Dan Crowe, CFA, partner, is a portfolio manager on William Blair’s Small-Mid Cap Growth and Small-Mid Cap Core strategies. Previously, he was a portfolio manager on the firm’s Mid Cap Growth strategy, an associate portfolio manager on the firm’s Small Cap Growth strategy, and a research analyst, where he focused on all sectors across the U.S. small-cap space. Before joining William Blair as a generalist research analyst in May 2011, Dan was a portfolio manager at Pyramis Global Advisors and a portfolio manager and analyst at The Boston Company/Founders Asset Management. He began his career as a generalist analyst at Marsico Capital Management. Dan is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Chicago. He received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Nicholas Zimmerman, CFA, a Partner of William Blair Investment Management, LLC, has co-managed the Small-Mid Cap Growth Fund since 2023. He joined William Blair in 2017 as a research analyst focusing on U.S. small- and mid-cap resources companies. Before joining William Blair, Mr. Zimmerman was an equity analyst at Holland Capital Management, where he covered energy, materials, aerospace and defense, and transportation companies. He has the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Chicago. Education: B.S. Finance, with high honors, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; M.S., Finance, University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Ward Sexton, CFA, partner, is a portfolio manager for the Small Cap Growth, SMID Growth, and SMID Core strategies at William Blair Investment Management. He leads the U.S. small- and small-mid cap growth team and is a member of Investment Management’s executive leadership team and the firm’s extended leadership group. Formerly, Ward was an associate portfolio manager for the Small Cap Growth strategy and a research analyst on the U.S. growth & core equity team covering resource, financial, and consumer companies. He joined the firm in 1999, initially working in the corporate finance group for two years before moving to the investment team. Ward is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Chicago. He received a B.S. in finance, with honors, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an M.B.A., with high honors, from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.