Leadership Team

Black Dragon Capital is led by a team of investment, operating, and technology professionals with strong financial backgrounds, operating experience, and track records of applying capital mandates for early-stage, expansion-focused, and leveraged buyout situations in both private and public companies.

Louis

Louis Hernandez Jr., Founder, Managing Director and CEO

 

Louis Hernandez Jr. is a highly experienced technology investor and executive, corporate board member, author, and philanthropist. He works closely with Black Dragon Capital portfolio companies to create market leaders.

Hernandez guides Black Dragon using an operationally led and thesis-driven approach. Investments are predicated on the firm’s deep understanding of the impact digitization has on workflow, technology, economics, and human factors driving the transformation of the digital landscape.

Hernandez has led several companies that were in the Black Dragon portfolio. He served as chairman and CEO of Avid Technology, Inc., a leading developer of advanced technology for media originally focused on content creation for film, video, and music. He led Avid through a major transformation, restructuring the organization and diversifying the product mix to improve margins, remake the cost structure, and return the company to profitability. The turnaround involved innovative new products, a new digital strategy, cost efficiencies, workforce optimization, and the establishment of predictable, stable revenue streams, all while the company was undergoing a nine-year financial restatement. Under Hernandez, Avid also achieved a dramatic improvement in ethnic and gender diversity.

Hernandez was also chairman and CEO of Open Solutions, an award-winning banking technology leader whose DNA core processing system helped reshape the global landscape for banking technology. The company is now part of Fiserv. Open Solutions was for years one of the world’s fastest-growing enterprise banking systems.

He has served on the boards of global companies, including Edison International and HSBC Holdings, and has advised global organizations, such as Infosys and KPMG.

The 501(c)3 philanthropic foundation that Hernandez established, Louis Hernandez Jr.’s Foundation For A Bright Future, focuses on equal opportunity for children. It provides scholarships and support for education, healthcare, arts, and leadership development programs.

Hernandez is the author of three books: Saving the American Dream, Too Small to Fail, and The Storyteller’s Dilemma.

Daniel

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Daniel J. Consigli
Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer & Partner

Daniel J. Consigli

Daniel J. Consigli is the chief financial officer, chief compliance officer, and partner of Black Dragon Capital. He has 20 years of operating experience, primarily in leadership positions with financial service firms that include banking and asset management businesses, where he specialized in turnarounds and mergers and acquisitions. His operating experience includes all aspects of finance, strategy, reporting, mergers and acquisitions, and operations. He has experience in private banking, broker-dealer, asset management, and financial custodian businesses.  He coordinates financial, accounting, reporting, and strategy for Black Dragon Capital.

Consigli has worked at early-stage and large-scale businesses during his career. Before joining Black Dragon, he worked with Luminex Trading & Analytics LLC, an early-stage technology registered broker-dealer, where he led the finance and accounting functions. Previously, he worked at Israel Discount Bank of New York, managing banking, investing, asset management, and corporate and commercial real estate lending for the Miami region and Latin America.

Earlier, Consigli was the divisional chief financial officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., responsible for 18 divisions, globally executing strategy, finance, and infrastructure management of the business line operations.

Dan earned his executive MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and his Bachelor of Science from Babson College.

Steve

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Steve Richards
Senior Director of Black Dragon Performance Group (DPG)

Steve Richards

Richards comes to Black Dragon with over 20 years of experience in the software and technology sector in finance-related roles, including corporate finance, operational finance, strategic planning & analysis, and corporate development.

He began his career in investment banking and venture capital and has worked as the CFO of various startup companies and has held high-level corporate development positions at multibillion-dollar public companies: namely, Constellation Software, SAP, and BearingPoint.

Richards obtained an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Maryland and a BA in Economics and Finance from the University of Virginia.

At Black Dragon, Richards helps lead the Dragon Performance Group, the firm’s consulting arm that provides leading-edge technology and operational support to Black Dragon portfolio companies.

Yossi Aloni

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Yossi Aloni
Director, Media Technology

Yossi Aloni

Yossi Aloni is a media-tech executive with a proven track record for driving growth and profitability through disruptive Go-To-Market strategies, in-depth customer engagements, and strategic team creation and development. With a career spanning three decades, Yossi has extensive operational experience, technical expertise, and commercial industry knowledge.

