Ziad K. Abdelnour - President & Chief Executive Officer

Ziad K. Abdelnour is an international dealmaker, trader, and financier with over 25 years of experience in merchant banking, private equity, alternative investments, and physical commodities trading.

Since 1985, Mr. Abdelnour has been involved in over 125 transactions worth in aggregate more than $10 billion in the investment banking, high-yield bond, and distressed debt markets and has been widely recognized for playing an integral role in those three key market sectors.

Mr. Abdelnour is currently President & CEO of Blackhawk Partners, Inc., a private equity "family office" that focuses on originating, structuring and acting as equity investor in management-led buyouts, strategic minority equity investments, equity private placements, consolidations, buildups, and growth capital financings.

He serves on the board of TMax Capital, an investment management and specialty finance group. He also serves on the advisory board of DPG Investments, a recognized premier multi-strategy global merchant banking, alternative investment, management, and advisory firm and FlatWorld Capital, a global private equity investment firm.

He is the founder and president of the United States Committee for a Free Lebanon (USCFL), founder and chairman of the Financial Policy Council, member of the Board of Governors of the Middle East Forum, and former president of the Arab Bankers Association of North America.

Mr. Abdelnour holds an MBA in finance from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS in economics, summa cum laude, from the American University of Beirut.

He is the author of “Economic Warfare: Secrets of Wealth Creation in the Age of Welfare Politics” and a regular panelist and speaker on private equity and venture capital topics at industry conferences nationwide.

Hicham K. Abdelnour - Special Partner

Hicham K. Abdelnour, a citizen of Lebanon and Canada and brother of Ziad, has been involved in real estate and corporate transactions in the U.S. and Turkey, where he currently resides full time since 1995.

Among his key achievements, Hicham is the co-developer and owner of the Konak Pier project, a major waterfront retail centre located at the heart of Izmir, Turkey. Today, Konak Pier is the flagship of the city of Izmir and an essential destination center for international visitors.

Over the past three years, Mr. Abdelnour has also been advising some of the leading U.S. and European private equity funds seeking investment opportunities in Turkey. His advisory role includes product identification and origination, transaction negotiation and final execution, all within specific guidelines and parameters dictated by the investor.

In addition, Mr. Abdelnour provides post-closing asset management services, including performance monitoring, corporate restructuring, financial reporting, debt/equity financing, board membership and other on-going supervision tasks. Overall, Hicham remains fully involved in the company/project until final exit by the investor.

Prior to 1995, Mr. Abdelnour has been actively involved in real estate transactions in the U.S. and Europe, including corporate advisory work, cross-border transactions, debt and equity securitization and property portfolio management. During this period, Mr. Abdelnour was associated with the major Wall Street firms of UBS Securities Inc., Kidder, Peabody and Co. and Paine Webber, Inc.

Hicham Abdelnour received a BS in civil engineering, a BA in Economics from Stanford University and earned an MS in real estate development and finance from Columbia University.

Richard Block -

Richard Block is a member in the Employment, Labor and Benefits Section at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.and a nationally recognized expert in the field of labor and employment law, whose clients include Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, insurance companies, entertainment companies, cultural and non-profit institutions, real estate firms, and health care organizations.

Richard brings in invaluable deal flow and advice to Blackhawk when it comes to aforementioned companies and in structuring compensation arrangements and other incentives to management teams to make the deals work. .

Richard received a B.A. from Princeton University and his J.D. from Hofstra Law School. He has been recognized as one of the leading employment lawyers in the United States by The Best Lawyers in America (2005-2010) and The Best in the U.S. (2008). In 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, Richard was also named a New York Super Lawyer.

Richard is a frequent lecturer who has spoken before American Express Tax and Business Services, Inc., the Institute of Management and Administration, the Investment and Financial Services Association, the University of Pennsylvania, and New York University’s Annual Conference on Labor, among others.

Richard is admitted to practice in New York. He has served on the Princeton University Alumni Advisory Council for Human Resources and is a member of the Board of Governors of The Princeton Club of New York, the New York Board of the Simon Wiesenthal Tolerance Center, and the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution. Richard also sits on the Employment Disputes Committee and is a member of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation and the American Bar Association.

