Board of Directors

Warren Arganbright

Warren holds both a B.S. in Business Administration and a J.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Warren lives in Valentine, Nebraska, with his wife, Sue, where he has been a private law practices since 1976. He has served as the Thomas County Attorney since 1977, was Cherry County Attorney for 12 years and has been admitted to practice in all Nebraska courts, Nebraska Federal Courts, Rosebud Sioux Tribal Court, and the United States Supreme Court. He has practiced throughout Nebraska and South Dakota and has represented the Niobrara Council, the State entity charged with management of the Niobrara Scenic River, since its creation by a four county cooperative agreement in 1990.

Warren and Sue have extensive ranching interests north of Valentine.  Warren served as the Cherry County Republican Party Chairman for many years and served on the Nebraska Environmental Trust Board for six years. He is a member of numerous other organizations, ranging from the Masonic Lodge and Friends of Ak-Sar-Ben to the Minnechaduza Creek Basin Foundation, and honorary FFA Member/Parent Alumnaw. He has actively served on a variety of candidate election committees. 

Warren and Sue have two sons, Kyle, 25, and Kurt, 23, both of whom are attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Law. Both Kyle and Kurt (who was recently married) received degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural resources in 2006.  

Michael Groene

Mike is a native Nebraskan raised on a farm in Colfax County near the country church community of Olean.  He is the second youngest in a family of seven.  Mike received a B.S. in Agriculture Economics from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln in 1977. He is proud of the fact he worked his way through college and graduated after 8 semesters of study. Mike spent his first 12 years after college in management of Agrichemical retail plants in Nebraska.   

Since 1989 Mike has been a territorial sales manager for an agricultural equipment company in the four-state high plains area of western Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and western Kansas.  Mike is well known in the high plains agriculture community as a leading advocate for innovative farming practices that have allowed farmers to maximize limited water supplies and lower their input costs. After eight years of living in Colorado Mike moved his family back to Nebraska in 1997.  Shocked by the high increase in the level of local and state taxes since he last lived in Nebraska, Mike decided to help organize the Western Nebraska Taxpayers Association (WNTA) in North Platte.  Since its inception, WNTA has been influential in local and state governments’ taxation and spending policies. He is presently Chairman of the WNTA.  In 2006 Mike sponsored and successfully helped get a state spending limit Petition question on the November ballot. Although the effort failed, Nebraskans began a debate that continues today on the taxing and spending habits of our state government.

Mike and lifelong spouse Barb have two children.  Daughter Rebecca is married to husband Gregg and have given Mike and Barb three grandchildren. Youngest child Jebb is married to his wife Lynn and they are starting their life together. Both children have remained citizens of western Nebraska.

J. Peter Ricketts

Pete Ricketts is the founder of Drakon, LLC, an asset management company in Omaha, Nebraska. He is also Director and President of the Platte Institute for Economic Research, Inc., a member of the TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation Board of Directors, a board member of ZNRG International Group, and an Advisory Board member for the Alumni Capital Network. Pete is the former Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Ameritrade Holding Corporation, an Omaha-based brokerage industry pioneer, which recently merged with TD Waterhouse to form TD Ameritrade. 

Pete left Ameritrade in August 2005, to run for the U.S. Senate. After winning the primary race, he became the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate race in Nebraska for the 2006 election. While at Ameritrade for nearly twelve years, Pete held various leadership roles within the company. As Chief Operating Officer for the company, he oversaw Ameritrade’s retail client business as well as clearing and marketing operations. Prior to being named COO, Pete served as President of Ameritrade, Inc., Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, where he directed the planning of strategic initiatives, as well as Senior Vice President of Product Development. As Senior Vice President of Marketing, Pete led the successful $200 million marketing campaign, “Believe in Yourself.”

Prior to joining Ameritrade, Pete worked in environmental and economic consulting as well as working for Union Pacific Railroad. Pete holds an M.B.A. in marketing and finance from the University of Chicago, where he also earned his bachelor’s degree. An active member of the Omaha community, Pete is Vice Chairman of the Omaha board of Children’s Scholarship Fund, a group founded by the late John Walton to provide educational opportunities to low-income children. He also serves on the Global Advisory Board for the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a member of the Board of Trustees for the American Enterprise Institute. Pete is the Republican National Committeeman for the State of Nebraska. He is a board member of Gambling with the Good Life, an anti-gambling nonprofit organization, a member of the Advisory Board of the Nebraska Coalition for Ethical Research, a member of the Community Health Charities of Nebraska State Board of Directors, a member of the Fund for Omaha Committee, a member of the Advisory Board of the Republican Forum, a member of the Archbishop’s Committee for Development, serves as Vice President of the Fairacres Homeowners Association, and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. Pete and his family are members of St. Margaret Mary’s Church. 

Gail Werner-Robertson

Gail Werner-Robertson's passion for finance, coupled with a desire to help families manage and pass on their wealth led to the creation of GWR Wealth Management, LLC. Gail is founder and CEO of this family office services firm, which is dedicated to helping high-net-worth individuals manage their resources and futures. Gail also founded GWR Investments, GWR Financial and GWR Law more than 15 years ago. 

Gail's path to president of GWR Wealth Management began with her graduations from Creighton University (B.A. magna cum laude) and Creighton University Law School (J.D. cum laude). She was admitted to the Nebraska bar and has held NASD General Securities Principal and Municipal Securities Principal designations. Her expertise in financial planning and wealth management has made her a trusted source for publications such as the Robb Report's Wealth magazine, the Omaha World-Herald and the Midland's Business Journal. GWR Wealth Management is listed in the family office section of Bloomberg News. 

Gail's board and philanthropic affiliations include: Gubernatorial appointment as Chairwoman of the Nebraska Investment Council 2005-present; Gubernatorial appointment to the Nebraska Investment Council, 2002-present; Board Member, Creighton University; Board Member, Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce; Board Member GWR Sunshine Autism Foundation; Board Member MECA; Advisory Board Member, Creighton University School of Law; Advisory Board member, Creighton University's Werner Institute; Board Member, Marian High School; Board Member, Durham Western Heritage Museum; Christian Business Woman's Forum; 2005 Chair and 2003 Co-Chair, Salvation Army D.J.'s Hero Luncheon; Board of Trustees, Boy Scouts Mid-American Council; Past Committee member, NASD District 4; Past Board Member, NASD Small Firm Advisory Board; Past Board Member, Bellevue University. 

In Addition to managing the strategic direction of her firm and investing in her community through philanthropic works, Gail is a strong advocate for autistic children, founding the GWR Sunshine Autism Foundation and sponsoring an annual fundraising event for Autism programs and education in Nebraska. Mother to four children - Jared, Afton, Cleighton and Brynn - Gail resides in West Omaha with her children and husband, Scott Robertson, owner of the air charter company UltraAir.