He is the former CEO of service providers’ delivery platform vendor Seachange International, where he created and executed the Go-To-Market strategy that led to a 350% revenue growth from new customers. Prior to that, Yossi has also held numerous executive positions in sales, marketing, and engineering at several major technology companies in the video industry. As Chief Corporate Operations at the Paris-based media streaming vendor ATEME, he was able to help the company to service and win North American and Latin American Tier-1 telcos and MVPDs. Yossi’s personal network in the media-tech, service, and content provider industries branches out into the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Sarah

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Sarah Hernandez
Special Projects Director

Sarah Hernandez

Sarah Hernandez is the special projects director of Black Dragon Capital.  She has more than 16 years of experience providing project management, coordination and communications support to investors, boards of directors and senior management in a variety of sectors, from banking technology and media to defense and the U.S. military.

Hernandez manages the shared service delivery group for the Black Dragon portfolio companies. The centralized services, which lower costs and drive value, include recruiting, on-boarding, insurance, and compliance reporting. She also is the liaison between investors, the Black Dragon team, advisors, and various board of directors of the portfolio companies.

Before Black Dragon, Hernandez was a project manager at Open Solutions, where she managed the board of directors’ projects, press interactions, and key speaking events for the chairman and CEO and other key executives.   Earlier, she served as an executive assistant and project manager to the chairman and CEO of Colt Defense, where she was also the lead ISO auditor.

Hernandez has the distinction of serving in the U.S. Marine Corps as an aviation operation specialist for the presidential Helicopter Squadron One (Marine One), receiving an honorable discharge with the rank of sergeant. She earned her Bachelor of Science in criminal justice administration at Park University.

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Stacey Hipsman
Vice-President of Human Resources & Administration

Stacey Hipsman

Stacey H. S. Hipsman is the Vice President of Human Resources & Administration for Black Dragon Capital. Previously, she was Vice-President for a national healthcare organization and Human Resources Director for all U.S. based assets for Silva International Investments, which included investments covering a range of companies including media, sports, entertainment/hospitality, fashion, art, real estate and hard assets.

Additionally, she has provided service to executives in the automotive and motorcycle sectors and has more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sector including serving as the Human Resources Director/Counsel/Chief Negotiator for the State of Florida/DCF and municipalities as well as handling significant clients and landmark employment cases. She brings high level executive expertise and is nationally recognized for her talent in labor, employment, health coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Stacey has also served as representative for the United States on the Technical Advisory Group (IS0) for the standardization of Human Resources internationally and served as an advisor to United Healthcare. Her education includes a bachelor's degree from George Washington University and a J.D. from the University of Miami. Stacey is active on numerous boards and charitable organizations.

Stacey Hipsman

Stacey H. S. Hipsman is the Vice President of Human Resources & Administration for Black Dragon Capital. Previously, she was Vice-President for a national healthcare organization and Human Resources Director for all U.S. based assets for Silva International Investments, which included investments covering a range of companies including media, sports, entertainment/hospitality, fashion, art, real estate and hard assets.

Additionally, she has provided service to executives in the automotive and motorcycle sectors and has more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sector including serving as the Human Resources Director/Counsel/Chief Negotiator for the State of Florida/DCF and municipalities as well as handling significant clients and landmark employment cases. She brings high level executive expertise and is nationally recognized for her talent in labor, employment, health coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Stacey has also served as representative for the United States on the Technical Advisory Group (IS0) for the standardization of Human Resources internationally and served as an advisor to United Healthcare. Her education includes a bachelor's degree from George Washington University and a J.D. from the University of Miami. Stacey is active on numerous boards and charitable organizations.

Richard Sussman (Dark BG, Dark Shirt)

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Richard Sussman
Partner

Richard Sussman

Richard’s career spans across private equity, venture capital, Fortune 500, and start-ups in technology, media & telecommunications (TMT) scaling revenue, tech, and capital across a diverse portfolio globally.

He has run operations, IP, and revenue-generating business units at four tech/media/data companies with ~$1B market caps (The Nielsen Company, IPG, TiVo-Rovi, and Gracenote-Tribune Media); as well as co-founding two venture-backed media, entertainment & eCommerce technology platforms (with respectable exits) and two venture capital funds. The first, as a founding Managing Partner of a European-American growth fund with a portfolio of 20+ investments worldwide returning ~700% IRR for investors and tracking top-decile fund performance. The second, a 21+ portfolio seed-stage venture fund which leverages data science and Silicon Valley’s most accomplished founders to invest in a portfolio of Y Combinator startups with the statistical power to outperform, also tracking top-decile fund performance with a 53% mark up to date.

