Aegis Secure Core I
A sub-advised strategy organized around risk-defined opportunities and structural market inefficiencies.
INVESTOR · STRATEGIST · OPERATOR
Capital, companies
and complex systems.
Operating at the intersection of production security (ProSec), AI infrastructure, and capital markets, I focus on strengthening the economic engine of organizations in complex, geopolitically constrained environments.
15+
Years across markets, finance & operations
$500B+
Aggregate notional transaction volume
$500M+
Private-equity capital raised
≈$1B
Market cap controlled or advised across seven industries
THE MANDATE
Capital should do more than sit in a portfolio. It should operate.
AGC is a principal investment firm deploying permanent balance-sheet capital across quantitative market strategies and direct operating ventures.
The model combines the discipline and liquidity of public markets with the alignment, control and execution required to build durable value in private assets.
Second Founders
A dedicated venture platform focused on early-stage capital, company formation and operator-aligned execution.
Direct SPVs
Special-purpose structures for selected acquisitions, intellectual property and direct operating ventures.
EXPERIENCE IN PRACTICE
From market signal
to operating outcome.
GLOBAL EXECUTION
Markets punish imprecision.
More than 15 years across commodities, futures, equities and fixed income—on both sides of the market and across domestic and international mandates.
OPERATING EXECUTION
Capital must survive contact with reality.
At USA Rare Earth, helped lead the transition toward an integrated North American rare-earth magnet platform during a period in which enterprise value increased approximately tenfold.
GOVERNANCE
Oversight is capital allocation by another name.
Public-company board experience, including independent director service and leadership of audit and compensation committees for a Nasdaq-listed company.
OPERATING PHILOSOPHY
I currently control or advise approximately $1B in market cap across seven industries.
AS OF AUGUST 2026Engineering discipline.
Market judgment.
Operating consequence.
Hawes's approach begins with engineering training at Auburn University: define the system, identify its constraints, quantify the trade-offs and understand where failure can compound.
My approach blends Wall Street rigor with entrepreneurial problem-solving, treating capital markets awareness as foundational to strategy, not adjacent to it. I specialize in identifying where a business should move, where value inflects, and what catalyst unlocks progress.
By transforming "big ideas" into qualitative and quantitative narratives, I ensure investors trust the story, leaders execute with clarity, and markets recognize real progress. I am most often brought in to clarify strategic or human challenges—simplifying complexity so that good decisions can compound.
My operating philosophy is built on three core pillars.
Strategy
Pinpointing durable profit pools and navigating constraints.
Capital Markets Awareness
Understanding risk and reward as a total system.
Leadership
Aligning teams around execution to prove the vision.
At the core, I believe everything is corporate finance, and it is the art of being a disciplined investor and allocator.
Markets taught me what is value.
Experience taught me what is valued.
FIELD NOTES
Capital, companies and
the systems between them.
Observations developed across markets, corporate strategy, company building and capital allocation. They are not universal rules; they are working principles tested through execution.
01Everything is corporate finance - and corporate finance applies to no matter who you are.
02We can either take bets or we can allocate.
03Leaving money on the table is the name of the game.
04You are either in the make money business or keep money business.
05Creating companies at the cross between stories and common sense. That is the cross between value and a financial balance sheet.
06Markets taught me what is value. Experience taught me what is valued.
DECISION ARCHITECTURE
From direction
to consequence.
All business comes down to 3 statements: What is the North Star, that dictates the flywheel, that dictates the drivers to catalyst, that dictates the strategy.
- 01North Star
- 02Flywheel
- 03Drivers
- 04Catalyst
- 05Strategy
- 06Execution
Defines the North Star, durable profit pools and operating constraints.
Prices risk, timing, liquidity and the catalyst required for recognition.
Converts the strategy into decisions, aligned teams and execution.
LINES OF INQUIRY
Questions worth
staying with.
Working themes for essays, board-level memos and visual frameworks. Each begins with a market observation and follows it toward operating consequence.
Liquidity Chooses the Winners
How capacity constraints, benchmark concentration and market depth shape where capital can move.
So Much Is Matching Strategy to Liquidity
Position size, volatility, stops, market impact and financing cost considered as one system.
The Cost of Being Late
How bidding up an asset reduces prospective return and changes the implied cost of capital.
Why Would I Buy What Someone Else Is Selling?
The underwriting question behind every private transaction—and the eventual exit.
Capture the Catalyst Moment
Matching capital and execution to turnarounds, growth, early-stage, IPO and deep-value situations.
The CEO Sells to Everyone
Customers, employees, investors, directors and strategic stakeholders all require clarity and conviction.
APPLIED DISCIPLINE
Not a credential wall.
An operating system.
Engineering established the method. Markets, strategy, geopolitics, governance and venture-building expanded where that method could be applied.
