Ninth Family Wealth Report Family Office Fintech Summit 2024

Ray Denis is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Sandbox Companies.

With 18 years of industry experience, Ray leads the strategic direction, product management, sales, and all related control functions for Sandbox Wealth, a turnkey banking solution for non-bank financial institutions, including RIAs, Family Offices, and Independent Broker-Dealers.

Ray has previously served in senior roles at Bank of America, Raymond James, Deutsche Bank, and J.P. Morgan Chase. He started his career as an analyst at Bear Stearns. Ray lives in Manhattan, and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, with a bachelor’s degree in American studies.

Dan Golosovker is Head of Applied Research at Addepar. He focuses on the team’s quantitative research, a responsibility that entails deriving insights from the Addepar Research platform. He joined Addepar after 13 years at Bridgewater Associates, where he defined and developed industry best practices for institutional reporting and analytics. Dan holds degrees from the London School of Economics (MA, Science, Management, Economics & Management) and Amherst College (BA, Mathematics).

Litan Yahav, Co-Founder and CEO of Vyzer, is an accomplished entrepreneur and investor with a diverse background in the Israeli Navy, technology, and wealth management. He co-founded Segoma, a cutting-edge diamond display technology that transformed the global diamond industry. After the successful sale of Segoma, Litan turned his focus to passive real estate and private equity investments. Recognizing the challenges families and family offices face in managing diverse portfolios, he co-founded Vyzer—a platform designed to simplify and optimize wealth management, providing greater control and clarity over financial assets.

Kristina Conner is a seasoned CPA and Sage Intacct implementation specialist, specializing in family offices.  With extensive experience in financial management and technology integration, she combines technical expertise with a deep understanding of the unique financial complexities faced by family offices. She excels in guiding high-net-worth families through seamless transitions to Sage Intacct, optimizing operations and compliance. She fosters lasting partnerships centered on financial clarity and efficiency. Kristina is a trusted advisor known for delivering tailored solutions that enhance reporting capabilities and streamline processes, empowering family offices to achieve their financial goals effectively.

Rick Higgins brings decades of experience to provide leadership and innovation in financial reporting for wealth managers and family offices. Having dedicated his career to innovation in family wealth technology, Rick is widely known for his ability to connect with people, overcome challenges, and offer reporting expertise. Rick is an alumni of MyCFO when his firm Digital Partner was acquired by MyCFO in 1999. From Rick began WealthTouch a Multi-Family Office and technology offering in 2001. Rick served in leadership roles at WealthTouch until 2009. As founder and CEO of Risclarity, Rick continues to innovate and support reporting technology for family offices and ultra high net worth wealth managers. A creative at heart, Rick is also a successful filmmaker, having directed and produced several works, and earning three Heartland Emmy® Awards along the way. Rick enjoys spending time with his wife Lesley and their family in the beautiful Colorado foothills.

Bill joined Summitas in 2010 and has over 40 years of experience working with single- and multi-family offices and registered investment advisors (SFOs, MFOs, and RIAs). Today, Summitas is the award-winning reference platform for communication privacy and data security in the family office and wealth advisory space.

Previously, he was a Senior Director with BNY Mellon Family Office and Managing Director with Rockefeller & Co. Earlier, he was Managing Director at Deutsche Bank, and a Vice President with J.P. Morgan in Geneva, Switzerland.

Bill is a regular at industry conferences where he speaks about software trends, technology risks, and family office operations. He earned his BA from the University of Notre Dame and MBA, summa cum laude, from Fordham University.

Mr. Baron is a Managing Director within SS&C’s GlobeOp Fund Services and is responsible for overseeing fund services client operations from SS&C’s New York location. With over 20 years of financial services experience, currently focusing on Family Office clients, he has also managed operations for SS&C’s Fund of Funds, Hedge Fund and Private Equity clients. Alan joined SS&C in 2005 when the company acquired Eisnerfast LLC, where he managed the staffing and reporting requirements of clients. Alan holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration from the University of Albany and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Anne oversees the daily operations for Deviate Consulting LLC, which focuses on software selection, implementation, and accounting services for single and multi-family offices. Anne’s diverse background in planning and infrastructural management has carried her from a successful career in non-profit educational services to solutions-based development for Deviate, which is based out of Indianapolis, serving clients globally.

