James Pak Email & Phone Number

New Jersey, United States

Founded Zubo to create separate investment verticals in both public and private assets to generate both liquidity and long-term returns• LIQUID INVESTMENTS: Manage public market securities and futures trading to drive short-term cash flow to fund the business.• BUSINESS & STRATEGIC PLANNING: Provide consulting services that leverages my operational expertise for companies that are looking for short term help by generating long-term solutions in their businesses. • IDEATING NEW ORGANIC OPPORTUNITIES: Develop and test a machine learning-based quant model for trading listed futures and equities.• DEVELOP A SEARCH FUND INVESTMENT: Actively pursuing healthcare services opportunities as a search funder seeking partnership with interested investors.

New York City Metropolitan Area

Extremely good at seeing the big picture to create tactical objectives, I was brought onboard by the founder/CEO of Inferent Capital as the CFO / CO-CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (2017 – 2020). Meeting the challenge to launch Inferent Capital’s new commingled fund, which focused on quantitative equity market neutral strategy, I worked alongside outside counsel to create fund documentation, form legal entities, and register with regulators. Key to our success was interfacing with key service providers (prime brokers, fund administrator, and auditor).Able to balance linear and non-linear thinking—which makes for a great creative, conceptual thinker and ideas communicator (i.e., in brainstorming sessions, panel discussions, and public speaking engagements)—I contributed executive, finance, and operations expertise to accelerate the firm’s growth and drove priorities for financial operations, reporting, compliance, and investment vehicles.Operationally speaking, I led due diligence with institutional fund investors while building, managing, and maximizing our operational infrastructure, including payroll, office lease, technology vendor, and legal and HR service providers.Evolving my leadership charter as the CFO / CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER at EntryPoint Capital (2020 – Present), I completed the transaction to combine Inferent Capital and EntryPoint Capital in 2020, consequently executing Series A financing for the newly formed EntryPoint Capital, LLC in 2021.

Greater New York City Area

Regularly called on as a senior adviser to businesses that are looking to accelerate their growth, I started my consulting business (2013 – 2015) and was later retained by one of my client companies, Oxeon Holdings— a HealthTech/venture firm focused on executive search and seed/equity investments—as its new CFO (2015 – 2017).Two critical factors to optimizing Oxeon’s financial health were overseeing its corporate structure, compensation plan, equity distribution, operational budget, and financial reporting and architecting the framework for legal entities holding various venture investments. Other notable consulting successes include: 1) spearheading an initiative that took one of my client companies private, an effort for which I originated the investment thesis, identified and groomed the management team, and guided win-win discussions with key PE firms; and 2) equipping a FinTech start-up with the strategy and tools to create an exchange for various state and federal tax credits.

Sought out by the CFO, who was the former CEO of Optimark, to serve as the firm’s growth catalyst, I hit the ground running to uncover and pursue relevant business development opportunities. Directing a 6-person team based in New York and London, I led strategic organic and inorganic initiatives (acquisition opportunities, market-entry partnerships, and new product development verticals) and rolled out a new global pricing strategy to improve the profitability and market competitiveness of Tradeweb’s institutional business.

Invited by the CEO to join the executive leadership team as MANAGING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (2008 – 2009), I conceptualized the idea for Chi-X Global and shortly after Instinet announced the formation of this new business. My global expertise in consortium investing, electronic trading (e-trading), and derivatives were key success drivers in making it all run smoothly. At the helm of the company’s investment process, it was easy to bring our consortium of market participants to life across the US, Singapore, and Brazil to accelerate market launches, partnerships, and strategic initiatives. As the MANAGING DIRECTOR (MD), CHIEF STRATEGY & PRODUCT OFFICER (2009 – 2011), I led our product development team based in US, Canada, and Hong Kong to fast-track new products in our core equity-trading product verticals and personally authored a patent application on securities trading with embedded FX trading.On the M&A side, I functioned as the driving force behind the acquisition of Torc Trading, which positioned Instinet to expand into the equity options business.

Selected by the Global Head of Equity Trading to step up as DIRECTOR, HEAD OF MARKET STRUCTURE INVESTMENTS (2007 – 2008), I initiated, executed, and oversaw both individual and industry-consortium investments for the equities division and operationalized strategic market-structure investments while representing Citigroup’s board on BATS Trading, Boston Equities Exchange, and Level ATS.In my previous role, I pioneered a new equity derivatives product and business plan, and subsequently created my own role as DIRECTOR, HEAD OF DERIVATIVES DMA (2005 – 2006). Holding full P&L ownership, I quickly ramped up the new business unit—which provided institutional clients (hedge funds, investment managers and banks) with direct market access (DMA) to listed equity derivatives through our new e-trading system—and steered a 7-person team based out of New York and Chicago to generate $10M+ within our first year.Initially recruited by and reporting to the COO of Global Equities and the Head of U.S. Equities, I assumed the role as the DIRECTOR, HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR U.S. EQUITIES (2004 – 2005), I applied my e-trading expertise to build out Citi’s first e-trading capabilities. By introducing an analytical framework, I wasted no time in identifying and leveraging revenue drivers, margin sensitivities, and cost rationalization opportunities for our equities divisions. After Citigroup bought the Knight Option market business, I streamlined post-acquisition integration and asset purchase and later duplicated that success during the stock purchase of Lava Trading by negotiating transactions and executing business strategy.

I originally joined Optimark—which was a FinTech firm that provided financial exchange solutions to e-marketplaces—as the EVP, STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT (2001 – 2002) and quickly earned a promotion to EVP & CFO (2002 – 2004) of Vie Financial Group after it merged with Optimark. While presiding over finance and financial reporting, my first priorities were turning around the flawed business model at Optimark and launching the new business with PE backing.Not one to get unnerved or adversely react in a time of crisis, I mobilized my turnaround team to create a commercially viable business model by leveraging existing IP assets; with this, we not only cut 35% from overall costs but also boosted our revenue run rate by more than 200%. The second phase was structuring and negotiating multiple agreements to execute a tax-basis, step-up transaction and reverse-merger into a publicly traded company. The third critical aspect involved raising $19M in debt and equity from SoftBank Capital Partners (a Japanese multinational investment holding company focused on investment management) and VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) to fund both companies.

From the very beginning of my career, I was thought of as the go-to guy to get things done. While at MERRILL LYNCH & CO., Inc. I earned 2 promotions over 6 yrs. for uncovering critical M&A opportunities and exit strategies for financial sponsors and accompanying portfolio companies. As my name became synonymous with integrity and character, I was hired by LAZARD as an Associate (3 yrs.) within its Financial Sponsors M&A Group to fast-track myriad transactions (e.g., leveraged recapitalizations, JVs, cross-border acquisitions, sell-side M&A, special committee assignments, and minority investments in retail, food processing industrial manufacturing, telecom, healthcare, and utility sectors).