Matthew Bockner, CEO & Managing Director
Matt is a seasoned international business executive with over two decades of private and public sector experience. Matt provides discreet tactical and practical guidance to High Net-Worth individuals, corporations, Family Offices, C-suite executives, and other key public and private stakeholders. His expertise includes navigating complex commercial and political risk to achieve desired outcomes, often in unstable and operationally complex areas of the world.
Prior to joining Redpoint Advisors as its CEO, Matt was a Partner and Chief of Operations for TD International (TDI) – a global business advisory and intelligence consulting firm. At TDI Matt used his international experience, management insight, and problem-solving skills to guide clients through complex situations globally.
Matt developed his extensive experience in risk management and foreign affairs while serving as a United States National Security Executive and as a Foreign Service Officer of the United States Department of State. Matt’s overseas experience includes postings in the former Soviet Union, Europe, Africa, and South Asia. During his career, Matt received numerous awards for his service in advancing United States foreign policy and operational impact against hostile state and non-state actors while serving in politically sensitive regions.
Matt received a Master of Business Administration degree from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, a Certificate in International Business Diplomacy from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and a Bachelor of Arts in public policy from Roanoke College. He started his career in communications, was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Côte d’Ivoire, and is fluent in French and conversant in Russian. He is based in Washington D.C. and oversees Redpoint’s global engagements.
Mike LaFontaine, Co-Founder & Managing Director
Mike is a prominent strategic advisor, attorney and entrepreneur. As the former Executive Vice President and Chief Operational Risk Officer for U.S. Bancorp, Mike led a team of approximately one thousand risk management professionals throughout the United States, Europe and Canada. He sat on U.S. Bancorp’s executive Managing Committee and served on the Board of Directors for U.S. Bank. Mike was on the executive team that consistently produced industry-leading results during one of the most difficult times in banking. In addition to serving as the Managing Director of Redpoint, Mike also co-founded knectIQ – a cutting-edge cybersecurity company that connects and protects sensitive data through a proprietary cloud-based approach. Mike serves on multiple boards, including Minnwest Corporation’s Board of Directors, one of the nation’s largest agricultural lenders, and is an Emeritus Trustee for Hamline University’s Board of Trustees. Mike received his law degree, magna cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law, attended the University of Saint Thomas School of Business, and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota.
Patryk Drescher, Co-Founder & Managing Director
Patryk is an experienced advisor, attorney and business executive. Before co-founding Redpoint, Patryk was Senior Vice President and Director of Regulatory Services at U.S. Bancorp, where he was responsible for overall management of key federal regulatory examinations, enforcement actions, and critical matters effecting corporate regulatory risk. Patryk was also a trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice, where he represented the United States in complex business and international trade matters involving hundreds of millions of dollars. Before joining the Justice Department, Patryk was an attorney at the international law firm Ropes & Gray LLP in Washington, D.C. In addition to serving as a Managing Director of Redpoint, Patryk is a member/manager of real estate investment companies with holdings in the District of Columbia, Colorado, and Washington. Patryk received his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School and is currently an Adjunct Professor for the UNC School of Law at Chapel Hill, where he teaches litigation risk management. He also holds masters and bachelors degrees from the University of Minnesota.
Dennis Paul, Senior Advisor
Dennis Paul is an experienced Founder and an industry leader with over 25 years of experience in the venture capital, private equity, nonprofit, and luxury brand space. He serves as a Senior Advisor to the Blackstone Group, as well as the Founder and Managing Member of Thyra Global Management – a venture capital and private equity firm.
Since 2013, Dennis has invested in and helped Founders grow their companies – including Uqora, Caper.Ai, Virtru, Livestream, and Pager Health. Previously, Dennis held senior roles in asset management at UBS and Citigroup — where he co-managed funds in excess of $800M.
He is the Co-Founder of both the civics nonprofit REACT to FILM and the for-profit production company React Films, which produced award-winning films and television series such as 100 Foot Wave (HBO), The Workers Cup (Passion River), Slay the Dragon (Magnolia Pictures), and The Story of Plastic (Discovery Networks).
Dennis is a Trustee of the Museum of the Moving Image where he serves on the Executive Committee, a Board Member of Rubicon Technologies (Nasdaq), and an Advisory Board Member of THE WELL. Dennis holds a BA from Columbia University, is based in New York and Geneva, and is fluent in French.
Shannon K. McCombie, Senior Advisor
Throughout her career, Shannon K. McCombie has worked in both the public and private sectors. Shannon lived and worked internationally for the Central Intelligence Agency and Naval Special Warfare Development Group, with the majority of her government career spent in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.
