Next Century Growth Investors, LLC is an independent money management firm located in Minneapolis, MN. Founded in November 1998 by Tom Press and Don Longlet, our philosophy is to construct and manage portfolios with the highest quality and fastest growing companies in America with the belief that this will lead to market outperformance over the long-term. NCG has managed institutional accounts since January 1999 and the portfolio managers have over 100 years of combined investment experience. We offer a disciplined approach to growth stock investing, an approach that has endured numerous economic and market cycles.

Our philosophy, strategy, and process have remained consistently focused on investing in high growth companies since the inception of the firm. Our performance comes from having a stable team of experienced portfolio managers consistently applying our investment process. We are proud of the fact we have had no portfolio manager turnover in our history. NCG is primarily owned by its portfolio managers which provides an environment conducive to the long term sustainability of our investment strategy.

We stick to our growth stock investing discipline in all parts of the economic cycle and in all market environments. There have been times in our history when growth stocks have been out of favor and the economic environment has been a headwind for growth companies. Yet we continued to put together a portfolio of high quality growth companies that, over time, delivered our intended results. We believe consistent execution of our process in this inefficient market could lead to market outperformance in the future.

Investment Team

Thomas Press, CFA

Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Portfolio Manager, Partner

Tom founded NCG in November 1998 with the goal of managing institutional accounts within our growth stock investing philosophy. He is a portfolio manager on all of our strategies, as well as being our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since inception of the firm. Prior to NCG he worked at Jundt Associates from 1994-1998 as a portfolio manager, and before that he worked at Investment Advisors from 1992-1993. From 1985-1992 he worked Salomon Brothers and Morgan Stanley & Company on the institutional sales desk. Of his 38 years of investment experience, the past 28 have been spent utilizing our current investment process. Tom holds a B.A. degree in business administration from the University of Minnesota and an M.B.A. degree from the University of St. Thomas. He was a former member of the U.S. World, World Cup, and Olympic Wrestling Teams (alternate and team leader) and is a member of the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Robert Scott, CFA

President, Portfolio Manager, Partner

Bob joined NCG in our second year, serving as a portfolio manager on all strategies. In 2003, he helped create our microcap strategy and has been a portfolio manager on that product ever since.  He also serves as the firm’s President.  Prior to joining NCG in September 2000, Bob spent seven years at Investment Advisers, Inc (IAI).  While at IAI, Bob held various positions including Vice President and portfolio manager for the IAI small cap growth and mid cap growth products.  From July 1991 to July 1993 he was a research analyst with the American Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.  He has 28 years of investment experience.  Bob graduated from Harvard University in 1990.

Peter Capouch, CFA

Chief Operating Officer, Portfolio Manager and Partner

Peter has been with NCG for 19 years and has 20 years of investment experience. He has been involved in all aspects of the portfolio management process since joining the firm in July 2003. Prior to joining NCG, he worked at State Street Global Advisors as a consultant analyst developing and maintaining relationships with investment consultant companies. Peter graduated from Harvard University in 2002, where he was captain of the men’s ice hockey team.

Kaj Doerring

Portfolio Manager and Partner

Kaj Doerring has 24 years of investment experience. This includes 3 years at Piper Jaffray Companies and 3 years as a founding member of Think Equity Partners. Before entering the investment industry, Kaj spent 14 years at various positions within drug, diagnostic, device and capital equipment sales/marketing areas including 9 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb, 2 Years at Boehringer Mannheim Diagnostics and 3 years at Coherent Surgical. Kaj graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN in 1985 with a BA in Computer Science.

Tom Dignard, CFA

Portfolio Manager and Partner

Tom joined NCG in January 2013. Tom earned his BA in economics from Yale University in 2010, where he was also a 4-year letterman of the Men’s Ice Hockey Team. He earned his MBA and graduated with Distinction from the University of Ulster in 2012.

Marketing

John Solecki

Institutional Sales & Marketing

John joined NCG in 2022, continuing an extensive career in institutional sales and marketing for the asset management industry. Prior to NCG John spent 8 years at Morgan Dempsey Capital Management, and before that he spent 7 years at Horizon Kinetics and 8 years at Mesirow Financial. John was appointed by the Governor of Michigan to the Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System & Health Care Committee – MPSERS (2020-2024). He is a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Gabrilowitsch Society and served as the treasurer on the Epilepsy Board of Michigan. John co-authored a white paper – Hidden Value in Spin-offs. John graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Economics/Finance and lettered on the Varsity Football Team. He is a lifetime member of the CFA (Cornell Football Association).

Operations Team

Kelly McNulty

Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Financial Officer

Kelly has over 29 years of industry experience. Prior to joining NCG in April 2002, she spent 7 years with Paladin Investments (formerly Investment Advisers, Inc.) as Associate Vice President of Operations overseeing institutional accounts and mutual funds. Previous to Paladin, Kelly held various positions at Piper Jaffray. Kelly received her MBA in Finance in May 2002 from the University of St. Thomas and she received her BA in Accounting and Finance from Creighton University in 1992.

Joseph Grundfeldt

Trader

Joe has 26 years of investment industry experience. Prior to joining NCG in February 2004, Joe spent over 8 years with American Express Financial Advisors. Joe held various positions at American Express including brokerage product development and equity trader. Joe received his B.S. in Economics and Finance from St. Cloud State University in 1994. Joe is a member and past president of the Minnesota Security Dealers Association.

Gina Nelson

Operations

Gina joined NCG in February 1999. Prior to joining NCG Gina spent five years at Merrill Lynch & Co. functioning as a client associate as well as a meeting planning and seminar coordinator. She also spent one year at Jundt Associates, Inc., as an assistant trader. Gina holds a B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin – Stout.