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.

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 for the Driehaus Credit Strategy, she is responsible for asset allocation, security selection and investment research relevant to the Strategy.

Ms. Durakovic was formerly an Assistant Portfolio Manager at Lotsoff Capital Management and worked with Mr. Nelson on a credit strategy focused on absolute return domestic credit arbitrage and a credit arbitrage mutual fund. Ms. Durakovic has also held positions of increasing responsibility at JP Morgan Securities Corp.

She earned a B.A. degree in Finance from Loyola University and is currently pursuing an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. She has 10 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.

James Krapfel Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Small Cap Recovery Growth Assistant Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Mid Cap Recovery Growth

James Krapfel is the Assistant Portfolio Manager for the Small Cap Recovery Growth and Mid Cap Recovery Growth style 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. Krapfel received his B.B.A. degree in Finance, Investments and Banking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004. He began his career at Driehaus as a research assistant. Mr. Krapfel is a a CFA charterholder.

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. Mr. Mouser has responsibilities for investment decision-making on the Driehaus International Small Cap Growth Strategy, subject to Mr. Schwab’s approval. He is also the Assistant Portfolio Manager for the Driehaus International Discovery Strategy. Prior to assuming portfolio management responsibilities, he was an investment analyst on a long short strategy as well as a global research associate and a domestic research assistant. Mr. Mouser joined Driehaus in 1999 upon completion of his B.S. degree in Finance from the University of Dayton. He is a candidate for an M.S. in Finance at DePaul University.

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 Strategy, he is responsible for 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. He managed a credit strategy focused on domestic absolute return credit arbitrage opportunities that employed leverage. Additionally, he managed a credit arbitrage mutual fund. He 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. He has 11 years of investment related experience.

Daniel Rea Director of Research Lead 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 Lead Portfolio Manager of the Global Growth Strategy and the Portfolio Manager for 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 Lead Portfolio Manager, Driehaus International Small Cap Growth Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Emerging Markets Growth Co-Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Global Growth

Mr. Schwab is the Lead Portfolio Manager for the International Small Cap Growth Strategy and Portfolio Manager for the Emerging Markets Growth Strategy. He is also a Co-Portfolio Manager for the Global 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.

Dan Wasiolek Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Mid Cap Growth Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Large Cap Growth Co-Portfolio Manager, Driehaus Global Growth

Mr. Wasiolek is Portfolio Manager for the Mid Cap Growth and Large Cap Growth Strategies. He is also a Co-Portfolio Manager for the Global Growth Strategy. 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.