Scott Rerucha is the CEO and co-founder of Legacy Group Capital and has over three decades of indispensable industry experience. As CEO and managing partner, Scott provides leadership for all aspects of the company’s operations with an emphasis on long-term goals, development, profit, and return on investment.
Before Legacy Group Capital, Scott held successful tenures with numerous financial institutions throughout the Puget Sound Region. In 1993, he founded Bay Mortgage, which became one of the largest mortgage banking operations in the state of Washington. After Bay Mortgage was acquired, he founded Sky Bank, a new de novo bank, which was successfully sold in 2003 to First Independent Bank of Vancouver, WA.
In 2006, Scott co-founded Legacy Group Holdings, the parent company to Legacy Group Capital, Legacy Group Lending, and Legacy Group Escrow. The Legacy Group family of companies experienced substantial growth and success, which was recognized with several industry awards, including the Fastest Growing Private Business as well as the Best Companies to Work.
By 2013, Legacy Group’s mortgage company had become one of the top 25 mortgage banking operations in the country and was successfully sold to WJ Bradley of Denver, CO. Legacy’s growth and service level has made them the premier private lender in the PNW.
Scott earned his Bachelor of Arts in Finance and Economics from Seattle University. While attending Seattle University, Scott was a scholarship athlete on Seattle University’s tennis team.
Brent Eley
CCO, NMLS-35795
Brent Eley is the President and co-founder of Legacy Group Capital.
Upon becoming president in 2008, he led the design, structure, and implementation of three Regulation D Funds with offerings totaling over $150 million. He exclusively developed the funds’ underwriting criteria, marketing platforms, and administrative functions. As president and managing partner, he continues to oversee and actively manage the Legacy Northwest Fund and Legacy Opportunity Fund portfolios.
Brent has over two decades of industry experience and has cultivated high-level acuity in commercial, construction, private, and residential lending. He began his career originating loans for Bay Mortgage and soon became a top producer in the industry.
In 2003, he was brought on as President of Pinnacle Mortgage. He then served two years as Senior VP of First Independent Bank, formerly Sky Bank, running all construction and private lending. Brent was an original partner in Legacy Group Holdings and played an integral role in developing it into an industry-leading, billion-dollar mortgage banking operation, serving as President of Legacy Group Capital, its private lending division at the time.
Brent earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Washington State University.
Chris Gurdjian
CSO
Christopher Gurdjian is the President of Real Estate Acquisition as well as a managing partner at Legacy Group Capital.
Chris has been active in real estate since 1999 when he entered the industry as a new loan officer at Bay Mortgage. Soon after, Chris purchased and developed his first real estate project deal with Brent Eley. This experience propelled Chris forward in the Seattle in-fill development arena.
Over the past 17 years, Chris has participated in well over 1,200 residential development transactions and has partnered in the construction of over 700 homes in the Seattle metro region.
Today Chris drives all business development for the real estate team at Legacy Group Capital. Chris and his team work closely with 35 of Seattle’s most successful brokers, identifying 60-100 acquisitions each year. The team completes all feasibility work, maximizes development strategies, and expedites all permitting within the jurisdictions Legacy develops within. The team then places each deal with one of the 65 core builders who partner with Legacy on an ongoing basis.
Chris is active in all aspects of growth and strategy within Legacy Group Capital.
Ed Messman
CIO, NMLS-100527664
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 are parents to three adult children.
Kevin Cawley
CTO
Kevin Cawley serves as the Chief Technology Officer for Legacy Group Capital.
Kevin began his career as a Mechanical Engineer upon graduation from the University of Texas. Soon after, he transitioned to software development and entrepreneurship, receiving his master’s in computer science from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Kevin then developed cutting-edge technologies and applications for several successful startups he co-founded, guiding them from inception to sustainability and exit. Most notably, Kevin co-founded DigniFi, a fintech startup that addresses financing gaps in the automotive industry. At DigniFi, Kevin built the digital platform that enabled them to grow into 5,000 automotive dealerships and close over 10,000 loans a month. Kevin recently took those learnings and shifted to the real estate space with Rook Capital.