Yaron Eitan -

Yaron Eitan is the founder of Selway Capital and has over 25 years of experience acquiring, building and exiting businesses. Previously, he was the co-founder of Reshef Technologies, a specialty munitions company, the President of Patlex, an industrial and patent enforcement holding company and the founder and CEO of Geotek Communications, a wireless communications company. Geotek deployed a wireless network in 11 major US markets and nationwide networks in the UK and Korea based on innovative technology previously developed for military applications. The company grew to 1,200 employees and $120 million in revenues. It later filed for Chapter 11 and was sold to Nextel. Yaron recounted the story of Geotek in a book he authored called Riding The Waves.

In 1998 Mr. Eitan founded Selway Partners a technology-sector holding company. Selway Partners went on to found and build several companies including Magnolia Broadband and DVTel. In 2002, Yaron became a partner of SCP Partners, an investment firm with over $1 billion under management. At the same time, Selway Partners became a wholly-owned investment company of SCP Partners.

In 2007, Mr. Eitan launched the Vector Intersect Security Acquisition Corporation, which raised $60M with the goal of making a single acquisition. Vector purchased Cyalume Technologies in 2008. In 2009, Yaron decided to reinvigorate the Selway name and created Selway Capital of which Mr. Ziad Abdelnour; Blackhawk’s CEO, currently sits on the Advisory Board. Selway Capital manages several portfolio companies on behalf of SCP and Selway Partners. Yaron is also Chairman of a number of companies including Cyalume, DVTel, Inc., The Q Group and Magnolia Broadband. He also serves as a director of XVionics, Inc.

Mr. Eitan served in the Israeli Defense Forces for seven years, where he reached the rank of Major. He has an MBA from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and BA in Economics from Haifa University.

Daniel Galvanoni -

Daniel Galvanoni is the Chairman and Founder of DPG Investments, LLC,  DPG is a multi strategy investment, advisory and merchant banking firm and affiliated companies managing diverse assets comprised of private equity interests, short term high yield notes, and private investment partnerships.

Mr. Galvanoni assists in managing portfolio investments and operating partnerships which the firm strategically holds and exits. DPG is active, managing over 30 operating private partnerships and portfolio investments/interests in which Mr. Galvanoni takes an active role by adding strategic value to DPG positions in its portfolio on an annual basis. The Capital Markets Group of DPG Investments focuses on the structuring and securing of both debt and equity for multi strategy alternative investment fund managers globally.

DPG Investments brings not only a West coast presence to Blackhawk Partners but a mutually profitable relationship as well; especially when it comes to middle market buyouts.

Daniel has originated over $1billion in high yield debt and equity since the formation of DPG Investments into DPG sponsored transactions and advisory mandates. Mr. Galvanoni is involved in the structuring of financial transactions inconjunction with private equity funds, hedge funds, REITS, equity portfolios, private merchant banks, public and private pension funds, and life companies with a special emphasis on ultra high net worth family office partnerships globally.

Daniel currently serves as a board member with DPG Realty Capital, DPG Investments, DPG Advisors and Fintramex. Prior to starting his own firm, Mr. Galvanoni was an associate at a Lazard Frères and Wesselink & Galvanoni Enterprises,  a General partnership founded after the Galvanoni families successful sale of computing mobile wireless company, Telxon corporation and affiliated entities, a hand held mobile wireless conglomerate the family had economic interests in. Wesselink & Galvanoni Holdings was set up as a multi strategy family office deploying capital into international and domestic real estate development projects, early/mid stage private equity companies, and various early stage technology investments. 

 Mr. Galvanoni graduated from Fairfield University, in Fairfield Connecticut.

Andrew Gold -

A consummate negotiator, deal strategist and problem-solver, Andrew Gold has 20 years experience in finance, technology and law in the US and Europe and brings to Blackhawk Partners operational, strategic and legal support services to growth companies second to none.