Shannon combined that experience with leadership roles ranging from Fortune 30 companies to technology start-ups. She was the Executive Director of Strategic Development at Comcast NBCUniversal, where she managed the ideation process for new growth entities after having served as the Chief Operating Officer of an acquired cybersecurity firm. Subsequently, she went to the McChrystal Group to advise and teach clients in various industries on leadership and team performance. She later served as the Chief Operating Officer of a cybersecurity firm and later a molecular biology start-up, followed by her current role as Head of Operations, North America, for a British technology start-up.
Shannon attended Penn State University, where she received both her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Politics with minors in French and International Studies, and her master’s degree in Psychology of Leadership. Shannon is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an Advisory Board Member of the UDT/SEAL Museum.
Jim Myer, Senior Advisor
Jim is an accomplished CFO and CPA, with 20+ years of experience helping to grow middle-market businesses. Among his other CFO roles, Jim was instrumental in taking a health care company private, recapitalizing the business with the assistance of private equity, and growing it from 20 locations to over 150 locations nationwide. He has extensive experience working with private equity and investment banks to fund M&A activity and organic growth initiatives. Jim has led numerous company sales and/or recapitalizations for closely held businesses with varying goals of shareholder liquidity, growth capital and company expansion. Jim is based in the Twin Cities and leads Redpoint’s fractional CFO and COO engagements, where he helps clients build and refine internal financial and operating processes to facilitate growth, prepare for M&A activities and procure third-party financial support. Jim serves on several boards as an independent director and holds his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.
Gus Poulopoulos, Senior Advisor
Gus is an industry-leading advisor, business executive and real estate expert. As the former co-founder and President of USI Brokerage, which was acquired by Johnson Controls, Gus led a nationwide team to optimize real estate portfolios and operations for many of the Fortune 500 companies. Together with his business partners, Gus helped grow USI from a start-up to a market leader in the real estate industry. Gus has also served as a senior executive with Deloitte Consulting, leading a variety of business improvement initiatives for Deloitte’s vast network of clients. Inducted into the “Leadership 100” – a prominent business and cultural organization – Gus is a recognized leader in the business community. Gus also serves on the President’s Council at Fordham University, where he received his undergraduate degree. He also holds an advanced degree in real estate from New York University. Gus leads Redpoint Advisors’ operations in the New York City area.
Blaise Misztal, Senior Advisor
Blaise is the Director of National Security at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, DC. Blaise specializes in cybersecurity, with deep expertise in risk analysis, strategy development, and problem-solving in complex environments. Blaise created an executive-level cyberattack simulation to train Cabinet-level government officials in handling emergencies, developed models for public-private cyber threat intelligence sharing, studied cyber vulnerabilities in the electric grid, testified before Congress and published op-eds in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and other national media. Blaise received his M.Phil. from Yale University and received his undergraduate degree, with honors, from the University of Chicago.
Ken Morris, Senior Advisor
Ken is a highly skilled CEO, advisor and entrepreneur with deep expertise in cybersecurity, healthcare and information technology. Following years as an executive with Boston Scientific and Guidant Corporation, Ken founded and led a number of successful companies—from an award winning strategic advisory firm, The Apercu Group, which provided strategic insight to Fortune 250 companies, to CorCardia, which provides cloud-based health outcomes technology for hospitals and medical device manufacturers, to knectIQ, which brings groundbreaking cybersecurity solutions to healthcare, financial services and the Internet of Things. Ken serves on multiple boards and frequently presents to international groups on data privacy, cybersecurity and M2M authentication. Ken earned his Juris Doctorate with honors from Hamline University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Willamette University. Ken is also a strong steward of the communities his companies serve—bringing thoughtful solutions to those that need them most, such as Ken’s “Close The Gap” program, an industry leading effort to expand the adoption of medical devices to traditionally underserved populations.
Tom Jaeb, Senior Advisor
Tom is an experienced business operations and compliance expert. Tom served as President of a highly successful business intelligence company, achieving double-digit annual revenue growth prior to the company’s sale in 2015. During his twenty-five years in corporate investigations and security, Tom has led engagements with 30+ Fortune 500 companies. Tom advises business owners and operators on EOS implementation, process improvement, compliance, and third-party vendor management. He is a highly sought-after consultant on due diligence strategies, regulatory compliance, and AML/KYC practices. Tom is a Certified International Investigator and a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist.