Portfolio Managers

The common characteristic of all Driehaus Capital Management LLC portfolio managers is openness — to new ideas, to rapidly changing technology, to different ways of pursuing growth.

We have highly-skilled portfolio management and research professionals working for our clients’ best interests. To correspond with the products we offer, our professionals are organized into several dedicated investment teams and are compensated based on their product’s performance.  

Richard H. Driehaus leads our domestic and international investment teams. Collectively, the portfolio managers and analysts have more than 100 years investment experience. 

Richard H. Driehaus Founder, Chief Investment Officer and Chairman, Driehaus Capital Management LLC Chairman, Driehaus Securities LLC President and Member of the Board of Trustees, Driehaus Mutual Funds

Mr. Driehaus is the architect of Driehaus Capital Management LLC's investment philosophy and has overall responsibility for the firm's investment process and style. As Chief Investment Officer he has overall responsibility for the review of all domestic and international portfolios.

From 1968 through 1973, Mr. Driehaus developed research ideas for the Institutional Trading department at A.G. Becker & Co. In 1973, he became Director of Research for Mullaney, Wells & Co. In 1976, he became Director of Research and a money manager for Jesup & Lamont. He founded Driehaus Securities LLC in 1979, followed by Driehaus Capital Management LLC in 1982 and Driehaus Mutual Funds in 1996.

Mr. Driehaus holds a B.S.C., M.B.A. and an honorary doctorate degree from DePaul University.

Michael Buck Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Micro Cap Growth Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Small Cap Growth

Michael Buck is the Assistant Portfolio Manager for the Micro Cap Growth and Small Cap Growth style domestic portfolios. In his role as Assistant Portfolio Manager, he is responsible for providing depth of leadership to the team and identifying appropriate investment ideas relevant to the Strategies.

Mr. Buck received his B.A. and B.M. degrees in economics and cello performance from Northwestern University in 2000. He began his career at Deloitte Consulting, LLC as a business analyst until he joined Driehaus in 2002.

Ryan Carpenter Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus International Small Cap Growth

Mr. Carpenter was named Assistant Portfolio Manager of the Driehaus International Small Cap Growth Strategy on May 1, 2010. He has responsibilities for investment decision-making on this Strategy, subject to Mr. Schwab’s and Mr. Mouser’s approval.

Mr. Carpenter received his B.A. degree in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2007. He began his career at Driehaus as a research intern in 2005.

Elizabeth Cassidy Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Credit Strategy

Elizabeth Cassidy joined Driehaus in 2009. In her role as Assistant Portfolio Manager, she is responsible for the Driehaus Active Income Fund and the Driehaus Credit Opportunities Fund, L.P.  As Assistant Portfolio Manager, she is responsible for idea generation, portfolio construction, security selection and investment research.

Ms. Cassidy was formerly a Vice President at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where she spent five years on their distressed debt proprietary trading desk. While at Merrill Lynch, Ms. Cassidy was responsible for taking both long and short positions in bonds, bank loans and derivatives of distressed issuers across a variety of industries. Prior to Merrill Lynch, Ms. Cassidy worked in the investment banking division of Credit Suisse First Boston.

She earned a B.A. degree in Economics and French from Middlebury College and an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where she was a Keller Scholar. She has 11 years of investment related experience.

Chad Cleaver, CFA Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Emerging Markets Growth

Chad Cleaver has been the assistant portfolio manager for the Driehaus Emerging Markets Growth Strategy since May 1, 2008 and has certain responsibilities for investment decision-making subject to Mr. Schwab’s oversight. Mr. Cleaver received an A.B. degree in Economics from Wabash College in 2000. He began his career with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He joined the Firm as an analyst in 2004 after earning his M.B.A. degree from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Cleaver is a CFA charterholder.

Mirsada Durakovic Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Credit Strategy

Mirsada Durakovic joined Driehaus in 2009. In her role as Assistant Portfolio Manager she is responsible for the Driehaus Active Income Fund and the Driehaus Credit Opportunities Fund, L.P. As Assistant Portfolio Manager, she is responsible for idea generation, portfolio construction, security selection and investment research.

Mrs. Durakovic was formerly an Assistant Portfolio Manager at Lotsoff Capital Management. While at Lotsoff, Mrs. Durakovic worked with Mr. Nelson on an absolute return credit arbitrage hedge fund and a credit arbitrage mutual fund, including the Predecessor Funds. Prior to Lotsoff, Mrs. Durakovic spent six years with JP Morgan Securities Corp., where she worked in their structured finance and corporate loan syndications group.

Mrs. Durakovic earned a B.A. degree in Finance from Loyola University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. She has 11 years of investment related experience.

Jeffrey James Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Micro Cap Growth Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Small Cap Growth

Mr. James is the Portfolio Manager of the Micro Cap Growth and Small Cap Growth Strategies. He joined Driehaus in 1997 as an investment analyst covering technology stocks before assuming portfolio management responsibilities. Prior to Driehaus, Mr. James worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago from 1991 to 1997 as an analyst. He started his career with Lehman Brothers from 1990 to 1991. Mr. James earned a B.S. degree in Finance from Indiana University and an M.B.A. from DePaul University.

