J. Howard Ragsdale, Jr., CFA - Founder & CEO, Prove Investing, LLC

As Chief Executive Officer of Prove Investing LLC, Howard Ragsdale brings years of experience in building successful businesses and deep expertise in investment management.  Howard has been an institutional money manager and investor in over 15 startups. He was co-founder and CEO of Arbor Healthcare, a healthcare technology company.  In 2017 Arbor was sold to Equian, a portfolio company of New Mountain Capital, a $30 billion private equity firm.

Prior to his Arbor Health tenure, Howard managed over $5 billion in investment portfolios for state and city pension funds, banks, insurance companies, corporations, a professional sports union and a global telecom corporation.  He has managed investment portfolios for high net worth individuals for 25 years.  

Howard has been a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) for over 25 years.  He currently serves as the chairman of the investment committee for Trevecca University.  Howard is an investor in and Chairman of Palinode, the nation’s leading provider of credit dispute resolution technology.  He is also an active investor in other startup companies.

Howard holds a Masters in Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Vanderbilt University’s Owen School of Management.  He graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance.

Howard is the Tennessee Director for Angel Flight Soars, serves on the Advisory Board of Middle Tennessee Mission Increase Foundation and teaches Model Netics, a comprehensive management training and development program, to local nonprofits.