About Us

Ted Waitt

Founder and CEO

Ted Waitt, co-founder and former chairman and CEO of Gateway, Inc., helped revolutionize how people use technology to live, work and play through pioneering the direct marketing of personal computers. Labeled a maverick by national business publications, he has since gone on to form multiple enterprises: Avalon Capital Group, Inc., a wholly-owned, billion-dollar private investment company with diverse interests; the Waitt Family Foundation; and, the Waitt Institutes.

Through the Waitt Family Foundation, Ted has become one of America's 50 most generous philanthropists, according to Business Week.

Established in 1993, the Foundation initially focused on community development in “at-risk” communities.  After investing millions of dollars in various programs in multiple communities, Ted concluded that the Foundation’s work in domestic violence had the most measurable impact on those at risk today. The creation of the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention and the Waiwid.tt Institute for Discovery in 2005 has allowed the Foundation to broaden its program interests. Today, in addition to funding the two institutes, the Foundation funds a variety of environmental and scientific programs with an emerging focus on ocean exploration, conservation and rejuvenation.

Ted has served as the Chairman of the Founding Fathers campaign of the Family Violence Prevention Fund. He also serves on the Board of Trustees and the Council of Advisors of the National Geographic Society and as vice chairman of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, in La Jolla, Calif.

Born January 18, 1963 in Sioux City, Iowa, Ted is the son of a fourth generation cattleman. He attended the Universities of Colorado and Iowa from 1981 to 1984. After a nine-month stint working in the PC industry in Des Moines Iowa, he and Mike Hammond co-founded Gateway in 1985 on the Waitt family farm. With a $10,000 loan secured by Ted’s grandmother’s CD, they grew Gateway from “2 guys in a barn” to become a Fortune 500 company.

Over the years, Ted has earned a number of prestigious honors, among them: the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award from the U.S. Small Business Association, two Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards, Marketing Computers Marketer of the Year, and a Ten Outstanding Young Americans (TOYA) award from the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. He was appointed by Congress to serve on the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, and he received an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of South Dakota.

Ted travels the world extensively, and most recently, he developed, produced and financed the film Amelia, starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.

Jeff Pace

CFO

Jeff Pace has over 20 years of experience in finance, accounting, tax, treasury and risk management.  Jeff was previously the VP-Controller of Petco Animal Supplies, Inc., a $2.4 B privately held 900 store pet specialty retail chain.  Jeff was also the CFO of the Americas region for Memec, Inc. a $2.5 B specialty semi-conductor distributor, which was pre-IPO.  Prior to Memec, Jeff served in a number of capacities at Gateway, Inc. over six years, including VP of Finance and Corporate Controller with responsibilities for accounting, financial reporting, tax, corporate financial planning and analysis, treasury and risk management.  Jeff has held the positions of CFO at Damon’s International, Inc. a $200 M casual dining restaurant concept and CFO of duPont Registry, the publisher of “duPont Registry, A Buyer’s Gallery of Fine Automobiles.”  Jeff began his career at Andersen where he worked on a significant number of financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions and other transaction based assignments.   Jeff earned his Bachelors of Science, Accounting degree from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida.

Stan Ray

Controller

Stan joined Avalon Capital Group, Inc. in December 2000, shortly after Avalon's relocation to La Jolla from North Sioux City, SD. His responsibilities include all accounting and taxation functions. Previous to Avalon, Stan served as the VP of Finance for the Wells Fargo Mortgage Resources lending group located in Carlsbad, California, from November 1997 to December 2000.

Stan Ray’s professional experience includes service as a consultant to the San Diego Host Committee from 1995 – 1996 and Controller for the San Diego based American Residential Mortgage Corporation. During his tenure at American Residential, Stan assisted in the successful launch of the company’s IPO and continued as Controller for the publicly traded mortgage bank until 1994, when the company was acquired by Chase Mortgage. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Stan began his career in the financial services industry in 1982 with Imperial Savings Association in San Diego, California following his relocation from his native state of Texas.

Nicole Blakely

General Counsel

Nicole Blakely received a B.A. in Anthropology from the State University of New York at Albany, magnum cum laude, in 1991 and a J.D., cum laude, from Tulane Law School in 1995. In addition to her legal experience, Nicole also holds a Masters in European History from the University of California at San Diego.

After law school, Nicole was in private practice for seven years, with her primary focus in business law and litigation, including litigation related to contractual disputes, licensing, intellectual property and commercial property. She left private practice in 2003 to act as general counsel for an apparel company in San Diego. In May of 2005, she joined Avalon Capital Group, Inc. as their legal counsel. Nicole focuses primarily on corporate compliance, formation and acquisition structures, negotiating and drafting transactions related to the various business interests of Avalon, providing counsel to executive management and protecting the corporation’s interests in all issues. She also provides legal services for the Waitt Family Foundation and Waitt Institutes.

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