Managing Director, Fund Administration Services

Matt Appel

Matt Appel, CFA joined Inveniam in July 2021 as Managing Director, Fund Administration Services. Mr. Appel has worked in the investment world for 25 years including both at asset managers and at investment servicing firms. His focus through most of his career has been on private markets and alternative investments.

Mr. Appel worked at Keyport Life Insurance analyzing investment opportunities for the general account before he moved to a direct investing role at a venture capital firm. After leaving the venture capital firm, he worked at State Street Bank for ten years servicing alternative asset portfolios for large institutional clients throughout the United States.

Additionally, Mr. Appel is the co-founder and President of Stairs4RTroops which raises money for the purpose of building homes for severely injured veterans from post 9/11 wars. Mr. Appel graduated with a BBA from UMASS Amherst and an MSF from Boston College. He earned his CFA designation in 1998. He is married to his wife Amy and has four sons.

Chief Legal Officer

Daniel E. Baron

Daniel E. Baron joined Inveniam in 2021 as Chief Legal Officer. Mr. Baron brings over two decades of legal experience representing clients in fintech, real estate finance, private equity, cross border M&A, corporate and securities matters.

Before joining Inveniam, Mr. Baron was the Chief Legal Officer of WorkCapital BSD, a Luxembourg Fintech company which developed a proprietary software platform and operated Weel, a leading SME fintech solution in Brazil. Previously, Mr. Baron was the General Counsel of London-based IAM Capital Group plc and its FCA regulated subsidiary. At IAM, Mr. Baron led a multinational legal team to close numerous cross border transactions, including one of Italy’s largest solar PV transactions of the year. He also spearheaded the launch of a Luxembourg European real estate fund and represented IAM in connection with the joint launch of a fintech fund.

In private legal practice, Mr. Baron was an associate at the Wall Street office of Cadwalader Wickersham and Taft, and was later a partner at Schwell Wimpfheimer and Associates as well as of Counsel at Koffsky Schwalb. In addition, he has also testified in court and in arbitrations as an expert witness on US federal securities regulatory matters.

Mr. Baron is currently an executive director of IAM Invest Ltd and is a board member of two Luxembourg alternative investment funds. Mr. Baron received his juris doctor from New York University School of Law and his BA in political science from Yeshiva University.

Director of Marketing and Communications

Tom Blandford

Tom Blandford joined the Inveniam team in November of 2020 as the Director of Marketing and Communications. In this role, he works alongside Inveniam’s leadership team to set, manage and execute on the company’s marketing strategies and varied communication needs. Collaborating with the marketing team, Mr. Blandford creates content for social media, advertising, sales collateral and marketing/public relations outreach efforts to increase global brand awareness.

Mr. Blandford is a successful content creator/creative lead with over 25+ years of experience in marketing. His work covers a diverse range of integrated national campaigns, across numerous product, business, and marketing categories, like banking, healthcare, consumer goods, B2B, experiential and the occasional television pilot. From strategy-based conceptual thinking to story structured narratives, Mr. Blandford’s creative drive has always been to share an authentic vision, communicate a meaningful message and connect to what really matters in the lives of clients, customers and individuals.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Blandford spent 18-years in Chicago as a freelance creative lead and artist. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics from Brown University.

Chief Technology Officer

Rick Bunker

Rick Bunker joined Inveniam in December 2020 as VP Engineering, managing a team of more than 40 software developers, and became Chief Technology Officer in June 2021. Mr. Bunker brings over 25 years of executive experience to Inveniam, specializing in general management and software development team leadership, especially in innovation and market leading companies. He has held executive level technology positions (CIO or CTO) for three publicly traded companies – SEIC, ICGE, GSIC (now a division of eBay) – and was CEO of Reality Online, a Reuter’s subsidiary that was a pioneer in internet delivery of consumer financial services. Prior to this role, he was at State Street Global Advisors.

In addition to his technology leadership, Mr. Bunker has worked on over 100 M&A transactions. He is a veteran of the United States Army Security Agency, a graduate of the Defense Language Institute and attended Boston University — studying Russian Language and Literature. In his personal time, he is active in local politics and is the former Vice President of the Jenkintown Borough Council.

Mr. Bunker’s specialties include IT & IS strategy and architecture. Facilitate complex organizational change, drive operational improvement, support change events such as reorganization, process optimization, strategy change, major vendor negotiation, outsourcing, mergers and acquisitions.

Managing Director, Investor Calculation

Brian Cassidy

Brian Cassidy brings a wealth of expertise and knowledge to Inveniam, including more than 15 years of Alternative Investment accounting, operational systems team leadership, and client solution management. During this tenure, Mr. Cassidy implemented and enhanced automation solutions for Private Equity, Real Estate and Hedge fund structures with an emphasis on complex client incentive and management fee calculations coupled with client financial reporting requirements.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Cassidy was a Senior Investment Analyst and Project Manager Consultant with the Pennsylvania State Employee Pension Retirement Funds, Rubenstein Real Estate Partners, and Voya Financial. In these roles, he delivered operational transformation of fund legal structures, incentive and management fee calculations for client financial reporting requirements.

Additionally, Mr. Cassidy worked more than 10 years for JPMorgan, Citco Funds Services and Bank of New York Mellon as Director of Fund Administration for Private Equity, Real Estate and Hedge Funds. In these capacities, he was responsible for client services and relationship management of $95 billion of AUM client financial reporting requirements while overseeing a team of business analysts for vendor systems client fund implementation. He achieved contin-uous process improvements including enhancing automation of existing accounting and financial reporting processes.

Mr. Cassidy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Accounting from West Virginia University.

Chief Operating Officer

Larry Corbett

Larry Corbett joined Inveniam in December, 2019 as Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he is primarily responsible for driving Inveniam’s growth through implementation and development of new business opportunities. Larry is an executive with over 25 years of experience helping organizations achieve their financial and operational goals. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Corbett has a track record of optimizing organizational structure and developing highly efficient processes. He has held executive positions in several fortune 100 companies including Tech Data, Hewlett Packard and JP Morgan Chase.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Corbett was Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis and Treasury at Apollo Education Group. In this role, Mr. Corbett was responsible for all corporate financial planning and analysis processes including the strategic and annual operating plans and monthly forecasts with global annual revenue of $3.0B. At Apollo, Mr. Corbett restructured the corporate financial planning department and streamlined reporting and financial processes. He was also instrumental in reducing $165M in technology costs and led the effort to provide financial modeling and analysis to support the sale of Apollo to a private equity group. Prior to Apollo, Mr. Corbett served as Vice President and CFO of IT at Hewlett Packard and Vice President and Controller of Real Estate Projects at JP Morgan Chase.

Mr. Corbett holds an Accounting degree from the University of Iowa and a Masters of Arts in Counseling from the Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Managing Director, Brazil and Peru Lead

Marson Cunha

Marson Cunha joined Inveniam as Managing Director, Brazil and Peru Lead in April 2022. Mr. Cunha is an accomplished finance professional with extensive experience leading and planning structured finance, mergers & acquisitions (end to end cycle), and private equity real estate. For the past 20 years, Mr. Cunha led real estate investments in LATAM and the US for companies such as Midtown Capital, Wtorre, Rio Bravo, PSG Investments, and others.

