WORKING TOGETHER
What We Stand For: It's All About You
Opening Bell Ventures provides high-impact transformational services to C-level executives to help them shape and successfully execute on their Omni-Channel Digital Strategies. Today, more than ever, companies face the imperative of enhancing and aggressively accelerating their Digital Agenda. We help our clients by employing multi-disciplinary teams led by change agents and digital innovators who are experts in their respective fields.
Our services include Data Enablement, Advanced Analytics, Machine Learning & AI, Hybrid Clouds, Secure & Ethical Data Management Practices, Agile Execution, and most importantly - Continuous Change Management & Communications to help organizations quickly adapt in the face of disruption to current work practices.
We assume full ownership for successful delivery and our flexible pricing models ensure that we are always aligned in a tight partnership with our clients on both risks and rewards as opposed to the more traditional T&M model which often rewards incents higher extended timelines and continuously increasing costs.
Our practice & engagement leads, as well as each member of our staff, act like owners with no exception and will work relentlessly to achieve our joint goals. We are highly culturally adept and forge a seamless partnership with your organization throughout every step of your Digital Journey to ensure your success.
Leadership
Avi Kalderon
CEO & Co-Founder
Avi’s superpower is taking complex business challenges and finding the right digital solutions that can be implemented in a pragmatic way. As a passionate change agent, Avi helps his clients realize demonstrable revenue growth opportunities while optimizing operational efficiency through evangelizing thought-process on how to transform organizations successfully. Most importantly, Avi helps build and strengthen the partnership between business leaders and their technology counterparts to successfully get to the goal line.
Avi has over 30 years of experience producing innovative business solutions in the enterprise and consulting environments. His resume includes Managing Partner & Head of Global Delivery at NewVantage Partners, Head of Architecture & Advanced Technology for FINRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority), Technology General Manager at Bridgewater Associates, and CIO for Enterprise Technologies at CIT to name a few. Avi also sits on the Board of several technology startups. He is also a featured speaker at industry forums on Big Data, Smart Analytics, and Disruptive Technologies. Avi holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Warwick in Coventry United Kingdom.
When not living and breathing technology, Avi can be found honing his photography skills, tinkering with home automation, and watching his wife and daughter ride horses.
Valerie Kalderon
Co-Founder
Valerie learned a lot about planning, people and process from an early age. Being one of seven children in her “Brady Bunch” family meant finding efficient and thoughtful ways to get her way. She carried that experience over to her career of 25+ years on Wall Street where she was a senior leader of global teams in technology, program management, product management, operations and client services. She is known to her teams as “the Fixer,” give her a challenge and she will get the right people, process and technology to get it done ahead of time and under budget. Key to her success is her ruthless determination to get to the finish line while building strong partnerships and trust along the way.
Valerie spent the majority of her career at JPMorgan running enterprise programs for the Investment Bank. Her extensive experience in data management, technology and operations led her to Head of Customer Care at AngelSense, an Israeli startup. At AngelSense, she gained the invaluable experience of bootstrapping and running an entirely remote Global Customer Care organization. Valerie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Albright College.
When not managing Opening Bell’s investments and day-to-day operations, Valerie can be found traveling the country competing on her stable of horses.
Andrew Blake
Managing Director
Andrew has over 25 years of experience leading digital transformations in the financial services, insurance and consumer sectors. Prior to joining Opening Bell Ventures, Andrew drove Data and Agile Transformation efforts for Ally Financial, including the establishment of Ally’s award-winning Data-To-Intelligence Program, focused on enabling data to be a competitive organizational asset. Prior to Ally, Andrew held senior leadership roles at LPL Financial, Wells Fargo, and OneBeacon Insurance Group. Andrew is a graduate of the University of Illinois and holds an M.B.A. from Babson College.
Alison has over 10 years of experience in teaching, leading, and cultivating growth. Her expertise lies in analyzing, organizing, editing, and writing. Prior to joining Opening Bell Ventures, Alison taught high school English. She holds a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from Winthrop University and a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Alison Hall
Intellectual Property Manager
Corinne brings over a wealth of experience leading and delivering high-impact digital transformation programs. Prior to joining Opening Bell Ventures, Corinne was leading digital solutions for Finance at Mars and CIT implementing automation and improving digital insights. Corinne is a certified PMP with Agile and Scrum training and is a passionate supporter of STEM and female empowerment programs. Corinne holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Marketing from Stockton University.
Corinne Lowenstein
COO
Gerardo Menegaz
Managing Director
Gery’s career represents an evolution of adoption of advanced technologies, from innovating in a highly complex, high stake environment in security conscious financial services sector supporting billions of dollars of transactions to academic pursuits as a Professor in the Data Science, Graduate Program at Saint Peter’s University. Gery is a published author advising on business strategies across multiple industries as well as emerging technologies. His superpower is simplifying complex technology topics into business terms that executives can easily align with while leading technical teams to deliver innovation and drive adoption. Prior to joining Opening Bell Ventures, Gery held leadership positions at Zenith Insurance, IBM, JPMorgan Chase, ETS, and the IQ Group. He holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.
John Noble
Managing Director
John has over 25 years of experience serving leading investment, insurance, and universal banks as both a consultant and an internal technology leader. His work is focused on a broad range of strategy topics with a recent focus on helping companies achieve results from data and analytics.
John brings to his engagements a seriousness of purpose along with a sense of humor, compassion, deep listening, and an ability to see to the heart of complex issues in a way that brings helpful insight.
Prior to joining Opening Bell Ventures, John held senior positions at TIAA, and Bank of America/Merrill Lynch and started his career @ Fidelity Investments. At Fidelity, he helped the company become an internet pioneer and led the development of online fund information and NAVs, digital prospectus delivery, and online trading. John holds a postgraduate degree in Data Science and Business Analytics from the Texas McCombs School of Business, a Master’s degree in economics from Southern Methodist University, and a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Texas Christian University.
Leah brings extensive experience in technology, operations, portfolio, and program management including development lifecycle management, conceptual design, implementation, and governance. Prior to joining Opening Bell Ventures, Leah was key to the success of transformational programs at Credit Suisse First Boston, MetLife, Bank of America, and Countrywide. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from New York University.
Leah Pollack
Digital Ninja
David has over 20 years of experience helping companies optimize their businesses. He has extensive business acumen in many verticals, specifically helping organizations operationalize and streamline their business KPIs. Most recently he supported organizations undergoing Digital Transformation in the spending & financial management space. Prior to joining Opening Bell Ventures, David held senior business development positions at Celonis and SAP Concur. He holds a Masters's degree in Education Administration from the University of Texas, Austin.
David Reinarz
Managing Director