Open Prairie

Hayli Anderson serves as lead Executive Administrator at Open Prairie, coordinating the firm's daily operations. Her responsibilities include bookkeeping, budgeting, accounting and auditing, financial planning, and investor relations. She holds an Associate of Science in Accounting from Olney Central College.

Jason Wrone is Vice President of Open Prairie and a fund manager with more than 15 years working with small businesses across various sectors, handling investor relations, due diligence, oversight of existing investments, and sourcing new deals. He co-founded Fieldcrest Homes, a central Illinois residential and multi-family construction firm, and holds an Illinois Managing Broker Real Estate license. His earlier career included roles as a CFO of a retail rental franchise, COO of an outdoor advertising company, and a pharmaceutical representative at Eli Lilly; he earned an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the University of Illinois and a bachelor's in Finance and Marketing from Eastern Illinois University.

Lee Strom is a Partner at Open Prairie and a third-generation farmer with production experience in grains, vegetables, and livestock. He previously served as CEO of FARM Illinois, an agriculture and food strategy initiative, and was appointed to the Board of the Farm Credit Administration in 2006, later becoming its Chairman and CEO in 2008. His earlier roles included director positions at AgriBank, 1st Farm Credit Services, and the Farm Credit Council, and he holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from Northern Illinois University.

Matt McKenna is a Partner at Open Prairie and leads the Rural Opportunity Initiative as an Executive in Residence at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. He previously served as a Senior Advisor to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, launching public-private initiatives to bring capital to rural America, and spent 15 years at PepsiCo in roles including Senior Vice President of Finance and Treasurer. Earlier in his career he was a partner at Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam and Roberts focusing on federal income tax, and he holds a JD and LLM from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA from Hamilton College.

Michael Peck is a Venture Partner at Open Prairie and President and CEO of Innara Health, with over 20 years working with early-stage companies and expertise in medical devices, biotechnology, and information technology. He co-founded Flyover Capital, a Kansas-based early-stage investment firm, and previously served as Vice President of Investments for the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC). Earlier in his career he was CEO of two dot-com era companies and a management consultant at Accenture. He holds a Masters in Engineering and an MBA from Northwestern University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas.

Patrick Morand is President of Open Prairie with more than 35 years in investment and company management within regulated industries, focusing on turnaround management, investor relations, and accountability standards. Before Open Prairie, he was Managing Director of the Southwest Michigan First Life Science Fund and served as CEO of three biologics companies, as well as VP of Commercial Operations at Genesis Therapeutics, EVP at Sequitor Medical Technologies, and Executive in Residence at the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the Athenaeum of Ohio.

Rajiv Singh is a Partner at Open Prairie with a background in corporate finance, investing and business leadership. He previously served as CEO of Rabobank North America Wholesale Banking, overseeing corporate and institutional client activities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and held earlier roles at Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, United Technologies and Nestle. He has helped launch food and agribusiness innovation programs including Foodbytes, MIT Food Prize, Terra and FoodShotGlobal, and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and Masters and Bachelors of Technology degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Ryan Dammeyer is a Partner with Open Prairie who advises the firm on debt and equity financing structures. He serves as Managing Director and Head of Structured Finance for Square 1 Bank, a division of PacWest Bank, overseeing the bank's Midwest region, and previously was CFO of Liquidus Marketing, spent nearly a decade at Silicon Valley Bank, and was a Director at NewStream Capital. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Financial Management with a Minor in Economics from Indiana University.