Adam is the founder and CEO of Asora. Asora was founded in 2021 as a software platform dedicated to meeting the needs of family offices. Adam’s diverse background of advising wealthy families for almost 2 decades as a qualified accountant, tax adviser and Chartered Financial Analyst helps shape Asora’s mission of being the operating platform of choice for family offices globally. Before Asora, Adam co-founded and was COO of Argeau an MFO, Head of Wealth Advice at Davy and previously worked at PwC & Goldman Sachs.

Ryan Kerry, CEO of KnowLedger, has an extensive career on providing services to the financial services market. His 30+ years of experience is defined around the service and support of clients at his core. Ryan’s vision for KnowLedger within the market stems from his previous role as CEO and owner of Accusource, a service provider for management, oversite, and operational due diligence for financial services firms that outsource their portfolio accounting. Some of his clients were family offices and had no other option than to manually enter the investment related data into a General Ledger platform.

Alex is the co-founder and CEO at Truewind, a San Francisco-based technology startup building AI-powered Accounting. Previously, he was an investor at Alliance Ventures and Schematic Ventures, where he invested in early stage industrial and mobility companies. An engineer by trade, Alex was an engineer at Boeing where he helped design the 777X aircraft. Alex received his MBA from Columbia University and BS in aerospace engineering from USC. He is an avid skier, basketball player, book reader, and outdoor enthusiast.

Driven by frustration with existing accounting software, Alex founded SumIt to simplify family office accounting. As a second-generation leader of his family's real estate ventures in France and China, he now dedicates himself to SumIt. Collaborating with 30+ family office advisors, he's tailored SumIt to meet the unique needs of the sector efficiently. Alex holds an MBA from Chicago Booth and a Master's from London Business School.

Sophia, a trailblazer in the accounting industry with over 30 years of public and private sector experience, leads Frank, Rimerman + Co.’s Family Office practice. Recognized for her forward-thinking approach, she is among the first to integrate cutting-edge technology and artificial intelligence to enhance the value her team provides, offering clients deeper insights and more effective solutions. Sophia believes true client value goes beyond transactions, focusing on uncovering new possibilities to achieve financial goals. Out of the office, she applies the same intellectual curiosity and passion to her philanthropic work and impactful board service.

Andrew Thomas is a Strategic Account Executive at BILL who works with our family office partners to elevate their bill pay process by eliminating manual work, centralizing accounts, and placing internal controls around disbursements. His previous experience includes LPL Financial, where he worked as a Regional Director streamlining and standardizing family office services.

As a solutions-oriented insurance professional, Allen brings a strong background in cyber, risk management, client service, claims, policy interpretation, relationship management, and law. In addition to Cyber Insurance, Allen brings his clients deep knowledge and solutions for Directors & Officers, Errors & Omissions, Crime, and Fiduciary coverage. Allen is known for his expertise in insurance program evaluation, claims handling, and overall risk management for Cyber and Professional Liability lines of insurance. Allen and his team work closely with Family Offices, successful families and individuals, and businesses across the country.  Allen holds a BA and a JD from SUNY (State University of NY).

Warren Finkel is the Managing Director of Omega Systems’ Northeast region. He previously led ACE IT Solutions for more than 13 years, before its acquisition by Omega in March 2022. Through his career, Warren has delivered tailored IT solutions and white-glove service to his customers, notably those in the financial services vertical, including hedge funds, RIAs, family offices and other alternative asset firms. Warren brings decades of experience to the company, with impressive experience across business development, marketing, customer service and IT strategy. His long-standing relationships with customers and strategic partners in the financial services sector make him a trusted resource and sought-after advisor.

Tony Gebely, CEO of Annapurna Cybersecurity, is a seasoned cybersecurity expert with over two decades of experience in the information technology field. As the former Chief Technology Officer for Family Office Exchange, a prestigious organization with over 500 members, Tony served as a subject matter expert on cybersecurity. In this role, he advised families on cybersecurity best practices, authored numerous papers, and facilitated the firm’s first Global Family Security Workshop. Tony also founded the Technology Operations and Data Security Network at Family Office Exchange, comprising over 325 family office executives responsible for technology and cybersecurity. His wealth of experience and expertise positions Annapurna Cybersecurity as a trusted partner for those seeking peace of mind and robust protection in the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats.

Ben spent 15 years in the military ranging from Infantry to Special Operations Intelligence with extensive experience in social engineering, digital exploitation, and cyber targeting. During his time in Service he has worked with the US Marshalls, Special Forces, and US Embassy Security Teams as a Cyber and Signals Intelligence Collector and Targeting subject matter expert. At 360 Privacy, Ben created and leads the Executive Services Division at 360 Privacy, which helps to educate and protect families, family offices, business executives, professional athletes, and entertainers.

