Our Team

  • Mike Ward

    Mike Ward

    Fintech, Payments, PropTech Executive, Boardmember and Investor.

    Successfully scaled multiple companies, resulting in exits via IPO or strategic acquisition.

  • Lauren Blackmun

    Lauren Blackmun

    15+ years in financial services.

    Operations, Risk, Portfolio Management and Program Management experience.

    MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

  • Matt Kerper

    Matt Kerper

    25+ Years of payments experience.

    Prior Fintech leadership roles (strategy & growth) at companies including Wolfe, RetailMeNot, CashStar (BHN), eBay, PayPal, Google, TxVia (Google), Parago (BHN) and Green Dot (IPO), Trycera (IPO). Active volunteer firefighter for the last 12 years.

    MBA from Pepperdine University.

  • Tim Kuchlein

    Tim Kuchlein

    20+ years of payments engineering.

    3 payments startup exits; Clarity Payment Systems (TSYS), TxVia (Google) & Bakkt (IPO).

    Lead Architect for Google Wallet, Chief Architect for Core Payments at PayPal, Lead Payments Architect for Bakkt.

  • David Massey

    David Massey

    20 years of software and systems engineering across multiple domains. Defense, Biotech, Payments, Security and Cloud Infrastructure.

    Security Engineering at Google, Software Engineering and Professional Services at PayPal, Systems Integration at Lockheed Martin.

  • Josh Pearce

    Josh Pearce

    20+ years business, finance, and legal counsel experience.

    Advised hundreds of companies, startups and business principals including many fintech businesses.

    JD with seasoned experience as general counsel, intellectual property, and corporate transactions.

  • Christopher Petersen

    Christopher Petersen

    20+ years of payments experience.

    7 startup exits; Wildcard Systems (FIS), TxVia (Google), Bakkt (IPO), Vizium (Carat), Softricity (Microsoft), OneMarket (IPO) & Bento for Business (US Bank).

    MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

  • Eduardo Solis

    Eduardo Solis

    20+ years of software and systems engineering: automotive, IT, Security, Payments, Travel and EdTech.

    Platform Architect at Udemy, Distinguished Engineer at Expedia, Software Engineering at PayPal.

    MS in Software Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

  • Morgan Hall

    Morgan Hall

    10 years retail banking experience.

    10+ years web and mobile app development experience.

  • Chris Hogan

    Chris Hogan

    15+ years of software and platform engineering experience. Vacation Rentals, Travel, and FinTech.

    Software engineering at Hopper, Expedia, and HomeAway.

  • James Martin

    James Martin

    30+ years Software Engineering experience. Payments, Enterprise software platforms, Risk Management, Financial Services, Medical informatics, Military Intelligence signal processing.

    PayPal, Lockheed Martin.

    MS in Electrical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin.

Our Board Members & Advisors

  • David Clifton

    David Clifton

    Shaped strategy and drove business combination as interim CEO of Opco

    VP of M&A at ICE, overseeing successful global strategic transactions, including NYSE Euronext acquisition.

    Juris Doctor from Mercer University and a Davidson College graduate.

  • Paul England

    Paul England

    49+ years of financial services and fintech experience in roles including CEO, Founder, and Advisor.

    Founded FiNet in 1996, merged with five firms, later established Elmhurst Financial Services, LLC.

    Expert in issue identification, goal achievement, and profitability.

  • Steve Mott

    Steve Mott

    40-year veteran of the electronic and mobile payments and security space.

    Payment industry consultant and SME to several industry organizations and agencies

    Expert witness in more than two dozen payments-related patent, trade secret, commercial agreement and antitrust lawsuits

  • Joe Timmons

    Joe Timmons

    20 years of experience in technology, focused on cloud & AI solutions.

    Current Head of Customer Engineering for Biotechs at Google Cloud.

    Partner/Angel Investor and advisor to payments, AI, and data science startups.

  • Paolo Vincenti

    Paolo Vincenti

    Seasoned product, strategy, and technology executive with startup and large corporate experience.

    Passionate about scaling tech businesses across multiple industries and operating high-performing companies.

    Served in executive roles at Barclays, Credit Suisse, and McKinsey.

  • Marcus LeCuyer

    Marcus LeCuyer

    Marc brings 25 years of technology sales and leadership experience, with a proven track record of scaling businesses in the SaaS industry.

    His domain experience includes infrastructure, cyber & risk businesses.

    Marc’s customer-first mindset and mission-driven approach has helped citizens, governments & businesses better protect their information from threats and operational incidents.

  • Christopher Loughlin

    Christopher Loughlin

    Executive leader in digital business growth, enterprise transformation, and M&A.

    Founder of Evolve, UST’s global digital business unit, built from the ground up to serve Fortune 500 clients across multiple industries.

    Previous executive roles at BNY Mellon, Publicis Group, and Sapient, leading large-scale transformation initiatives for companies like Citigroup, Visa, Nike, and Michelin.