MANAGEMENT TEAM

John Fife, Managing Partner, 47, founded Chicago Venture Partners as the principal investor and Managing Partner in 1998. A lifetime entrepreneur, John has founded and successfully managed several small businesses. Prior to founding CVP, he was an Assistant Vice President at Continental Illinois Venture Corporation (CIVC), a leveraged buyout subsidiary of Continental Illinois bank, where he played a key role in the identification, evaluation and monitoring of control investments in four portfolio companies. These four companies were subsequently sold for proceeds representing an IRR of 35%. John served as CIVC’s representative on the board of directors of each of the four companies. After leaving CIVC, John made personal investments in at least 17 privately held companies. Prior to attending graduate school, John was a consultant at Oracle Corporation for three years. John serves on the boards of directors of six technology companies and one retail concern. John received a MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business and dual undergraduate degree in statistics and computer science from Brigham Young University. 

Jon Hansen, Partner, 37, joined the firm in 1998 as an associate and became partner after sourcing and providing support for several successful investments. Jon then served as the Chief Executive Officer of MSTAR.NET, a CVP portfolio company, for almost four years. Under his leadership, MSTAR increased revenues and became markedly more profitable. Jon led the company through a transition from dial-up and DSL technology to delivery of high speed Internet, IP Video and VOIP over municipally-owned fiber optic networks. Jon has received several awards for business accomplishments, including the v100 award for Utah technology entrepreneurs and the Forty Under Forty award from the magazine Utah Business. He serves as Chairman of the Board of MSTAR.NET, LLC and as Director of Strategix Performance, Inc., Pulse Systems, Inc. and Utah Resources International, Inc. He earned a bachelor of arts degree cum laude from Brigham Young University. Prior to graduate school, Mr. Hansen co-founded and operated a call center company and a factoring company. Jon received a JD from Northwestern University School of Law and a MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. He leads the firm’s investment activities in the Salt Lake City office. 

Greg White, Partner, has worked in the investment industry for eight years, including several years of consulting for Shorebank Capital Corporation (“Shorebank”), a Specialized Small Business Investment Company (“SSBIC”) subsidiary of Shorebank Corporation.  During his tenure at Shorebank, Mr. White was heavily involved in administrative and due diligence efforts, as well as the preparation for the SBA audit process.  He currently advises entrepreneurs on raising capital, developing strategic and operating plans, structuring management teams and forming strategic alliances.  He also works with institutions that are committed to accelerating the growth of entrepreneurial companies.  Mr. White received an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.