Our People

I. Craig Hester, CFA, CIC

 

Mr. Hester has been actively involved in professional investment management since 1972. Prior to forming HCM in 1989, Mr. Hester served as Director of Regional Asset Management for InterFirst Investment Management (1983-89); Chief Investment Officer of the Texas Municipal Retirement System (1979-1983); Asst. Vice President & Trust Officer at Republic National Bank, Dallas (1977-79); and Senior Analyst for the Teachers Retirement System of Texas (1972-76).

 

Mr. Hester currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas as Vice Chair (past Chair) and the Advisory Committee of the MBA Investment Fund, LLC of the UT Graduate School of Business. He also serves as Chairman of the Board for Hester Capital Management, L.L.C. Mr. Hester is a former board member of the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO), former Investments Committee member of the University of Texas' Ex-Student's Association (past Chair) and formerly served on the Investment Advisory Committee of the Employees Retirement System of Texas (past Chair) and as an Investment Advisor to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

 

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin (BBA, 1971; MBA, 1972), Mr. Hester received the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1977 and the Chartered Investment Counselor designation in 1992. He is the past president of the Austin Investment Association and a member and past president of the Austin/San Antonio Society of Financial Analysts and the Austin Society of Financial Analysts.

 

He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Investment Adviser Association (IAA), as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts, and is a former member of the Foundation for SafePlace (past Chair). Mr. Hester is a member of the Executive Committee of the University of Texas Chancellor's Council, and the Littlefield Society.

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John E. Gunthorp, CFA, CIC

 

Since 1971, Mr. Gunthorp has accumulated experience in the professional management of investment portfolios for both institutional investors and private clients. Prior to joining HCM in 1990, Mr. Gunthorp served as Investment Vice President and Portfolio Manager for American Capital Asset Management in Houston (1982-89), where he managed a growth and income fund and an equity income fund. Previously he held positions as Equity Portfolio Manager and Securities Analyst for the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio and as Portfolio Manager for City National Bank & Trust of Columbus, Ohio.

Mr. Gunthorp earned his BA from Adrian College in 1967 and his MBA from Indiana University in 1971. He is a member and past president of the Austin Investment Association and is a member of AIMR (Association for Investment Management and Research). Mr. Gunthorp received the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1978 and the Chartered Investment Counselor designation in 1992.

 

 

Andrea Turk Cox

 

An integral part of the HCM team since 1990, Andrea Cox serves as the firm's operations manager and compliance administrator. Her primary responsibilities include oversight of all client support services, investment operations and performance measurement. Her duties include supervision of our portfolio administrators, trading and portfolio management systems, trade reconciliation and settlement, and account set-up, tracking, reporting and billing for all HCM clients. In addition Ms. Cox works with the firm's chief compliance officer in satisfying regulatory filings and supporting HCM's independent audit process.

 

A 1985 graduate, Andrea holds a bachelor of business administration in management from Southwest Texas State University.

 

 

Eric C. Boyce, CFA, CIC

 

Mr. Boyce brings extensive experience in the financial industry to his position as Portfolio Manager. Prior to joining HCM, he was Executive Vice President at Austin-based Penn Investment Group, where he also served as Research Director. Previously, Mr. Boyce served as Vice President and equity analyst at Dallas-based Baldwin Anthony & McIntyre Securities, as interim Research Director for First Financial Securities, and as Vice President and Research Director for Dallas-based First Dallas Holdings, parent company for First Dallas Securities and the Hodges Mutual Fund. Prior to entering the securities industry, Mr. Boyce worked at NationsBank (now Bank of America) in Corporate Trust Product Transition and in Treasury Management, where as Treasury Product Manager, he also held the Certified Cash Manager (CCM) designation.

 

Mr. Boyce is past board Chairman for Austin-based LifeWorks, and continues to serve on the finance committee and as a trustee to both its endowment and 403(b) plan. He also served as President of the CFA Society of Austin, and is a member of both the CFA Institute and the Investment Adviser Association (IAA). Eric continues to volunteer in a number of capacities for the CFA Institute, most recently as a member of a hearing panel in support of the Institute's Disciplinary Review Committee. Currently, Eric is President of the board of St. Louis Catholic School in Austin and trustee to its endowment fund, and is a member of the St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School Finance Committee. He remains actively involved with the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, volunteering as a mentor and on various alumni task force groups. Previously, he served on the advisory board of the University of Texas Business Network (TBN) and was the chair of its Dallas chapter.

 

A Dallas native, Mr. Boyce earned his BBA in finance from the University of Texas at Austin and his master's degree from the University of Texas in Dallas. He received the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2001 and Chartered Investment Counselor (CIC) designation in 2004 from the Investment Adviser Association. Eric is also a 2008 graduate of the Essential Class for Leadership Austin.

