The VC / PE Team at Morgan Stanley

With over 30 years of experience in the venture services industry, Reese Rickards is the Managing Partner of the VC/PE Team, where he plays a central role in shaping the team’s strategic direction and overseeing key client relationships. Over the course of his career, he has developed a deep expertise in assisting Venture Capital and Private Equity firms with public equity sale strategies, providing guidance on navigating complex market dynamics.

Reese began his career at Robertson Stephens, a boutique investment bank where the venture services practice was first established. At Robertson, he worked with some of Silicon Valley’s largest Venture Capital firms, assisting them with distribution management and trading. He later helped establish the venture services practice at UBS as a Senior Vice President, before joining Morgan Stanley in 2006.

Reese holds a B.S. in economics from Colby College, where he was captain of the varsity hockey team. He went on to earn the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA^®) designation. Outside of work, he is an avid skier, enjoys fishing, and maintains an active lifestyle. He and his wife, Betsy, live with their two daughters in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Trisha Jeffries joined the VC/PE Team in August of 2020, becoming the team’s first female partner. Trisha has spent her entire 15-year financial services career focused on the needs of the venture capital and private equity communities. She advises her clients on monetization strategies for their public holdings, providing services that include restricted stock trading, in-kind distribution management, 10B5-1 plans and global qualified custody.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Trisha spent over nine years with the Merrill Lynch Venture Services Group. At Merrill, she managed the global qualified custody business and played a prominent role in new-client acquisition, eventually being named their business development specialist.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Trisha has also lived in Barcelona, Spain, and Hilton Head, South Carolina. She is based in both our San Francisco and Walnut Creek offices.
Trisha graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelor’s degree in economics. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, Alex. Trisha is a passionate supporter of the Alzheimer’s Association and enjoys trying new restaurants around city and traveling in her free time.

John Halip joined the VC/PE Team as a partner in 2019 after spending nine years working on Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Equity Sales desk. John has a successful track record covering the firm’s largest hedge funds and asset managers, developing key relationships with buy-side portfolio managers and bringing unique institutional experience to our team. Leveraging his sales experience, John focuses on helping our clients craft tailored exit strategies. Having worked on over 300 IPOs in his tenure, he handles our deal calendar and provides overall research connectivity for the group.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2010, John worked at Compass Point Research & Trading in Washington D.C as a sales trader. He began his professional career working on Capitol Hill as Junior Consultant at Hurt Norton & Associates.

In 2024, John relocated to the east coast and opened our New York VC/PE Team office at Morgan Stanley’s Headquarters.

John earned a B.A. in business and economics from Loyola University in Maryland, where he earned a scholarship and played Division 1 lacrosse for four years. Still an active athlete, he is an avid squash player and golfer, and enjoys running and road biking. John lives in Darien, Connecticut, with his wife and two children.

Christopher Pappas has been with the VC/PE team for over a decade. He serves as a Partner focused on driving business development for the Boston office, with a particular emphasis on healthcare funds, strategic corporate coverage, syndicate participation, and block trading. Additionally, Chris leads internal efforts to streamline operations and enhance the overall fund-level client experience. With an extensive background in serving the venture community, Chris plays a pivotal role in the team’s continued growth and success.

Prior to joining the team in 2014, Chris spent two years as a workplace investment trader at Fidelity Investments.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting and finance from Roanoke College. Outside of work, Chris is active in the local Greek community, and can typically be found skiing or hiking. He lives in downtown Boston with his wife, Carlie.

Taylor Wagner joined the VC/PE Team in September of 2022 as Director of Business Strategy. In this role, she was responsible for cultivating and enhancing new and existing client relationships as well as optimizing business practices through collaboration with strategic partners. She has been in the financial services industry for over 14 years, joining the firm in 2010.

As a third generation Morgan Stanley employee and now a partner on the team, Taylor leverages the firm’s extensive resources and network to meet the diverse and complex needs of both her individual ultra-high net worth and institutional clients. She specializes in pre and post liquidity planning, trade execution, restricted stock transaction management, portfolio analysis, and consolidated reporting. She also has expertise in banking and liquidity management as well as trust, tax, philanthropic and estate planning.

Taylor holds a B.A. from the University of Washington and series 7 and 66 licenses. She is a native of Marin County, California, where she enjoys hiking, weekend ski getaways, and spending time with her family and friends.

Drawing on 15 years of experience working with private equity and venture capital funds and their limited partners, Craig Blackwood serves an international clientele of sophisticated institutional investors. As the team’s Director of Business Strategy, Craig plays a central role in overseeing the equity trading and service model to ensure a seamless and efficient client experience. He is also tasked with implementing various business processes to meet client needs in the ever-evolving global finance industry.