Mr. Gold is also a global entrepreneur, having lived and worked in a dozen different cultures, including starting businesses in the US, UK, Germany and Malta. Most recently, Mr. Gold served as Chairman and CEO of Straitshot Communications, a Bellevue, Washington based network services provider. Previously,

Mr. Gold served as well as the General Counsel of Claritage Capital, a New York and Tokyo-based Private Equity Fund. He started his professional career at leading international law firms Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, in Dusseldorf, Germany, and Andrews & Kurth, in Dallas, Texas.

Mr. Gold is also a uniquely effective and accomplished communicator and presenter, having served as a spokesman for the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, DC and as a Lecturer in Public Speaking at Stanford University.

Mr. Gold graduated Magna Cum Laude with a law degree from The American University, was a visiting scholar at The University of Pennsylvania Law School and holds a BA in History and Philosophy from Emory University.

Keary Dana (“Danny”) Hayes II -

Mr. Hayes is currently a General Partner and CEO of Theodore Maxwell, LP (parent of TMax Capital; collectively “TMax”), with offices in Zurich, London and New York. His responsibilities at TMax include managing relationships with institutional investors and sovereign fund managers, working with senior officials at Tier-1 global banks to create strategic value for TMax’s partners and portfolio companies, advising national governments on debt restructuring and other monetary policy issues, negotiating power purchase agreements (PPAs) between large-scale utilities and sovereign governments, structuring IPOs for domestic and foreign stock market exchanges, packaging and launching exchange traded funds (ETFs) based on various asset pools, among other activities.

Mr. Hayes recently served as the primary liaison and negotiator between the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, other stakeholders in the Hong Kong Central Banking System, and other global financial management firms. As a result of these activities and relationships, Mr. Hayes helped create a new fund, “3F Capital.” This fund officially launched in January 2011 and is collecting assets under management at a rapid pace.

At the request of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), Mr. Hayes is leading TMax in a global effort to develop solutions to critical problems in the diamond industry. In this capacity, Mr. Hayes has been primarily responsible for the creation of a new global diamond standardization and securitization process that helps the diamond industry eliminate fraud, prevent “blood diamonds” and conflict diamonds from entering the global diamond supply chain, and substantially reduce illegal diamond smuggling. Because of these efforts, diamond exchanges worldwide now recognize how essential these processes are to ensuring that the global diamond trade is as safe and profitable as possible.

Mr. Hayes has worked with the Vatican in Italy and the U.S. Federal Reserve on classified projects that have major impact on the global banking system. Although these details are classified, this illustrates the high-level relationships and trust that Mr. Hayes has earned from senior banking and political officials worldwide.

While working for two years in the Chicago office of financial services firm Life Cycle, Mr. Hayes was on the team that created a large life settlement bond in which $12.4 billion in 144a private placements were sold. Working with Credit Suisse and Deutsche bank, Mr. Hayes was responsible for all aspects of the bond process, including sales, structure, and marketing to European markets.

Prior to his work at Life Cycle, as a Director at the private banking firm Mid Atlantic Capital, Mr. Hayes was in charge of 72 offices and oversaw $1.2 billion in loan portfolios and securitizations with Lehman brothers over a four-year period.

Amir Heshmatpour -

With Blackhawk’s increasing exposure to the Alternative Public Offering Market (APO), one of Blackhawk's key team members is Mr. Amir Heshmatpour. Amir is also the Founder and Managing Director of AFH Holding & Advisory LLC, an integrated advisory and consulting firm serving U.S. and international clients who seek strategic counsel and sophisticated access to global capital markets. Since founding the Company in 2003, Mr. Heshmatpour has led AFH through numerous successful transactions both in the United States and China.

Prior to this, Amir was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Metrophone Telecommunications, Inc., a company he began in 1994 with $ 30,000. At the age of 24, Amir completed his first reverse merger between Metrophone and Datawave Communications, a prepaid telephone card company, which was then affiliated with AT&T.

Over the next ten years, Amir spearheaded Metrophone’s growth, leading it through a total of 17 acquisitions and growing the business to over $100 million in revenue. Metrophone was twice named among the 100 fastest growing companies in the Northwest and by 2003 the company operated in 34 states and was ranked among the top 10 public service providers in the U.S.