In his free time, Kevin enjoys being active with his four kids. He can often be found cycling while wearing a big smile and a colorful spandex suit on one of Colorado’s many mountain roads.
Kellie Ramsower
COO, NMLS-2449630
Kellie Ramsower is the company’s Chief Operating Officer and joined Legacy in 2022.
She is responsible for developing and implementing effective strategies, policies, and procedures for all supervised areas; ensuring the company’s operations are conducted in accordance with all regulations and in line with the company’s growth and expansion plans. This includes overseeing lending operations, loan servicing, IT, HR, data management, and investment operations. In addition, she participates in the organization’s Loan Committee and is the company liaison between the Leadership and Partner Teams.
Before joining Legacy Group Capital, Kellie was the SVP of Underwriting and Risk Operations for a national, publicly traded mortgage insurance firm and held various management positions in the mortgage banking and private mortgage insurance sectors.
Kellie holds a B.A. from the University of South Florida in English, with an emphasis in technical writing.
Heather Tonn
CFO
Heather Tonn joined the senior management team at Legacy Group Capital in 2023 and serves as the company’s Chief Financial Officer.
Heather brings a strong real estate background in the Pacific Northwest, spanning over a decade at John L. Scott Real Estate, and has worked closely with lenders, brokers, office leaders, and senior management. Working with the extraordinary team at Legacy Group Capital, she is honing the company’s financial strategies and policies and leading their efforts for financial reporting, planning and analysis, and implementing financial systems.
Heather holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of North Texas and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business.
Ed Bachtold
Managing Partner of Finance
Ed Bachtold is the Managing Partner of Finance for Legacy Group Capital and is responsible for Legacy’s financial strategy and objectives.
He is a Certified Public Accountant with over two decades of industry experience. He began his career in public accounting, where he spent four years gaining expertise in financial analysis and managing account systems. Ed then transitioned to the mortgage business serving as CFO of Qualfund Lending, which First Independent Bank later acquired; he was instrumental in the acquisition’s success. Following the merger, Ed remained CFO for First Independent Mortgage Company, a subsidiary of First Independent Bank.
In 2006, Ed co-founded Legacy Group Holdings, which owned Legacy Group Capital, Legacy Group Lending, and Legacy Group Escrow. Ed managed all accounting for Legacy Group Holdings which was ranked among the top 30 mortgage lenders in the country.
Ed is a graduate of Washington State University.
Jarrett Johnson
Director of Asset Management
Jarrett Johnson has been a partner at Legacy Group Capital since 2015. As a fully licensed Real Estate Broker with over two decades of diverse experience in management, land development including new construction, syndication, and banking; Jarrett’s expertise has provided Legacy Group Capital with great oversight and asset management.
Jarrett started his career in real estate in 2001 representing local banks and their REO departments by disseminating their foreclosed assets. After years in REO sales, Jarrett parleyed his experience from his successful real estate career into the acquisition and development arena. He was a founding partner of Meter Properties which has syndicated many successful real estate transactions within Washington and along the West Coast.
Jarrett’s experience in real estate, syndication, and investments are invaluable to the growth of the Legacy Group Capital platform.
Chris Steward
Director of Investments
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 of Legacy Group Capital.
Ross Cowan
EVP OF SALES
Ross Cowan is the Executive Vice President of Sales for Legacy Group Capital. He is a top-producing business development, sales leader, and merger and acquisition banker. With over two decades of experience, Ross has ample experience in sourcing, sales, management, and risk management.
A proven performer, he consistently delivers top-line revenue results. He also has an excellent track record for building and growing internal and external business relationships with key decision-makers. Ross attributes these successes to his excellent communication and interpersonal skills, consultative sales skills, and independent and team-driven goal-setting skills.
Ross earned his Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Arizona State University.
