Meet Our Team
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, you need a team.”
John Wooden
John Wooden
Our Team
Ed Messman is the Chief Investment Officer of Legacy Group Capital and has over two decades of executive leadership experience with venture capital and private equity-sponsored technology companies.
As CIO and partner, Ed provides leadership for all aspects of the company’s investment and capital markets activities. Prior to Legacy Group Capital, Ed served as the CEO of Rook Capital, a venture capital-sponsored fintech company focused on creating innovative financing solutions that address housing accessibility and affordability. In addition, Ed has also led multiple startups as a founder and CEO through institutional financing and ultimately to merger and acquisition exits.
Ed spent the first 13 years of his career in structured finance, working with hundreds of venture capital and private equity-sponsored technology companies on senior, mezzanine debt, and equity financing.
Ed earned his Bachelor of Science in International Finance from Grand Canyon University and his MBA in Finance from the University of Colorado Boulder. While attending Grand Canyon University, Ed was an athlete on Grand Canyon University’s baseball team. Ed currently lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife and they are parents to three adult children.
Elliott Pierce serves as the Chief Credit Officer for Legacy Group Capital. Elliott has been a banker in the Pacific Northwest for over 40 years and has extensive experience in all aspects of commercial banking and credit administration. Prior to joining Legacy Group Capital, Elliott most recently served as the Chief Credit Officer for First Sound Bank in Seattle until Harborstone Credit Union acquired the bank in May 2024.
Elliott earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington and his MBA degree in Management from Seattle Pacific University. He is also a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School.
Elliott is currently a University Presbyterian Church Session Council member and has previously served on the Board of the YMCA of King County, the Salvation Army of King County, and the Washington Bankers Association Credit Committee.
He lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, and they have three adult children.
Chris Steward is a partner at Legacy Group Capital and was essential in the development of the investor relations framework for Legacy’s two real estate funds. Chris currently manages a book of business with high-net-worth investors providing investment and economic insight. Prior to Legacy Group Capital, Chris owned and operated a financial services franchise with Ameriprise Financial under the name Steward & Walters, which managed over $100 million in client assets when the company was sold.
In 2009, he partnered with his wife in operating Lam’s Seafood. Under his management, the company grew from $8 million in revenue to $19 million and was ranked as one of Forbes’s fastest-growing “Inner City Businesses” in the country. After selling both Steward & Walters and Lam’s Seafood in 2015, he joined Legacy Group Capital as a partner and investment advisor.
Currently Chris also manages a Registered Investment Advisory Practice in Bellevue, WA that specializes in alternative assets, real estate, and other non-traditional investment strategies. Chris has been a financial advisor for over 18 years.
Chris is a proud member of the Forbes Finance Council. Read his published content on Forbes.
