Kafene is a mission driven fintech company with the goal of empowering flexible ownership solutions. Their best in class technology brings innovative point of sale and omnichannel financing to industries like furniture, appliances, electronics, and jewelry.

Finance

Kafene

Daisy Tristan

Kortni Hottel

Everett Sussman

Mary Ye

Jayleen Soto

Christine Jurica

Chloe Chan

Justin McMillian

Aaron Quintero

Delaney Hodges

Katiera Paul-Banks

Garry Gorgei is the Regional Sales Director for the West at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Prior to this, they were the National Sales Manager at [Kafene](/org/kafene) from March 2021 to April 2022. Garry has also worked as an Area Sales Manager at [Kafene](/org/kafene) from February 2020 to March 2021, and as a Veterinary Sales Manager at Whittemore Enterprises from August 2016 to February 2020. Garry began their career in sales operations, working as a Sales Operations Manager at Florence Medical Supply Inc from December 2012 to August 2016.

Garry Gorgei attended [DeVry University](/org/devry-university).

Garry Gorgei reports to David Bradford, Head of Sales. They are on a team with Blake Austin - Area Sales Manager, Kirsten Gohsler - Area Sales Manager, and Juan Feliciano - Customer Success Specialist.

Garry Gorgei

Latasha Burleson

Brandon Reis

Richard Berger is the current Vice President of Revenue Operations at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Prior to this, they were the Director of Product Marketing at [ShopKeep](/org/shopkeep) from January 2013 to December 2019. In this role, they managed revenue-focused cross-sell and upsell programs for 25,000+ existing customers, driving >$3 million in new next 12 mo. revenue in 2019 (up >8-10x over 2018) across package upsells, cash advances, and payment processing. Richard also worked cross-functionally to manage the product marketing process around all releases (>50 in 2019) for [ShopKeep](/org/shopkeep)'s web-based BackOffice, tablet Register app, and mobile Pocket app. This included release timelines, product positioning and messaging, training support, and feature usage analysis. In addition, Richard supervised a team of 2 to 4 direct reports, most recently including a Sr. Marketing Automation Manager and a Customer Marketing Manager.

Before [ShopKeep](/org/shopkeep), Richard was a Product Manager at [Harri](/org/harri) from April 2012 to November 2012. Richard was also an Advisor, Founding Contributor & Moderator at Genius from August 2009 to September 2021.

Berger graduated from [The Dalton School](/org/the-dalton-school) before going on to [Yale University](/org/yale-university) where they earned their B.A. in Theirtory.

Richard Berger reports to Logan Shedd, Head of Growth. A direct report to Richard Berger is and Brandon Reis - Revenue Operations Manager. They are on a team with Elisabeth Wadsworth - SVP, Operations, David Bradford - Head of Sales.

Richard Berger

Omar Alothimeen

James Schuler is the current Chief Technical Officer at [Kafene](/org/kafene). James has held this position since March of 2019. Prior to [Kafene](/org/kafene), James was the CTO and Co-founder of Atlas Holdings Group, Inc. from March 2014 to March 2019. Prior to Atlas, James was the CTO and Co-founder of FundElevator from November 2012 to January 2014. And prior to that, they were the CTO and Co-founder of Eligible Inc from September 2011 to August 2012.

James Schuler attended Byram Hills High School.

Some individuals on their team include Andrew Miller - Data Analytics, Shmuel Zalmanov - Director, Engineering, and Micheal Adisa - Frontend Engineer.

James Schuler

Shmuel Zalmanov is the Director of Engineering at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Shmuel has over ten years of experience in software development and has worked with companies such as SummitSync, Overpass LLC., [Rethink First](/org/rethink-first), and [Chabad.org](/org/chabad-org). Zalmanov has experience in various programming languages including C#, MVC, ASP.NET, HTML(5), CSS(3), JavaScript, jQuery, Angular.js, SQL, Python, and C++. Shmuel has led projects in full life cycle development and has been instrumental in redesigning SummitSync's application and data model.

Shmuel Zalmanov has a Bachelor's Degree in .NET Application Development from Excelsior University and a certification from NYU SCPS in .NET Applications.

