Rana Biswas Email & Phone Number

Independent consulting work conducted in between full-time roles. Engage with companies of all stages across industries on financial, strategic, investment, and operational projects, such as:• Sports labor organizing/consulting firm (Consulting CFO and COO): Created forecasting model, advised on funding options and instruments, evaluated potential partnership deals, introduced organizational strucure and technology, helped formulate firm growth plans overall, etc. Worked closely with senior management team, including former leaders of the MLBPA and NBPA.• Lumos Pharma: Worked with closely with CEO/Board to secure $34 million Series B funding round for biotech, including involvement in the raise from pitching to closing the round (press release link below)• Healthcare staffing/tech company: Prepared a closely-held business for sale, including speaking with potential acquirers and preparing financial package for diligence• Family office (Austin): Vetted a private equity deal in healthcare services by identifying risks, proposing deal structure, and leading due diligence call with the founder• Bractlet: Helped energy efficiency start-up evaluate various aspects of future growth drivers, including partnering with funds; also provided actionable feedback on existing forecasting model• Public medical device company: Advised Nasdaq-listed company on upcoming investor presentation and approach ahead of roadshow, including providing input on pitch materials, investor communications, and potential Q&A• Energy security tech company: Helped craft and improve upon investor pitch deck and reviewed/provided input on company forecast model

Austin, Tx, Us

Cognits is a, closely-held growth-oriented nearshore IT services partner for clients in a variety of industries, including financial services, e-commerce, tech, and many others, in and outside the US.• Led cross-border finance team in all strategic and tactical matters including: maintenance of company model, budgeting, forecasting, initiation of KPIs, cash flow monitoring/treasury, monthly closings, inter-departmental support and analyses (rate card, sales commission plan, weekly revenue tracking, business development estimations, etc.), general accounting, evaluation of new business or parthership opportunities, and legal review• Evaluated M&A and investment opportunites as they arose; maintained relationships with various outside vendors and service providers, including banks, accountants, and tax firms• Participated as active member of the leadership team and with the Board of Directors, providing actionable input to determine and modify strategic company direction and various growth initiatives; regularly opened Board meetings and presented quarterly summary, outlook, and associated opinions• Collaborated frequently across departments to help create analyses and frame decisions, including with Delivery, Sales, and People• Spearheaded the initial cross-border M&A deal to form the US entities of Cognits, and led the set up of intitial operations; heavily involved in deal negotiations, drafting transaction documents, and post-M&A integration of teams and processes[Cognits International, Inc. was formed following an M&A transaction with Kale Ventures, Inc. in 2021, and this role initially started as the CFO & Head of Corporate Development for just Kale Ventures, Inc., a growth-minded agency primarily focused on clients with needs in brand, marketing, tech operations, and product.]

Naples, Florida, Us

• Performed deep dive and provided recommendations on existing private company investment portfolio for single family office (SFO) and added structure to various tenets around its investment activity; portco sectors evaluated included: health care IT and services, insurance, cybersecurity, marketplaces, travel services, and B2B SaaS• Interacted frequently with portco management teams and existing investors for follow-up due diligence; provided quantitative and subjective recommendations regarding additional capital requests from portcos and long-term strategy for each individual holding

Austin, Texas, Us

• Led various initiatives around finance, strategy, business development/sales, legal, HR, and general operational planning, as an integral part of the management team for SaaS company• Managed entire process to close Series A funding ($4 million) and formulate the accompanying commercial deal with strategic corporate VC investor (self-sourced), including coordination with internal team and external parties (legal, accounting, etc.); also, managed prior convertible note issuances• Initiated, built relationships, and closed deals with multiple customers and VARs; evaluated all aspects of any partnership opportunities, including ones ultimately resulting in commercial deals• Crafted responses to public RFPs leading to winning 2 major sales deals (the Company's first ones) including a citywide multi-agency deployment• Oversaw and provided guidance to internal business development and sales team; developed sales operations process from scratch• Helped implement CRM platform (Salesforce.com) and determined appropriate KPIs• Participated in industry conferences nationwide and actively advised on marketing; strategically sought out, educated, and closed deals with several early adopter public safety organizations; forged close relationships with key industry figures• Maintained company financial model; oversaw payroll, benefits implementation, hiring process, all budgeting/procurement, and managed outsourced CPA; managed and negotiated office lease

Us

• Served as lead equity analyst at multi-billion dollar global macro hedge fund (>$9 billion peak AUM during tenure), focused on commodity markets, using fundamental bottom-up analysis to generate, evaluate and maintain long-term ideas• Research resulted in several hundred million dollars of primarily long positions for portfolio managers of differing styles; assumed full responsibility for names, regularly advised on entry and exit points, and provided opinions on all developments• Collaborated closely with in-house physical commodity analysts, companies, the sell-side, and others to flesh out analyses• Oversaw and collaborated with (as LP) outside investment firm focused on water market• Industries analyzed include: metals/mining, energy (oil & gas, coal, nuclear), agriculture, transportation, industrials, chemicals, etc.

• Fundamental equity long/short generalist analyst for activist and (passive) value portfolio• (Group disbanded after PM departure in late 2007)

• Focused on investing across corporate capital structures as an industry generalist, using fundamental, bottom-up analysis to primarily recommend ideas in credit (HY, loans, convertible notes), equity (common and preferred), and derivatives thereof (options, CDS)• Researched and originated ideas by analyzing public filings, interacting with management, undertaking channel checks, developing models, considering sell-side research, and participating in road shows and various industry conferences/calls• Regularly shared findings and updates with portfolio managers; suggested entry/exit points based on valuation and developments• (Moved with PM from Onyx over to Duma--a fund which he co-founded--just prior to its launch; Duma launched in 2005 with ~$300mm in AUM.)

• Evaluated incoming business plans, primarily in information technology and life sciences, for potential investment by the fund and presented findings to the GPs• Performed due diligence on ideas passing initial screening, such as talking to industry experts, researching competitors, assessing market size, and evaluating potential customer interest

Us

• Assisted clients across various industries in evaluating strategic options revolving around corporate finance decisions such as disposals, M&A, floating subsidiaries, or other corporate restructurings• Incorporated strategic rationale alongside all quantitative findings to deliver comprehensive recommendations to clients; industries served included technology, retail and chemical• Principal Investing/VC practice: Authored internal publications and built financial templates for global firmwide use, such as a comprehensive LBO model and private equity cash flow model

New York, Us

• Performed financial analyses as part of the Chemicals industry group on various debt, equity, M&A, and LBO transactions (with DLJ Merchant Banking) involving extensive modeling, comparable company and transaction analysis, and other valuation techniques. • Frequently participated in client meetings and various processes associated with deal completion, including roadshows, drafting sessions, data rooms and due diligence visits.• Extensive modeling of LBO transactions (for DLJ Merchant Banking Partners), including different capital structures, assumed covenants, and detailed scenario analyses.Completed transactions included: • IPO: Nanophase Technologies Corp. ($32mm of common stock on Nasdaq);• High-yield Debt: Huntsman Corp. ($400mm offering); • M&A: Rhône-Poulenc (FF1,185mm sale of titanium dioxide subsidiary to Millennium Chemicals)

Bs, Chemical Engineering

Mba, Finance & Entrepreneurial Management