Jun. 26–A new Sacramento venture capital firm has tapped a former CalPERS chief to help it raise money for investments in the Sacramento area.

Dale Hanson, who was chief executive officer of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System from 1987 to 1994, has joined Capital Valley Ventures as chairman of its advisory board.

In that position Hanson will woo pension funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors. He’ll also try to persuade smaller investors to put money into Capital Valley Venturesthe firm.

“Dale expands our access to a network of capital sources,” said Jack Crawford Jr., CVV’s managing director. “For him to evaluate our fund strategy and sign on is an incredible validation for us.” Crawford said.

Hanson joins a company with deep connections to the technology industry. The year-old CVV’s management group includes local venture capitalist Pete Bernardoni, former ShareWave CEO Jock Ochiltree, former Level One CFO John Kehoe and Jim Schraith, previously president of Compaq Computer’s North America division.

While at CalPERS, Hanson earned a reputation for pushing corporate boards to be more responsive to shareholders.

During his tenure, CalPERS assets soared from $43.2 billion to $80 billion, thanks to an increase in membership and a surge in the stock market.

Since he left CalPERS in 1994, Hanson has been running American Partners, a firm that brings together venture capitalists and potential investors. He said he will continue to operate his company and Capital Valley Ventures will be one of his clients.

Hanson said CVV’s strategy of funding startup technology and life sciences firms in Northern California should prove attractive to big investors.

“I don’t think we will have any problem raising money,” he said. “We’ve already found quite a few entities that are quite intrigued by what we do.”

Hanson, 60, said he sees his affiliation with CVV as a way to do more business in the Sacramento region. “Since this has become such an active (business) area, this afforded me a good opportunity to get involved with experienced investors who know this space,” he said.

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(c) 2003, The Sacramento Bee, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.