Mr. Cunha holds a BBA from the Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing, an MBA from Insper, and post-graduate courses on Financial Modeling from Harvard University and Capital Markets from Universidade de São Paulo.

Additionally, Mr. Cunha serves on the Board of the Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce of Florida, where he heads the Alternative Investments Committee. The Chamber, engaged in fostering bilateral commercial relations between Brazil and the United States.

Associate, Inveniam Solutions

Ryder Desenberg

Ryder Desenberg joined Inveniam as an Associate in October 2021. Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Desenberg held internships in commercial real estate and energy services. He was also employed as a fundraiser and volunteer organizer for several political campaigns.

Mr. Desenberg has extensive experience in decentralized finance and an advanced understanding of tokenomics and blockchain technology. He was introduced to cryptocurrency in 2015 and has been deeply involved in the DeFi space since 2017.

Mr. Desenberg graduated from Tulane University with a BA in Political Economy in 2021.

Research Assistant

Owen Ekblad

Owen Ekblad joined Inveniam in February 2022 as a Research Assistant. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in mathematics at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he was named mathematics honors scholar, an award granted to the top senior graduating with a degree in mathematics. He is now pursuing a PhD in mathematics at Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing, Michigan. His mathematical interests include applications of algebra and number theory to real-world phenomena: For example, cryptography.

Outside of his studies at MSU, he serves as Vice President of the Graduate Student Chapter of the American Mathematical Association at MSU, co-organizes the weekly student algebra seminar, and is a graduate teaching assistant deeply involved with the reinvention and redevelopment of the course MTH 102, one the largest college math courses in the country.

Chief Experience Officer

Kirsten Evans

Kirsten Evans comes to Inveniam with over two decades of executive leadership and management experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. She excels in growing strong, agile and integrated teams positioned to meet rapidly changing demands and evolving needs in growing organizations.

Most recently, Ms. Evans served as Director of the Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives as Senior Advisor to the Administrator at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where she led the agency’s outreach to global non-profit and community organizations on shared international development goals, drafting the agency’s first evidence-based policy on Strategic Religious Engagement in International Development.

Prior to USAID, Ms. Evans was the Chief Operating Officer of Educando by Worldfund, a non-profit organization building public-private partnerships to deliver STEM and English curriculums, enhancing the quality of public education in under-resourced communities of Mexico and Brazil. Before 2016, Ms. Evans served as the Executive Director of a leading Washington DC based organization advocating for the protection of religious and ethnic minorities in Northern Iraq and Syria, shaping US foreign policy to recognize the war crimes of ISIS as genocide. In this capacity she spoke internationally- including at the UN, EU, US Congress, and in TV, radio and print media- on the plight of targeted communities. She led a coalition team providing war crimes documentation, working hand-in-hand with international policy makers to secure political commitment for the protection of international human rights. Prior to this, Ms. Evans spent over a decade directing both educational institutions in Mexico, and education focused non-profits globally.

Ms. Evans holds Master Degrees from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in International Public Policy (SAIS), the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University of Rome in Religious Studies, the Anahuac University in Mexico City in Education and Development, and a specialization in human rights law from the University of Oxford.

Managing Director, Real Estate Services

Samuel F. Grossman

Samuel F. Grossman joined Inveniam in July 2021 as Managing Director, Real Estate Services. Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Grossman founded Fairchild Acquisitions in 2018 and is the companies Managing Partner. He has over 20 years of experience in the residential and commercial real estate industry, in development, value-add rehab, management, and brokerage. In 2014, Mr. Grossman founded The Fairchild Group, which focused on smaller value add multi-family building rehabs in downtown Chicago. From 2014-2018 TFG Purchased and rehabbed approximately $10 million of buildings resulting in an overall value of greater than $15 million.

Prior to that, Mr. Grossman was a district manager, at Related Management Company from 2008-2013. He oversaw a portfolio of over 2,000 units, managed and successfully completed over $80mm of rehabilitation projects. From 2003-2008 he was a partner in a Boston-based residential, management and development company, where he successfully focused on sales, leasing and development, of various types of residential buildings.

Mr. Grossman received his BA in finance from Boston University in 2002.

Chief Product Officer

Jeff Guillot

Jeff Guillot joined Inveniam as Chief Product Officer in March 2021. In this role he is focused on Product Strategy and Product Delivery for Inveniam.io and its portfolio companies. Over the course of his 35-year career, Mr. Guillot has been a product and technology focused executive and has lead strategy and delivery at industry-leading companies during historic periods of growth and change. Mr. Guillot has delivered projects successfully across a broad range of industries, including Oil and Gas, Communications, Manufacturing, Managed Services, Energy Services, Pharmaceutical and Wellness, and sustainable agriculture. His market-centric approach to delivering technology-based have been enriched through participation in transformational projects.

As a technology architect, Mr. Guillot helped develop one of the first large scale relational database and asynchronous business architectures for the new baby Bell companies (USWEST, PacBell), and led the development of one of the first large-scale client-server applications for the State of Texas and State of New York during the evolutionary days of Andersen Consulting to Accenture. He was the director of Dell’s Architecture and Tools group, developing the foundation to enable the Dell on Dell initiative in the 90’s, and led the Home and Small Business IT teams, where he partnered closely with Microsoft to deliver supply chain integration and automation solutions to enable frictionless commerce for Dell.com.

Mr. Guillot navigated the Dot.com bubble and collapse on the front line, before taking on the Product and Technology VP role at Netsolve. Netsolve provided managed services for clients trying to deploy telephone services over the internet and private enterprise networks. Cisco purchased Netsolve and adopted the technology and services to power the successful implementation of what is now ubiquitous IP telephony. He concluded his corporate career as SVP of Sales and Marketing Products at Dun & Bradstreet. His portfolio included Hoover’s and the repurposing of DNB’s massive risk management database to support the growing e-marketing and sales focus of its clients globally. During these years in mid/late 2000’s, DNB enjoyed a record setting consecutive quarters of growth in revenue, margin, and earnings.

For the past 15 years, Mr. Guillot has enjoyed exercising his entrepreneurial interests as CEO of several start-ups, turn-arounds, and consolidations in Energy Services, Pharmaceutical and Wellness and Sustainable Agriculture. As an accidental investor in Bitcoin, Mr. Guillot is excited to bring his perspectives to this emerging block chain utility, and seeks to empower the DeFi generation to deliver transformation business solutions on scalable, cost effective distributed ledger technologies.

Mr. Guillot and his wife, Julie, support development of target therapies for children suffering from blood cancers through philanthropy and volunteer work. He is a member of the Fred Hutch Cancer Research center board of ambassadors, and Julie is the Chairperson of the $100 million Children’s Initiative for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which includes a ground-breaking master trial of emerging targeted therapies that are less-toxic, and improve outcomes for children suffering from this terrible disease. Mr. Guillot holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas.