Mr. Heshmatpour was recognized as "Businessman of the Year" by the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2003 and served as Head of the Republican Congressional Business Advisory for the year. Together with his family, he founded Holding Hands Pediatric Therapy & Diagnostics, an organization serving children with special needs and their families.

Mr. Heshmatpour has also served on the Board of "Young Life", a teen-mentoring organization and currently serves on the board of the California Council on Economic Education (CCEE), an organization promoting financial and economic literacy.

Ashley John Heather -

A technology guru second to none, Ashley John Heather has over 15 years of experience in Silicon Alley having founded and operated a number of innovative media/tech companies including Entertainment Media Works, MusiKube and CuttingEdged Technologies and built in the process partnerships with leading interactive groups including ABC, AOL, CBS/Showtime, 20th Century Fox, Fremantle/19, Intel, Microsoft, MTV Networks, MySpace, and Virgin Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Univision.

Mr. Heather’s companies have received awards from the prestigious AlwaysOn Top 100 in Hollywood award in 2007 to European Interactive Consultancy of the Year in 2001.

Mr. Heather is also a frequent speaker at leading wireless/media industry events such as iBreakfast, CTIA Wireless, iWireless World, The Digital Media Summit, MoMeMo and the Digital Coast Roundtable and is regularly quoted in press including the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, with frequent appearances on NY1, CCN Headline News too.

Mr. Heather holds a BA in Economics from Sheffield University, England and is a board member of Nextcode Corporation, Cutting Edged Technologies, Zaah Technologies and co-founder of MoMeMo.org.

Sampath Kumar -

Sampath Kumar has nearly three decades of international / U.S Senior Management banking experience in India, the U.S, the U.K and the Middle East with cutting edge expertise in International Correspondent Banking, International Trade Financing, Treasury Management, Credit Management & Marketing, Private Debt & Equity Financing and Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure Management.

As the CEO/President of Comp Systems Inc, New York; established in early 1998, Mr. Kumar advises large Arab groups out of Dubai (UAE) & has deep & close connections with Oil Rig owners, Government owned Oil Majors in South America, investment banks in the United Arab Emirates and Private Equity firms in both the U.S and the U.K.

Through close affiliations, Mr. Kumar has built up over the years prized relationships with High Net worth entities and individuals including Single/Multi Family offices both in the U.S & South Asia.

Mr. Kumar headed an Arab International bank’s North American operation as the Executive Vice President/ Country Head & General Manager in New York for five years.

Prior to that, he had the responsibility of Group Treasury of the bank headquartered in Dubai as Group Treasurer & directed the resources of all the trading desks in different major centers of the world including the U.K, the U.S & Hong Kong.

Mr. Kumar has a BA in Commerce (with Distinction) from Chennai, India, an MBA from Mumbai University- India & is a Certified Associate of the Institute of Bankers- India.

Jeffrey Nichols -

With nearly four decades experience as a Wall Street economist, precious metals analyst, and gold-market guru, Jeffrey Nichols has long been recognized as one of the world’s top experts in the economics and finance of precious metals.

Jeff began his career as an international economist at Citibank, moved to Wall Street to head the international economic forecasting unit at Argus Research where he rose to chief economist, and then led the precious metals research group at Goldman Sachs before setting out on his own as a gold and precious metals market analyst and consultant.

Today, as managing director of American Precious Metals Advisors (APMA), he provides expert analysis of precious metal markets and offers strategic consulting and market research services to a wide range of corporate clients.

Jeff has advised mining companies on financing and investor relations, served as a director of two public companies, managed a mining-related mutual fund, and worked with national mints, central banks, jewelry manufacturers, futures exchanges, and industry associations. He has been a keynote speaker at dozens of investment and industry conferences, corporate meetings, and private company events around the world and brings invaluable expertise to the Blackhawk Partners team.

John O'Callaghan -

John O’Callaghan is a Managing Director of US Advisory Group, a multi-family office in Boston. This dynamic and cutting edge firm serves ultra high net worth families across the United States on all matters relative to their human and financial capital. John’s role within the firm is to build and manage relationships with client families.