HBSHarvard Business School
MITMassachusetts Institute of Technology
LSELondon School of Economics
OXUniversity of Oxford
CAMUniversity of Cambridge
WWharton Executive Education
SStanford University
01 Capital Markets & InvestingThe Execution Engine 16 entries
THE CONNECTION
Operating a permanent capital vehicle requires an uncompromising grasp of market mechanics, macro-liquidity and quantitative risk. This body of work establishes the regulatory, structural and systematic foundation for deploying capital across asset classes and complex corporate transactions.
The Law and Economics of Mergers and Acquisitions
The London School of Economics
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Structural and legal mechanics of corporate consolidation, buyouts and synergistic value capture in principal-led investments.
Economics of Money and Banking
Columbia University
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
The plumbing of macro-liquidity, central-bank operations and their downstream effect on global asset pricing.
Analyst Academy & Factor Academy
Fundamental Edge
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Buy-side research, factor-based models and portfolio allocation frameworks for systematic decision-making.
Professional Trading & Options Masterclasses
Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Advanced execution, derivatives and risk parameters applied across liquid markets.
Chartered Market Technician — Level III
CMT Association
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Technical analysis and behavioral-finance integration for execution timing and portfolio-volatility management.
Hedge Fund Risk Analytics & Family Office Practice
HFG · Family Office Club
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Analytical grounding for alternative-investment vehicles and multi-generational private-capital structures.
Regulatory & Industry Examinations
FINRA Series 3, 7, 63, 65, 79TO, 82TO & SIE
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Completed examination history spanning commodities, securities, investment banking and private offerings. Examination history does not imply current registration.
02 Strategy & Decision SystemsThe Quantitative Mindset 10 entries
THE CONNECTION
Moving from software engineering into executive leadership required an upgraded operating system for judgment. This discipline centers on probabilistic thinking, cognitive bias and modeling complex business environments before capital is committed.
Systems Thinking
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Mapping dynamic, interdependent variables across supply chains, corporate structures and capital systems.
Strategy · Strategy Execution · Business Strategy
Harvard Business School
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Designing competitive advantage and translating board-level intent into high-fidelity operating execution.
Superforecasting Fundamentals
Good Judgment Inc.
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Calibrated probability, base rates and disciplined belief-updating for decisions under uncertainty.
Welcome to Game Theory
The University of Tokyo
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Strategic anticipation and competitive-behavior modeling for capital allocation and market positioning.
Decision Making and Risk Management · Management Consulting
University of Chicago · Emory University
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Stress-testing corporate decisions, mitigating downside variance and guiding complex transformations.
Meta Strategist · Strategic Thinking for Advantage
Strategic Thinking Institute · Enactive Strategy Academy
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Connecting disparate signals into coherent operating strategies from a higher systems vantage point.
03 Global Affairs & SustainabilityMacro-Geopolitical Context 4 entries
THE CONNECTION
Capital does not exist in a vacuum. Architecting domestic supply chains—including mine-to-magnet rare-earth infrastructure—requires a working understanding of international relations, resource security and shifts in the global political economy.
Globalisation · Global Business
University of Oxford · Harvard Business School
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Navigating cross-border capital, transactions and the macroeconomic realities of emerging and established markets.
Business, International Relations and the Political Economy
The London School of Economics
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Analyzing how policy, sovereign interests and trade architecture shape resource security and asset value.
Circular Economy and Sustainability Strategies
University of Cambridge
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Designing resilient industrial models that connect economic growth, resource efficiency and natural-capital preservation.
04 Leadership, Governance & OrganizationsInstitutional Structuring 6 entries
THE CONNECTION
Scaling an enterprise or stewarding permanent capital requires more than investment judgment; it requires institutional governance. This discipline focuses on oversight, executive alignment, negotiation and the architecture of high-performing organizations.
Corporate Governance: Maximize Your Effectiveness in the Boardroom
Wharton Executive Education
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Fiduciary mechanics, board effectiveness and aligning oversight with long-term shareholder value creation.
Negotiation & Influence · Leading Organizations & Change
MIT Sloan School of Management
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Building stakeholder consensus and leading high-stakes organizational pivots through execution.
Organizational Analysis · Leadership Excellence
Stanford University · Disney Institute
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Diagnosing culture and organizational structure to improve alignment, accountability and operating efficiency.
DEI Strategies for Business Impact
University of Cambridge
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Developing high-performance environments that draw on diverse intellectual capital for more robust decisions.
05 Entrepreneurship & MarketingVenture & Growth 2 entries
THE CONNECTION
A merchant-banking mentality requires the ability to identify nascent opportunities, test them rigorously and scale them. This discipline focuses on zero-to-one company building, product-market fit and modern audience capture.
Launching a Startup
Stanford Graduate School of Business
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Blueprints for incubating new ventures, testing product-market fit and deploying early-stage capital.
Mastering Digital Marketing in an AI World
London Business School
STRATEGIC APPLICATION
Using algorithms, direct-response frameworks and artificial intelligence to scale brand presence and revenue growth.