Karey Barker spent more than 15 years managing small-cap public growth funds before founding Cross Creek in 2006, and she has built a reputation around late-stage companies close to going public, often noting that public and private investing are more alike than people assume. She also holds a CFA, studied French at the Université d'Angers, sits on the ARUP Laboratories board after 17 years on Wasatch Advisors' board and a past directorship at MEDNAX, and applies an allocator's eye to manager selection—looking for teams with deep sector focus, real local presence, and disciplined fund sizes even when they could raise more.