Managing Director at CEO Quest and Co-Founder/Vice-Chairman of The International Data Trade Association—largest international data trade association with 30K+ members
Current Involvement: Advisory Board at Rutgers University and Mentor to several start-up Accelerators
Involvement while at Siena: President of Enactus (which was formerly the largest business club on campus), Member of SIRA, Elected to Student Leadership Council and played on the hockey team freshman and junior years.
How do you involve yourself in your community?
I try to spend time mentoring technology start-up CEOs and driving a more effective distribution of value & wealth rapidly changing economy through the International Data Trade Association which is involved in policy/regulation across industry and the economic implications of same.
Describe a typical day in your life.
I wish I could! With clients in NY, CA, Europe and India, my day tends to start early and end late! The majority of my time is working with my clients on their business strategy while allocating roughly 30% to spend time in speaking enterprise industry leaders and venture capital funds in helping to source new opportunities and work with their portfolio member CEOs.
How did your Siena education prepare you for the work you’re doing today?
Although I was an accounting major, I had the opportunity to take classes from computer science through to finance and liberal arts, giving me a very well rounded foundation for problem solving and communication. I was also able to waive 7 classes from Union Graduate College due to the classes I took at Siena. In addition, the time spent on applying our learning to real world scenarios and case studies prepared me on understanding how to implement what we’ve learned in class, which could not be more important.
Describe your professional progression since leaving Siena.
Started at a Healthcare Analytics startup in Troy (TreoSolutions) my junior year as an intern and employee #20 in year 1 through a 9 figure exit 5 years later and 180 employees.
Then, I joined the world's largest independent insurance consulting firm, UIC, Inc., and grew my role into SVP of Business Development and Senior Consultant.
Founded my own consulting firm, GCC (Global Cyber Consultants), as I endeavored to bridge the gap between traditional risk management and cybersecurity, which led me down a variety of interesting rabbit holes in working with emerging technologies and technology companies.
I co-founded and became Vice-Chairman of the International Data Trade Association in January, 2016.
I joined Silicon-Valley’s elite CEO Forum and Business Advisory firm, CEO Quest, in March, 2018 as the second Managing Director in New York alongside the former Chief Systems Architect at UnitedHealth, Aetna and more…
Siena Favorites
Professor: Deb Kelly – She has been like a 2nd mother to me, from not only being the most engaged professor, but actually introducing me to my internship in college.
Class: BudV with Mike Hickey – most informative class I took at Siena.
Location on campus: Gym/Basketball Court
Study-break food: Panera
Residence Hall: Plassmann – because nothing beats the freshman year experience.
Class Year: Hard decision between freshman and senior year, but have to go with senior year. I felt that the class in general bonded a bit more senior year as we all knew the real world was right in front of us.
Food in the Dining Hall: I’d have to defer to the Sub-Shop on this one.
Memory: For those who remember, LandingZone.
Advice for current students:
First and foremost, enjoy it! It will be missed...that said, take a variety of classes on different subjects and seek to obtain different internships/jobs so that you can graduate with a better understanding of what you want to do or what industry you wish to start in. This will also build your network and rolodex in the process!
Career advice for Saints:
Definitely read a lot of books, but there is some truth behind the statement, “It’s not how many books you read; it’s about how many hands you shake.” I know it may be uncomfortable, but put yourself out there whether it be for advice or networking and you never know who you will connect with.
