George Hicks is a Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Värde Partners, and a member of the firm's Investment Committee. As a founder of Värde in 1993, George was an original architect of the firm's investment thesis and philosophy. He has presided over the growth of the firm, overseeing its transition from a start-up to a global enterprise with the infrastructure required to support offices around the globe and a diverse investor base. He has served as a lead creditor in a number of corporate restructurings and has served on the boards of a number of the portfolio companies owned by the Värde funds. Prior to founding Värde, George served as senior vice president of Cargill Financial, the financial services subsidiary of Cargill, where he helped build and manage the company's worldwide merchant banking department. A lawyer by training, George also served as counsel in the Cargill legal department. George graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota with a B.A. in Economics and History, and received his J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.