Charles K. Barbo

Charles K. Barbo has been involved as a principal in the real estate investment industry since 1969, and is currently a Partner in the recently launched venture capital firm, Catalyst Storage Partners. Catalyst specializes in investments in the U.S. self storage real estate sector.

Co-founding Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc., in 1972 to provide property management services for self-service storage facilities and other real estate and commercial ventures, Mr. Barbo retired as Shurgard’s Chairman following a merger of the company with Public Storage, Inc. in 2006. Shurgard owned and operated a portfolio of more than 600 properties in the United States and Europe, and was publicly traded as a REIT on the New York Stock Exchange.

Raised in Seattle, Washington, Mr. Barbo attended the University of Washington and holds a Bachelor or Arts degree in history. He is also a graduate of the Owner/President Management Program of Harvard Business School, an alumnus of the Young Presidents’ Organization, recipient of the Ernst & Young Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2001, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Discovery Institute and the Matthew G. Norton Company.