Connect with Our Team

Our team’s here to help—reach out by email or phone and we’ll get you pointed in the right direction. We’ll keep it quick, friendly, and confidential.

Connect with Our Team

Our team’s here to help—reach out by email or phone and we’ll get you pointed in the right direction. We’ll keep it quick, friendly, and confidential.

Neil Gunn

In addition to co-founding the Venture North Group, Neil is co-founder and co-manager of Anchorage Equity Partners, a private equity fund investing in Alaska based projects and companies as well as the owner of IFR and Associates, an accounting consulting firm.

Neil has passed required exams for the Series 7, 63 and 24 securities licenses.

Neil has served in the offices of the Governor of Alaska and Mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage as an internal management consultant charged with applying private sector strategic planning to public sector operations, thereby tying public dollars to measurable results. Neil has also worked and consulted for Alaska Native Corporations in executive level finance and accounting roles.

Prior to moving to Alaska in 2000, Neil spent many years working in Mexico for large international manufacturing companies. He brings over 17 years of national and international experience in the areas of finance and accounting, business transactions, performance leadership strategies, global product manufacturing, business process reengineering, and spend management strategies in the public and private sectors.

Neil earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, with an emphasis on cost management, from the University of Arizona. He also completed a senior executive program in 2003 at Harvard University which focused on performance leadership in government and how to produce results within the context of a permanent fiscal crisis.

Joe Bieshelt

Joe brings over 30 years of experience at the intersection of public and private financial environments, with a strong focus on complex financial analysis, operational strategy, and risk management. Utilizing his diverse skills, Joe helps business owners navigate complex transactions with confidence.

Joe served for more than 20 years as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he led investigative teams addressing financial crimes, corruption, and civil rights violations across the nation. He also coordinated and established multiple multi-jurisdictional task forces, partnering with federal, state, local, and private industry stakeholders to achieve strategic objectives.

As a certified adjunct faculty member of the FBI, Joe has trained both law enforcement and private-sector professionals, domestically and internationally, in advanced financial analysis techniques and investigative methodologies.

In addition to his government service, Joe has managed financial and project management engagements for multiple U.S. Department of State missions overseas. Notably, he led the development and implementation of an integrated accounting and inventory system, which was subsequently adapted for numerous Department of State projects.

Joe holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance from the University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business, and completed an executive program in Mergers & Acquisitions at Columbia Business School, further deepening his expertise in corporate transactions and advisory services.

Outside of his professional work, Joe enjoys running on trails in the foothills, fishing, and pursuing outdoor adventures.