RYVYLTM - Key Persons


Ben Errez - Chairman, Founder

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Co - Founder
  • Member of the EXECUTIVES Team
  • Chairman of Our Board, Executive Vice President, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer
Ben Errez has acted as Chairman of our Board, Executive Vice President, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer since July 2017. He has brought this expertise to the Company to lead the Company into the forefront of the blockchain-based financial software, services and hardware market. Since 2017, Errez has been a principal of the GreenBox Business. From August 2004 until August 2015, Errez formed the start-up IHC Capital, where he held the position of Principal Consultant from founding to the present date, through which he advises clients in the South Pacific region with market capitalizations ranging from $50M to $150M on matters such as commerce, security, reliability and privacy. From January 1991 to August 2004, he served as Software Development Lead for the Microsoft International Product Group. He led the International Microsoft Office Components team (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) in design, engineering, development and successful deployment. He also served as Executive Representative of Microsoft Office and was a founding member of the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Forum, both within the company, and internationally. Errez co-authored the first Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Paper on Reliability. At Microsoft, Mr. Errez was responsible for the development of the first Microsoft software translation Software Development Kit ("SDK") in Hebrew, Arabic, Thai and Simplified Chinese, as well as the development of the first bidirectional extensions to Rich Text Format ("RTF") file format, all bidirectional extensions in text converters for Microsoft Office, and contributed to the development of the international extensions to the Unicode standard to include bidirectional requirements under the World Wide Web Consortium ("W3C"). He received his Bachelor Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the Hebrew University. Ben Errez has acted as Chairman of our Board, Executive Vice President, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer since July 2017. He has brought this expertise to the Company to lead the Company into the forefront of the blockchain-based financial software, services and hardware market. Since 2017, Errez has been a principal of the GreenBox Business. From August 2004 until August 2015, Errez formed the start-up IHC Capital, where he held the position of Principal Consultant from founding to the present date, through which he advises clients in the South Pacific region with market capitalizations ranging from $50M to $150M on matters such as commerce, security, reliability and privacy. From January 1991 to August 2004, he served as Software Development Lead for the Microsoft International Product Group. He led the International Microsoft Office Components team (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) in design, engineering, development and successful deployment. He also served as Executive Representative of Microsoft Office and was a founding member of the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Forum, both within the company, and internationally. Errez co-authored the first Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Paper on Reliability. At Microsoft, Mr. Errez was responsible for the development of the first Microsoft software translation Software Development Kit ("SDK") in Hebrew, Arabic, Thai and Simplified Chinese, as well as the development of the first bidirectional extensions to Rich Text Format ("RTF") file format, all bidirectional extensions in text converters for Microsoft Office, and contributed to the development of the international extensions to the Unicode standard to include bidirectional requirements under the World Wide Web Consortium ("W3C"). He received his Bachelor Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the Hebrew University.

Dan Nusinovich

Job Titles:
  • Member of the EXECUTIVES Team
  • Vice President of Product

David Montoya

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Member of the Board
David Montoya has served as a Director since May 2023 and has been the legal and operations managing partner of Seaview Mezzanine Fund, LP since 2005, where he negotiates and reviews investments and private placements. Seaview is a private equity fund making debt and equity investments into lower and middle market companies. Mr. Montoya has been the Chief Executive Officer of Saugatuck Brands, Inc. since 2017. Saugatuck is a holding company with investments in a regulated industry in California. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Montoya was an Of Counsel attorney at Breslow & Walker LLP, a law firm, where he advised private equity funds, public companies and private companies with respect to general corporate, M&A, real estate and tax matters. Prior to 2001, Mr. Montoya's experience included working at the law firm Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and the accounting firm Ernst & Young. Mr. Montoya earned a BS in Finance from St John's University, an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a JD from New York University School of Law. Mr. Montoya is an active member of the New York State Bar Association and a New York State CPA (retired). David Montoya has served as a Director since May 2023 and has been the legal and operations managing partner of Seaview Mezzanine Fund, LP since 2005, where he negotiates and reviews investments and private placements. Seaview is a private equity fund making debt and equity investments into lower and middle market companies. Mr. Montoya has been the Chief Executive Officer of Saugatuck Brands, Inc. since 2017. Saugatuck is a holding company with investments in a regulated industry in California. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Montoya was an Of Counsel attorney at Breslow & Walker LLP, a law firm, where he advised private equity funds, public companies and private companies with respect to general corporate, M&A, real estate and tax matters. Prior to 2001, Mr. Montoya's experience included working at the law firm Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and the accounting firm Ernst & Young. Mr. Montoya earned a BS in Finance from St John's University, an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a JD from New York University School of Law. Mr. Montoya is an active member of the New York State Bar Association and a New York State CPA (retired).

