Management

Brian Dunn is the CEO of Growth Capital Services, a firm he founded in 2001. In addition to providing regulatory infrastructure for affiliated private placement agents, he uses his network to vet deals for a select group of individual and institutional investor clients.

Previously, Brian was a founding partner of Aquillian Investments, a leading private investment firm oriented towards sustainability. He guided the firm's financial, legal, and operational implementation from the firm's first days.  In his current capacity at Growth Capital Services, he maintains a strategic affiliation with Aquillian, calling on its research capabilities and serving on its advisory board.

Brian learned the craft of investment banking at Tennyson West, a boutique capital advisory firm located in San Francisco. He worked on private equity deals ranging from $10 million to $100 million in value, specializing in the natural foods category. Previously, he served as the first staff member of Investors' Circle, a national angel investment group that has facilitated more than $150 million in private investment capital.

Brian has canoed the Congo, Yukon, and Amazon; bicycled from San Francisco to New York; and stepped on the soil of nearly one hundred countries.  He spent his pre-graduate years working in microenterprise development in Ouagadougou (West Africa) , Brazil, Haiti and Mozambique. Now settled in San Francisco with his wife and daughter, he swims frequently in the Bay's cold waters, and is proud to serve on the board of Save the Bay, a 50 year old organization that protects, restores and celebrates San Francisco Bay.

Brian has FINRA Series 7, 24, 27, 63, and 65 registrations. He earned a BA from UC Berkeley, an MA in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University, and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.

Tom Kennett is a Principal and Compliance Adviser with Growth Capital Services. He has over 30 years of experience in securities, investment management, banking, insurance and management consulting. 

Before joining Growth Capital Services, he gained significant compliance experience as national Director of Sales at Niemann Capital Management, Managing Director of the Pacific Region at Response Compliance & Regulatory Services, and Compliance Director and Supervising Principal at MONY/AXA Financial.

He has also served as VP marketing at Delaware Capital Management, an affiliate of Delaware Investments; SVP and National Sales Manager at RDY Investors/SKB; senior business development principal at Alexander Proudfoot; executive vice president of American Savings Bank; Regional vice president of Guarantee Savings; and financial adviser at Smith Barney.

An entrepreneur at heart, Tom has founded three companies: Expert Analytics (a growth and exit strategy advisory firm), FCA Asset Management (an institutional asset manager), and American Group Financial Corporation (a broker dealer specializing in investment securities).

Tom holds FINRA 7, 24, 39 and 66 registrations, is a former Certified Investment Management Analyst and Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional.  A former high school All American swimmer, Tom competes in US Masters Swimming programs and enjoys hiking, climbing, kayaking, lifting, chess, and backgammon for blood. He is an avid naturalist who favors high and low coastlines in the West. He has a degree in Philosophy from the University of California at Irvine.