After earning his B.A. in economics and business from Virginia Military Institute, Craig began his professional career at Thomas Weisel as an analyst on the institutional equities trading desk. He joined the team at Morgan Stanley’s San Francisco, California, office in 2009.

Craig grew up overseas and eventually settled in the San Francisco Bay area. He lives in Lafayette, California, with his wife, Katie, and their two children. When he isn’t chasing his young and energetic kids around the house, Craig enjoys messing around with DIY projects, hiking, biking and fishing.

Dale Whitmer focuses on managing in-kind distributions for the team, drawing on a long history of establishing trading relationships with VC/PE limited partners. Dale has taken the lead as the manager of the distribution liquidation services for select limited partners that trade exclusively through Morgan Stanley.

Prior to joining the team in 2014, Dale worked in private wealth management at Robert W. Baird & Co., and as a financial advisor at UBS Financial Services. He began his professional career at Merrill Lynch after graduating from San Diego State University with a B.S. in business finance.

Born and raised in Napa, California, Dale is a travel-hungry outdoors enthusiast and enjoys adventuring and searching out the cuisines of the world. He and his wife, Brittany, live in Mill Valley with their two sons, Sonny and Ellis.

Reese Linton joined Morgan Stanley’s Boston office in 2018 to support the team’s advisors in delivering an outstanding customer service experience to their clients. His primary responsibilities include the opening and maintenance of accounts and managing in-kind distributions.

Born in Weston, Connecticut, Reese grew up just south of Boston in Hingham, Massachusetts. He attended St. Lawrence University, graduating with a B.A. in economics and business in 2018. In his free time, Reese enjoys fly fishing on the Delaware River and fishing offshore of Nantucket.

Jaxon Kwong joined the team’s Walnut Creek, California, office in 2019, and focuses on new-client acquisition experience, providing outstanding operational support. His primary responsibilities include the opening and maintenance of accounts and responding to a broad array of client service requests.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Jaxon earned his B.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz, majoring in business management economics with an emphasis on accounting. In his free time, he enjoys racing cars on the race track, playing basketball and tennis.

Luke Bohuslav joined the team’s Walnut Creek, California, office in 2021, and focuses on new-client acquisition experience, and providing outstanding operational support. His primary responsibilities include the distribution management support, opening and maintenance of accounts and responding to a broad array of client service requests.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Luke worked at PitchBook Data in Seattle, Washington as a Dataset Lead in the research department for 3 ½ years. At PitchBook, he focused on expanding and improving financial data offered on the platform. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Luke earned his B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, where he majored in Finance and was captain of the Division I tennis team. In his free time, he enjoys running, playing tennis, watching movies, and listening to music.

Kathryn Walsh joined the Bay Area office in the summer of 2021, and has since relocated to the Boston, MA office. Her focus is new-client acquisition experience, and providing outstanding operational support for the team. Her primary responsibilities include the distribution management support, opening and maintenance of accounts and responding to a broad array of client service requests.

Born and raised in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Kathryn earned her B.S. from Trinity College (Connecticut), majoring in economics with minors in models and data and formal organizations. After graduation, Kathryn relocated to San Francisco and has enjoyed exploring a new city. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer, traveling and trying new restaurants.

Kylie Piotte joined the VC/PE Team in June 2021 as an associate in the Boston, MA office. As a registered associate, Kylie focuses on complex operational situations, including client onboarding and maintenance, restricted trading, and capital markets coverage. An analytical thinker, Kylie is also responsible for streamlining and supporting the team’s various data-driven projects.

In 2024, Kylie relocated to NYC and currently works alongside John Halip at the firm’s headquarters to expand the group’s NYC coverage and increase firm connectivity. She earned her B.S. from Washington and Lee University, majoring in business administration and politics. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Kylie worked as an associate at the Merrill Lynch Venture Services Group while finishing her degrees. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring NYC’s food scene, trying different workout classes, and skiing throughout the winter.

Coburn joined the team’s Walnut Creek office in June 2024. His focus is on the new client acquisition experience and providing outstanding operational support for the team. His primary responsibilities include distribution management support, maintenance of accounts and responding to a broad array of client service requests.

Coburn was born and raised in the Bay Area and prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a dual emphasis in Finance & Real Estate from The University of Colorado Boulder. In Coburn’s free time, he enjoys traveling, surfing, skiing, and spending time with family.

Sadie joined the team’s Boston office in August 2024. Her focus is on the new client acquisition experience and providing outstanding operational support for the team. Her primary responsibilities include distribution management support, maintenance of accounts and responding to a broad array of client service requests.

Sadie was born and raised in the Boston suburbs and prior to joining Morgan Stanley, she earned a B.A. in both Economics and Sociology from Bates College. In Sadie’s free time, she enjoys skiing, hiking, playing lacrosse, and watching Boston sports.