Senior Accounting Manager

Anita Hardy

Anita Hardy joined Inveniam in July 2022 as Senior Accounting Manager. In this role, she is primarily responsible for overseeing and managing the general accounting operations and general ledger functions. With public accounting, manufacturing, corporate and governmental experience, Ms. Hardy brings over 14 years of accounting experience to Inveniam, specializing in corporate accounting. She has a track record of streamlining accounting processes, complex problem solving, and implementing new software.

Prior to Inveniam, Ms. Hardy worked as the Finance Controller at Doeren Mayhew, a nationwide Public Accounting Firm. She managed an accounting team, implemented various practice management and expense reporting software, and worked on integrating employees as well as accounting functions from mergers and acquisitions. She worked closely with Shareholders and all levels of staff in reporting, producing new processes, and solutions through the use of technology. She was a go-to for all things ‘excel’ and held lunch and learns to share her knowledge and experience.

Ms. Hardy holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Wayne State University and became a Certified Public Accountant in 2015.

Chief of Staff of Inveniam Capital Markets

Ryan Hicks

Ryan Hicks joined Inveniam in February 2021 as an intern for the Inveniam Solutions team. In July 2021 he became a full-time employee, onboarding and working in client services as an Associate Client Advisor. Mr. Hicks transitioned to the Capital Markets team and in August 2022 began his current position as Chief of Staff of Inveniam Capital Markets. In this role, he is responsible for investor outreach, shareholder communications, investment documentation and platform demos.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Hicks attended the University of Georgia where he graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Economics. He is passionate about community leadership and financial literacy in students. His interests include fishing, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology.

Associate, Inveniam Solutions

Greta Holt

Greta Holt joined Inveniam in September 2021 as an Associate. Prior to joining Inveniam, Ms. Holt held internships in wealth management, supporting financial advisors working with high-net worth clients, and in development, building relationships with constituents and engaging in frontline fundraising. She is particularly focused on prioritizing client relationships and offers innovative solutions to optimize private asset management.

Ms. Holt graduated in 2021 from Dickinson College with a BA in International Business and Management. At Dickinson, she was also a four-year, varsity-lettered athlete competing on the Women’s Lacrosse Team.

Sr. Product Manager, Investor Calculations

Brando Izquierdo

Brando Izquierdo joined Inveniam in April 2022 as a Senior Product Manager for Investor Calculations. Mr. Izquierdo has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, including tenures at asset managers, investment servicing firms, investment consulting firms, and a fintech company.

Before joining Inveniam, Mr. Izquierdo worked for five and a half years in the group that manages Lucent Technologies’ pension assets. During his time there, he screened private equity managers for inclusion in the portfolio, monitored private equity relationships relative to investment and performance objectives, and supported the investment and accounting operations of the private equity and venture capital portfolios. Mr. Izquierdo later moved to State Street’s alternative investments unit, where he was responsible for leading teams that provided accounting, reporting, and performance services to institutional investors and investment managers. In addition, he frequently engaged in conversations with clients about product development, and with prospects throughout the various business development stages.

After nine years at State Street, Mr. Izquierdo joined Cambridge Associates, an investment consulting firm located in Boston. While at Cambridge, he promoted and demonstrated the firm’s software offerings, which included investment analytics, reporting, and investment research solutions geared towards domestic and international asset owners and asset managers. Most recently, Mr. Izquierdo worked as a project manager leading the implementation of a sophisticated performance and analytics software, and as a property manager supporting the day-to-day operations of a privately owned real estate portfolio.

Mr. Izquierdo holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Universidad del Pacifico in Lima, Peru, and a Master of Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Babson College.

Program Manager

Austin Kent

Austin Kent joined the Inveniam team in March of 2022 as a project manager, where he works closely with the CEO to help Inveniam grow.

Prior to joining the team, Mr. Kent worked in wealth management as a financial advisor and transitioned into the startup world where he worked as a consultant for a Fintech company. He has a passion for building relationships, blockchain technology, and the disruptive ways that Inveniam is changing conventional finance processes.

Mr. Kent graduated from the University of Michigan – Ross School of Business in 2019, where he earned his BBA and walked on the Michigan Football team.

Sales Associate

Jenna Koppinger

Jenna Koppinger joined Inveniam in June 2020 as a Financial Analyst and moved into the role of Sales Associate in May 2021. In this role, she is responsible for identifying market opportunity and connecting existing and new clients with beneficial product offerings.

Prior to sales at Inveniam, Ms.Koppinger worked as a Financial Analyst supporting the team with extensive effort in audit and market research. Ms.Koppinger has experience in marketing, blockchain, and fund analysis from owning and operating a production company for 5 years and as a leader in the Michigan State blockchain community. She is passionate about disruption technology and utilizing new processes to enhance philanthropic missions.

Ms. Koppinger holds a Bachelor of Science in Honors Finance with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University.

Product Manager, Inveniam.io

Marin Kukoc

Marin Kukoc joined Inveniam in November 2021 as a Product Manager. Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Kukoc was the lead product designer and product manager at a travel SaaS company focused on creating distribution tools for the short-term vacation rental market. In this role Mr. Kukoc led the successful redesign of the company’s core distribution platform, CMS and GRS, which greatly reduced operating costs and improved efficiency for both internal and external users.

Mr. Kukoc has a strong passion for human centered design and emerging technology, with a desire to disrupt the ways existing industries traditionally function.

Mr. Kukoc graduated from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics. During his time there, he was also a student-athlete competing on the men’s basketball team.

Director, Product management-valuation as a service

Scott Landers

Scott Landers joined Inveniam in February 2021 as Program Manager, Pricing. In this role, he works cross functionally with senior leadership and the software development team to build Inveniam’s pricing and valuation processes and procedures. Mr. Landers is a commercial real estate professional with over 9 years of experience transacting and analyzing CRE assets throughout the United States.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Landers was a senior financial analyst at Colliers International where he managed a team of analysts providing valuation and sales services for CRE owners. He developed the valuation process and underwriting standards used by the team. Mr. Landers also worked for a public REIT, Agree Realty, where he sourced CRE investments for the company and managed the transaction pipeline for the company. In his career, Mr. Landers has been a part of CRE transactions and valuations in excess of $750MM.

Mr. Landers holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and environmental studies from the University of Michigan.

Director, Product Management-Core platform

Delsean Littlejohn

Delsean Littlejohn joined Inveniam in November, 2020 as a Director and Sales Engineer. In this role he is primarily responsible for managing and the process for servicing clients.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Littlejohn has experience in the automotive, construction, banking and marketing segments.

Mr. Littlejohn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Saginaw Valley State University as well as a Masters of Management and Masters of Information Technology-Cybersecurity degrees from Walsh College.

