opportunities continuously emerge, David has the ability to identify those managers best positioned to combine emerging themes with complex equity strategies.

David has been in the financial industry since 1981. Prior to joining Aquillian he was a general partner at Gill & Company LLC for 17 years. As head trader, he oversaw a proprietary trading operation that specialized in index arbitrage and related strategies. Before Gill & Company LLC, David was a part of the proprietary trading team at Goldberg Securities in Chicago, where he helped set up the operation in 1984. His start in the financial industry began at the Pacific Stock Exchange options floor as manager of floor operations for Goldberg Securities.

David holds a BS in Business Administration from Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York. He has FINRA Series 7 and Series 63 registrations.

 

Geoffrey Eisenberg

Geoff conducts much of Aquillian’s manager Due Diligence analysis, with a particular focus on Clean Technology Venture Capital and Private Equity, Renewable Energy Project Finance, and Sustainable Marketable Alternatives. He also works with a wide range of individual and institutional clients, assessing alternative asset portfolios and helping to create effective and prudent sustainable manager allocations. Geoff believes that Cleantech and Sustainable Energy are driven by irreversible global demand, but that successful investing in this space requires a disciplined and thorough approach to manager selection and asset allocation.

Prior to joining Aquillian, Geoff worked as a Senior Consulting Associate in the Boston office of Cambridge Associates, a global institutional investment consulting firm. While at Cambridge Associates he provided investment counsel to institutional, pension and ultra high net-worth clients. Geoff also conducted due diligence on Marketable, Hedge Fund, and Venture Capital/Private Equity investment managers; and helped clients build diversified and sophisticated portfolios in all asset classes. At Cambridge Associates, Geoff also initiated the firm’s most recent white paper on Cleantech investing for institutional clients, and conducted extensive research on the Cleantech industry, including company and Venture Capital/Private Equity fund analysis.

A native of New England; Geoff now lives in New Haven, Ct. He is an avid backcountry skier and mountaineer, and has explored peaks around the world from the Canadian Rockies to the Alps. Geoff earned a BA from Bates College in Maine.

Pratima Maharaj

Pratima manages Aquillian's financial, operational, and day-to-day business implementation. Pratima joined Aquillian Investments to more fully explore the opportunities presented by sustainable investment and clean technology.

Prior to Aquillian, Pratima worked at USinternetworking, an AT&T Company based in Milpitas, CA. There, she served as Executive Assistant and Office Manager for the VP of Sales and other high level directors throughout the company. She supported a team of 45 people, preparing reports and correspondence and carrying out general administrative functions. She previously worked at E*Trade Financial as a Financial Services Representative, providing customer service and problem solving skills to educate customers in a timely, efficient, and professional manner.

While Pratima hails from Fiji, she now lives in Millbrae, CA with her husband. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a Minor in Finance from Golden Gate University in Sacramento, CA.

 

Gilonne d'Origny

Gilonne represents Aquillian in New York and Washington DC. She also works in the office of the President of one of the largest divisions of IMG, the world's largest sports talent and marketing agency. Previously, she was an Associate in Citibank's Global Structured Solutions, Fixed Income/Corporate Investment Banking group. Separately, she has created and is arranging the financing for a landmine clearance CDO. As a lawyer, she has worked on public and private international legal matters, including at the International Court of Justice. She produced and co-directed Stealing Klimt, a film about Nazi-stolen art, previous to her work at Citigroup. She has a BA from Brown university, an LLM (international law) and an MA (geopolitics) from the University of London.