 

 

Katy Y. Whitt

 

Ms. Whitt brings more than 25 years experience to her position as equity trader at HCM. Prior to relocating to Austin, she served as partner of Charlotte Capital, L.L.C. in Charlotte, North Carolina (1988-2006). While head trader at Charlotte Capital, Katy consistently ranked superior in trading cost analysis by Abel/Noser, a leading provider of transaction cost analysis to the trading profession. Her expertise in market conditions, transaction timing, and broker selection can add value to the transactions conducted within the investment management process. Prior to joining the HCM team, Katy earned a BBA in Economics from the University of Texas at Arlington. She was an assistant vice president with NCNB Securities (1987-1988), assistant manager with Citizens and Southern Securities (1983-1987), sales assistant with Shearson/American Express (1982-1983), trust officer and assistant vice president with Fiduciary Trust Company of the Southwest (1979-1982) and equity trader with Southland Trust Company (1977-1979). Ms. Whitt was a previous member of TraderForum and the North Carolina Security Trader Association.

 

 

 

Scott A. Neuendorf, CFA

 

Mr. Neuendorf joined HCM as a Research Analyst in August 2006, bringing extensive experience in business analysis. Scott served as an Energy Trading Associate at Williams Energy Marketing and Trading in Tulsa, Oklahoma and subsequently as a Senior Corporate Credit Analyst at Comerica Bank in Dallas, Texas. He earned a BBA in Finance and Accounting with Special Distinction from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Neuendorf received the Charter Financial Analyst designation in 2004.

 

 

Jeremy A. Blackman, CFA

 

Mr. Blackman brings experience in business valuation and analysis to his position of Portfolio Manager to HCM. Prior to joining the firm in August, 2006, Jeremy advised on acquisitions and divestiture transactions across numerous industries for middle-market public and private companies, subsidiaries of large public companies, and portfolio holdings of private equity groups for Harris Williams & Co. and Townsend Frew & Co. He was also affiliated with Citigroup Smith Barney in their consumer products group in New York as an equity research associate. Jeremy graduated magna cum laude from the University of Richmond where he majored in finance and political science. He received his MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was elected Beta Gamma Sigma and served as a manager of the MBA Investment Fund L.L.C. Jeremy received the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2009.

 

Jeremy is President of the University of Richmond - Austin Alumni Chapter and a member of the CFA Society of Austin. He is also actively involved with the Financial Analyst Program (FAP) and periodically is a guest lecturer for various undergraduate finance classes at the University of Texas. Jeremy recently traveled to Haiti where he helped run a summer camp and rebuild an elementary school decimated by the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

 

Sandra Lynn Weaver

 

Sandy Weaver began her career as Administrative Assistant to Craig Hester while working at Interfirst Investment Management and NCNB Texas from 1983 until 1989. A charter member of Hester Capital Management, Sandy’s strong interpersonal skills and her attention to detail has endeared many of our clients to her. In her present role as portfolio administrator, Sandy incorporates her understanding of the investment management process with over 20 years of experience in serving clients. Always willing to go the extra mile, Sandy's motto of 'the client always comes first' is seen in her dedication to our clients.

 

 

 

Dawn Padgett

Senior Portfolio Administrator

A member of the Hester Capital Management team since 1998, Dawn Padgett brings a dedication and true passion to serving our clients. Her responsibilities include account administration, investment operations and special projects.

 

As a Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, her studies in education have helped her appreciate that individuals learn and retain differently, which influences her ability to successfully communicate financial information to our clients. She is attentive daily to monitoring accounts and producing the appropriate performance and evaluation reports.

 

When not at work, Dawn is involved with many church and civic organizations. Her true love is being active with family in activities such as camping, hiking, sports and board games. On many occasions you will find Dawn's "assistant", her son, fully engaged in helping with the creation of portrait photography.

 

 

Deanna Juptner

 

Ms. Juptner brings over 29 years of customer service experience to our firm. She is responsible for account administration, investment operations and client support. Prior to joining HCM, Deanna gained her knowledge of investments and markets through her twelve year career with a major brokerage firm.

 

Deanna shares her interest in photography, bird watching, and gardening with her husband and three children. On weekends, you will find the Juptners in their backyard on Georgetown Lake fishing and boating with family and friends.

 

 

Felicia Teel

 

Felicia joined the Hester Capital Management team in November, 2003. As the Client Services Relationship Manager her responsbilities include maintaining and developing institutional and private client relations, new business development, community outreach, managing responses to RFP's, and the development and maintenance of institutional consultant data bases. She ensures that each and every client she comes in contact with knows they are being taken care of professionally and efficiently. 

 

Prior to joining us, Felicia was with Claire Fontaine & Associates as their office administrator/recruiter and worked within many of their clients offices.

 

In addition to her full-time job with Hester Capital Management, Felicia is a full-time mom to her two adorable children who keep her very busy with all of their activities and serves as Chair of the Foundation Board of SafePlace.

 

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