Program Manager

Robert Luft

Robert Luft joined Inveniam in February 2022 as Program Manager. Mr. Luft has vast experience in the small business landscape and the military. He has been an entrepreneur and advocates for federal policy that addresses challenges faced by small business.

After serving 16 years in the U.S. Army, Mr. Luft started his own company specializing in design/build for network infrastructure primarily focused on data centers. This work was largely catered to corporate and government clients, providing Mr. Luft a deep understanding of the federal acquisition process.

Mr. Luft serves on the Board of the National Small Business Association, and the advisory Board for Northern Kentucky University’s Center for Information Security. Mr. Luft has testified in front of the U.S. Congressional Small Business Committee on small business-related issues.

Chief Financial Officer

Patrick J. Murphy

Patrick J. Murphy, CFA is the Chief Financial Officer of Inveniam Capital Partners and Co-President of Inveniam Securities. In these roles Mr. Murphy lead the firm’s efforts in the origination, structuring, and distribution of investment banking business. He is also responsible for financial management and reporting while supporting corporate capital raising activities and the firm’s principal investing.

With over 20 years of investment and transaction analysis experience, he has earned marked expertise across a range of asset classes including equities and fixed income, commercial real estate debt and equity, private equity and debt, commercial MBS, mortgage REITs, municipal derivatives, and public finance. Mr. Murphy leverages his robust knowledge of complex financial modeling and in-depth market research to identify key value-add partnerships for the firm’s clients.

Prior to Inveniam, Mr. Murphy worked for General American, Hanover Capital, Love Savings, and O’Meara Ferguson, Whelan, & Conway. Acting on behalf of both employers and as an individual investor, Mr. Murphy has started, operated, raised capital, and served as Chief Financial Officer for businesses in the retail, service, industrial, and commercial real estate sectors. He also has served on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer for a national non-profit.

Mr. Murphy received his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame and his master’s degree in finance from St. Louis University. He is also a CFA Charter holder and a member of the CFA Society of St. Louis.

Financial Analyst

Amarachi Nnebedum

Amarachi Nnebedum joined Inveniam in March of 2022 as a Financial Analyst. In this role, she works as the Commercial Real Estate Subject Matter Expert (the CRE SME) to assist in the onboarding and servicing as well as AI Assist for the Platform. Ms. Nnebedum has four years of experience in real estate as an underwriter, as years in teaching and sales.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Ms. Nnebedum was an Underwriter at UWM and a Junior Underwriter at Finance of America Companies, where she researched client profiles, provided loan analysis, and determined loan eligibility per mortgage guidelines. She has also worked in sales management where she recruited, developed and trained associates in sales for clients such as Xfinity, AT&T, and HelloFresh. She also has Program Management experience as an AmeriCorps VISTA where she ran a coding program through a partnership with Google for middle school students in 3 Boys and Girls Club locations in Detroit.

Ms. Nnebedum holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biopsychology from Grand Valley State University.

Deputy Legal Counsel

Ian Northon

Ian Northon is a trial and transactional lawyer that advocates for Inveniam in-house. As Deputy Legal Counsel, he also helps Inveniam’s ecosystem partners in an emerging market and regulatory landscape. Mr. Northon helps Inveniam manage its risk and build on its operating system for data to guide customers on their Pathway to Liquidity.

Before joining Inveniam, Mr. Northon tried more than a dozen civil cases and conducted more than fifty depositions and two dozen internal investigations with broad experience in labor and employment disputes, including bet-the-company risk avoidance, and defending pension and healthcare plans, executives, and governing boards on compensation matters, non-competes, trade secrets, and sensitive termination issues. Mr. Northon’s private clients included select executives, entertainers, and blockchain entrepreneurs.

Before working as a lawyer, Mr. Northon had a short stint as a professional baseball player in the Frontier League. He is married to his law school sweetheart and they have five children.

Associate, Inveniam Solutions

Corey Novick

Corey Novick joined Inveniam in January 2022 as an Associate. In this role, he specializes in onboarding clients and building relationships.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Novick worked as a Credit Analyst for Anixter International, a Fortune 500 network and security solutions firm. He was also the Business Development & Marketing Intern for the Minnesota Wild hockey team, developing strategies to approach emerging industry sectors. Mr. Novick is passionate about finding practical solutions to complex challenges and breaking down conventional barriers to improve the financial technology ecosystem.

Mr. Novick graduated Cum Laude from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Marshall School of Business. During his time at USC, Mr. Novick was a student manager for the 2017 Pac-12 Champion football team and he interned in the athletics department.

Associate, Office of the CEO

Andrew O’Meara

Andrew O’Meara attended Benedictine College pursuing a Finance degree while playing three years of varsity soccer. In 2021, he helped launch Dynamic Mining, a company dedicated to making Mining-as-a-Service (MaaS) and Node-as-a-Service (NaaS) more accessible, while supporting and strengthening the crypto ecosystem.

Mr. O’Meara’s is currently working as an Associate in the Office of the CEO while finishing up his degree online. He is excited by the opportunities in front of him along with the experience and education they bring.

Chairman & CEO

Patrick O’Meara

Patrick O’Meara is the Chairman and CEO of Inveniam. He leads the business development efforts and is product manager for the firm’s proprietary and patent-pending transaction platform – Inveniam IO. Inveniam IO is a powerful technology platform that assists financial professionals in digitizing and modeling securities as data not code. Inveniam Capital Partners lays the foundation for digitizing Private Markets at the intersection of Capital Markets, Blockchain and Big Data.

Mr. O’Meara began his career at Raymond James and Bear Stearns & Co before founding his own financial advisory firm and building it into a niche leader for more than 14 years and employing over 80 finance professionals. As founder and President of O’Meara, Ferguson, Whelan & Conway he ran the firm’s advisory services; leading the structuring and execution of transactions for 42 Catholic dioceses and dozens of other faith-based, donation-driven nonprofits in the US. Prior to founding Inveniam Capital, he served as Chief Investment Officer for the University of Mary.

Over the past 20+ years, Mr. O’Meara has been a principal in transactions or advised on:

• $1+ Billion of equity financing
• $800+ million of merger and acquisition transactions
• $2+ Billion of new debt financing
• $1+ billion of debt re-financing

An internationally recognized thought leader on the functioning of the Capital Markets, he frequently provides insight on finance, strategic planning and the intersection of the capital markets with underserved market segments. He has delivered talks in more than 45 states and provinces in the U.S. & Canada and countries around the world including regularly lecturing on the connections between canon and civil law on Church financing, at the Vatican, addressing over 600 economists from five continents and discussing a more robust understanding of risk and the allocation of capital.

He has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal as well as Bloomberg, TIME, The Chicago Tribune, The Bond Buyer, Politico, The National Catholic Register, and many others, and he’s regularly appeared on Fox, CBS, ABC affiliates, EWTN and Catholic Answers Live.

Mr. O’Meara earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville and lives with his family in Michigan.

Senior Director of People Operations

Shell Phelps

Shell Phelps comes to Inveniam with over twenty years of extensive human resources experience. She is recognized for her distinguished HR thought leadership influence and her passion for shifting and shaping positive company cultures.

