Sacramento VC Fund Brings On Former CalPERS Head Hanson

Dale Hanson, who was chief executive officer of CalPERS from 1987 to 1994, has joined Capital Valley Ventures (CVV) as chairman of its advisory board. In that position Hanson will court capital from pension funds, insurance companies and the like, according to a Sacramento Bee report.

Since leaving CalPERS in 1994, Hanson has been running American Partners, a firm that brings together venture capitalists and potential investors. He said he will continue to operate his company and CVV will be one of his clients.

Hanson said he sees his affiliation with CVV as a way to do more business in the Sacramento region, not to mention, the fund is already well situated in an area of investment in which Hanson sees great potential – technology. CVV’s management group includes local venture capitalist Pete Bernardoni, former ShareWave CEO Jock Ochiltree, former Level One CFO John Kehoe and Jim Schraith, previously president of Compaq Computer’s North America division.

“I don’t think we will have any problem raising money,” Hanson said. “We’ve already found quite a few entities that are quite intrigued by what we do.”

While at CalPERS, Hanson earned a reputation for pushing corporate boards to be more responsive to shareholders. During his tenure, CalPERS assets soared from $43.2 billion to $80 billion, thanks to an increase in membership and a surge in the stock market.