We're a passionate team of global citizens on a mission to make socioeconomic mobility borderless.

KEN RUGGIERO

Chairman and CEO of Goal Structured Solutions

Ken is an experienced innovator in consumer finance with more than 25 years spent managing start-up through Fortune 1000 companies, helping them create meaningful change and improvement in their delivery of financial services. Throughout his career Ken has worked tirelessly to improve access to higher education and he continues to be a passionate advocate for expanded financial literacy and transparency in the space. Ken spearheaded the reinvention of Goal Structured Solutions, a leading provider of asset management in the education finance industry. Under his leadership, Goal Structured Solutions has significantly grown their service and product offerings, eventually re-entering the origination space in 2017 with the creation of Ascent Student Loans and more recently enter the primary servicing arena through the creation of Launch Servicing. Under Ken’s leadership Goal Structure Solutions has grown into a well-respected thought leader and service provider to over 100 clients managing over $27B in student loan assets.

Fun fact: When I have free time and when I don’t, I surf on my stand up paddle board and ski/snowboard in Park City.

MUKUL GULATI

Managing Partner of Zephyr Peacock

Mukul is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Zephyr Peacock Indiaand is responsible for the overall leadership of the Zephyr Peacock Funds. Mukul has over 20 years of experience in the investment business including private equity, investment research and general management. Previously, Mukul worked at Multex where he was involved in setting up and managing the firm’s quantitative equity research business. Mukul is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and serves on the Asia Council of Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA). Mukul has an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and is a cum laude graduate from University of Maryland with a degree in economics.

NICOLE WEST

Co-founder and COO at Luminous Group, LLC

Nicole is a growth-oriented board member and executive who has brought strategic leadership for over 25 years to both publicly traded and emerging global companies. She has a proven track record of enhancing shareholder value through growth initiatives, driving EBITDA margins through scalable operations, conducting pivot and turnaround strategies, and developing talent and great places to work. Her broad industry experience includes financial services (asset management, consumer and small business lending, global payments, credit cards, mortgage, capital markets, student lending), technology (digital/mobile products and experiences, big data analytics, blockchain, FinTech), and higher education/ed tech.

Fun fact: Nicole loves to travel the world eating great food, meeting people, and learning new cultures. She enjoys hiking and has hiked the continental divide at 12000 feet and believe it or not enjoys gardening.LinkedIn – link stays the same.

MIKE DAVIS

Co-founder and Secretary of the Board

Mike is a serial entrepreneur with 13 startups under his belt, most of which were in the financial services or e-commerce space. As MPOWER’s Chief Investment Officer and Co-founder, Mike uses his superpowers to architect the company’s equity and debt financing rounds. In the past, Mike has been Director of Web Innovation and Strategy for Avon and has worked for Sapient, a leading consulting firm. Mike holds an M.B.A. from INSEAD and a B.S. in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.

Fun fact: Mike is addicted to grid-lined notebooks, Evernote, and productivity technology.

ERIKA NORWOOD

Executive Director at Gray Matters Capital

As the Executive Director of Gray Matters Capital, Erika has a personal vested interest in increasing diversity within the social sector and strengthening the presence of women’s leadership in the social enterprise space. She began her impact career at Gray Matters Capital in 2006. During her eight-year tenure, she managed the foundation’s programmatic and grant-making efforts, oversaw the development of pilot programs across India and focused on cultivating global partnerships and ecosystem outreach for GMC’s affordable private school initiative. Before re-joining the foundation, from 2014-2016, Erika served as Executive Director for IDEX Accelerator & Global Fellows Program. While at IDEX, she founded the InvestWISE Scholarship Fund which focuses on promoting balanced leadership and diversity within the social sector. Erika also serves on the Board of Directors for VOICE for Girls and Caleb Christopher Foundation and on the advisory committee for Georgia Tech University’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Institute.

Fun fact: Erika resides in Atlanta, GA with her tween-age son Caleb and our adorable puppy Thursday.

BEN MARREL

Founder & Managing Partner at Breega

Ben’s experience as a founder and his passion for entrepreneurship led him to create Breega, a founder-friendly European VC specialised in financing early-stage high tech startups at Seed/Series A stage. Prior to that, Ben debuted his entrepreneurial journey by launching FiftyFour, the first financial rating platform for SME’s in Africa, and then Rugby Division, a disruptive rugbywear brand. He began his career in corporate finance, working on large cross-border M&A deals and Series D+ in tech for Macquarie Bank in London and Sydney.

Today, Ben & Breega finance and advise highly promising startups such as Curve, Cuvva, Exotec, Ibanfirst, udelv or 21Button with the aim of propelling them to global success.

#entrepreneur / #VC / #techlover / #sportaddict

LUTZ BRAUM

Lutz has more than 25 years of experience in marketing financial services, with deep expertise in digital marketing, consumer engagement, and product development. Before joining MPOWER, he was the CMO of Higher One, a FinTech company that was the country’s largest digital-only banking provider, with more than 2 million accounts. His previous roles include CMO at an e-retailer, Head of Consumer Marketing at PayPal, and various senior marketing roles at Wells Fargo Bank, Washington Mutual, and both domestically and internationally at Citibank. Lutz is fluent in German and French and holds a B.S. in Finance from Arizona State University and an M.B.A from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Fun fact: Lutz is an avid amateur photographer whose works have graced album covers, billboards, office buildings, and magazines. He loves tennis, photography, and his family (not necessarily in that order).