They work with Andrew MacMillan - Product Manager, Micheal Adisa - Frontend Engineer, and Ondrej D. - Product Manager. Shmuel Zalmanov reports to James Schuler, CTO.

Shmuel Zalmanov

Neal Desai is currently the Co-Founder and CEO of [Kafene](/org/kafene). Neal has over 15 years of experience in the financial industry, starting their career as a trader at Susquehanna International Group, LLP. In 2003, they moved to Merrill Lynch as Vice President of Equity Derivatives and then to Hard Eight Holdings LLC as a trader and portfolio manager in 2007. In 2013, they joined Summit Securities Group, LLC as a portfolio manager before becoming the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Octane Lending in 2016.

Neal Desai has an MBA in finance and multinational strategy from The Wharton School, as well as a BA in molecular biology from [Princeton University](/org/princeton).

Some individuals on their team include Patricio Jaramillo - VP, Credit Analytics, Harold Mayer - Director, Talent Acquisition, and Joe Wang - Chief Risk Officer.

Neal Desai

Ijeoma Eti is a backend engineer at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Ijeoma has previous experience working as a software engineer and quality assurance analyst. Ijeoma has also worked as a science teacher.

Ijeoma Eti has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Port Harcourt.

They work with Micheal Adisa - Frontend Engineer, Bishal Mahapatra - QA Engineer, and Fan Yu - Data Enginer. Ijeoma Eti reports to James Schuler, CTO.

Ijeoma Eti

Charles Chen is currently the Credit Risk Manager at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Charles was previously the Credit Risk Officer at BBVA from April 2016 to May 2021. In that role, they developed CECL/IFRS 9 models (PD LGD EAD) of Commercial and Retail Portfolios and built Loss Forecast models for CCAR stress tests. Charles also ran lifetime loss Provision for entire bank Portfolios and performed Loss driver analysis.

Charles Chen has a PhD in Computational Physics from [Iowa State University](/org/iowa-state-university). Charles also has a Master's Degree in Elementary Particle Physics from [Peking University](/org/peking-university), and a Bachelor's Degree in Physics from Wuhan University. Charles is also certified as an Advanced Programmer for SAS 9 from the [SAS Institute](/org/sas-institute).

Charles Chen reports to Joe Wang, Chief Risk Officer. They are on a team with Shengjun Hu - Risk Director, Data Science, Chao Yu - Risk Data Analyst, and Timothy Yu - VP, Credit.

Charles Chen

Cynthia Ilojeme currently works as a software engineer at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Prior to this, they worked as a software engineer intern at Enyata from May 2019 to October 2019. Cynthia has also worked as a freelance graphics designer and web developer from May 2016 to June 2019, during which they created eye-catching designs for flyers, banners and print media with Corel Draw and Adobe Photoshop. Cynthia has also worked as a music instructor at School Music Masters from September 2014 to June 2015, where they taught the practical aspects of playing various musical instruments like piano, drum set, saxophone, violin and trumpet.

Cynthia Ilojeme holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Cynthia has completed certification courses in CSS Fundamentals, JAVASCRIPT Fundamentals, and HTML Fundamentals from SoloLearn, and has also earned a certification in Responsive Web Design from freeCodeCamp. In addition, they have completed a Web Development Path (Node.js) course from [Progate](/org/progate).

Cynthia Ilojeme works with Shmuel Zalmanov - Director, Engineering, Amaechi Hope - Software Development Engineer, and Christine Jurica - Quality Assurance Trainer. Cynthia Ilojeme reports to James Schuler, CTO.

Cynthia Ilojeme

Micheal Adisa is currently a frontend engineer at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Prior to this, they worked as a software engineer intern at Enyata from May 2019 to October 2019. Micheal has also worked as a freelance graphics designer and web developer from May 2016 to June 2019. In this role, they created eye-catching and well-layout designs for flyers, banners and print media with Corel Draw and Adobe Photoshop. Micheal also used tools like HTML, CSS, Javascript, Adobe Dreamweaver to create web interfaces and actions. Prior to this, they worked as a music instructor at School Music Masters from September 2014 to June 2015. In this role, they taught the practical aspects of playing various musical instruments like piano, drum set, saxophone, violin, trumpet and prepared their students for various musical performances.