Ezra Laniado

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Member of the Board
Ezra Laniado has served as a Director since February 2021 and has, since 2018, been Executive Director of the San Diego chapter of Friends of Israel Defence Forces and, since 2017, been Regional Director of the San Diego chapter of the Israeli-American Council, two American charitable organizations providing support and funds for Israel and the Israeli community in America. In such capacity, Mr. Laniado has raised over $5 million in donations and managed over 30 volunteers. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. Laniado was Co-Founder and Business Director of Shonglulu Group, a fashion brand. As Business Director, Mr. Laniado raised capital, coordinated the company's marketing strategy, and implemented its business plan. Prior to 2014, Mr. Laniado was an attorney in Israel for 4 years. Mr. Laniado received a B.A. and an L.L.B. from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. Ezra Laniado has served as a Director since February 2021 and has, since 2018, been Executive Director of the San Diego chapter of Friends of Israel Defence Forces and, since 2017, been Regional Director of the San Diego chapter of the Israeli-American Council, two American charitable organizations providing support and funds for Israel and the Israeli community in America. In such capacity, Mr. Laniado has raised over $5 million in donations and managed over 30 volunteers. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. Laniado was Co-Founder and Business Director of Shonglulu Group, a fashion brand. As Business Director, Mr. Laniado raised capital, coordinated the company's marketing strategy, and implemented its business plan. Prior to 2014, Mr. Laniado was an attorney in Israel for 4 years. Mr. Laniado received a B.A. and an L.L.B. from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.

Fredi Nisan - CEO, Founder

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer
  • Co - Founder
  • Director
  • Member of the EXECUTIVES Team
  • RYVYL CEO
Fredi Nisan has served as a Director and our Chief Executive Office since July 2017, and has been a principal of the Company since August 2017. In May 2016, Nisan founded Firmness, LLC. Through Firmness, Nisan created "QuickCitizen," a software program that simplifies the onboarding process for new clients of law firms specializing in immigration issues. The QuickCitizen software significantly reduced law firm's onboarding processing time from more than three hours to approximately fifteen minutes. In January 2010, Nisan launched Brava POS, where he served as President until 2015. Brava POS provided point of sale ("POS") systems for specialty retail companies. Nisan developed software to provide clients with solutions for issues ranging from inventory management to payroll to processing high volume transactions in the form of a cloud-based POS system. This system had the capability to manage multiple stores with centralized inventory and process sales without an internet connection, and offered a secure login for each employee, as well as including advanced inventory management and reporting, plus powerful functionality for its end users. From January 2007 until November 2017, Nisan worked for One Coach, in San Diego, CA, as a business coach. One Coach specializes in customized growth solutions for small business owners, including the latest strategies for sales, internet marketing, branding and ROI. Nisan was consistently ranked as the top salesperson for small business coaching while working with One Coach. Fredi Nisan has served as a Director and our Chief Executive Office since July 2017, and has been a principal of the Company since August 2017. In May 2016, Nisan founded Firmness, LLC. Through Firmness, Nisan created "QuickCitizen," a software program that simplifies the onboarding process for new clients of law firms specializing in immigration issues. The QuickCitizen software significantly reduced law firm's onboarding processing time from more than three hours to approximately fifteen minutes. In January 2010, Nisan launched Brava POS, where he served as President until 2015. Brava POS provided point of sale ("POS") systems for specialty retail companies. Nisan developed software to provide clients with solutions for issues ranging from inventory management to payroll to processing high volume transactions in the form of a cloud-based POS system. This system had the capability to manage multiple stores with centralized inventory and process sales without an internet connection, and offered a secure login for each employee, as well as including advanced inventory management and reporting, plus powerful functionality for its end users. From January 2007 until November 2017, Nisan worked for One Coach, in San Diego, CA, as a business coach. One Coach specializes in customized growth solutions for small business owners, including the latest strategies for sales, internet marketing, branding and ROI. Nisan was consistently ranked as the top salesperson for small business coaching while working with One Coach.

