Dunleavy names Rubenstein to Perm Fund board; her father's company manages $825 million for fund
The press release from Gov. Mike Dunleavy announcing the appointment of Gabrielle “Ellie” Rubenstein to the board of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation neglected to mention key details about her background.
Dunleavy did not make it clear how long Rubenstein has lived in Alaska or that she is the daughter of billionaire David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, and Alice Rogoff, the former owner of the Alaska Dispatch and what is now the Anchorage Daily News.
Dunleavy’s announcement does not say how or if the state plans to address the conflict of interest created by Rubenstein’s presence on board. Her father’s company manages about $825 million in assets for the Alaska Permanent Fund.
Gabrielle, who was one of the many Alaska co-chairs for Trump in 2016, is co-founder of Manna Tree, an investment firm based in Colorado. Her father has a 10 percent interest in the company, according to a 2019 report. The company aims to “reinvent” private equity investing for the next 30 years.
On her company website, she has a video saying she started her investment career “between LA and Alaska.”
Scott Kendall, the former chief of staff for former Gov. Bill Walker, said on Twitter that this is a “move by Craig Richards to consolidate his power over the fund.”
Richards, who served as attorney general under Walker, has become an ally of Dunleavy’s in the past few years, working as an attorney to fight the Dunleavy recall.
He is chairman of the board of trustees of the fund and was a key figure in the firing of Angela Rodell as CEO, an action that remains under investigation by an independent attorneys hired by the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee.
Appointments to the Permanent Fund board are not subject to legislative confirmation under state law. Rubenstein replaces Bill Moran of Ketchikan, the only member of the fund board who opposed Rodell’s termination.
The press release from Dunleavy about Rubenstein’s appointment obscures the details about Rubenstein’s time in Alaska and does not mention her father’s company or its work for the fund.
“Rubenstein's family first moved to Alaska in 2001, and after completing her undergraduate degree, she moved to Anchorage. She has been a resident of the state for the last decade. Rubenstein has a background in investments and philanthropy, and she is an avid angler, hunter, and pilot.
“Rubenstein is the co-founder and CEO of Manna Tree, an investment firm dedicated to improving human health by transforming the food supply chain for healthier outcomes, and the founder of Mission: Ingredients, which supports outdoor wilderness, youth education, and military health and recovery programs.
“She has dedicated countless hours to the American Red Cross since first volunteering with the Red Cross of Alaska in 2014. Rubenstein earned her bachelor's degree in sociology from Harvard University, her master's degree in agriculture economics from Purdue University, and her MBA from Indiana University's Kelly School of Business.”
A 2019 article from Pensions and Investments about the founding of Manna Tree a year earlier said that Gabrielle “learned the private equity business by going to work with her dad, David M. Rubenstein, Carlyle Group's co-founder and co-executive chairman.”
Pensions and Investments said Rubenstein was a co-founder of PT Capital, an Anchorage-based firm and helped start the Alaska Angel Investment Network.
Her company is based in Vail, Colo. Ross Iverson is CIO, and Brent Drever is chief operating officer.
“Since Manna Tree was founded, the firm's association with Mr. Rubenstein, who is part of Manna Tree's general partnership with a 10% stake, has helped the new firm by ‘parlaying the name and the Rubenstein network’ into investments in healthy food, Mr. Drever said. "David Rubenstein has been a successful investor for 30 years. . . . He's opened relationships for us," he said. "It helps with deal flow. . . . They recognize the name.”
Gabrielle was a co-chair of the Alaska political committee for Trump in 2016. She and her dad were on the guest list for Trump’s first state dinner in 2018.
David Rubenstein sold 2 million shares of Carlyle stock June 6 for $77.3 million. He still owns 29 million shares valued at $1.1 billion.