Michael Adisa's educational career includes a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Micheal also has certifications from SoloLearn in CSS Fundamentals and JavaScript Fundamentals courses, as well as from freeCodeCamp in Responsive Web Design. Additionally, they have a certification from [Progate](/org/progate) in their Web Development Path (Node.js) course.

Micheal Adisa reports to James Schuler, CTO. They are on a team with Shmuel Zalmanov - Director, Engineering, Bishal Mahapatra - QA Engineer, and Diana Lam - Sr. Product Manager.

Micheal Adisa

Fan Yu is a Data Engineer at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Fan previously worked as a Data Analyst at Alibaba Group from May 2020 to October 2020, where they built Data visualization products (sales life cycle conversion dashboard) by standardizing data workflow and data entries. Prior to that, they were a Data Engineer - Analytics at [Kyruus](/org/kyruus) from February 2019 to April 2020, where they identified problems in data processes and implemented analytics data solutions to improve decision making efficiency. Fan also designed automated, scalable, extensible ETL / ELT processes to pull data from the source systems and transform it into the analytical (dimensional) model. Additionally, they have worked as a Data Remediation Analyst - Analytics and Decision Sciences at Santander Bank, N.A. from December 2017 to February 2019 and as a Data Engineer/Analyst at [Credit Suisse](/org/credit-suisse) from July 2014 to September 2017.

Fan Yu has a Master's Degree in Computer Engineering from [Stevens Institute of Technology](/org/stevens-institute-of-technology), a Bachelor's Degree in Computer & Electrical Engineering from Tianjin University, and a Professional Advancement Program in Finance - Asset Securitization from [New York University](/org/nyu). Fan Yu is also certified from [New York University](/org/nyu) in Core Concepts in Asset Securitization Professional Development Gold Standard Course.

They are on a team with Ondrej D. - Product Manager, Andrew Miller - Data Analytics, and Bishal Mahapatra - QA Engineer. Their manager is James Schuler, CTO.

Fan Yu

Chibuikem is a software engineer who currently works for [Kafene](/org/kafene). Chibuikem has previous experience working as a full stack web developer for various companies, including AK Infotech Solutions Ltd., CJGrandExchange, and Dependable Orientals Ltd. Chibuikem has experience in developing new user-facing features, integrating third-party systems via APIs, and collaborating with other team members to understand business requirements and user experience goals and pain points.

Chibuikem has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Chibuikem also has a certification in JavaScript from [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin).

Chibuikem reports to James Schuler, CTO. They work with Bishal Mahapatra - QA Engineer, Amaechi Hope - Software Development Engineer, and Chitra Singh - QA Engineer.

Chibuikem

Joe Wang is currently the Chief Risk Officer at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Prior to this, they were the Senior Managing Director/ Risk Officer at [OneMain Financial](/org/onemain-financial) from July 2019 to December 2021. At [OneMain Financial](/org/onemain-financial), Joe was responsible for risk management and pricing optimization for unsecured and secured personal loans across subprime and mid-prime consumers. 

Before [OneMain Financial](/org/onemain-financial), Joe worked at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from January 2010 to July 2019 as the Risk Executive- Head of Acquisition/Portfolio/Auth Risk for Small Business card and Biz Banking Loans. In this role, they were responsible for end-to-end credit risk strategy, process management and regulatory mitigation in business card and business banking loans to drive profitable growth with full credit-cycle view. This included portfolio risk management for the Small Business credit card portfolio and the Business Banking portfolio, as well as graded acquisition risk for Business Banking and Small Business credit card acquisition risk management. 

Joe has also provided marketing initiative and X-LOB supports (like new product design/CCAR models/Risk Appetite framework/Loss Forecast/ALLL) across Business Banking, acquirer bank CSO, Auto, and commercial card using machine learning.