As an attorney and Senior Director of Family Office Services for Polaris, Mark brings a unique perspective to risk management by combining a keen investigative eye with the practical knowledge of the complex affairs of HNWIs. He provides guidance on personal privacy, due diligence, cybersecurity protocols, physical security consulting, and crisis management specifically tailored for private clients. Mark received his BS from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a JD from Fordham University School of Law.

As CEO of Polaris, Steve helps clients address security vulnerabilities informed by over 30 years of serving a broad spectrum of HNWIs and Fortune 500 companies across the globe. His expertise across physical protection of people and hard assets, cybersecurity, investigations and intelligence provides a comprehensive and scalable framework for proactive security posturing and rapid crisis response and remediation. Mr. Ward is an active member in the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Anti-Fraud Network, American College of Forensic Examinations, and Forbes New York Business Council. He holds a B.S. in Political Science from the State University of New York at Binghamton, a Certification in Trademark and Patent Law from New York University and a Certification in Cybersecurity Managing Risk Information & Data from Harvard University.

Ray Denis is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Sandbox Companies.

With 18 years of industry experience, Ray leads the strategic direction, product management, sales, and all related control functions for Sandbox Wealth, a turnkey banking solution for non-bank financial institutions, including RIAs, Family Offices, and Independent Broker-Dealers.

Ray has previously served in senior roles at Bank of America, Raymond James, Deutsche Bank, and J.P. Morgan Chase. He started his career as an analyst at Bear Stearns. Ray lives in Manhattan, and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, with a bachelor’s degree in American studies.

Phil Ierardi joined Eton Solutions in April of 2021 as Senior Vice President of Sales. Phil is a 25 year veteran of Fidelity Investments. He spent 16 years building out the Fidelity Family Office Services business from a start-up in 2004 to over 450 clients and nearly $200 billion in assets. In his last role with FFOS, Phil was SVP, of Family Office Sales and Consulting. He oversaw the business development function nationally, as well as the reporting services function consisting of a team of consultants focused on technical and operational efficiency. Having worked with hundreds of single-family and multi-family offices, Phil has extensive knowledge in the area of financial technology and operations as it pertains to the challenges inherent in supporting UHNW clients. Prior to his roles in sales and consulting, Phil was responsible for a team of middle office, back office and product management professionals focused on the development and delivery of reporting services to SFO and MFO clients. He was part of the build out and creation of a new platform, as well as the implementation of a world class service model. Prior to his career at FFOS, he worked at Fidelity Charitable in a series of roles. Phil was responsible for managing the modernization and conversion of the Fidelity Charitable infrastructure to a new platform. He helped launch a new business for an outsourced, white-labeled donor advised fund. Lastly, he worked as a relationship manager promoting the Fidelity Charitable services to T&E attorneys, CPAs, RIAs and UHNW individuals.

Driven by frustration with existing accounting software, Alex founded SumIt to simplify family office accounting. As a second-generation leader of his family's real estate ventures in France and China, he now dedicates himself to SumIt. Collaborating with 30+ family office advisors, he's tailored SumIt to meet the unique needs of the sector efficiently. Alex holds an MBA from Chicago Booth and a Master's from London Business School.

Don leads our national sales function at AgilLink.  He has been with the firm for more than 28 years and has worked with hundreds of business managers and family offices on solving their challenges around bill pay and client accounting. Don resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and son and is a graduate from California State University. 

Andrew Thomas is a Strategic Account Executive at BILL who works with our family office partners to elevate their bill pay process by eliminating manual work, centralizing accounts, and placing internal controls around disbursements. His previous experience includes LPL Financial, where he worked as a Regional Director streamlining and standardizing family office services.

Bill joined Summitas in 2010 and has over 40 years of experience working with single- and multi-family offices and registered investment advisors (SFOs, MFOs, and RIAs). Today, Summitas is the award-winning reference platform for communication privacy and data security in the family office and wealth advisory space.

Previously, he was a Senior Director with BNY Mellon Family Office and Managing Director with Rockefeller & Co. Earlier, he was Managing Director at Deutsche Bank, and a Vice President with J.P. Morgan in Geneva, Switzerland.

Bill is a regular at industry conferences where he speaks about software trends, technology risks, and family office operations. He earned his BA from the University of Notre Dame and MBA, summa cum laude, from Fordham University.