Ladonware Announces Recognized Industry Leaders to Board of Directors

FinTech Industry Leaders will help accelerate Company´s Cloud Native Core and related suite and launch of global expansion.

News provided by

Black Dragon Capital

Jun 14, 2021, 11:00 ET

MIAMI, June 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ladonware is excited to announce they have appointed a new Board of Directors who represent some of the most recognized names in the industry and award-winning innovators. The new board includes the most successful leaders in financial technology who brought to market the most successful and disruptive solutions in the last two decades.

Louis Hernandez Jr. will be the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Hernandez is a highly experienced investor and technology executive, board member, author, and philanthropist. He works closely with the Black Dragon Capital portfolio of companies to create market leaders.

He is a well-recognized FinTech veteran having been the Chairman and CEO of Open Solutions, an award-winning banking technology leader whose DNA core processing system helped reshape the global landscape for banking technology. Open Solutions was for years one of the world's fastest-growing enterprise banking systems. Mr. Hernandez was also the founder of Payveris, the fastest growing digital payments and money movement company in the United States. He has additionally served on the boards of global companies such as Edison International, HSBC Holding and has advised global organizations, such as Infosys and KPMG. Prior to working full time with Black Dragon Capital, he was the Chairman and CEO of Avid Technology and is often referred to as "the man who saved Avid".

The Louis Hernandez Jr.'s Foundation for a Bright Future focuses on equal opportunities for children. The Foundation offers scholarships and support for education, healthcare, arts, and leadership development programs.

Raju Shivdasani has been appointed Non-Executive Director. Mr. Shivdasani has over 40 years of executive-level experience running large technology companies and a recognized leader in Financial Technology. He has held roles as CEO of Harland Financial Solutions, President and Chief Operating Officer of Phoenix International, Executive Vice President of Banking Services for Fiserv, President of Fiserv CBS Worldwide, and senior management positions at Citicorp Information Resources.

Santo Cannone has been appointed as Executive Director. He has been a well-recognized industry executive for over 40 years. His experience includes sales leadership, product management and operations for companies from start-ups to some of the largest FinTechs in the world. His past experience includes him as Chief Product Officer for Fiserv, Senior Vice President of Group Sales for Open Solutions, Chief Operating Officer for ConnectWise, Senior Vice President of Real Time Systems for FIS and General Manager for EDS. He was instrumental in the development and expansion of Open Solutions DNA product suite, working closely with Mr. Hernandez.

Rashid Desai has joined the Board of Directors as Non-Executive Director. Mr. Desai has extensive experience in developing business technology products and solutions including cloud delivery and hardening, infrastructure, architecture, and technology engineering. He has served as Senior Vice President and CTO of Avid Technology, Managing Director and CTO of Barclaycard, Executive Vice President and CTO of Open Solutions, and Senior Vice President of Equifax. He was the CTO of Open Solutions during the creation and development of the DNA suite of products working closely with Mr. Hernandez and Mr. Cannone.

Richard K. Sussman joins the board as Non-Executive Director. Mr. Sussman is a partner at Black Dragon Capital with a solid track record of building businesses throughout a career that spans private equity, venture capital, Fortune 500, and start-ups in technology, media & telecommunications (TMT) scaling revenue, technology, and capital across a diverse portfolio globally. He previously ran operations, IP, and revenue-generating business units at The Nielsen Company, IPG, TiVo-Rovi, and Gracenote-Tribune Media -- all companies with ~$1B market caps. Richard has also co-founded two venture-backed media, entertainment & eCommerce technology platforms (with respectable exits) and two venture capital funds. The first, as a founding Managing Partner of a European-American growth fund with a portfolio of 20+ investments worldwide returning ~700% IRR for investors and tracking top-decile fund performance. The second, a 35+ portfolio seed-stage venture fund.

Greg O'Brien continues in the board as Non-Executive Director. Mr. O'Brien has over 40 years of high-tech experience, primarily in the banking and business software industries. In addition to his extensive international experience and his wide range of skills that includes mergers, acquisitions, corporate governance, organizational evaluation, executive recruitment, compensation, planning and finance strategy with a strong business acumen and results orientation. He has served in executive assignments to the Directors of Avid Technology, Open Solutions, and CashEdge / Fiserv and continues to provide advice and governance support to various early-stage companies. He was the Senior HR Leader at Open Solutions during their expansion phase of DNA into a market leader globally working closely with Mr. Hernandez, Mr. Cannone, and Mr. Desai.

Hernando Torres continues in the board as Ladonware's President and CEO. Mr. Torres has 33 years of experience and extensive knowledge in banking and information technology, whose specialty is core banking and payments technology management. He has had a successful career in IT companies and Financial Institutions covering all aspects of the business and his strong persuasion skills have led to an optimal combination of experience and knowledge. Previously, he served as Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at Open Solutions, Regional Director for Latin America at Temenos, Senior Vice President at Fiserv CBS Worldwide - Global Cards Division and Director of Planning at Fundación Social Financial Group. He was a key member of the executive team at Temenos, and at Open Solutions working with Mr. Hernandez, Mr. Cannone, Mr. O'Brien, and Mr. Desai.

As Ladonware has assembled their board with the most influential and successful leaders in the Financial Technology industry, Hernando Torres expressed that: "I am really excited for the next phase of Ladonware, our cloud native as a service solutions are now installed at 15 countries, and with the addition of this incredible team, that led Open Solutions and other leading financial technology companies, to our board gives me certainty that we will continue growing by innovating and disrupting markets just like we did it before."

The innovative nature and sound business practices of Ladonware caught the interest of Santo Cannone who expressed that "I'm excited to join at team committed to working with the community to solve some of the most complicated issues with great service, advanced technology, friendly contract terms, and a team the industry knows and trusts."

New technology does not need to imply less functionality or limited flexibility. The combination of the best scalable technology, comprehensive features, and successful experience creates the agility needed in today's environment. Rashid Desai, former CTO of Open Solutions said, "we built the DNA product suite at Open Solutions, to solve the biggest issues that the industry faced. At Ladon, we are going to do it again, using the most advanced tools possible by a team who has been there before."

Contact info:
Edna Escudero
Ladonware
[email protected]

About Ladonware
Ladonware (Ladon) is a next generation cloud native suite of applications led by industry veterans who have built some of the most recognized brands in financial technology. The company uses cloud-based applications to connect consumers, their devices, and financial institutions seamlessly and securely by providing the most advanced cloud based as a service solution. They build trust-based relationships through high quality service, highly functional and permanently evolving software, fair and friendly contracts, and affordable pricing. They have over 160 financial institutions clients in 15 different countries throughout United Status and the Americas. Visit them at www.ladonware.com.

SOURCE Black Dragon Capital