Ms. Phelps started her HR career back in 2000 where she worked for a local women’s homeless shelter in Flint, MI. Her dedication to helping people led her to pursue a graduate degree in psychology where she opened her own private therapy practice for several years. Combining her skills and passion, Ms. Phelps returned to HR to further bridge the gaps between employees and leadership teams by creating and using one-degree shift strategies.

In March of 2020, Ms. Phelps published her proven one-degree shift strategies into the popular self-help book, The Book Bliss Blueprint, 100 Little Thoughts to Build Positive Changes. This book went on to win several writing awards, including the winner of the AmericanBookFest.com in psychology and mental health category as a national and international award. Notably, it also won a 5-star review from Readers Favorite award.

Ms. Phelps is a committed HR professional who has held previous HR director positions. She was also co-chair of the GASHRM Mentoring Committee for three years in Ann Arbor, MI. The local chapter of SHRM.

Ms. Phelps holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology along with a specialty credential as a Certified Professional from the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM).

CISO and Deputy CTO for IP and Innovation

Christos A. Polyzois

Christos A. Polyzois, Ph.D. joined Inveniam in November 2021 as Managing Director of IP and Product Deployment, and was named CISO and Deputy CTO for IP and Innovation in September 2022. In this role, he is responsible for managing Inveniam’s IP portfolio and expanding the context in which Inveniam’s products are deployed.

Mr. Polyzois specializes in navigating market disruptions induced by technological innovations. He has held technical and business positions in the digital sector (databases, distributed systems, communications networks) and in the industrial sector (IoT, smart grid, energy), always bringing innovative, cutting-edge solutions to the market.

Mr. Polyzois brings significant experience in managing research portfolios, open innovation, partnerships and joint development agreements, complex deal structuring, and IP portfolio management (from patent prosecution to licensing to enforcement to portfolio sale). He has worked on multiple continents, and is now based in Bloomington, MN.

Mr. Polyzois holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the National Technical University of Athens, Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from Princeton University and an MBA degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was named a Palmer Scholar.

Technical Writer

Landon Poore

Landon Poore joined Inveniam as a Technical Writer in May 2022. Mr. Poore brings over 5 years of technical writing experience, ranging from large teams to small, from semiconductors, to genomics, and medical device. He has experience working in traditional waterfall project management methodologies as well as small, cohesive agile teams. His project management background offers a unique blend between working on unique documentation deliverables to running projects, adhering to timelines, clearing bottlenecks, and implementing lean six sigma practices into his work.

Mr. Poore earned a Master’s degree in Technical Communication from Texas State University as well as a Master’s degree in Project Management from the University of Southern California. His Bachelor’s degree is in English. He is passionate about technical writing, project management, and creating documentation that is consistent, streamlined, and actionable across all realms of the business. Creating content that enables end users to easily navigate and understand documentation both through text and process is his skillset.

Mr. Poore enjoys yoga, meditating, running marathons, swimming, working out, and practicing Brazilian jiu jitsu. He also loves traveling and experiencing new cultures, and these hobbies are carried with him wherever the next adventure leads.

Associate, Inveniam Solutions

Hayden Posencheg

Hayden Posencheg joined Inveniam in August 2021 as an associate. Prior to joining Inveniam, Ms. Posencheg held an internship in the nonprofit sector, supporting donor relationships and operating in their CRM database, as well as working for a startup company as an assistant market researcher and website content producer. She has a strong passion for fast-paced environments and building relationships, and she is very engaged in the disruptive ways that Inveniam is changing conventional finance processes.

Ms. Posencheg graduated from Dickinson College with a BA in Policy Management, and during her time there she competed on the Dickinson Women’s Lacrosse Team.

President

Kerry Rudy

Kerry Rudy joined Inveniam as President in May 2020. His responsibilities include oversight of revenue generation, assisting in capital formation, marketing, pricing, and customer support. Mr. Rudy is a former investment banker with over 25 years of experience in tax-exempt debt capital markets. He has a proven record of success generating business, developing strategic capital formation strategies, and raising capital for high grade not-for-profit healthcare companies. He has raised both debt and equity venture capital for startup companies and has significant experience evaluating investment opportunities in multiple industries.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Rudy was Managing Director and Head of NFP Healthcare Investment Banking for PNC Capital Markets. Prior to PNC, he served as Managing Director and Head of NFP Healthcare Investment Banking for BMO Capital Markets. He spent over 19 years at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers in various positions in tax-exempt debt capital markets raising billions of dollars for 501(c)3 corporations and governments representing healthcare, cultural institutions, municipalities, and state governments.

Mr. Rudy was Chief Financial Officer of PurchasePooling Solutions, Inc., a web-based technology solution to aggregate purchases of major capital equipment. He is a member of the board of Pathogen Detections Systems, DBA, Crystal Diagnostics, a system to identify pathogens in food and water supply. Mr. Rudy holds an MBA from SMU’s Cox School of Business and a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Senior Communications and Operations Manager

Sean Rutherford

Sean Rutherford has more than two decades experience in marketing and communications management across multiple industries. He has broad experience driving mass media, communications, and public relations campaigns across multiple marketing channels, and significant experience providing technical and operations management leadership for start-ups and small businesses.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Sean managed operations for Valentine Industries consulting services and spent 15 years managing communications and information systems for O’Meara, Ferguson, Whelan and Conway and Stark State College in North Canton, Ohio.

Sean holds a B.A. from Franciscan University of Steubenville and resides in Colorado with his wife Julie and their four children.

Vice President of Business Development, DeFi Devs

Jay Smith

Jay Smith is a Distinguished Engineer focusing on leveraging blockchain technology for Inveniam’s customers.

Prior to joining Inveniam Mr. Smith served, for three years, as the Chief Operating Officer at Factom, an early leader in blockchain innovation.

Prior to Factom Mr. Smith spent 25 years leading a variety of large IT organizations as a senior member of some of the leading international consulting firms including AMS, CGI, Wipro and Virtusa. During these years Mr. Smith managed the development and deployment of complex solutions for leading financial industry organizations around the globe.

Chief Blockchain Scientist

Paul Snow

Paul Snow joined Inveniam in June 2021 as Chief Blockchain Scientist. In this role, Mr. Snow contributes his broad experience in building novel and powerful systems to address data centric problems to building powerful Inveniam solutions.

Mr. Snow founded Factom, a blockchain designed to handle data centric use cases such as digital identity, supply chains, loan origination, etc. Factom’s design allowed millions of documents to be secured by the Bitcoin Blockchain, allowing a landmark ruling by China’s supreme court that blockchain can be used as evidence in Chinese courts.

A true open-source evangelist, Mr. Snow founded a meetup group for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in 2013 (which he continues to host), chaired the Texas Bitcoin Conference in Austin Texas from 2014 to 2018, contributed designs for the Colored Coins projects, as well as to the design of the Ethereum virtual machine, and has advised many crypto projects and companies.

