Board of Directors

Setting the Course. Enabling the Future.

The LNW Board of Directors provides strategic oversight and policy guidance drawing on decades of deep business and financial experience as well as best practices in corporate governance and wealth planning. Each of our directors stands for re-election annually, enabling the LNW Board to maintain the high level of expertise, focus and energy required to keep LNW a leader in wealth management.

Find out more about LNW.

Chief Executive Officer, LNW

Kristen Bauer is the CEO of LNW. With more than two decades of experience in private wealth management, family office services and business management, she is passionate about working closely with multiple generations within successful families to help them navigate challenges, change and generational transitions. Kristen currently serves as board chair of the Nature Conservancy Washington Chapter and is president of the board of the Wilderness Awareness School.

Co-Owner, Seattle Storm & former Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Microsoft

Lisa Brummel is co-owner of Seattle Storm, the Women’s National Basketball (WNBA) franchise, and is a retired Executive VP of Human Resources at Microsoft.  Lisa is active in charitable ventures associated with Hopelink community services, the University of Washington Medical Center, Yale University, and the Women’s Funding Alliance.

Chief Client Strategy Officer, LNW

Scott Butterfield is Chief Client Strategy Officer at LNW.  A CPA with more than 25 years of experience in financial services, Scott was a co-founder of Filament LLC, a wealth advisory firm that merged with what is now LNW in December 2020. Prior to that, Scott held senior leadership positions at the Quellos Group and Arthur Andersen’s Private Client Services Group. He is actively involved in local nonprofits focused on mentoring and coaching and is a former board member of Friends of the Children Seattle.

Chief Legacy Strategist, LNW

John Goodwin is Chief Legacy Strategist at LNW. A member of the Washington State Bar, John was a co-founder and managing member of Filament LLC, a wealth advisory firm that merged with what is now LNW in December 2020. John is a founding board member of the Seattle Philanthropic Advisors Network (SPAN), currently chairs the Seattle University Planned Giving Advisory Committee, and is a past trustee of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Chief Business Development Officer, LNW

Chris Hauswirth is currently Chief Business Development Officer at LNW. Prior to LNW, Chris was a wealth manager and head of business development at Wetherby Asset Management, which merged with Laird Norton Wealth Management in 2022 to create what is today LNW. Prior to Wetherby, Chris co-founded and ran Hauswirth & Dunn Investment Management and was vice president and head of the financial advisor division at Robertson Stephens & Co. in San Francisco. He has participated in numerous community organizations in the San Francisco area, including serving on the Board of Trustees and Investment Committee at the Katherine Delmar Burke School.

Chief Executive Officer, Laird Norton Company

Brian McGuigan was named CEO of the Laird Norton Company (LNC) in January 2023. Prior to that, Brian led LNC’s corporate development initiatives, including direct investments in operating companies, and the development of corporate strategy. Before joining LNC in 2012, Brian was president and chief compliance officer of Stonnington Group, a wealth management firm in Los Angeles, and worked in technology consulting in the UK and Europe. Brian has a BSc in chemical engineering from the University of Cape Town, an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business, and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

Chief Financial Officer, Laird Norton Company 

Trevor Parris joined the Laird Norton Company (LNC) as CFO in 2023, and has over 20 years of experience driving transformative growth while continuously improving financial management. Prior to joining LNC, Trevor was the VP, Finance & Treasurer at Saltchuk Resources, a highly acquisitive transportation and energy conglomerate, where he worked for more than a decade. Before that, Trevor was a private equity investor at Freeman Spogli & Co., and helped oversee and grow El Pollo Loco, Sur La Table and Value Village. He started his career as an investment banking analyst at Merrill Lynch. Trevor has an MBA from the Foster School of Business, University of Washington and a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College. He is actively involved in education, serving on the Board of the St. Thomas School and formerly on The Lakeside School Alumni Board.

Co-Founder of Workzones and Regional Developer for Massage Envy Spa

Kirk Peacock is a senior executive with over 20 years of diversified international experience in growing domestic/global markets, merger/acquisitions, turnarounds, integration, and cash optimization. He co-founded California-based Workzones and is regional developer for Massage Envy Spa. From 2004 to 2011, Kirk was the CFO of ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd. He has a B.S. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College.

Wealth Management Executive, Entrepreneur and Investor 

Andy Putterman has over 30 years of experience in financial services, as CEO, entrepreneur, investor and advisor to leading wealth management firms. He was a founder & CEO of Fortigent, a platform for registered investment advisors (RIAs) serving high-net-worth clients, which was sold to LPL Financial. Previously, Andy was President of Lydian Wealth Management, an RIA with more than $8 billion in assets under management, which was acquired by CitiNational Bank. Andy is an active investor in fintech and on the board of various financial services companies. He is a longtime member of YPO, the leadership community of chief executives.

Impact Investor

Julia Sze has over 25 years of executive leadership experience in financial services as a portfolio manager, hedge fund manager, wealth advisor and CIO. Since 2008, she has been at the forefront of the impact investing field, working to build better environmental, social and corporate governance standards in businesses at all stages. Currently, Julia also serves on the Boards of Cavco Industries and Tern Bicycles and volunteers on the NDI NM Investment Committee, which serves over 7,000 New Mexican children through dance and music every year, and on the University of New Mexico’s Finance Advisory Board.

President, AllyDVM

Jason Wernli is president of AllyDVM, a software company he co-founded in 2011 to provide veterinary data and electronic communications solutions, which was acquired by Amerisource Bergen in 2018.  Prior to that, he founded Veterinary Innovations, a tech consulting firm focused on improving efficiencies within animal hospitals. Since 2003, Jason has done extensive volunteer work overseas, including a two-year stint in Latin America. Currently, he is the Chief Stewardship Officer of Daybreak Vision Project, a nonprofit focused on restoring sight to the needlessly blind in Africa.

Founder and Wealth Manager, LNW

Deb Wetherby founded Wetherby Asset Management in 1990 to serve clients with objectivity and integrity. In 2022, she oversaw the merger of Wetherby with Laird Norton Wealth Management to form what is today LNW.  Deb’s community and board work has included the Marin Community Foundation; the Advisory Board for the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership at the Haas School at the University of California, Berkeley; BRAC USA, working to improve the well-being of the poorest people in Africa and Asia; the National Endowment for Financial Education; the UC San Francisco Foundation; and IDEO.org, a nonprofit design studio that designs products and services alongside organizations that are committed to creating a more just and inclusive world.

Board Observers

Chief Financial Officer, LNW

Conrad Gehrmann is Chief Financial Officer at LNW. He was a co-founder of the wealth advisory firm Filament LLC, which merged with what is today LNW in December 2020. A CPA, Conrad co-lead Arthur Andersen’s Northwest Private Client Services Group and held senior leadership positions at the Quellos Group. He is past chair of the Lupus Foundation of America and a long-time member of the Board of Trustees of Ashesi University Foundation in Ghana.

Chief of Staff and Chief Transformation Officer, LNW

As Chief of Staff and Chief Transformation Officer at LNW, Steve is responsible for guidance and oversight in multiple areas, including client services, internal operations, finance, human resources and business planning. He previously served in a similar capacity at Wetherby Asset Management, which he joined in 2005 and which merged with Laird Norton Wealth Management in 2022 to create what is today LNW. Prior to that Steve led North American operations at Proxicom and worked at Ernst & Young. He has served as president of the Larkspur Schools Foundation and honorary director on the board of Larkin Street Youth Services. He has also served as guest lecturer at Dominican University for the course Leadership and Change Management and is an enthusiastic youth rugby coach.