Our Staff
Our unique set of services for families who require a Family Office or assistance with their small businesses/startup provide comprehensive, integrated support across the full spectrum of family wealth and business management needs. Since 2007, our professionals have formed lasting relationships with family clients and small businesses by using their professional and personal understanding of their clients’ goals to assist in developing and implementing targeted, sophisticated family wealth and business management solutions.
Our multi-disciplinary staff is composed of highly credentialed professionals who are experts on a range of specialized issues relevant to managing family wealth and managing small businesses.
William E. Fisher
Partner
This seasoned business executive and technology investor traces his experience through service as a director for several prominent public companies and a number of private firms. He was founder and CEO of TSAI (NASDAQ: ACIW). He served on the boards of Hypercom (NASDAQ: HYC), West, Inc. (NASDAQ: WSTC), TriZetto Group (NASDAQ: Tzix) and Bank of America Merchant Services (NASDAQ: BPI). Fisher was a division president at both CSG (NASDAQ: CSGS) and First Data Corp (NYSE: FDC). He is on the board of Scooters Coffeehouse, Prism Technologies, Lodo Software and FTNI. He holds an undergraduate degree in management from Indiana State University and an MBA from the University of Nebraska.
Tom Boje
Partner
Tom's experience ranges from information technology operations and corporate administration to executive management and international business. In a career that spanned more than 20 years at ACI (NASDAQ: ACIW), Boje was Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa business and served most recently as CIO and corporate VP. His knowledge of the workings of IT, business contracts and cost-effective technology in a software business are key strengths. He graduated with a business degree from the University of Nebraska.
Dwight Hanson
Partner
With over 20 years experience helping organizations through IPOs, acquisitions, product and company launches, Hanson’s comprehensive and diverse background is an asset to any company. He was previously the CFO with Eleos, a cancer therapeutic biotech firm, and also served as the CFO for ACI Worldwide, a publicly traded software company, where he managed staff in ten countries. Hanson got his initial experience with the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand. He is a CPA and holds a B.A. in accounting from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.
Susan Baron
Office Manager
With a background working with an entrepreneur who always had a multitude of companies to manage, Susan has the perfect experience to be the office manager at Treetop. She is experienced in QuickBooks, Excel, Word and Outlook. She has over 15 years experience in setting up and keeping books as well as all the duties and responsibilities in making an office run efficiently. She has been involved in both real estate and insurance previously in her career which gives her unique insights into various business affairs we are managing within our family office. Susan has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska and is currently working on a degree in accounting.
Kim Drilling
Analyst
Kim is an experienced and personable customer service professional. Her expertise is deep in customer service and all the various disciplines that encompass this skill set. Her computer skills include proficiency in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel; she is also an experienced user of QuickBooks. Her experience includes working with businesses providing payment processing, transportation services and children's educational game in additional to volunteer organizations promoting education and youth leadership. She is a graduate of the Nebraska College of Business.
Tim Thornton
Principal
Tim has been working the last 10 years in the Twin Cities doing Accounting and Finance for small/mid-size corporations that have included a Restaurant Equipment Supply Company, a Land Developer, and a Screen-print/Embroidery company. His experience includes Bookkeeping, Payroll, H/R, Inventory, Budgeting, Forecasting, and Sales Tax Reporting. He is proficient using Microsoft Office, Quick-books, Redwing Windows Accounting Software, and Solomon (Great Plains). He graduated from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, MN with a BS in Accounting.
Pam Knutson
Principal
Pam is a CPA and a Paralegal with 35 years of experience in the business world. She has worked for law firms, including the prestigious firm of Davis, Hockenberg, Wine, Brown, & Koehn in Des Moines, IA, and she earned her CPA license while working at Deloitte & Touche in Seattle, WA. It was here that she gained invaluable experience working in the Enterprise Group, which specializes in assisting start-up companies and family-owned businesses. She has also spent time in the public sector, working in the Finance Department of Union Pacific Railroad in Omaha, NE. The past 15 years were spent co-owning and acting as Controller for a small software development and consulting company which specialized in software for the legal industry. Pam's educational background includes an Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies, a B.A. in Accounting from Iowa State University, and classes taken at Golden Gate University/Seattle in their Masters in Taxation program. She has over 15 years experience with QuickBooks Pro and TurboTax Pro and over 20 years experience with MS Office.
Eric Nipp
Principal
Having worked for a decade as a CPA with a global accounting firm and an attorney at law with an Omaha-based law firm, Eric next joined ACI Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACIW), where for 11 years he developed and directed ACI’s purchasing, real estate leasing, facilities, and risk-management functions. From ACI, Eric was recruited by EHC Financial Services, L.L.C. in Vancouver, WA (a skilled nursing operator with 3,000 employees and 50 facilities), where he directed EHC’s litigation-defense, IT, real estate leasing, and facilities functions. Eric holds a B.A. in accounting from Gonzaga University and a J.D. (Cum Laude) from the Creighton School of Law.
William E. Fisher
fish@treetopventures.com
Tom Boje
tom@treetopventures.com
Dwight Hanson
dwight@treetopventures.com
Susan Baron
susan@treetopventures.com
Kim Drilling
kim@treetopventures.com
Timothy Thornton
tim@treetopventures.com
Pam Knutson
pam@treetopventures.com
Eric Nipp
eric@treetopventures.com