John brings to Blackhawk access to an expanded marketplace for high quality deals and investor base and an expertise in the “family office” space second to none.

Earlier in his 20 year career, John built the sales and client service model of Concordia Capital, a hedge fund and separate account manager that he co-founded. He began at State Street Global Advisors where he helped build SSgA’s Advisor Strategies division.

John earned his MBA at the Carroll School at Boston College and his BA from Tufts University.  He has been a member of the Boston College Club since its inception in 1999.

As to other professional activities, John sits on the Advisory Board for Whitelight Media Group, a diversified entertainment company and Econova, an environmental/ water cleaning company.

On a more personal level, John is proud to serve on the Salvation Army’s Kroc Center Committee which built a $115 million center for the Dorchester and Roxbury communities of Boston. He also served on the board of NFTE, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, a platform for teaching inner city children business-building skills.

Kamyar Shadan -

Kamyar Shadan is the founder of Diginome^TM Inc., a Data Intelligence Platform firm in Silicon Valley. Mr. Shadan invented and holds Patent(s) in the concept and methodology of creating a "Genome for digits". Diginome^TM is the first company of its kind with patented technologies to create "embedded" DNA for any Digital Object. Mr. Shadan is also Chairman of Private Client Services, Inc (PCSFamilyOffice) based in Tiburon, CA. PCS is a comprehensive multi-family office platform offering service for Family Protection, Asset Management, Global Oversight, International Real Estate, Due Diligence and Private Jet/Yatch charters.

Prior to the founding of Diginome^TM Kamyar was Chief Operating Officer of Coherity Inc., a Silicon Valley based Database Software Company funded by Softbank and Accenture Technology Ventures. Coherity was later sold to a Draper Fisher backed firm. Mr. Shadan has served as a board member, provided corporate/financial strategy, executive coaching and raised venture capital for various companies over his career. His domestic and international advisory networks have included former CEO/Chairman of fortune 50 Companies along with Silicon Valley serial entrepreneurs, thought leaders and executives.

Mr. Shadan also served as President & COO of Internet Technology Group, a technology business accelerator, in Silicon Valley. He was a Managing Director at the Private Consulting Group and has held a private banking position at a major private bank and at Morgan Stanley, where he co-led development of a "specialized situation" investment management group – The Goldman Group.

Kamyar holds degrees in Bio-engineering, Industrial Organizational Psychology, with special studies in peak performance, Martial Arts and holistic health and has attended Programs and received certification from the Venture Capital Institute, SF Law School along with Executive programs at HAAS School of business.

Lissa Tucker -

Lissa Tucker has over 15 years of experience in business development and legal research, serving as a licensed wealth management advisor/strategist and development officer in the financial and intellectual property sectors. In this capacity, Lissa has worked for the Japanese government, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Endeavor Agency, Fulbright & Jaworski, Apollo Group, Columbia Medical Center, Qualcomm, Inc., S&P, GMA and as a Wealth Manager for the founders of the ultra-net group at UBS.

Lissa is a highly skilled researcher having conducted key-trend analysis and business analytics (to include patents) for her clients at UBS and Standard & Poor’s Expert Network that led to increased client revenue via innovative (ahead-of-the-curve) investment strategies, and significant reduction of costly investment miscue. Lissa has also served as a Capitol Hill liaison for Fulbright & Jaworski during the key-initial structuring and passage of Sarbanes-Oxley legislation; and as a patent specialist for Qualcomm’s first-ever Patent Audit Group.

Lissa obtained a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology with a minor in Japanese from UCLA, her credentialing in Fundraising Management (Annual, Capital and Major-gifts Campaigns) and Financial Communications from Columbia University; an MBA in Global Management from UOP and is completing her Ph.D. from Walden University’s remote research and publication based (KAM) Financial Policy program. Her research is centered on Financial Terrorism in the area of anti-money laundering (AML), loss-prevention and fraud related matters.

In her free time, Lissa can be found researching, running marathons, fund-raising, and serving as an advocate for UCLA and for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).