Genevieve Baer

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Member of the Board
Genevieve Baer has served as a Director since February 2021 and has been chief executive officer of JKH Consulting since 2009. JKH Consulting is a real estate finance consulting firm that has advised on transactions with a collective value of over $10 billion. Prior to her work with JKH Consulting, Ms. Baer worked at Magnet Industrial Bank for 6 years at the end of which tenure she was a Senior Vice President. Ms. Baer also worked at US Bancorp Piper Jaffray for 9 years as a Vice President working on equity and debt real estate financings. Ms. Baer earned a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Utah. Genevieve Baer has served as a Director since February 2021 and has been chief executive officer of JKH Consulting since 2009. JKH Consulting is a real estate finance consulting firm that has advised on transactions with a collective value of over $10 billion. Prior to her work with JKH Consulting, Ms. Baer worked at Magnet Industrial Bank for 6 years at the end of which tenure she was a Senior Vice President. Ms. Baer also worked at US Bancorp Piper Jaffray for 9 years as a Vice President working on equity and debt real estate financings. Ms. Baer earned a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Utah.

George Oliva - CFO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Member of the EXECUTIVES Team
George Oliva joined the RYVYL team in 2023 as Chief Financial Officer and has over 30 years as a senior finance professional, with a background in corporate finance, treasury, financial planning and analysis, international tax, and strategic planning. Mr. Oliva is a performance driven executive who is passionate about creating a culture of integrity while serving as a strategic, tactical leader and advisor to the senior executive team globally. Prior to joining RYVYL, he was Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary for Wisa Technologies since 2019. Prior to Wisa, he provided financial consulting services to public and private companies nationwide. He was also a partner with Hardesty LLC, a national executive services firm. Mr. Oliva has held several interim positions with a variety of clients that included a scientific instruments business acquired by a private equity firm, a medical device manufacturer preparing for an IPO, an audio company merger and a yield improvement software company implementing a world-wide ERP system. Mr. Oliva was CFO of Penguin Computing from 2009 through 2013, where he played a leading role in guiding them through a period of rapid growth, twice making the Silicon Valley Business Journal's list of fastest growing private companies. Prior to Penguin, he was CFO of StreamLogic, a public company doing business as Hammer Storage Solutions, where he navigated its going-private transaction. Prior to serving in such roles, Mr. Oliva was responsible for financial planning and analysis and operational support as the operations controller for Conner Peripherals and at Read-Rite Corporation, both exceeding a billion of revenue in the data storage industry. Mr. Oliva began his career in auditing with Arthur Andersen & Co., a leading public accounting firm. Mr. Oliva is a certified public accountant, currently inactive status. He earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration from U.C. Berkeley with a dual emphasis in Accounting and Finance. George Oliva has over 30 years of experience as a senior finance professional, with a background in corporate finance, treasury, financial planning and analysis, international tax, and strategic planning. Prior to joining RYVYL, he was Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary for WiSA Technologies, Inc. since 2019. He was also a partner with Hardesty LLC, a national executive services firm, through which he provided financial consulting services to public and private companies nationwide. As Interim Chief Financial Officer of SpineEx, Inc., a California-based medical equipment manufacturer, Mr. Oliva was responsible for managing the company's financial, human resources and information technology departments. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Finance of GameWorks, a family entertainment chain, where he developed a plan to restructure the company's business in connection with an acquisition by a lender. He also served as controller for Eva Automation, an audio company, where he implemented purchase accounting in connection with a $180 million acquisition. Mr. Oliva began his career in auditing with Arthur Andersen & Co. He earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley with a dual emphasis in Accounting and Finance.

Justin Sokol

Job Titles:
  • RYVYL 's SVP of Sales
  • Senior Vice President of Sales & Business Development
Working at the intersection of payments and technology, Sokol's role at RYVYL is to create, communicate and execute actionable plans that lead to revenue growth and achieve or exceed all business line revenue goals. His in-depth experience in fostering new and lasting mutually beneficial partnerships empowers premier partners, merchants and consumers around the globe to benefit from the future of finance. Sokol spent six years as a senior leader at Global Payments responsible for maximizing revenue streams and building and maintaining solid relationships with strategic partners. After that, he led Imagine Solutions' western market expansion before spending half a decade with Fiserv, spearheading its fintech and open banking business development efforts. He has since joined RYVYL as the SVP of sales and is instrumental in building world-class sales teams and identifying new opportunities to accelerate RYVYL's growth.

