Ann Akichika

Ann joined Gryphon in 2023 as Chief Operating Officer. She is a Partner and a member of the Gryphon Management Committee. In this role, she oversees the firm’s daily operations, including human capital, internal talent acquisition, information technology, administration and facilities. 

Prior to joining Gryphon, Ann was a four-time COO for investment and financial services firms. Most recently, she was the COO of the investment team at Wasatch Global Investors, a $25B aum small- and mid-cap public equities manager. Previously, she also served in two newly-created COO roles at Thomas Weisel Partners, a startup investment bank now owned by Stifel Financial, and Artisan Partners (NYSE: APAM), a $140B aum asset manager, where she built high-performing teams, management systems, and best practices to support transformational growth. Both companies completed IPOs during her tenure. She has also served as the CIO, CFO, and COO of First Virtual Group, a single-family office where she was a limited partner in a number of private equity firms. Ann spent the first decade of her career as a deal professional in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Hambrecht & Quist.

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

A.B., Economics, Harvard College
M.Sc., Economic History, The London School of Economics and Political Science
M.B.A., The Tuck School at Dartmouth College

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

The Tuck School at Dartmouth College – Board of Advisors
Episcopal Impact Fund – Board of Directors (social impact fund alleviating poverty)
Harvard College Fund – Executive Committee

FIRST JOB

Stacking hay bales on my family’s farm