As an engineer, Mr. Snow has three patents for graphics hardware and system configuration technologies. He designed and implemented a Rules Engine approach still in use after nearly 20 years by the states of Texas and Michigan to determine eligibility for billions in assistance programs health and human services. His work on testing of decision tables also resulted in a patent. Mr. Snow has also applied for over three dozen fundamental blockchain patents, has been awarded seven, and three more have been allowed but not yet issued.

Director, Information Technology

Jagtar Sohal

Jagtar Sohal joined Inveniam in May 2022 as a Director of Information Technology. He has held several leadership roles in the information technology and healthcare administration fields prior to joining the company. In his role at Inveniam, his focus is to improve the IT infrastructure and provide leadership for the continued development of an innovative, robust, and secure information technology environment throughout the company.

Mr. Sohal holds a Master’s Degree in Information Technology from Lawrence Tech University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from University of Michigan.

Director, Inveniam Solutions

Patrick Sprows

Patrick Sprows joined Inveniam in November 2020 as a Director for Inveniam Solutions. In this role, he is responsible for onboarding and client services.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Sprows was a senior business consultant at Sapient Consulting, where he specialized in developing new technologies and processes for large financial institutions.

Mr. Sprows holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Tulane University.

Global Head of Capital Markets and Corporate Development

Todd Stevens

Todd Stevens joined Inveniam in April 2021 as Global Head of Capital Markets. In this role, he is primarily responsible for driving the firm’s capital market strategy, managing banking relationships as well as M&A execution for Inveniam. He is based in New York and has 26 years’ experience in the financial industry across Investment Banking, Capital Markets and Wealth Management.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Stevens was Global Head of Institutional Wealth Management at Deutsche Bank. In this role, he was responsible for servicing DB’s most sophisticated Family Offices and Private Clients as well as being the Wealth Management interface with the Investment Bank. He was responsible for managing teams in New York, London, Zurich, Frankfurt, Riyadh, Singapore and Hong Kong. In previous roles at Deutsche Bank, Mr. Stevens ran Structured Finance sales and Structuring teams in both London and New York while serving on several Global and Regional Executive Steering/Operating Committees.

Mr. Stevens currently holds Board positions at companies in the Packaging, Consumer Products, Water Infrastructure, Insurance and Software technology sectors. He has also currently and previously held the designations as a Certified Financial Analyst® (CFA®) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Mr. Stevens graduated with Honors from the University of Georgia.

President, Inveniam International

Sanjay Vatsa

Sanjay Vatsa joined Inveniam in September 2020. As President of Inveniam International, Mr. Vatsa is responsible for International operations and in developing and growing Inveniam’s international presence and revenues. He also serves as one of the Company’s thought leaders and collaborators to achieve best in class services from Inveniam operations.

Prior to Inveniam, Mr. Vatsa was Partner and Advisor, Princeton Growth Accelerator (PGA) and Partner & Chief Strategy Officer, Global Accelerated Venture.

Mr. Vatsa has more than 25 years of experience in senior “C’ level global leadership positions having served as Managing Director, Global Head of Transformation, COE, Data & Ops Strategy, – Securities & Fund Services at Citibank, as well as holding similar positions at BlackRock, Merrill Lynch, etc. He has been instrumental in modernization & transformation of financial firms and has realized value of over ~$3bn through various initiatives.

Mr. Vatsa is a global expert and has executed innovative solutions in areas of data and analytics, end to end investment trade life cycle, operational risk, business transformation and has managed and set up Shared Services globally. He has led transformation & disruption through innovation, leveraging leading edge solutions & technology that address business issues and in evolving / creating new business model & solutions. Throughout his career, he has focused on bringing in disruptive models and technologies to enhance organization value.

Mr. Vatsa has been a key player in transforming the industry and has been Chairman of multiple industry committees such as Bond Market Association, Asset Management Forum, Securities Industry Association, etc. transforming financial infrastructure and reducing risk on trade date. As Chairman of Advisory Board, he was instrumental in building OMGEO– a transformative financial industry utility.

Mr. Vatsa is focused on creating an ecosystem for startup and early stage revenue companies to realize their potential by scaling and growing. He is a Partner and Mentor of Princeton Growth Accelerator (PGA) and a partner and Chief Strategy Officer of Global Accelerated Venture (GAV). He is a founding member of Global TIE Women fostering that is Women Entrepreneurship on a global basis across 90 locations – Embrace, Engage and Empower. Mr. Vatsa is also a driver / angel investor / advisor to firms and startups that is providing innovative and disruptive solutions in health care, in fintech, cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Senior Managing Director, Global Ecosystem Development

Frank Walczak

As Global Director, Business Development, Mr. Walczak is responsible for expanding Inveniam Capital Partner’s (ICP) footprint globally through Strategic Partnerships and identifying and capturing long term revenue-producing opportunities; and the development of sales teams and processes for the distribution of ICP software and sales teams to sell specific ICP sponsored deals.

Mr. Walczak is a successful relationship builder with over 25 years of experience with top financial firms. He has spent his career providing firms with substantial streams of revenue by establishing new lines of business, cultivating long term alliances with key players, and building well-rounded diversified first-rate teams in sales and relationship management. Mr. Walczak has a proven record of exceeding revenue objectives by creating high impact business strategies and capitalizing on market opportunities.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Walczak spent 22 years at Cantor Fitzgerald where he was originally hired from Tokyo Forex in Japan to create and manage a foreign exchange team in London. With Cantor Fitzgerald, he managed all aspects of the start-up operation including a budget, staffing, coordination of technology, telecommunications and P&L. Mr. Walczak established a viable business in just one year, building more than 250 active accounts in Europe and Asia in 5 years. After the 9/11 tragedy that decimated the Cantor workforce, he was brought in to help to rebuild the Cantor Equities team to the global player they are today.

After leaving Cantor in 2016, Mr. Walczak was introduced to tZERO where he led business development before joining ICP in 2018.

Executive Vice President

Bobby Yablunsky

As Executive Vice President of Inveniam Capital Partners, Bobby Yablunsky is responsible for administrative management of the company, overseeing stockholder relations and assisting in leading the company’s internal fund-raising initiatives. He is also responsible for internal human resources and assists Inveniam client teams in providing clients with tactical and strategic advice.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Yablunsky’s experience includes time as a venture capitalist, providing capital to build enterprise value, and as a clinical therapist, applying positive and clinical psychology to patients. Mr. Yablunsky is keenly aware of the intersections of psychology and finance and brings this experience to Inveniam personnel and clients.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Yablunsky has been directly involved in raising over $150 million in capital. His past clients include Progressions Behavior Health, New Sky Capital, SCP Partners, CIP Capital, Fourth Wall Media, Seven Echo, Company Voice, Actua Corporation, Safeguard Scientifics, CPL Solutions, Gift Certificates.com, and Mobility Solutions. With more than 20 years of experience executing venture capital deals, Mr. Yablunsky has a deep understanding of the strategic and tactical guidance required when raising capital, considering an M&A opportunity, or pursuing an exit strategy. His robust board experience has also led to the development of a keen eye for deals that achieve the growth objectives of both issuers and professional services providers.

