SPAC MEMBERS

THE SPAC

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

TOM HALAPATZ

Vice President Commercial Business Development

Tom cut his teeth in the office equipment industry as the

owner of a Konica Minolta dealership, which exited to a public company. Tom has initiated hundreds of thousands of prospecting calls and participated in over fifty thousand

sales appointments. His wealth of real-world experience and success has made him a sought-after internationally acclaimed speaker, sales coach, and trainer to many of Canada’s largest investment companies and corporations such as Investors Group Financial Services, Sun Life Financial, Freedom 55 Financial, and MGA Investment channels across Canada. By challenging conventional assumptions about the traditional sales process, he helps investment advisors and entrepreneurs at any level achieve true sales success. His common-sense approach to professional selling is refreshing, unique, and results-focused. Currently, Tom sits as LODE’s Vice President of Commercial Business Development. He works with retail and commercial investors worldwide for the adoption of LODE’s suite of digital assets.

HABIB AKUDI

Dave holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia, Okanagan and has 20+ years experience in system design, programming, implementation and support. He’s worked in a variety of technology sectors including: Internet Service Providers, Web Hosting, Website Development, Employee Scheduling, Library Management, Education, Online Marketing and Cryptocurrency. Currently, Dave is focused on building scalable, automated, cloud based infrastructure supporting micro-service based applications for world-class FinTech products. KEREM TURKMEN

Vice President Business Development - Middle East/North Africa

Kerem, is a serial entrepreneur, avid strategist, and blockchain evangelist. A strategic advisor who can think outside the box practically and efficiently to create ‘new age’ solutions to ‘old

economy’ problems. Kerem takes pride in pursuing his global network, business acumen and experiences to unlock the true potential of upcoming digital change in every aspect of financial services. To keep on top of the ever-changing

blockchain and digital economy, Kerem dedicates a lot of his time to research and networking globally.

MARCUS MEURS

Vice President Business Development - LODE Americas S.A. de C.V.

Marcus has spent thirty successful years in the global food industry which included starting three agritech food processing companies from scratch through to sale or public listings. Today, Marcus is applying his expertise to grow and build companies seeking to make a difference in the world.

With extensive experience in Latin America, he believes this is achieved through disruption, innovation, vertical integration, perseverance and good governance scaled to a global level. Marcus is relentless in his efforts to recognize “out of the box”

opportunities – which has led him recently to be involved in fintech, blockchain, and AI projects. He is a market disruptor

and dealmaker who finetunes new technologies to emerging

markets and strategic partners.

OPERATIONS

NICHOLAS PROUTEN

Chief Operating Officer

With over 9 years of experience in the tech sector, Nick’s skill-sets are sharpest in connecting vision and direction to a path for execution that exceeds goals and promotes project growth. He is a veteran public speaker and team leader able to pitch projects, ideas, and solutions concisely and effectively while motivating and driving on target,

measured results. As a firm believer that diversity is strength,

Nicholas has been fortunate to have worked in a wide array of industries ranging from Cybersecurity, Gaming and Real Estate, to Entertainment and Blockchain.

PAUL TALBOT

Vaultmaster

Paul Talbot has over 40 years’ experience working in Business Development, Advertising and Sales. The first 12 years of his

career were spent working in Advertising Agencies in both England and Canada where he gained a diverse knowledge of the Advertising, Branding and Marketing industry.

For the past 28 years, Paul has worked in the print industry in Senior Management roles overseeing executive teams of 100+ employees. He has worked extensively to develop and implement plans to increase productivity, decrease costs and propel sales. Over the span of his career, Paul has worked with clients on small local projects to International product launches for large worldwide corporations. MICHAEL HARRIS

Business Analyst

Michelle’s vast experience spans across the Oil and Gas, Energy, Forestry, Alternative Medicine and FinTech sectors. She has successfully led both small and large projects (1 billion +) from conception to completion. She has participated in a variety of projects as a Business Analyst, Business Systems Analyst, Business Relationship Manager, Instructional Designer and Trainer and Project Manager. This experience has provided her with a well-rounded background that covers the technical and business nature of most projects.

Michael studied mathematics and computer science in university and has a keen interest in how things work, especially economics, finances, and data-driven decision

making. During university, he worked on bioinformatics, using machine learning for lung cancer research. He also worked with big data in the online child safety space. His most recent focus has been blockchain and emerging markets and has taken on more in the way of business and product analysis, concentrating on data-driven decision making and token economics. Michael holds a BSc in Computer Science, and a BA in Mathematics, with a minor in Physics from Sonoma State University in California.

MICHELLE DIETRICH

Technical and Project Manager

CREATIVE / USER DEVELOPEMENT

JARRET KUSICK

Creative Director

With over 25 years of branding and design experience, Jarret leads all of LODE’s visual design as the Creative Director. He is responsible for all creative projects and visual guidance in print, digital, video and marketing for the LODE, AGX and AUX brands. Prior to working with LODE, Jarret started Hitman Creative Media Inc. in 1999 and currently works with large scale national and international brands and creative entrepreneurial thinkers. Jarret lives and works by the moto “Think then design” and he applies this strategy to all his creative work. JEROME MEYERS

Vice President of Product

Jerome is a proven product leader with 20 years of experience in payments, fintech, and wireless. He holds a BA degree in

Business Administration from Mercer University and has a strong background in Design Thinking. He was also a pioneer in the stored value industry where he served on the Board of Directors for the International Prepaid Communication Association. Jerome led the development of prepaid product solutions serving the unbanked and under-banked market segments.

