Redpoint maintains a remarkable network of hundreds of professionals with experience in critical industries operating worldwide.

Redpoint maintains a remarkable network of hundreds of professionals with experience in critical industries operating worldwide.

Leadership

MATTHEW BOCKNER

CEO & Managing Director

Matt is an international business executive with over two decades of private and public sector experience. Matt provides discreet tactical and practical guidance to successful individuals, their families, and the offices that support them. Matt’s extensive international experience, often in unstable areas of the world, provides a steady hand to navigate commercial and geo-political risk, triage crisis, and find solutions to complex situations. Matt developed his specialized skills in risk management and foreign affairs while serving in leadership positions as a U.S. National Security Executive, a U.S. Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State, and a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer. His overseas experience includes postings in the former Soviet Union, Europe, Africa, and South Asia. Prior to Redpoint, Matt was a Partner and the Chief of Operations for TD International – a leading corporate intelligence and due diligence firm.  Matt received an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, an Honors Certificate in International Business Diplomacy from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and a Bachelor of Arts from Roanoke College.

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. Mike also co-founded KnectIQ, Inc. – a cutting-edge cybersecurity company focused on zero trust infrastructure. 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 & GENERAL COUNSEL

Patryk is an experienced advisor, attorney, and business executive. 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 also served as a trial attorney with the U.S. 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. He also worked at the U.S. Department of State and on projects funded by USAID relating to international development. Patryk received his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota, where he also received both his master’s in public policy and his undergraduate degrees. Patryk is an Adjunct Professor for the UNC School of Law at Chapel Hill, where he teaches litigation risk management.

dennis paul

Senior Advisor

Dennis Paul has over 25 years’ experience in the venture capital, private equity, nonprofit, and luxury brand space. He serves as a Senior Advisor to the Blackstone Group and is the Founder and Managing Member of Thyra Global Management – a venture capital and private equity firm. 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 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 SharkNinja (NYSE), 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.

bert kaufman

Senior Advisor

Bert advises technology investors, C-suite executives, and visionary start-up founders on strategic positioning, transitions, communications, policy development, and profitable partnerships. Bert has extensive experience building and operating successful initiatives and campaigns. He led autonomous vehicle (AV) industry leader Zoox in its Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards certification strategy. As a result, Zoox became the first AV developer authorized to drive its novel vehicle on public roads in California; Zoox was ultimately acquired by Amazon. Previously, Bert served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Commerce, where he co-created and managed the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship initiative and supported the Secretary’s commercial diplomacy efforts across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. He co-founded and was Executive Director of Business Forward, a national trade association to foster partnership between policymakers and business leaders. Bert began his career as a law clerk to a federal district court judge, worked for CNN in Washington and London, and holds a B.A., M.S., and J.D. from Syracuse University.

jim myer

Senior Advisor

Jim leads Redpoint’s Fractional C-Suite Advisory. He 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 healthcare 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, 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 advises clients on real estate operations, policy, and risk. 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 serves on the President’s Council at Fordham University, where he received his undergraduate degree, and received an advanced degree in real estate from New York University.

blaise MISZTAL

Senior Advisor

Blaise specializes in national security issues, with deep expertise in risk analysis, strategy development, and problem-solving in complex environments. He is Vice President for Policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America in Washington, DC. Prior to joining JINSA, he worked in national security at the Bipartisan Policy Center. 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, and studied cyber vulnerabilities in the electric grid. He has 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, Inc., 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 law degree with honors from Hamline University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Willamette University.

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