WE ARE EXPERTS DRIVEN BY SHARED VALUES

Since 2014, Agriculture Capital has been providing institutional investors with access to opportunities in natural capital.

our mission

Our mission at Agriculture Capital is to develop opportunities in scaled regenerative agriculture that reward stakeholders and investors, produce better food, and promote the health of our planet.

who we are

For the past decade, Agriculture Capital has invested in and established sustainable food infrastructure that delivers better food, improves the ecosystem health of our planet, and increases the value of our funds.

We believe in the power of future-oriented agriculture to improve the outlook for people and our planet, so we’re scaling it. With a long standing track record of data and analytics to quantify our environmental and financial success, we’re proving that a more resilient approach to agriculture is both possible and profitable.

Key to our success is a deep understanding of the impact of our regenerative practices on our investments and supply chain from farmland to customer. Through this model, we are able to reduce our use of water, energy, and plastics, bolster crops with native ecosystems, support beneficial insects, and build soil organic matter that allows us to sequester carbon with the potential, we believe, to generate high quality carbon credits and permanent climate solutions.

Our mission-driven model aims for scale that makes farmland more valuable, mitigates the effects of climate change, and gives agricultural investors a resilient advantage.

our team

An innovation-driven management team with a rare knowledge of agriculture, food systems, and investments.

Reach out to learn more about our team.

contact us

Tom Avinelis

Co-Managing Director

Tom is a co-founder of AC and has over four decades of experience in a range of agricultural roles, from pest control advisor to farm manager, research agronomist, crop consultant, sales manager, and director of various farming operations. Tom is an industry leader in sustainable and organic agriculture at scale, with sustainability and stewardship being the hallmark of his career. He co-founded AgriCare, a farm management services and technical consulting company, and also led the growth of HomeGrown Farms, one of the largest organic produce marketing firms in California.

Tom has a BS in Crop Science from California Polytechnic Institute, San Luis Obispo.

Rob Hurlbut

Co-Managing Director

Rob is a co-founder of Agriculture Capital, and for over 30 years has been investing in and leading regenerative food companies. Rob’s experience as founder and CEO of several natural category food companies, along with his time as a Director at Nestle, has informed his focus on the value of proprietary supply chains and the opportunity to connect regenerative practices to value creation for all stakeholders. His industry outlook and the potential for agriculture to drive economic and climate returns underpins his deep understanding of the economics of food. Rob serves as an advisor to ICA supporting Bay Area food entrepreneurs and as a board member for California Farm Link and Healthy Food Ingredients.

Rob has a BA in Psychology and Social Relations from Harvard University.

Brooke Randall

Principal

Brooke is a co-founder of Agriculture Capital and has over 16 years of investment experience in the real assets arena. Brooke joined AC after serving as a Principal at Equilibrium Capital, where he evaluated opportunities in the agriculture, water, timber, and energy sectors, ultimately laying the groundwork for the founding of Agriculture Capital. Brooke believes that a regenerative food system can be created at scale by bringing people with diverse talents together. Brooke was a founding member of Unitus Capital, a boutique investment bank focused on microfinance and social enterprise in Bangalore, India. He was also part of the team that built Quellos Private Capital, responsible for investing in private equity, venture capital, and real asset funds.

Brooke has a BA in Finance from Washington State University and is a graduate of the Honors College.

Atish Babu

Senior Vice President

Atish is a pioneering investor in agriculture and was a founding partner at Omnivore Capital, an agriculture investment firm focused on South Asia. Earlier in his career, Atish worked in technology venture capital, Battery Ventures (US) and Nexus Venture Partners (India). In addition to his investing experience, Atish also has startup operations experience as one of the earliest employees at Vonage, helping build the company to a successful IPO.

Atish has an undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Liz Crowe

CFO

Liz has over 14 years of experience in accounting and finance. As an early team member at Agriculture Capital, she has spent the last 8 years leading the back-office accounting and fund operations function, including fund administration, financial reporting, fund audit, and tax reporting. Liz came to AC from Maginnis & Carey LLP, one of the oldest public accounting firms in Oregon, where she performed financial statement assurance and tax preparation services for clients in various industries. Liz is a Certified Public Accountant and is recognized as a member of the first cohort to earn the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting Credential from the IFRS Foundation.

