Company Press Releases

Ed Kohler and Mike Townley Join Cherry Tree's Investment Management Group

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, June 1, 2004 – Cherry Tree Investments, a leader in venture capital and private equity investing since 1980, today announced the recent addition of Ed Kohler and Mike Townley to its investment management team.

Kohler joined Cherry Tree as Senior Advisor and brings over 35 years of experience in the financial services market. Kohler has been President and CEO of two Investment Advisory firms with assets in excess of $20 billion and the head of a Trust Company with assets of $7 billion. Kohler received a BA, BS and MBA from Winona State University.

"Ed's extensive investment experience and vast network of institutional and individual investor relationships will be a great asset for our investment management business," said Gordon Stofer co-founder and Managing Partner of Cherry Tree. "We are thrilled to have Ed join our team".

Townley joined Cherry Tree as Investment Officer and brings 12 years of management, venture capital and investment banking experience to Cherry Tree. Most recently he was CFO of Gearworks, a leading field force automation software company. Previously, Townley managed the venture capital investments of a New York City based family office and was an investment banker at Dain Rauscher Wessels and Goldman, Sachs. Townley received a BA from Harvard University and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.

"Mike's has worked with venture-backed companies as a financial manager, outside investor and investment banker, this unique combination of perspectives will be of great value to our team in identifying new investments and advising portfolio companies," said Tony Christianson, co-founder and Managing Partner of Cherry Tree.

About Cherry Tree
Cherry Tree is a private Investment Banking and Investment Management firm, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota that specializes in serving entrepreneurially-managed companies. Founded in 1980, the firm has provided services to over 200 companies in a wide variety of industries. It has formed and managed six private equity funds, and has participated in over 250 private equity financings, over 50 M&A transactions and 25 public equity offerings.