About our

Alternative Asset Approach

Investment Strategy

Back to the basics of alternative investing: we seek to find new investments that offer compelling returns with significant diversification

We seek to discover investments ahead of the crowd
We are well positioned to source and diligence assets that are not well known

By being early to non-institutional assets and themes, Cordillera seeks to extract compelling returns before capital significantly competes those returns down.

We seek to find diversifying assets
We search for investments that march to the beat of their own drummer

By finding investments whose risks are non-correlated with traditional markets, we seek to create a portfolio that provides investors with significant diversification.

Team extension for our partners
We act as a thought partner for our investors

Beyond the investments that we make, we provide a “team extension” to our investors, sharing insights, co-investments and ideas in the niche, non-correlated arena.

Our Team

MANAGEMENT TEAM AND PARTNERS

Agustin “Gus” Araya

Co-Founder & Co-Managing Partner

Agustin “Gus” Araya is a Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Cordillera Investment Partners. He is responsible for directing Cordillera’s overarching investment strategy alongside his co-founders. He also serves as a director of Cordillera portfolio companies.

Prior to founding Cordillera, Gus was a Partner at Makena Capital Management where he was a senior member of the firm’s Private Equity and Natural Resources investment teams and a member of the Investment Committee. Prior to that, he was an Associate Director of Private Assets at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and held various finance roles at Intuit, Horsley Bridge Partners and D.A. Campbell Company.

Gus holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Gus is a CFA charter holder.

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Chris Heller

Co-Founder & Co-Managing Partner

Chris Heller is a Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Cordillera Investment Partners. He is responsible for directing Cordillera’s overarching investment strategy alongside his co-founders. He also serves as a director of Cordillera portfolio companies.

Prior to founding Cordillera, Chris was a Partner at Makena Capital Management where he served as the Portfolio Manager for the Makena Liquid Endowment Funds and was a senior member of the firm’s Absolute Return investment team and Investment Committee. Prior to Makena, Chris worked at the Stanford Management Company in a variety of investment roles. He started his career at Merrill Lynch in debt capital markets and investment banking.

Chris earned a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

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Ashley Marks

Co-Founder & Co-Managing Partner

Ashley Marks is a Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of Cordillera Investment Partners. She is responsible for directing Cordillera’s overarching investment strategy alongside her co-founders. She also serves as a director of Cordillera portfolio companies.

Prior to founding Cordillera, Ashley was a Partner at Makena Capital Management where she was a senior member of Makena’s Real Estate investment team and served as the Portfolio Manager responsible for a Makena Real Estate Fund. She was also a member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Before Makena, Ashley was an Associate at MacFarlane Partners, a real estate private equity firm in San Francisco, and held previous positions at MacFarlane Partners and Robertson Stephens in the Technology Investment Banking group.

Ashley earned a BBA in Finance from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

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Taylor Kauer

Partner

Taylor Kauer is a Partner at Cordillera Investment Partners. Prior to joining Cordillera in 2015, Taylor held roles in corporate finance, financial planning and analysis, and accounting at Stryker Corporation. Prior to joining Stryker, Taylor worked for ERCI, an environmental consulting firm focused on managing and remediating environmental liabilities for clients in the energy and automotive industries. Taylor earned a BA in Economics and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

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Our Team

INVESTMENT AND OPERATIONS TEAM

Tori Hemphill

Senior Operations Associate

Tori Hemphill is a Senior Operations Associate at Cordillera Investment Partners. Prior to joining Cordillera, she was a Senior Associate in the Venture Capital Assurance & Advisory practice at Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLP. Tori earned her MBA and BS in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and is a CPA.

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Rachel Levi

Director and Head of Investor Relations

Rachel Levi is Director and Head of Investor Relations at Cordillera Investment Partners. Prior to Cordillera, Rachel was a Managing Director at Cowen Investment Management (CIM), serving on the CIM Operating Committee. Prior to Cowen, Rachel served as Head of Investor Relations at Hoplite Capital Management, and on the investor relations teams at Marshall Wace and Karsch Capital Management, where she was also a member of the Investment Team. Rachel earned a BA in Psychology from Smith College. She is on the board of Neighbors Together, a non-profit committed to ending hunger and poverty in three of the lowest-income areas in Brooklyn, where she resides.

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Mitch Morrey

Manager

Mitch Morrey is a Manager at Cordillera Investment Partners. Prior to joining Cordillera in 2025, Mitch was a Senior Financial Analyst at Pinegrove Capital Partners (f/k/a SVB Capital) covering its venture equity business, including fund of funds, employee funds, and separately managed accounts. Prior to Pinegrove, he was a Tax Associate at PwC on the Asset and Wealth Management team and focused on venture capital, private equity, real estate, and fund of fund tax compliance. Mitch earned his Master of Accounting from the University of Utah and his BS in Accounting from Brigham Young University. He is currently pursuing his CPA.

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Brandon Presswood

Controller

Brandon Presswood is a Controller at Cordillera Investment Partners. Prior to joining Cordillera in 2024, Brandon was a senior manager at KPMG within the Asset Management Audit Practice and focused on venture capital and private equity audit engagements. He earned a Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in Accounting from University of the Pacific and holds a CPA certification.

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Alissa Sangiuolo

Investor Relations Associate

Alissa Sangiuolo is an Investor Relations Associate at Cordillera Investment Partners. Prior to Cordillera, Alissa served as a Manager at AlphaSights, where she acted as the primary point of contact and led account strategy to connect clients with expert insights during the diligence phase of potential investments. Alissa earned her BA in Economics at Union College.

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Gavin Spellmeyer

Investment Associate

Gavin Spellmeyer is an Associate at Cordillera Investment Partners. Prior to joining Cordillera, Gavin was an investment banker at Lincoln International, where he advised companies on mergers and acquisitions and capital raises across the technology, media and telecom industry. Gavin earned a BS in Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Accounting from Northeastern University.

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Zankhna Vasha

Chief Financial Officer

Zankhna Vasha is a Chief Financial Officer of Cordillera Investment Partners. Prior to joining Cordillera, Zankhna was the CFO of SVB Capital Management, LLC and had financial oversight for its venture equity business, including direct funds, fund of funds, employee funds and separately managed accounts. Prior to SVB Capital, Zankhna was a Vice President at Oaktree Capital Management, LLC, where she was responsible for the Private Partnerships and Accounting group for their Real Estate Strategy. Zankhna earned her MBA from Loyola Marymount University and her bachelor’s from University of Mumbai, Narsee Monjee College of Commerce.

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Judy Wu

Operations Associate

Judy Wu is an Operations Associate at Cordillera Investment Partners. Prior to Cordillera, Judy was an Assurance Senior at Ernst & Young and worked in their Financial Services – Real Estate practice. Judy earned her BS in Business Administration at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and is a licensed CPA.

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