BOARD OF ADVISORS
Artie Buerk
Artie Buerk is a Founding Partner and Managing Director for Buerk Dale Victor (BDV), a private equity firm dedicated to growing capital for investors by investing in and building emerging growth companies. He has been providing strategic advice and capital to growth companies for over 30 years. Buerk currently serves as a board member for BDV portfolio companies Door to Door Storage and Ivey Imaging. He is also currently serving on the board of Davidson Trust Company. Prior to BDV, Artie served as President of Northwestern Trust, a Northwest leader in personal trust, from 1993-1995 and served as co-chairman from 1995-2001. Northwestern Trust was sold to the Bank of Montreal for a 4X return to investors.
Buerk was President and board member for Shurgard Storage Centers from 1977-1992. Under his direction, Shurgard grew from a small regional mini-storage developer to a national player in the industry. During his tenure at Shurgard, Buerk managed $100 million in institutional commitments and assisted in taking the company public in 1994. Shurgard currently owns and manages more than 500 storage operations worldwide.
Buerk was also founder and director of Intermation, a records storage management service that was sold to Iron Mountain in 1998 for $24 million. From 1968 to 1977, he served as Director of Development at the University of Washington, increasing annual giving more than 3,000 percent during his tenure.
Buerk’s current civic involvement includes serving as a trustee for the University of Washington Foundation and as an advisory board member for the UW Business School and the Center for Technology Entrepreneurship. He also serves as the Harvard Business School’s lifetime class secretary for his graduating class. Buerk is currently a member of the Downtown Seattle Rotary Club and serves as a board member for the Alliance for Education. He is a past trustee of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and past president of the Seattle Public School Foundation Fund for Excellence. Buerk is also a past board chair and president of the UW Alumni Association, past chair of the UW Development Fund and past president of the Harvard Business School Club of Puget Sound. He has a BA in finance and banking from the University of Washington and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