Joe Wang has a PhD in IE-Operations Research from the [University of Pittsburgh](/org/university-of-pittsburgh) and an MBA in Management Science And Engineering from [Shanghai Jiao Tong University](/org/shanghai-jiao-tong-university).

Their manager is Neal Desai, Co-Founder & CEO. Some direct reports include Charles Chen - Credit Risk Manager, Shengjun Hu - Risk Director, Data Science, and Timothy Yu - VP, Credit. Some of their coworkers include Sosha Furman - Director, Talent & HR, Harold Mayer - Director, Talent Acquisition, and Roland Jeon - CFO.

Joe Wang

Shengjun Hu is currently the Risk Director, Data Science at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Shengjun was previously with JPMorgan Chase & Co. from March 2015 to June 2021, where they were VP, Data Scientist Manager. Prior to that, they were with [Fifth Third Bank](/org/fifth-third-bank) from June 2014 to February 2015 as a Senior Fraud Strategy Analyst. Shengjun also worked as a Graduate Assistant at Real Estate Center from August 2013 to April 2014, where they were responsible for data cleaning, manipulation and preparation using SAS and SQL, as well as econometrics analysis of real estate investment by statistical models (linear, hierarchical, survival analysis) using SAS. Shengjun Hu has also worked as a Research Assistant at [The Ohio State University](/org/the-ohio-state-university) from May 2010 to August 2013, where they were responsible for the design and execution of experimental studies, collection, analysis, interpretation and reporting of data, and development of biobased polyols and polyurethanes from agricultural and industrial waste materials. Shengjun also worked as a Research Assistant at the [University of Idaho](/org/university-of-idaho) from January 2008 to May 2010.

Shengjun Hu has a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from [The Ohio State University](/org/the-ohio-state-university), a Master of Science (MS) in Business Analytics from the University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business, a Master of Science (M.S.) in Forest Products from the [University of Idaho](/org/university-of-idaho), and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Environmental Science from Huazhong Agricultural University. Shengjun also has certification from [Coursera](/org/coursera) in Machine Learning Specialization and certification from Amazon Web Services (AWS) in AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.

Shengjun Hu works with Charles Chen - Credit Risk Manager, Chao Yu - Risk Data Analyst, and Timothy Yu - VP, Credit. Shengjun Hu reports to Joe Wang, Chief Risk Officer.

Shengjun Hu

Andrew Miller is currently a data analytics engineer at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Prior to this, they worked as a data engineer analyst at Savant Systems from March 2021 to August 2021. Andrew has also worked as a data analyst at [U.S. Bank](/org/u-s-bancorp) from August 2016 to March 2021 and as a member experience coordinator at Oregon's Health CO-OP from January 2016 to August 2016. Additionally, they have worked as a customer service trainer and medical claims specialist at [Moda Health](/org/moda-health) from June 2014 to January 2016 and as an enforcer of software quality and customer support at Vizify from July 2013 to March 2014. Finally, they have also worked as a senior assistant manager at [Cinemark](/org/cinemark) from March 2012 to July 2013 and as an assistant manager at [Cinemark](/org/cinemark) from April 2008 to March 2012.

Andrew Miller's educational career began at [Clackamas Community College](/org/clackamas-community-college). Andrew then transferred to Clackamas High School, where they graduated.

They work with Nihir Kumar - QA Engineer, Ijeoma Eti - Backend Engineer, and Micheal Adisa - Frontend Engineer. Their manager is James Schuler, CTO.

Andrew Miller

Roland Jeon is the current Chief Financial Officer at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Prior to this, they were with Cambridge Pacific Holdings. Before that, they were with First Cap. From January 2017 to December 2019, they were with Atalaya Capital Management as their Opportunistic Credit/Equity. From January 2014 to December 2017, they were with The Blackstone Group in their Tactical Opportunities Group. From January 2012 to December 2014, they were with [American Securities](/org/american-securities) in their [American Securities](/org/american-securities) Opportunities Funds. From January 2010 to December 2012, they worked in [Citigroup](/org/citigroup)'s Financial Institutions Investment Banking Division. Finally, from January 2009 to December 2009, they were with [KPMG](/org/kpmg) in their [Transaction Services](/org/transaction-services).