In the last ten years, he has been at the forefront of mCommerce and eCommerce payment solutions with some of the largest payment processors in the United States. He is an innovator who has been awarded many patents and delivered multiple products and mobile applications in the payment and fintech space. He believes innovation starts with

a human-centered design that seeks to solve problems by first

understanding and empathizing with product users.

CAMERON BRINSON

UI/UX Designer

Cameron has been involved in visual design for nearly ten years across a wide variety of industries and now specializes in the User Interface and User Experience field. He effectively

leverages his design career knowledge and expertise to create innovative, engaging, and intuitive user interfaces. Cameron is also very experienced with user testing, gathering test results, and applying the data to create better user experiences.

LEGAL

MICHAEL PIERSON

Managing Partner - Fisher Broyles

Ignacio has studied for a Master of Laws from the Universite de Montreal and Universita di Roma, and has a Ph.D(c). from the Universidad Panamericana. He is a lawyer who is recognized to practice in Mexico and he also is in the process of doing so in Spain. He specializes in Tech, Media, Telecom,

Michael Pierson is Managing Partner of the firm’s Global

Corporate practice and oversees the corporate team located in each of the firm’s locations. He serves as chair of the FinTech

and Blockchain Executive Committee. The primary focus of his practice is acquisition, regulatory, and securities law matters for U.S. and non-U.S. banking, financial institutions, private

funds, and corporate clients. Over the course of his career, he has advised U.S. and non-U.S. private funds, broker-dealers and investment management clients, from some of the largest and most prominent market participants to firms engaged in

specialized aspects of the securities businesses, including FinTech companies and investment boutiques. He serves as counsel to both emerging and established companies, family offices, and private funds, and he counsels blockchain clients

on a variety of securities law-related issues.

Michael began his career as an attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission where he was responsible for the regulation of the securities markets, broker-dealers, exchanges, clearing agencies, transfer agents and securities information processors. Michael served as assistant general counsel to Goldman Sachs where he advised both the firm’s

internal private equity groups and its securities division. He also served as counsel to Silver Lake and to Barclays.

IGNACIO VERA

Partner of Counsel Vera Abogados

Energy, Public Acquisitions, Corporate and Tax Affairs, Foreign

Investment and Intellectual Property. Ignacio assisted with the drafting of legislation involving the amendment to the Mexican private law on Open Data and Electronic Signatures. He also is an arbiter and certified negotiator/mediator. SILVAN THOMA

Senior Manager PWC Switzerland

Silvan Thoma practices in the areas of Swiss and international financial institutions, fintechs, and commodity traders on

financial market regulation. He specializes in the drafting

of legal memorandums, license applications, impact assessments, final reports, and managing cross-jurisdictional

and divisional regulatory change programs.

Silvan’s practice focuses on Swiss regulations, such as FMIA (FINFRAG), FINSA (FIDLEG), FINIA (FINIG), BA (BANKG), AMLA (GWG) , and European regulations, such as EMIR, BMR, MAR, REMIT, MIFID II.

ANDRES ROBLES

Mining operations coordinator - Latam

Andres is a “Business Hunter” for Mexico & Latin America, he is highly capable to identify opportunities, rank them to optimize efforts to rise results in a short period of time. Andres

has extremely good contacts in the mining industry in Mexico, Central America, and the rest of all Latin-American mining countries. He has deep knowledge of most Metallurgical applications, Process plant, Gold & Silver Heap Leach, Flotation plants, etc. He also has strong corporative relations at the most important Mining Companies (Newmont, Frisco, Fresnillo/Peñoles, Grupo Mexico, First Majestic, CODELCO, Barrick, Anglo American, BHP Billion, Agnico Eagle, Alamos Gold, etc.) and government Mining services and institutions. Andres plays a strategic role in connecting LODE to the most important players in the Mining Industry in Mexico.

TECHNOLOGY

AUGUSTO E. CARO

Augusto has a Master’s Degree in Finance and he currently is completing his Master’s Degree in Economics. Augusto has been involved in blockchain development since 2018. He specializes in technology development for ERC20, ERC721 ERC1155 tokens. Augusto’s expertise includes the analysis and development of DeFi protocols and front-end and integration tools usage.

CHRIS MARSH

Chris Marsh is the President of Blockchain Foundry. Previously, Chris spent 8 years at Richardson GMP and GMP Securities in Toronto, Canada, as an investment banker and corporate development executive. He also spent 4 years in London, England where he worked in corporate finance and asset

management. Chris is a CFA charterholder and holds a Masters in Finance degree from London Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada.

