Joel Peterson

Prior to founding Peterson Ventures, LLC, Joel founded Peterson Partners, LP, a regional private equity company based in Salt Lake City.  Joel has a long history of successful, early-stage investments in a variety of industries. He currently teaches Entrepreneurial Management at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, serves as Director of Stanford GSB Center for Leadership Development and Research, and is Chairman of JetBlue and Director of Franklin Covey. He was formerly Managing Partner of Trammell Crow Company, and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

 

Dan Peterson

Dan joined Peterson Ventures from Z Capital, where he was Managing Director.  He has invested in early-stage companies in a wide range of industries, including high-tech, real estate, and financial services. Dan was previously a Partner at Trammell Crow Company, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

 

 

Brandon Cope

Prior to joining Peterson Ventures, Brandon worked for McKinsey & Company, an international management consulting firm.  While at McKinsey, he focused on growth strategy, organizational transformation, and operational improvement projects across numerous industries.  Brandon has an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Accounting from Brigham Young University.  He currently serves on the board of HireVue.

 

Ben Capell

Prior to joining Peterson Ventures, Ben was the product and business manager at Personal Pathways LLC, responsible for the firm’s flagship product. He joined Personal Pathways after several years at Charles River Associates, a leading global economic and business consulting firm headquartered in Boston. Ben holds B.S. and MBA degrees from Brigham Young University, where he was a Hawes Scholar. While at BYU, Ben served as the Managing Director of Cougar Capital, the Marriott School’s student-run venture capital and private equity fund.

 

Val Ballein

Val has been associated with the partners of Peterson Ventures for more than twenty years, in a variety of capacities, and currently serves as CFO. She is a CPA with particular expertise in tax and real property matters. Prior to joining Peterson Ventures, Val served as a regional controller in the Houston division of Trammell Crow Company—the largest private developer of commercial real estate in the United States at the time. Prior to her tenure with Trammell Crow Company, she served as an auditor with Kenneth Leventhal and Company, an international public accounting firm specializing in real estate matters. Val earned her degree in Chemistry from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and has taught in the secondary schools of Arkansas.

Lauren McKay

Prior to joining Peterson Ventures, Lauren worked as the Client Services Manager for an online marketing start-up.  Her experience is in sales, service, and management, with deep knowledge and expertise in the hospitality industry.  She spent over five years with The Ritz-Carlton, where she held several positions including Manager of Reservation Sales and Customer Care.  Lauren holds a B.S. from the University of Utah, and an M.B.A. from Westminster College.