Roland Jeon is a student at [Penn State University](/org/penn-state). Roland is enrolled in the Schreyer Honors College and is pursuing a BS in Finance and a BA in Comparative Literature.

Neha Chinai - VP, Finance & Capital Markets, Wirawan Krisman - Controller report to Roland Jeon. They work with Sosha Furman - Director, Talent & HR, Logan Shedd - Head of Growth, and Patricio Jaramillo - VP, Credit Analytics. Roland Jeon reports to Neal Desai, Co-Founder & CEO.

Roland Jeon

Neha Chinai is currently the VP of Finance and Capital Markets at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Prior to this, they were a senior financial consultant at Octane Lending where they worked directly with the CFO to build out the finance team and assisted with capital structure, pricing models, risk analytics, growth initiatives, data integrity, and origination goals. Neha has also worked at Cuvée Consulting as a strategy and innovation consultant, helping early to late stage startups with difficult business problems and strategy challenges.

Neha Chinai has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from NYU Stern School of Business, a Bachelor of Science in Finance from [The University of Texas at Dallas](/org/the-university-of-texas-at-dallas), and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Language and Literature from [The University of Texas at Dallas](/org/the-university-of-texas-at-dallas). Neha also has a certification from WSET — Wine & Spirit Education Trust in WSET Level 2 with Distinction.

Neha Chinai reports to Roland Jeon, CFO. Neha Chinai works with and Wirawan Krisman - Controller.

Neha Chinai

Rotimi Akanni is a backend developer at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Rotimi has also previously worked as a senior full stack web developer at AK Infotech Solutions Ltd and as a full stack web developer at CJGrandExchange. Rotimi has experience in integrating third-party systems via APIs and in developing new user-facing features.

Rotimi Akanni reports to James Schuler, CTO. They work with Micheal Adisa - Frontend Engineer, Christine Jurica - Quality Assurance Trainer, and Nihir Kumar - QA Engineer.

Rotimi Akanni

Rachel Penha

Bryan Vetrecin

Essence Weller

Marc Deibig

Richard Rosier

Sarah Mortell is currently a Merchant Support Supervisor at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Sarah has previously worked at [FranklinCovey](/org/franklincovey), [IOGEAR](/org/iogear), and Sleep Train.

Sarah Mortell graduated from Martin Luther King High School with a diploma.

Sarah Mortell reports to Elisabeth Wadsworth, SVP, Operations. Sarah Mortell works with Lacey Molina - Merchant Underwriting Analyst, Marc Deibig - Compliance Manager, and Richard Rosier - Servicing Manager.

Sarah Mortell

Lemuel Bledsoe

Chad Yu

Wirawan Krisman is currently the Controller at [Kafene](/org/kafene). Prior to this, they served as the VP of Finance for [B2B Soft](/org/b2b-soft) from January 2019 to December 2021. Wirawan has also served as a finance consultant and interim head of finance operations for [Vodafone](/org/vodafone) from January 2017 to December 2018. Additionally, they were the CFO for [Telstra](/org/telstra)'s Americas division from January 2000 to December 2017.

Wirawan Krisman has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Oregon's Charles H. Lundquist College of Business. Wirawan also has a Master of Business Administration in Finance & International Business from [San Francisco State University](/org/san-francisco-state-university). In addition, they have a certification in Entrepreneurship: Raising Startup Capital from [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin).

Wirawan Krisman reports to Roland Jeon, CFO. Wirawan Krisman works with and Neha Chinai - VP, Finance & Capital Markets.

Wirawan Krisman

Vasuki Anbazhagan

Sikiru Moshood

Taranpreet Singh

Oreoluwa Ojo

Ondrej D.

Dayo Ashaolu

Chitra Singh

Bishal Mahapatra

Amaechi Hope

The founding team at Kafene has experience in finance, risk management, trading, and equity derivatives. They have degrees from The Wharton School and Princeton University in finance and molecular biology, respectively.

Founding Team

About

Team members

Other teams at Kafene

Leadership Team

CEO and Executive Team