DAN WASYLUK

Dan Wasyluk is the CEO of Blockchain Foundry and co-founder of the Syscoin project, a decentralized cryptocurrency. With over 15 years of enterprise software development experience, Dan first

became involved with blockchain technology in 2013. In August 2014, he helped launch the Syscoin public blockchain. Dan holds a Bachelor of Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology. JAG SIDHU

Jag Sidhu is the CTO of Blockchain Foundry and a co-founder of the Syscoin project, a decentralized cryptocurrency, as well as its current lead developer. As an expert in blockchain technology, Jag also specializes in machine learning, artificial

intelligence, client/server development and distributed systems with nearly 20 years of software development experience. Jag holds a Bachelor of Technology, Computer Science, from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

DAVE GLASON

Dave holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia, Okanagan and has 20+ years experience in system design, programming, implementation and support. He’s worked in a variety of technology sectors including: Internet Service Providers, Web Hosting, Website Development, Employee Scheduling, Library Management, Education, Online Marketing and Cryptocurrency. Currently, Dave is focused on building scalable, automated, cloud based infrastructure supporting micro-service based applications for world-class FinTech products.

ERIC BUI

Eric has a deep knowledge of various blockchain stacks and has been a senior blockchain engineer since 2017. He has built and designed blockchain systems for DeFi startups, cryptocurrency exchanges, and the largest financial

institutions. Eric developed JPMorgan Coin, the world’s first

production blockchain bank system capable of processing multi-billion transactions. He is also an admin of the largest Vietnam blockchain Defi developer with over 10,000 members.

KASH AHMADI

Kash specializes in developing technical architecture within a blockchain environment to support the business’s goals. His unique skill set allows him to compare, select, and implement technological solutions to meet current and future needs. Kash’s innate ability to effectively identify and conceptualize

these solutions qualifies him to lead strategies to develop

technology platforms, partnerships, and external relationships.

PAYMENTS

MATTHEW BRENNEN

Vice President of Operations - LODE Payments International LLC

With over 17 years of experience in the merchant services industry, Matthew was appointed Vice President of Operations for LODE Payments International LLC (LPI) in April of 2021. Previously, Matthew held a senior position at Worldpay (now FIS), a global payment processor, where he co-led a GTM strategy that incorporated cloud technology with payments, increasing the company’s EBITDA by 726% over four years.

Over the last year, Matthew has been responsible for building out the LPI payments channel. LPI offers a full suite of

products and services including crypto payment acceptance for resellers, partners, agents, and independent sales organizations.

ACCOUNTING

FERUCCIO VANIN

CFO - European Operations

Ferruccio Vanin is an experienced manager with vast international financial expertise within the following industries

and areas such as, machinery, construction, engineering, banking, and finance, consulting and advising in strategic,

operational, finance, and tax issues for Switzerland and

international. He has expertise in professional sports management.

In addition, Ferruccio is a lecturer in a professional school for strategic management, analytical accounting, taxes, management and leadership. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of applied science in St. Gallen /CH, a postgraduate from the University of St. Gallen / CH in business law and a professional education in banking and financial management from the University of FL-Vaduz. STEVEN SOKOHL

Steven has over 25 years of professional accounting and management experience, having worked in a range of businesses from large multinational banks to privately held family office structures. He jointly manages WB Financial

Group’s financial advisory business in the Cayman Islands

and has a particular focus on clients in the funds industry, including investment managers and funds in the hedge, private equity and venture capital sectors. He is primarily focused on directorships, financial and management

accounting and the regulatory aspects of these businesses.

Steven formerly worked for Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young in their U.S. audit and tax practices, particularly for financial services clients. Subsequently, he worked primarily

within the financial services sector in major money centre

jurisdictions such as New York, Paris, Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands.

Steven has a BS (Hons) from the American University, and is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Cayman

Islands Institute of Professional Accountants.

SUPPORT

HUMBERTO MORALES

Humberto has been an entrepreneur and business developer for over 20 years, his background in electronics and communication engineering has allowed him to design and develop forward thinking technology business models.

After moving to Canada from Mexico in 2001, Humberto designed and implemented the first portals for internet video

delivery, video editing apps for iPhone and Community based internet tv stations for local and regional markets. Later, he combined mobile video editing tools with online delivery platforms which were implemented in several universities and private corporations.

Humberto has been a LODE Ambassador since late 2017, and currently supporting Media, Communications and Community Support for the project.

DON GRANT

Don is currently retired from a significant career in banking

and entrepreneurship. He is a long time silver stacker and advocate for sound money. Don holds the honour of being the first contributor to the LODE Project, and his insights and

guidance helped shape the efforts during the early days of

the project. He remains a staunch and impactful member of the LODE SPA team by supporting efforts on the front lines as

Communications Ambassador for the LODE Community. DANA KUSICK

With over 12 years experience in the legal field, Dana now

works closely with the LODE UK Investor Relations team and is also responsible for managing all of the creative departments projects, planning, workflows and deadlines for the team and

all sub contractors. Dana also hosts LODE’s monthly cafe chat where she interviews different service providers that offer

updates to all LODE members.