Mark Schwalenberg


Min Wei - COO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Finance
  • Member of the EXECUTIVES Team
  • Operations Executive
Min Wei has served as Chief Operating Officer since February 2022. Mr. Wei is an accomplished finance and operations executive with extensive experience in overseeing and managing the strategic vision while driving operational excellence to fuel growth. Mr. Wei has built and led teams in international tech companies over the past 20+ years. Prior to joining the Company, from March 2020 to February 2022, Mr. Wei was Senior VP, Chief Customer Officer at Cubic Corporation where he spearheaded the cultural shift to win over customers and, from November 2015 to March 2020 he was Senior Vice President of Operations at Cubic's transportation business where he led global service strategy, transformation and technology driven innovation that significantly improved 24x7x365 service performance and user experience for major public transit payment management systems serving 50 million+ people globally. Previously Mr. Wei also held executive positions at Cubic, ERG, and a number of tech companies where he oversaw financial management, business operations and M&A integrations. Mr. Wei is active in promoting technology advancement and digital transformation and served on the advisory board at the Technology & Services Industry Association (TSIA). He holds an MBA with an emphasis in finance, banking and international business from the University of San Francisco

Pavani Ponnala

Job Titles:
  • Member of the EXECUTIVES Team
  • Vice President of Engineering

Vivian Estrada - CHRO

Job Titles:
  • Director of Human Resources
  • Member of the EXECUTIVES Team
A highly skilled human resources leader with demonstrated excellence in employee engagement, workplace culture and HR functions, Vivian Estrada - human resources director at RYVYL - is a visionary leader empowering our people to reinvent the future of financial transactions. Leveraging unique employee relations, personnel management and team-building prowess, Estrada recognizes how and where team members excel to benefit the organization as a whole, managing the recruitment and retention of talented individuals to the RYVYL team. In addition to leading up the hiring process, Estrada manages all employee benefits, implements measures to retain current employees and provides guidance on organizational development and strategy to the HR team. Prior to joining RYVYL as director of HR in February 2021, Estrada honed her expertise in HR over a 20-plus-year career. She brings significant experience in the areas of recruiting, employee relations, training, retention, policy distribution and employee benefits. Estrada is excited about the opportunity to help shape the unique character and personality of an innovative fintech startup with a gifted leadership team. With a goal of fostering a working environment worthy of winning a "best places to work" award, Estrada is proud to have worked her way up from HR assistant all the way to HR director through her hard work and dedication and by receiving positive mentorship from industry leaders and attending professional development HR courses. Her partner and "other half" inspires her daily, showcasing how to overcome adversity with a positive outlook and demeanor. A communicative, independent and perceptive person who is passionate about helping others, Estrada looks forward to RYVYL creating benefits for everyone to enjoy freely.. In her free time, you can find her traveling to snap the best photographs. Majoring in sociology in college, Estrada received a human resources certificate from Cal State Fullerton, and is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management and the Professionals in Human Resources Association.

Zack Kirscher

Job Titles:
  • Vice President - Legal

Zechariah Kirscher

Job Titles:
  • Vice President Legal
Zechariah Kirscher has served on the Company's internal legal team since May 2022, when he joined as Senior Counsel, and was later appointed VP of Legal Affairs in April 2023. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Kirscher spent nearly a decade working in law firms in Southern California, most recently at Cooley LLP from April 2021 to May 2022 and, before that, DLA Piper (US) from September 2015 to April 2021. While at Cooley and DLA, Mr. Kirscher represented banks, lenders, private funds, and companies in primarily the venture lending space. Today, Mr. Kirscher leverages his experience with early stage companies to contribute to the growth and success of RYVYL as it seeks to transform the payments industry. Mr. Kirscher holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law Zechariah Kirscher has served on the Company's internal legal team since May 2022, when he joined as Senior Counsel, and was later appointed VP of Legal Affairs in April 2023. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Kirscher spent nearly a decade working in law firms in Southern California, most recently at Cooley LLP from April 2021 to May 2022 and, before that, DLA Piper (US) from September 2015 to April 2021. While at Cooley and DLA, Mr. Kirscher represented banks, lenders, private funds, and companies in primarily the venture lending space. Today, Mr. Kirscher leverages his experience with early stage companies to contribute to the growth and success of RYVYL as it seeks to transform the payments industry. Mr. Kirscher holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law