Richard is often interviewed and profiled on the state of technology by media publications such as Los Angeles Business Journal, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and The Los Angeles Times. He is often seen speaking at industry events such as the Goldman Sachs’ Special Situations Group, Digital Hollywood, Digital Analytics Association, and the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). He is also an occasional guest lecturer at UCLA, USC, and other Universities and has published several thought-pieces on the state of TMT, Private Equity, and Venture Capital.

Richard is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, Saybrook University, and Franklin University Switzerland. He is a recipient of several industry awards including the two-time recipient of ARF’s Great Mind Award, Nielsen's Best of the Best Award, and nominated as one of the 50th most influential alumni in 50 years from Franklin University Switzerland. He is originally from London, England, grew up in Los Angeles, bi-lingual, studied & worked in the U.S., S. Africa, and Europe, and visited ~30 countries across NCSA, APAC, BRICS, EMEA, NCSA.

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Helmut Forero
Director of Black Dragon Performance Group (DPG)

Helmut Forero

Helmut Forero has 24 years of experience in Corporate Finance and all related activities like Treasury, Finance Planning and Analysis, Corporate Development, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Audit. He has strong quantitative/financial analysis skills equipped to identify and develop proposals to optimize business, thus facilitating corporate and divisional strategy.

He began his career in Technology and Telecommunications as Finance Manager and VP of Finance and since then he has worked as CFO in different industries including Insurance, Health Care, and Technology. Before joining Black Dragon Performance Group, he worked as CFO for Masa Global, BG Capital Group, and Senior Nannies Health Care. Besides, Helmut also has consulted as CFO for Integrated Dermatology.

Also, Helmut has a proven record of developing and implementing financial and operational controls that improve P&L scenarios and competitively position the firm. Helmut has regional experience across North America, Latin America, and Europe offering international/cross-cultural expertise.
Helmut has participated in more than 100 advisory mandates and in approximately US$ 500 Million of closed transactions.
Helmut earned his Executive MBA in International Business from the University of Miami and his bachelor’s in Industrial Engineer from Los Andes University in Colombia. Helmut is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

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Chris Ducanes
General Counsel

Chris Ducanes

Christopher Ducanes, J.D. is the General Counsel of Black Dragon Capital. In his role, he leads the firm’s legal, IT, human resources, and other administrative functions. Mr. Ducanes has nearly 25 years of legal, administrative, executive management, strategy, and operational experience, including scaling private and public PE backed software and technology companies in highly regulated markets with global operations.

Prior to Black Dragon Capital, Mr. Ducanes was the Chief Administrative Officer for Paranet Solutions, an information technology services and cybersecurity solutions company with a national footprint. Before joining Paranet Solutions, Mr. Ducanes was the Chief Legal Officer, Secretary and Board member of Paycor, Inc., a SaaS provider of comprehensive human capital management and payroll solutions. Prior to Paycor, Mr. Ducanes served as Managing Director of Foresee Strategic Advisors, a consulting firm focusing on improving operational initiatives for technology companies. Mr. Ducanes also has served as General Counsel and Secretary for Allegro Development Corporation, an international trading and risk management software developer, VP, General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer of Healthvision, Inc., one of the first SaaS providers of electronic health records, and as General Counsel and a member of the executive management team for OAO Technology Solutions, one of the fastest growing international public information technology companies in the U.S.  

Mr. Ducanes started his career as an employment law litigator in a litigation boutique firm.  He earned his Bachelors in both Marketing and Management from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, a J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, and his LL.M from the University of Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law. Mr. Ducanes also attended Cornell University’s FALCON (Full Year Asian Language Concentration) program. One of the country’s only full year immersion programs in the Japanese language.   

Gina Rogoto

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Gina Rogoto
Marketing & Development Manager

Gina Rogoto

Gina Rogoto is the marketing manager of Black Dragon Capital. She overviews the firm's marketing strategy, and manages its digital assets (website and social channels). Gina also serves as the development manager of Louis Hernandez Jr.’s Foundation For A Bright Future, formerly A Little Hope Foundation. She has devoted herself to giving back by providing opportunities, resources, and a sense of connection to those in need. 

Raised and educated in France, Gina moved to the United States in 2010 after earning a master’s degree in business administration in Paris. Having both lived in and traveled to a number of countries, she has a great passion for other cultures and speaks French, English, and Spanish fluently. 

Throughout Gina’s decade-long career, top name corporations, such as BCBG Max Azria and Avid Technology, have relied upon her operations management and marketing expertise to orchestrate and streamline vital processes and procedures within their organizations, resulting in greater brand representation. Gina believes the most noteworthy aspect of her career has been her ability to use her multifaceted talents to successfully move between several major industries including food, fashion, technology, and nonprofit. 