Mr. Yablunsky holds master level degrees in management from The Pennsylvania State University, applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and clinical psychology from Fielding Graduate University. He received his undergraduate degree in accounting from St. Vincent’s in Latrobe, PA.

UX Expert

Joe Yelochan

Joe Yelochan is a UX designer and researcher who comes to Inveniam with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology, healthcare, HR, financial (fintech), pharmaceuticals, services, and military/government industries. Having previously worked in software design and user experience at both JP Morgan Chase and Nationwide Insurance in Columbus Ohio, he has also been a designer/researcher at three different startups. Mr. Yelochan utilizes a Design Thinking process in his approach to messy or wicked problems, and empathizes with people in order to create human-centered designs.

Mr. Yelochan is skilled in UX Research, Design, Sketching, Wireframing, Personas, Usability Engineering and Testing, Mockups, and Prototyping. His past clients include: US Air Force, JP Morgan Chase, EmergeOrtho (Triangle Region of NC), Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Inc., Bank of America Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company, Roche Diagnostics.

Mr. Yelochan holds a Master of Science (M.S.) in Human-computer Interaction/design from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Research Assistant

Alec Zaslav

Alec Zaslav joined Inveniam in October 2021 as an intern with the Data Science team, and is now a Research Assistant. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Information Science with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. During his time in college, he has been passionate about Greek life taking on various leadership roles within his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Mu.

Prior to joining Inveniam, Mr. Zaslav worked as a Sales and Digital Marketing Analyst in the ecommerce retail industry. He is interested in implementing the elements of data analysis into the everchanging financial environment that Inveniam is building.

President, Dev.Pro

Jeff Bianco

Jeff Bianco, the President and Founder of Dev.Pro, a technology software development company featuring American business and Ukrainian engineering prowess, has more than 25 years’ experience as a partner, manager, and client of Ukrainian IT services. In 1998 Jeff was a partner at Validio Software LLC, a successful software development company, which was acquired by GlobalLogic Inc., in 2008.

Jeff also founded and grew two technology companies. The first was GraphicCorp Inc., founded in 1993, a publisher of software and digital content. It was acquired by Corel Corporation in 1999. The second was CustomCD, a technology company providing on-demand media publishing solutions, which he founded in 2005 and sold to Digital River Inc. in 2008.

Apart from Jeff’s many years of successful management of transnational businesses, his expertise includes database marketing, software development, e-commerce, and business development. Jeff holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

Board Member and Brand Ambassador

John G. Bullard

Banker, board member, advisor, speaker and brand ambassador, John G. Bullard has been a pioneer in FinTech and the Digital Trust model for internet transactions and the operational risks that accompany it. Beginning his career as a manager with leading UK banks, then as a manager of the London Stock Exchange branch of Barclays, he shifted over to Barclays’ Computer Operations, eventually helping to found Barclays’ original ‘Information Security’ management team.

In 2000, Mr. Bullard played a key role in launching a global bank joint venture, originally named the Global Trust Network. Through several iterations, that Trust Network effort is still regarded as the benchmark for global trust, forming a blueprint for interoperability upon which newer technologies such as distributed ledgers are based.

He is now Global Ambassador for TrustChains and The Global Trust Alliance, Advisory Board Member of data optimization entity Alqami LLC; non-executive Board Member of Cashsmiths Innovations Limited; shareholder/Board Member of Bullards Holdings and its operating subsidiaries in the “Spirits/Drinks” sector. Bullards Gin is a rapidly growing product line, based on a cherished Norwich UK brand (Bullard’s family business) dating back to 1837.

A frequent public speaker, John is a member of the UK’s leading political/innovation thinktank The Centre for Policy Studies, founded by Prime Minister Thatcher and Sir Keith Joseph. He is on the governing Council of the UK’s Conservative Party’s Science and Technology Forum based out of Westminster SW1 and has a Territorial Decoration from his time as a member of the UK Armed Forces.

Partner, Foley & Lardner, LLP

Patrick Daugherty

Patrick Daugherty is the senior corporate securities law partner of Foley & Lardner LLP and leads the blockchain technology practice of that law firm. With nearly 40 years of experience in global markets and at SEC headquarters, Patrick represents issuers, broker-dealers, exchanges, investment advisors and family offices in SEC and FINRA matters.

Patrick holds degrees from Northwestern and Cornell; belongs to the New York and Illinois bars, among others; was named “Michigan Lawyer of the Year” in 2007; and helps plan the annual Ray Garrett Corporate and Securities Law Institute at Northwestern. An emeritus member of the American Law Institute, Patrick has been named one of the “Best Lawyers in America” in five different fields, in three different states, and is rated “Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell.

Founder and Manager, Flavigny

Xavier Fernandez

Xavier Fernandez founded and manages Flavigny, a boutique investment family office specializing in private equity and special financing and based in Miami since 2014. Flavigny has active investments in telecom, energy, health care, amusement, fintech, renewable, and snacking industry companies across the U.S., Latin America and Europe. He is also the founder and president of FloridESCo, an Energy Saving Company (ESCo) based in Miami since 2013. FloridESCo designs, installs, and finances environmentally responsible and economically sound solutions for commercial facilities.

Beginning in 2002 while living in Venezuela, Mr. Fernandez was the owner and director of Pioneer Petroleum Services de Venezuela, an oil service company. He also started the largest solar company in Venezuela (Soluciones Energeticas Alternativas), and was involved in construction materials through BMIE, part of the Grupo Fundicion Pacifico, and international trade between Europe, South America, and Asia.

In total, Mr. Fernandez has founded more than ten companies and invested in twenty. He serves as a board member for several of his portfolio companies and charity organizations.

Mr. Fernandez holds a Bachelor of finance from l’Institut Superieur de Gestion ISG in Paris.

Director, Grapefruit Trading

Mike Komaransky

Mike Komaransky is a long-time cryptocurrency advocate. Currently he is the director of Grapefruit Trading, a cryptocurrency trading company specializing in over-the-counter trading. He is an investor in several bitcoin companies and projects. Prior to this, Mike was a partner at DRW Trading where he ran Cumberland Mining.

Mike’s background is in trading fixed income, having traded derivatives for DRW since 2001 in Chicago and London. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago.

General Partner & Managing Director, Global Blockchain Ventures, Director of METIL at UCF

Dr. David Metcalf, PhD

Splitting his time and insights between his work as General Partner and Managing Director for Global Blockchain Ventures, LLC, where he applies his interests in technology advisement, investing, and blockchain enabled applications. and his duties as Director of the Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab (METIL) at UCF’s Institute for Simulation and Training, Dr. David Metcalf, PhD, has over 20 years’ experience in the design and research of web-based and mobile technologies converging to enable learning and healthcare.