David Mouser Co-Portfolio Manager, Driehaus International Small Cap Growth Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus International Discovery

Mr. Mouser is the Co-Portfolio Manager for the International Small Cap Growth Strategy. He is responsibile for the management and investment decision-making on the Driehaus International Small Cap Growth Strategy. He is also the Assistant Portfolio Manager for the Driehaus International Discovery Strategy. Prior to assuming portfolio management responsibilities in 2005, he was an investment analyst on our domestic Micro Cap Growth Strategy and a long short strategy. Mr. Mouser joined Driehaus in 1999 upon completion of his B.S. degree in Finance from the University of Dayton.

K.C. Nelson Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Credit Strategy

K.C. Nelson joined Driehaus in 2009. In his role as Portfolio Manager for the Driehaus Credit Strategies, he is responsible for the Driehaus Credit Opportunities Fund, L.P. and the Driehaus Active Income Fund. As Portfolio Manager, he manages the implementation of the investment philosophy, idea generation, portfolio construction and all buy/sell decisions. Mr. Nelson was formerly a Senior Portfolio Manager at Lotsoff Capital Management. While at Lotsoff, he managed an absolute return credit arbitrage hedge fund and a credit arbitrage mutual fund. Under his supervision, the Driehaus Active Income Fund has grown from approximately $173 million in AUM to $1.25 billion and achieved a 5-star Morningstar rating in 2009.

Mr. Nelson has also held Assistant Portfolio Manager and Analyst positions at Akela Capital, Andersen Corporate Finance LLC and J.C. Bradford & Co. Mr. Nelson earned a B.A. degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from Duke University, where he was a Keller Scholar. He has 11 years of investment related experience.

Daniel Rea Director of Research Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Global Growth Portfolio Manager, Driehaus International Discovery

Mr. Rea has been the Firm’s Director of Research since 2006. He is the Portfolio Manager of the Global Growth Strategy and the International Discovery Strategy. Prior to joining Driehaus, he worked at Franklin Templeton Investments as a global sector leader from 2005 to 2006. From 2000 to 2005, he worked as a senior analyst and later became a portfolio manager at BlackRock, Inc. Mr. Rea worked at Driehaus from 1997 to 2000 as an investment analyst covering the emerging growth sector, before he assumed portfolio management responsibilities.  He began his career in corporate finance at GE Capital Corporation as a financial analyst. Mr. Rea earned a B.S. degree in Accounting from Marquette University.

Michael Schmidt Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Mid Cap Growth Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Large Cap Growth

Michael Schmidt is the Assistant Portfolio Manager for the Mid Cap Growth and Large Cap Growth style domestic portfolios. In his role as Assistant Portfolio Manager, he is responsible for providing depth of leadership to the team and identifying appropriate investment ideas relevant to the Strategies.

Mr. Schmidt received his B.S. degree in Finance from Miami University in 2002. He began his career with The Vanguard Group in client services until he joined Driehaus in 2004. He completed his M.B.A. degree from DePaul University in 2007.

Howard Schwab Co-Portfolio Manager, Driehaus International Small Cap Growth Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Emerging Markets Growth

Mr. Schwab is a Co-Portfolio Manager for the International Small Cap Growth Strategy and Portfolio Manager for the Emerging Markets Growth Strategy. Prior to assuming portfolio management responsibilities, Mr. Schwab was an investment analyst to the Firm. Mr. Schwab joined Driehaus in 2001 upon completion of his B.A. degree in Economics from Denison University.

Andrew Srichandra, CFA Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Small Cap Recovery Growth Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Mid Cap Recovery Growth

Mr. Srichandra is the Assistant Portfolio Manager for the small and mid cap recovery growth style portfolios. In his role

as Assistant Portfolio Manager, he is responsible for providing depth of leadership to the research team and identifying

appropriate investment ideas relevant to the Strategies.

Mr. Srichandra earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance from the University of Manitoba, Canada in 1997. From 1998 to 1999, he was an analyst for Mentor Capital covering the communications, media, natural resources and consumer products sectors. In 1999, he joined IG Investment Management as an analyst focusing on the technology sector. He worked for the AIC Group of Funds from 2000 to 2004 and left that firm with the title of senior investment analyst. He joined Engemann Asset Management in 2004 as a research analyst until assuming his current role at Driehaus in 2007. Mr. Srichandra is a CFA charterholder.

Dan Wasiolek Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Mid Cap Growth Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Large Cap Growth

Mr. Wasiolek is Portfolio Manager for the Mid Cap Growth and Large Cap Growth Strategies. Prior to taking on portfolio management responsibilities, he was an investment analyst to the Firm. He joined Driehaus in 1998 upon completion of his undergraduate degree. Mr. Wasiolek earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Illinois Wesleyan University and an M.B.A. from DePaul University.

Wei Zhang, CFA Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Small Cap Recovery Growth Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Mid Cap Recovery Growth

Mr. Zhang is Portfolio Manager of the Small and Mid Cap Recovery Strategies. He joined Driehaus as an investment analyst on the International equity team in 2001. He previously worked as a private equity analyst for the China Baoan Group from 1994 to 1999. Mr. Zhang earned a B.A in Mathematics from Wuhan University in China and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Please consider the investment objectives, risks, fees and expenses of the Funds carefully prior to investing. The  prospectus contains this and other important information about the Funds. To obtain a copy of the prospectus, please call  us at (800) 560-6111.  Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.