Our Team

Crawford’s experienced team is characterized by intense collaboration and wisdom across market cycles.

Our seasoned team is defined by its disciplined, thoughtful approach and steady hand across market cycles.

Christopher Crawford

Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer

Chris Crawford has built and led investment teams at world-class investment managers and successfully guided billion-dollar portfolios across market cycles.

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Prior to forming the General Partner, Mr. Crawford was Managing Director, Portfolio Manager and head of the Boston office with Stark Investments, managing a $1.5B long/short equity portfolio within a $12 billion multi-strategy global hedge fund from 2006 to 2009. From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Crawford was Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager with Putnam Investments in Boston, where he was co-Portfolio Manager of the Putnam International Capital Opportunities Fund. From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Crawford was a Partner and Senior Analyst with ABACUS Investments/ABRY Partners in Boston. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Crawford was Assistant Vice President with Wellington Management Company in Boston, where he served as a Global Industry Analyst responsible for the media industry and as a Portfolio Manager for $600 million in client assets, including $500 million in institutional accounts and the $100 million Clariden Media Fund, an open-end mutual fund. From 1991 to 1995, Mr. Crawford was a Senior Analyst and Manager with New England Consulting Group & Quantum Associates where he completed numerous domestic and international consulting engagements with senior executives in Fortune 500 companies focused on mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy, organization, marketing and operations. His clients included Coca-Cola, Miller Brewing, Unilever, Hallmark Cards, South African Breweries, Dun & Bradstreet, Sears, Heinz, Frito-Lay, MCA and Philip-Morris.

Mr. Crawford received an MBA from The Wharton School of Business where he was named to the Directors List. Mr. Crawford also graduated from the University of Pennsylvania magna cum laude as a Benjamin Franklin Scholar with a BA in Physics, BS in Economics, BAS in Systems Engineering and an MA in International Relations. Mr. Crawford is a Registered Investment Adviser Representative* with the Massachusetts Securities Division and holds FINRA Series 65 certification. Mr. Crawford is an investor in Crawford Capital Partners, L.P.

*Registration as an Investment Adviser Representative with the Massachusetts Securities Division does not imply any certain level of skill or training.

Jonathan R. Saunders

Partner and Senior Analyst

Jonathan Saunders is a veteran hedge fund analyst whose disciplined, research-driven approach has been pivotal in driving performance of equity portfolios from start-up phase to multi-billion AUM.

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Prior to forming the General Partner, Mr. Saunders was an equity analyst with Stark Investments, a $12 billion multi-strategy global hedge fund from 2006 to 2009. As an equity analyst, Mr. Saunders was responsible for the equity team’s positions in the financial services, REIT and industrial sectors. From 1999 to 2006 Mr. Saunders was President and Chief Operating Officer of private equity firm Blue Wave Holdings Corp., where he sourced investments, negotiated and executed transactions, and significantly improved operating results at portfolio companies in the commercial real estate and automotive services sectors.

He holds an MBA from Boston University and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Saunders is a Registered Investment Adviser Representative* with the Massachusetts Securities Division and holds FINRA Series 65 certification. Mr. Saunders is an investor in Crawford Capital Partners, L.P.

*Registration as an Investment Adviser Representative with the Massachusetts Securities Division does not imply any certain level of skill or training.

Scott L. Utzinger

Partner and Chief Operating Officer

Scott Utzinger is a seasoned institutional investor with more than two decades of experience spanning portfolio management, equity analysis, investment operations, and Fortune 500 strategy consulting.

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Prior to joining the General Partner in October 2012, Mr. Utzinger was an equity analyst at Fidelity Investments, where he was responsible for the media and retail sectors at the firm’s institutional investment division, Pyramis Global Advisors, from 2010 to 2012. Prior to Fidelity, Mr. Utzinger was Vice President and Global Industry Analyst at Wellington Management Company from 1999-2009. During more than a decade at Wellington, Mr. Utzinger followed the internet, media, travel, and leisure sectors and served as sector portfolio manager for more than $1 billion in institutional client and mutual fund assets. From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Utzinger was Lead Consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton, a global management consulting firm, where he focused on M&A, reengineering, strategy and marketing assignments in the media and consumer packaged goods sectors for clients ranging from PepsiCo to Viacom to Seagram/MCA/Universal. From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Utzinger was a Senior Project Manager at New England Consulting Group, working with Fortune 500 executives on marketing and management strategy projects for a broad array of media and consumer packaged goods clients, including Heinz, Bausch & Lomb, SmithKline Beecham, CPC International, and Southern New England Telephone.

Mr. Utzinger received an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he was named an Arjay Miller Scholar. Mr. Utzinger also graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Management & Technology program summa cum laude with a BS in Economics from The Wharton School of Business and a BAS in Systems Engineering from the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Mr. Utzinger is a Registered Investment Adviser Representative* with the Massachusetts Securities Division and holds FINRA Series 65 certification. Mr. Utzinger is an investor in Crawford Capital Partners, L.P.

*Registration as an Investment Adviser Representative with the Massachusetts Securities Division does not imply any certain level of skill or training.

Laura Arnold

Chief Financial Officer (Agile Fund Solutions)

Laura Arnold is an experienced CFO who brings strong interdisciplinary capabilities in audit, tax, accounting, compliance, and human resources for alternative investment firms.

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Ms. Arnold is a Chief Financial Officer for Agile Fund Solutions, LLC. Ms. Arnold brings over 14 years of accounting experience with a focus on alternative investments.

Prior to joining Agile, Ms. Arnold was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at a quantitative hedge fund focused on long/short US and Japanese equities. In her role Ms. Arnold oversaw all accounting, tax, compliance, and human resource matters for the firm.

Ms. Arnold started her career with Rothstein Kass (RK) and worked in both their New York and New Jersey offices. At RK she specialized in providing audit, tax, and accounting services to a variety of hedge fund, fund of fund and private equity clients in the financial services industry. Her client base mainly consisted of large fund complexes and start-up funds utilizing derivative strategies. In addition to client responsibilities, Ms. Arnold was a member of the firm’s best practice committee spending much of her time updating firm pro-forma financial statements and educating team members and clients on newly issued guidance.

Ms.Arnold graduated from Villanova University with degrees in Accounting and Finance, and is a CPA in both New York and New Jersey (inactive).

Strong Collective Investment Experience

Investment Experience

Strong Collective Investment Experience

External Service Providers Enhance Operational Integrity and Best-of-Breed Controls

Crawford is proud to extend our internal capabilities via a top-tier team of institutional-grade service providers, including:

KPMG
Agile Fund Solutions LLC