Jackie Cornacchio

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Jackie Cornacchio
Senior Accountant

Jackie Cornacchio

Jackie Cornacchio is the senior accountant for Black Dragon Capital.  She began her career in public accounting focusing on a variety of clients including non-profits and banking.  She received her Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Assumption College in Massachusetts.

Jackie has experience in several industries including healthcare, casinos, and restaurants in both accounting and payroll systems implementation.

Greg

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Greg O’Brien
Human Resources & Administration

Greg O’Brien

Greg O'Brien coordinates human resources and administrative functions at Black Dragon Capital. He has more than 40 years’ experience in high technology, primarily in the banking software and enterprise software industries. He served in a broad range of functions at the executive level as the partner to CEOs and top management in both large publicly traded and early-stage companies. He has extensive international experience and a broad range of skills that include merger and acquisition, corporate governance, organizational assessment, executive recruitment, compensation, strategic planning, and finance with strong business acumen and bottom-line orientation.

O’brien has held long-term executive assignments to the CEOs of Avid Technology, Open Solutions, and CashEdge/FiServ and continues to provide advice and governance support to several early-stage companies. Previous roles included senior vice president of human resources at Open Solutions; vice president of human resources worldwide for Mercator Software; vice president of operations and chief administrative officer for CSK Software, a Japanese worldwide banking software and services company, residing in Germany; vice president of human resources and administration for Micrognosis, a global trading systems and solutions provider to the financial industry; and director of human resources and administration for Control Data Corporation.

He holds an MBA with an emphasis in management science and a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and finance from Pace University in New York City.

Loree

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Loree Rossi
Project Manager

Loree Rossi

Loree Rossi is a project manager for Black Dragon Capital. She has over 20 years of experience in public relations, marketing, project management, and administration. She handles a wide range of projects that support the operating and administrative activities, working closely with the managing partner, senior partners and operating leaders of the firm. She coordinates projects for sourcing new deal activity, client outreach on behalf of the portfolio, media content projects and investment activities. Originally from upstate New York, Loree migrated to South Florida in 1996 after completing her education. She began her career in the hospitality industry as an administrative assistant for an exclusive Boca Raton Hotel & Spa. She transitioned into the financial industry where she worked for 15 years as a marketing coordinator for Ameriprise Financials’ southern regional offices. She also worked in media technology as an executive project manager for the Chairman and CEO of Avid. Loree works out of the Southern Florida offices of Black Dragon Capital.

Charles

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Charles Gravallese
CPA Controller Money Laundering Reporting Officer

Charles M. Gravallese

Charles M. Gravallese is the accounting manager of Black Dragon Capital. Gravallese has 20 years of work experience in multi-national companies serving in accounting, finance, and operating functions. He has worked in a variety of industries, including technology, manufacturing, services and nonprofit. He also has extensive international reporting experience. 

Gravallese most recently spent several years with Stellar Materials, an international manufacturer of refractory materials, where he led the efforts of the multi-national accounting and finance group. Earlier, he was with Enterprise Car Rental as a senior level accountant for the car sales division. He also was with MedVance Institute, a multi-state for-profit college enterprise, where he supervised the accounting department. 

He began his career in public accounting, performing audits in numerous industries, including financial services firms and nonprofit organizations. Gravallese served in the U.S. Air Force as an account manager at Stellar Materials. He earned his Bachelor of Science in accounting at the University of Maryland and his CPA license from the state of Maryland. 

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Natasha Perez
Executive Assistant of Operations

Natasha Perez

Natasha Perez is the Executive Assistant of Operations supporting both CFO and VP of Human Resources. She comes to Black Dragon Capital with a wide range of experience in administration as well as financial services. Her previous Executive Assistance roles include her recent employment with Polen Capital Management, where she supported the firm’s COO, Operations and Distribution Team. Additionally, she has extensive knowledge within the financial industry and over a decade of experience in administration. Her employment history also includes substantial time as a Personal Banker with both Wells Fargo and JP Morgan.

Natasha attended Rutgers University before relocating to Boca Raton, FL. In the spirit of continuous learning, she recently obtained a certificate in Investment Management from FAU.