Liz has a BS in Management from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management and received her MBA from Northeastern Illinois University.

Dave Keatley

Senior Vice President

Dave leads the firm’s oversight of operational performance in the Western US. Dave spent 14 years in the wine industry where he managed both vineyard and winery operations. He was most recently the Director of Winemaking at Flowers Vineyard and Winery in Sonoma County and has also worked with wine producers in Napa, Chile and New Zealand. He brings a passion for agricultural operations to his work with Agriculture Capital, as well as direct experience deriving value through the vertical integration of farmland and midstream assets.

Dave has a dual degree BA in Economics and Physical Geography from McGill University.

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Guy Kingwill

Australia Country Director

Guy oversees the development and growth of AC’s citrus assets and identifies investment opportunities for future expansion in the region. Guy was the CEO of Tandou Limited, an ASX listed company focused on water entitlements, large-scale irrigation producing cotton and cereal, and organic lamb production. With over 20 years of experience in the natural resources space, Guy previously served as Senior Vice President and CFO of the chemicals specialist, Lanxess Corporation, and as Vice President of the Functional Chemical Division at Bayer Chemicals Corporation in Pittsburgh. Guy is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Directors Company and a member of the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants. He is actively involved in the local community as a member and Past-President of the Rotary Club of Mildura Deakin.

Guy started his career as an auditor with an accounting firm in Cape Town, South Africa, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant after graduating with an accounting degree from the University of Cape Town.

Wood Turner

Senior Vice President

Wood has worked for 30 years with international NGOs, public agencies, and consumer brands to develop ideas that restore environmental quality, regenerate working landscapes, and build community. He was previously the VP Sustainability Innovation at Stonyfield Farm, an organic pioneer then part of the Danone Group, and the founding executive director of Climate Counts. He has advised Sustainable Brands and Harvard’s Center for Health and the Global Environment and now sits on boards for the Duke University Campus Farm and the Center for Good Food Purchasing. He began a five-year appointment to the National Organic Standards Board in early 2020 and is leading a regenerative transition of his family’s farm in North Carolina.

Wood has an undergraduate degree from Duke University and a graduate degree in urban and environmental planning and design from the University of Washington.

Ricardo Vernazza-Paganini

EU Director

Ricardo has 25 years of experience in the Agriculture and Private Equity agribusiness space,
spanning investments, operational and consulting roles for Asset Managers, Corporations and
Family offices. Ricardo’s global agribusiness footprint spans four continents including the US and Latin America, Western Europe, southern Africa, China and Asia-Pacific, and with a sector track record that includes food retailing, processing, food logistics, agri inputs, biofuels and farming. Previously, he was Managing Partner of Torreon Capital a PE agribusiness advisory firm in Spain, and part of the senior team at Vadela, a family office in Latin America dedicated to PE agribusiness investments and operations.

Ricardo has an agronomy degree from the Universidad de República (Uruguay), an MBA from the University of Chicago with high honors, and an MS in Agricultural Economics from UC Davis. He completed a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, studying animal grazing systems at UC Davis.

Andrew Alspaugh

Vice President, Investments

Andrew is a Vice President at Agriculture Capital. He is involved in all areas of the firm’s investment activities with a particular focus on royalty-protected varieties, citrus businesses in California and Australia, and water infrastructure investments. Prior to joining AC, Andrew was an investor with Paine Schwartz Partners where he focused on permanent crops, breeding and genetics, and technology.

Andrew has a BA in Economics from Amherst College and an MBA from the University of Texas.

John Petroff

Vice President, Strategy

Prior to joining AC, John worked as a consultant with LEK Consulting where he focused on corporate strategy and private equity due diligence client engagements across a wide array of industries. John began his career in corporate sustainability and retains a passion for scaling sustainable and regenerative business practices. Prior to attending business school and joining LEK, John worked as the Director of Sustainability for Taylor Farms.

John has a degree in Economics and Environmental Studies from Boston College and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Katherine Hart

CCO

Prior to joining AC, Katherine spent 13 years at Moss Adams LLP, working with financial service companies performing financial statement audits, compliance and internal audit reviews, and assessments. Additionally, she helped lead the Regulatory Compliance and Internal Audit Group for the firm. She also spent over 10 years in the banking industry, primarily in accounting and responsible for completing various SEC filings. Katherine serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the ALS Association Oregon and SW Washington Chapter, a member of the Supervisory Committee for PointWest Credit Union, a member of the Finance and Audit Committee for Girls Scouts of Oregon and SW Washington, and the President of her children’s school PTA.