His team has built mHealth solutions, simulations, games, eLearning, mobile and enterprise IT systems for Google, J&J, VA, U.S. military and UCF’s College of Medicine among others. Recent projects include Lake Nona’s Intelligent Home and transmedia, adaptive learning projects using mobile, AR and sims.

In addition to research and commercial investments, Dr. Metcalf continues to bridge the gap between corporate learning and simulation techniques and non-profit and social entrepreneurship. IoT, blockchain, cybersecurity, simulation, mobilization, mobile patient records and medical decision support systems, visualization systems, scalability models, secure mobile data communications, gaming, innovation management and operational excellence are current research topics.

He is the co-editor/author of HIMSS Blockchain in Healthcare (2019), Blockchain Enabled Applications (2018), Connected Health (2017), HIMSS mHealth Innovation (2014) and the HIMSS best-seller mHealth: From Smartphones to Smart Systems (2012).

Founder and CEO, Palladium Capital Group

Joel Padowitz, CFA

Joel Padowitz is the founder and CEO of Palladium Capital Group, a leading microcap investment bank specializing in Private Equity, PIPEs, reverse mergers, commercial real estate, and the secondary placement of private equity and investment fund interests. Since its founding in 2004, the firm has facilitated hundreds of transactions totaling billions of dollars, and today is represented by more than twenty registered representatives throughout the United States.

Mr. Padowitz began his career at Gerber Financial Management, a Beverly Hills advisory firm specializing in financial and tax planning, where his role over a three-year period shifted from investment analysis and portfolio design to sales & marketing and business development. In the early 2000s, he founded two Palladium-branded entities: first Palladium Market Neutral, a market-neutral fund of funds, for which he raised more than $100M before the assets were sold to Crestline Partners in 2007. The second was Palladium Capital Advisors, a FINRA-member broker-dealer. Since 2006, his primary business focus has been on the broker-dealer business.

Mr. Padowitz completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University where he graduated first in his class with a concentration in social sciences (economics and psychology). He earned his MBA from Israel’s Bar Ilan University where he also graduated first in his class. Mr. Padowitz holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and was honored at the White House by President George H.W. Bush for “outstanding achievements in science.”

Founder, Paredes Strategies LLC / SEC Commissioner (2008-2013)

Troy A. Paredes

Troy A. Paredes is the founder of Paredes Strategies LLC. From 2008-2013, Paredes was an SEC Commissioner, appointed by President George W. Bush.

Paredes advises on financial regulation, compliance, risk management, corporate governance, and regulatory strategy. He also serves as an expert and advisor in regulatory enforcement investigations and in private litigation involving securities law and corporate law. Paredes has brought his extensive government, compliance, enforcement, and regulatory experience to bear in serving as an independent compliance consultant/corporate monitor.

Paredes was a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis before joining the SEC. He also has been a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at NYU School of Law, and a Distinguished Policy Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Paredes co-hosts a podcast on fintech called “Appetite for Disruption.”

Paredes holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Berkeley and earned his J.D. from Yale Law School.

33rd Mayor of Miami

Honorable Francis Suarez

Francis X. Suarez is the 33rd Mayor of Miami. As the first Miami-born mayor, he is committed to building a Miami that lasts forever and that welcomes everyone. Elected with an electoral mandate of 86 percent, Mayor Suarez has championed the integration of climate adaptive technologies, building practices, and economic policies across all facets of government as part of his Miami Forever Plan.

Under his leadership, Miami has cut crime and cut taxes to one of their lowest points in over fifty years, spurring an economic resurgence and expansion across Miami. Mayor Suarez has also pursued a package of affordable housing reforms that leverages federal opportunity zones with the activation of underutilized land to increase access to affordable housing and homeownership for working people and communities of color.

As the son of former Miami Mayor, Xavier L. Suarez, Mayor Suarez learned the values of public service and servant-leadership along with the need for economic opportunity, fairness, equal rights, and reconciliation for all.

Mayor Suarez earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida International University, graduating in the top ten percent of his class, and then received his law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he graduated cum laude. Mayor Suarez was recently selected to serve as an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow and was also named as a Time Future 100 Leader. In July 2020, he was nominated and elected by American mayors to serve as the Second Vice President and President of the US Conference of Mayors for the 2022-2023 term.

He currently practices law with Greenspoon Marder LLP, a nationally-recognized law firm specializing in corporate and real-estate transactions. Mayor Suarez is married to Gloria Fonts Suarez. They have a son, Andrew Xavier, and a daughter, Gloriana Pilar. They love Miami and consider themselves blessed to raise their family in the Magic City.

Board and Strategic Advisor

Dr. Richard Swart, PhD

Dr. Richard Swart, PhD, is a board and strategic advisor. He ran a research program on innovation in crowdfunding and platform-based finance at the Institute for Business and Social Impact in UC Berkeley’s Haas Business School and was the director of the Center for Emerging Technologies in the Bill Gates-funded Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion at UC Irvine.

He has provided expert advice and consultation to the White House National Economic Council, the British Parliament, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and dozens of global universities, think tanks, foundations, banks, governments, funds and family offices. He also sits on several boards and advisory boards for other FinTech, blockchain and AI companies.

Dr. Swart is one of the founders of the Silicon Valley Blockchain Society, a network of institutional investors focused on enterprise level blockchain, with chapters through the United States and in Zug, Switzerland. Members of the network control over $1 trillion USD in AUM. He was nominated as an SDG Impact Fellow, a group of about 100 global impact leaders leading meaningful initiatives to support the UN SDGs. He has lectured on five continents and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London in recognition of his work.

Board Member, Serial Entrepreneur

Allen R. Weiss

Allen (Al) R. Weiss is a former partner in Apollo Capital Management, a private equity firm. He joined Apollo, following a 39-year career at the Walt Disney Company, in which his last position was President of Worldwide Operations for Disney’s $10 Billion+/95,000 employee Walt Disney Parks and Resorts business, in which he was responsible for the company’s theme parks and resorts including the Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, and Disneyland Resort Paris, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, “Adventures by Disney”, and the line-of-business responsibility for Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Tokyo Disney Resort.

At Apollo, Al was involved in company analyses to support potential acquisitions and management.  He had direct involvement in the acquisition of Chuck E. Cheese Entertainment in 2014 and currently serves on their Board of Directors.  Also involved in the acquisition and negotiations for the sale of Great Wolf Resorts, Al became the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Great Wolf and later Executive Chairman.  Mr. Weiss was also involved in the acquisition of Diamond Resorts International in 2016, as well as ClubCorp and currently serves on their Board of Directors.

Named “Most Influential Businessman in Central Florida” by the Orlando Business Journal in 2005, Mr. Weiss has been designated as a distinguished alumnus by his alma mater, the University of Central Florida, and both UCF and the Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business have inducted Al into their Halls of Fame.  Staying closely involved with his alma mater, Al has served as chairman of the UCF Foundation Board of Directors, and is a past member of the UCF Board of Trustees, Stetson University Board of Trustees and the Florida Council of 100 Board of Directors.