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Marcos Impala
Financial Analyst

Marcos Impala

Marcos Impala joins the Black Dragon Capital Investment Management team from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a Certified Public Accountant. His financial experience of over 30 years includes his initial years as a Cost and Credit Policy Analyst with Lenovo and CITI Bank. He also has a software background as a former product consultant for Experian and most recently was responsible for Credit Risk Management and New Business evaluations with Banco Macro and Banco Mariva in South America. In addition to his business background, he has not only a BBA but holds 2 Master’s Degrees one in Project Evaluations as well as a MBA from the prestigious UCEMA. He co-founded a financial education platform and has taught at the university level; Cost Management, Decision Theory and Finance.

Marco is passionate about learning and sharing his experience. He was a talented Rugby player, loves to run and workout but enjoys being with his family, his wife Julieta and daughter Catalina most and considers himself a parent to their Corgi, Rutherfordio. He is an analytical and perseverant person who enjoys working with and finding great teams.

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Daniel Morgenstern
Financial Analyst

Daniel Morgenstern

Daniel Morgenstern is a financial analyst at Black Dragon Capital. Daniel has over 4 years of experience in audit and financial due diligence working as an external consultant and within business development. Prior to graduating from university, he completed a banking apprenticeship.

Previously, he worked at Accenture in Argentina where he was part of the Venture & Acquisition team responsible for participating in Financial Due Diligence projects for potential acquisitions in North America, Latin America and Europe. He also worked at EY in Germany and Argentina within the Transaction Diligence team where he gained experience in financial services, technology, and travel industries.

Daniel holds a Master’s in finance degree from University of Groningen, Netherlands and has a Bachelor’s in Business Administration (major in Finance and Accounting) from the Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany.

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Maria Kitmiridis
Executive Assistant

Maria Kitmiridis

Maria Kitmiridis is the Executive Assistant to the CEO & Managing Director of Black Dragon Capital. She brings over 20 years of administrative experience to the table with expertise in project management. Her main responsibilities at Black Dragon Capital are to be the CEO’s right hand and establishing strong lines of communication with various stakeholders and providing administrative support for different organization initiatives.

Maria is originally from Connecticut and has migrated to Miami with her family in 2018. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and has almost two decades of experience in providing support to people in key leadership positions. Maria has spent most of her career working with IT heads for different financial institutions and private equity firms as well as help a position as a trading assistant for Equity Capital Markets. She is a self-starter whose excellent communication and organizational skills have allowed her to thrive and stay on top of her tasks in fast-paced environments.

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Vineet Begwani
Financial Analyst

Vineet Begwani

Vineet Begwani comes to Black Dragon Capital with a varied range of experience in the financial services and manufacturing industries, including about seven years of experience in investment banking and investment research. Previously, he worked with the captive investment banking unit of UBS in Hyderabad, India, where he assisted the firm’s global healthcare investment banking groups with the assessment of M&A and financing opportunities. He also worked with the UBS Healthcare IB team in New York for a short duration, where he was part of deal teams that executed over $500 million of M&A and fund-raising transactions. Prior to UBS, he worked with the Indian subsidiary of USA-based Zacks Investment Research as an equity research analyst. He had also owned and operated an apparels manufacturing business in Delhi, India, which he independently set up in 2012. Vineet holds a Master’s in Finance degree from ICFAI University, Dehradun, and has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Calcutta.

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Priscilla Wilson
Executive Assistant

Priscilla Wilson

Priscilla Wilson is a highly competent Executive Assistant at Black Dragon Capital and carries 13+ years of experience under her belt crafting with leaders across domains in Technology and Education.

She has a constant drive to learn and has an open mind to possibilities when solving problems. She embraces new ideas and challenges conventional methods. She has vast experience which empowers her to be dynamic in a fast-paced environment. Priscilla is very adaptable and shares exceptional interpersonal and social skills that enable easy communication with the Senior Executives and Directors.

Priscilla adheres to the Organizational Hierarchy and is an ardent complaisant. She is also tech-savvy- and finds systems easy to use and is a self-explorer.

She has studied Masters in Personnel Management, therefore, warranting notable administrational skills. She is a self-made, strong-standing woman and also a Mother of two, juggling between Career and Motherhood both at the same time with ease.

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Aren Wong
Marketing Assistant

Aren Wong

Aren Wong is the marketing assistant for Black Dragon Capital. She provides support for all Marketing and PR-related initiatives while creating content for both digital and traditional platforms. She also handles the social media management for Black Dragon.

Aren is a creative at heart who enjoys researching and optimizing strategies. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Studies: Anglo-American Literature from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2013. Her desire to continue learning and improving her craft has allowed her to gain experience in different industries including: Education, Hospitality, IT, Marketing & Advertising, and Travel.