Ben Oehler

Founding Partner

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Ben has an exceptional ability to assess a situation, see through the clutter and devise a best path to optimize resources and produce exceptional outcomes. He has a natural ability to lead and influence, guiding teams past obstacles and towards important goals.

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• Linea Capital

• Bashaw Group

• Waycrosse Inc

• USBank Piper Jaffray

• RBC Dain

 

With the establishment of Windward Mark LLC, Ben merged his consulting business, Bashaw Group, which he established in 2007, to focus exclusively on the business of Windward Mark.

 

From 1999 to 2007, Ben served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Waycrosse, Inc., a financial advisory firm for the family owners of Cargill Incorporated. While at Waycrosse, Ben played a key role in two major growth initiatives for Cargill; the merger of Cargill’s fertilizer business into a public company which is now Mosaic, Inc., and the transformation of Cargill’s proprietary financial markets trading group into two major investment management companies, Black River Asset Management, LLC and CarVal Investors, LLC.

 

Prior to joining Waycrosse, Ben was an investment banker for Piper Jaffray. By the time he left Piper Jaffray in 1999, he was group head for Piper’s Industrial Growth Team.  Ben has also played a leadership role in a number of corporate buy-outs and venture stage companies, served on corporate and non-profit boards of directors, and has been involved in the creation and oversight of foundations and charitable organizations, as well as U.S. trusts and off shore entities.

 

Ben is a graduate of the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts and has completed course work at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management with a concentration in finance. He has participated in the Stanford University Directors Forum and been a member of the Northern Trust Client Advisory Board. He is currently a director of Black Ridge Oil & Gas and the University of Minnesota Foundation Investment Advisor, Inc.