Katherine has a BS in Finance and Management from Portland State University and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).

Jeremy Powell

Senior Associate, Investments

Prior to Agriculture Capital, Jeremy was an Analyst at Innovyze, a water software company, where he provided financial and strategic analysis to the CFO. Jeremy began his career at Cliffwater LLC, an investment consultant, where he evaluated private equity investment opportunities for the firm’s institutional clients across asset classes including energy, agriculture, infrastructure, buyouts, and real estate. Jeremy grew up on his family farm located just outside of Portland, OR. With a family history in farming and professional experience in finance and investing, Jeremy has seen firsthand how strategic investments in agriculture can have positive effects on investors, rural communities, and broader society.

Jeremy has a BA in Economics from Seaver College at Pepperdine University.

Christian Choconta

Senior Associate, Capital Markets

Christian began his career in investment banking and financial consulting, working in sustainable finance projects, designing innovative financing mechanisms and generating business models that integrate sustainability with economic performance to attract impact investors. He has experience in the financial structuring of nature-based solutions focused on carbon credits. Prior to his MBA, Christian worked for four years in Deloitte Colombia’s Corporate Finance division, focusing on M&A processes and capital raising. He participated in various mandates in different industries, including agribusiness, energy, and health, among others.

Christian has a B.Sc. in Economics from Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia and an MBA from Duke University.

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Casey Peck

Senior Associate, Capital Markets

Prior to joining the Investor Relations team, Casey was with AC’s Operations team working with farm managers, marketers, packing houses, farms, and nurseries. She also represented AC on the Marketing Committee of California Citrus Mutual and is a member of AC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Casey spent several years at TorreyCove Capital Partners (recently acquired by Aksia), an alternative investment advisory and consulting firm where she was primarily responsible for the real assets, venture capital, and growth equity strategies. Casey began her career with Sprott USA, a global alternative asset manager with a defining focus on precious metals and real assets.

Casey is a graduate of the University of Texas with dual degrees in Economics and English.

Cheri Smith

Senior Accountant

Cheri previously owned her own accounting business and spent many years in investment management working at Columbia Funds and American Funds in the roles of fund accounting, fund operations, financial/tax reporting, and audit. Cheri enjoys giving back to the community and is an active volunteer with One Life, a food pantry that feeds and equips families to break cycles of poverty.

Cheri has a BA in Economics with a minor in Business Management from the University of California, Irvine.

Mike Grover

Accounts Payable & Portal Administration

Mike spent many years in the banking industry, where he specialized in Check Processing, Treasury Management and Finance. During his time at Portland’s Capital Pacific Bank, Mike was a founding member of the bank’s Green Team, which grew from a simple, employee-led effort to improve the bank’s recycling options to become an intrinsic part of its mission. The end result of the Green Team’s efforts was Capital Pacific Bank’s certification as a B Corp, one of the few banks in the country to hold that distinction.

Mike has a BS in Business from Concordia University.

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Stephanie Sanchez

Associate, FP&A

Stephanie spent over five years as a financial analyst at General Dynamics Mission Systems in Phoenix, Arizona. Stephanie also volunteered as a Supervisory Committee member at the TruWest Credit Union in Arizona.

Stephanie has a BS in Accountancy from Arizona State University and an MS in Accountancy from the Keller School of Management.

Felice Belfiore

Senior Advisor

Felice has over 20 years of experience in financial and business leadership. She served as Chief Financial Officer for over 6 years before assuming her current role in 2023. Prior to joining AC, Felice co-founded Capital Pacific Bancorp and served as its CFO for 12 years. Her expertise includes risk management and capital raising, having successfully navigated the changing economic and regulatory landscape over the last two decades. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a non-profit that co-creates the restoration of freshwater ecosystems and advancement of renewable energy.

Felice has a BS in Accounting and Business Management from Oregon State University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Investing in and managing permanent crops are an essential part of our global toolkit for fighting the effects of climate change.