Mission

To provide expert guidance that supports and fosters excellence with regard to curriculum, internships, entrepreneurship, graduate outcomes, and other relevant matters.

Logan Allin

ogan is the managing partner and founder of Fin Capital, where he is responsible for the management of the firm, sourcing/making investments, maintaining board responsibilities, and adding operating value across the portfolio. Logan was most recently Vice President of SoFi Ventures, where he was tasked with investing in and working hands-on with FinTech companies, as well as running SoFi’s accelerator and corporate development efforts.

Prior to SoFi, Logan was focused on entrepreneurial advisory and operating roles at Light Street Capital, Formation 8/Group, Zanbato, Addepar, Point Finance, Price, BridgeAthletic and ONEHOPE. Prior to his entrepreneurial pursuits, Logan was a corporate executive as Head of Strategy, overseeing the enterprise FinTech strategy and execution while serving as a member of the Operating Committee at Atlantic Trust, the Private Wealth Management arm of Invesco (and now CIBC). Previously, Logan was a Senior Vice President in City National Bank’s wealth management division (now part of RBC), where he led the technology strategy, open product architecture platform, and other strategic initiatives. Logan spent his earlier career in management consulting, in leadership positions at PwC, EMC, and Capgemini, focused exclusively on the intersection of Financial Services and technology.

Logan earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in public policy and political science from Duke University and a M.S. in Management from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, where he was a Sloan Fellow.

About Fin Capital

Fin Capital is headed by Founder/Managing Partner, Logan Allin, and General Partners, Ren Riley and Christian Ostberg, Investment Partner, Henry Cashin, Partner and Chief Capital Officer, Kevin Nee, and Partner and Chief Financial Officer, Marcella McColl, along with a team of seasoned investment professionals and platform operating value support. Fin has built a global asset management platform with Early Stage (Regatta & Flagship), Growth Equity (Horizons) and Public (Constellation) funds. Fin is focused on Enterprise FinTech software and specific theses across 10 sub-sectors: Next Gen Banking, Asset Management/Capital Markets, CFO Tech Stack, InsurTech, Digital Assets/Web 3, Risk Tech, Climate/ESG Tech, PropTech, Vertical FinTech, and Enabling Tech/Infrastructure. Regarding geographic scope, Fin principally focuses on the US and EU/UK, with opportunistic allocations to Israel and LatAm. As former corporate and start-up operators, the Fin team takes an active value-added approach, leveraging its Operating Playbook to steward its portfolio companies with business development, capital formation, corporate development, board advisory and talent sourcing. Fin developed its own “OS”, Lighthouse, leveraging AI/ML and data science for its team, founders and LPs. Fin manages over $1B in AUM (private + public assets), has offices in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and London and currently has over 110 active portfolio companies globally, including 12 unicorns. Fin was recently named the most active FinTech investor globally by FT Partners as of Q1 and is backed by significant global institutional and family office investors.

Jerry Cuomo

Gennaro (Jerry) Cuomo holds the prestigious title of IBM Fellow and has been instrumental in shaping IBM’s technology landscape since 1987. Among his significant achievements, Cuomo played a critical role in developing IBM’s WebSphere Software. His innovative work helped establish WebSphere as a top-tier application server, serving over 80,000 customers in various industries.

As an inventor, Cuomo has more than 80 US patents to his name, including the familiar “Someone is typing …” indicator used billions of times a day across all major instant messaging applications. His leadership at IBM has spanned various technology domains, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, APIs, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things.

In addition to his practical contributions, Cuomo has made substantial scholarly contributions. He co-authored “Blockchain for Business”, a comprehensive look at how blockchain technology is transforming the business world. His expertise in this area also led him to testify to the US government about the potential of digital currency and blockchain for enhancing identity protection and national security.

Cuomo is currently leading the way as VP of Technology in IBM’s Consulting unit, focusing on AI-powered automation strategies. His thought leadership extends to his published works, “Think Blockchain and Art of Automation,” and corresponding podcasts that explore deeper into these topics.

Noah Flaniken

Noah Flaniken is a Manager at Bain & Company in the Tech Insights Group (TIG), where he helps leading Private Equity investors and their portfolio companies make smart, high-conviction decisions about where and how to invest in software. His experience spans technology due diligence, post-deal value creation, and go-to-market strategy, helping clients not only identify and invest in the right platforms but also align their technology decisions with strategic objectives to drive meaningful value.

Before joining Bain, Noah was part of EY-Parthenon’s Software Strategy Group, advising private equity clients on software investments. He began his career at JPMorgan Chase as an infrastructure engineer, gaining a firsthand experience supporting the technology systems that underpin a leading global financial institution. That interest in technology deepened while volunteering as a Tech Lead for the LeBron James Family Foundation, where he built digital tools to support community initiatives.

Noah holds an M.Eng. in Financial Technology from Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering and earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Miami University.

Craig Messinger

Craig Messinger is vice chairman of Virtu Financial. Craig is a 40-year veteran in the financial services industry and has held various senior management positions during that time. He serves as the chair of the Capital Markets Committee for Sifma and is also a member of the DTCC board on its risk and tech products committees.

Prior to joining Virtu, Craig served as executive vice president and global head of trading and risk management at BNY Mellon and was a member of the bank’s Operating Committee and the Global Markets Executive Committee. From 2000 through 2004, Craig served as President of Capital Markets for Fidelity Investments in Boston. Prior to Fidelity, Craig had 15 years of diversified experience with Lehman Brothers.

