Chickasaw Nation Taps Curt Crofford, Former Hicks Equity Partners Managing Director, to Lead Pennington Creek Capital, a Dallas-Based Sovereign Native Holdco Investment Group

The Chickasaw Nation today announced the establishment of Pennington Creek Capital, a private capital investment firm with plans to open an investment office in Dallas, Texas, led by long-time Hicks Equity Partners Managing Director Curt Crofford, reported Dan Boren, chairman of the investment firm and Secretary of Commerce for the Chickasaw Nation. This newly established office, coupled with the recent launch of Good Springs Capital in mid-2023, furthers the continued expansion of the Chickasaw Nation’s diversification efforts.

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Curt Crofford, Managing Director, Pennington Creek Capital (Photo: Business Wire)

Crofford joins Pennington Creek Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sovereign Native Holdco, to expand the reach and accelerate the firm's strategy of investing in promising middle market companies with strong cash flow characteristics led by ambitious founders and visionary entrepreneurs with high potential for growth and a strong market position.

“Through selective investments in established enterprises with solid leadership and strong values, Sovereign Native Holdco has driven economic expansion and growth for companies while generating returns we can use to deliver quality programs and services for the betterment and advancement of our citizens and the communities we serve,” Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby said.

"With Curt's three decades of diverse investment experience globally and his extensive relationships nationally, we are confident he will be instrumental in executing our investment strategy and opening new opportunities,” Boren said.

After earning an economics degree in 1995 from Vanderbilt University, Crofford began his career working in high-yield bond trading at Bankers Trust in New York before joining Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DKW) in New York and London, England, where he wrote equity research on companies for potential investments and assisted in common stock offerings and high yield bond deals. While in England with DLJ and DKW, he traveled across Europe to meet with institutional investors before returning to the United States to earn his MBA at Duke University.

For the past 19 years, Crofford has executed, managed and overseen a broad investment mandate in the private equity investing group of the Thomas O. Hicks family office. At Hicks Equity Partners, Crofford identified selective investments ranging from $10 million to $100 million in middle market companies ranging in value from $30 million to $500 million, where he focused on specialty manufacturing, commercial aerospace and defense, food and beverage, software, oil and gas, and distribution companies.

"Curt’s notable success in identifying and leading significant investments will bring a fresh perspective and energy to our firm. We are excited to have him on board and look forward to what lies ahead,” Boren said.

"I am thrilled to join Pennington Creek Capital and be part of a seasoned and respected organization focused on investing with greater purpose, namely, to enhance the overall quality of life of the Chickasaw people,” said Crofford. "Additionally, I have admired the Chickasaw Nation's business acumen for many years, and I have profound respect for the leadership of Governor Anoatubby and Secretary Boren. I am looking forward to this next chapter of my career. I believe strongly that the patient, long-term capital of the Chickasaw Nation is a compelling alternative to the increasingly short hold periods of institutional private equity firms.”

About The Chickasaw Nation

With more than 80,000 citizens, the Chickasaw Nation is a democratic republic with executive, legislative, and judicial departments elected by its citizens. The treaty territory of the tribe includes 7,648 square miles of south-central Oklahoma and encompasses all or parts of 13 Oklahoma counties. The Chickasaw Nation contributes billions to the Oklahoma economy annually and employs nearly 14,000 workers. Business revenues are the primary source for funding more than 200 tribal programs and services, such as health care, housing, and education for Chickasaw citizens and First Americans.

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