During his last six years, he served in two international assignments. He led the formation of Lehman Canada from 1994 to 1996 and served as its president. From 1990 to 1993, Craig was based in Japan and headed Lehman’s fixed income, foreign exchange, derivatives and financing products in Asia.

Craig has been an active industry leader and has been asked to serve on numerous boards and trade associations since 1991. His board experience includes Redi and Archipelago ECN’s, the “CBOE” Chicago Board Options Exchange, the Boston Stock Exchange and the performance committee of the “OCC” Options Clearing Corporation. He also served as the BNY Mellon representative to the American Bankers Association securities dealer board (advisory committee), Hedgemark, a wholly owned subsidiary, and Fast Match, where BNYM had equity holdings. Craig also held roles in trade associations, including Asia Chairman of the Public Securities Association, Investment Dealers Association of Canada, the executive committee of the Bond Market Association as Treasurer and Treasurer of the newly formed Foreign Exchange Professionals Association. He currently serves on the board and executive committee of SIFMA and the Market Risk Advisory Committee for the CFTC.

Craig holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Johnna Powell

Dr. Johnna Powell is Managing Director, and Head of Technology, Research and Innovation at Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC). Within this role she drives external and internal innovation through strategic thought leadership, enterprise-wide advocacy, collaborative sponsorship and execution. She has spearheaded the enterprise AI strategy and overall execution, alongside enabling and implementing DTCC’s first blockchain acquisition and integration. She currently serves on the Board of Fnality, Inc. and Hyperledger Foundation.

In addition to her work at DTCC, Johnna was the Global Co-Head of ConsenSys NFT and Head of US Professional Services, where she served multiple Fortune 100 clients on product design, development and launch. Her work included bringing to market a carbon credit trading platform with a global alliance of 4 banks, designing a securities issuance and lifecycle management platform with 10 of the largest global banks, and launching an NFT ticketing platform with Sports Illustrated. Under her leadership, the ConsenSys NFT team spearheaded several high-profile endeavors in NFT collections across industries, including art, entertainment and music, such as Damian Hurst: The Currency Project and The Merge: Regenesis.

Prior to that, Johnna was a Vice President and Head of User Engagement within GLG, and senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where she focused on corporate strategy and commercial engagements including marketing & sales optimization and go-to-market strategies.

Johnna obtained a PhD in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from MIT, where she conducted research in millimeter-wave imaging systems and Ultra-Wideband (“5G”) antennas for military applications. While at MIT, she won the IEEE International Best Paper Award for her research, along with a patent for her designs. In addition, BMW used her designs and prototypes in their Ultra-Wideband systems testing.

Christina Qi

Christina Qi is the CEO of Databento, one of the fastest-growing market data providers in the world. She formerly founded Domeyard LP, a hedge fund focused on high frequency trading (HFT) that traded up to $7.1 billion USD per day. Christina is a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Board of Trustees. She was Co-Chair of the Board of Invest in Girls and served on the Boards of Forbes Under 30, The Financial Executives Alliance (FEA) Hedge Fund Group, the MIT Sloan Boston Alumni Association, and the U.S. Non-Profit Boards Committee of 100 Women in Finance. 

Christina earned a Bachelor of Science in Management Science from MIT in 2013 and earned her CAIA designation in 2015. She lives in her home state Utah with 10 chickens, 2 turtles, and a 15-year-old dog.

Evan Schnidman

Evan Schnidman is an experienced executive, entrepreneur, researcher and investor specializing in fintech, data and AI. His past roles include founding and co-founding multiple start-ups, including Prattle, a provider of automated investment research solutions for portfolio managers, research analysts, and other financial professionals that was acquired by Liquidnet in 2019.

Since the acquisition of Prattle, Evan co-founded MarketReader, a leading provider of market volatility analysis, as well as Outrigger Group, a fractional executive consulting firm. In his capacity leading Outrigger, Evan worked as a consultant and fractional executive, developing product and implementing go-to-market strategies designed to accelerate growth in AI, data, financial services, and insurance companies. Evan has also advised numerous startups, venture funds and hedge funds on how to improve their research and data infrastructure.

As the Head of Fidelity Labs, Evan oversees the Fidelity Investments’ in-house incubator. This role entails overseeing ideation and validation of new opportunities, creating and launching new businesses, and helping to scale the existing businesses in the Fidelity Labs portfolio. These initiatives involve oversight and close collaboration with each company’s management team, as well the Fidelity Labs Commercialization and Business Operations team.

Prior to his career as an entrepreneur, Evan was a noted academic conducting cutting edge research leveraging AI to analyze financial markets, specifically market moving language. He earned his PhD from Harvard University and was faculty at Brown University.

Christina Xing

Christina Xing is an Investment Analyst at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Investment Office, where she works across asset classes with a focus on private equity and venture capital. She supports sourcing, diligence, and portfolio monitoring as part of a lean team managing Caltech’s $4 billion endowment. Christina brings a cross-disciplinary perspective and a strong interest in innovation at the intersection of finance and technology.

Before joining Caltech, Christina interned with the public investments team at Duke University’s endowment, DUMAC, where she gained exposure to hedge funds, equities, and credit strategies. She holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Psychology from Brandeis University and earned her Master’s in Financial Technology from Duke University in December 2022.

Christina was invited to join the Duke Fintech Advisory Board as an alumna, where she contributes her insights on emerging trends in investment, innovation, and the evolving role of technology in financial services.

Outside of work, Christina enjoys weightlifting, playing pickleball, and exploring new ideas—whether that’s discovering a local coffee shop or testing a new AI application each week.