Fintech Certificate
Speakers
Program Hosts
Gert-Jan de Vreede
GJ de Vreede serves as a professor in the School of Information Systems and Management. De Vreede has taught undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and executive courses in areas such as agile software development, systems analysis and design, teamwork/facilitation and research methods. His research focuses on artificial intelligence, crowdsourcing, and collaboration engineering. His work has been cited more than 10,000 times and appeared in several major industry publications. He received both a PhD and a Master of Science in Information Systems from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Alexis Mootoo
Alexis Nicole Mootoo earned a PhD in government and a graduate certificate in Latin American Studies from USF’s School of Interdisciplinary and Global Studies. Mootoo serves as an assistant vice president at the University of South Florida and is an adjunct professor for USF’s School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies and Humanities. She is also a fellow in the USF Muma College of Business. Mootoo is interested in American and international race politics and race relations, comparative politics, and public and foreign policy. Her research areas of interest are Brazil and regions with Afro-descendant populations. Her dissertation, “Structural Racism: Racists without Racism in Liberal Institutions within Colorblind States,” examined how Afro-descendants are competing in publicly funded universities in New York City and the city of São Paulo, taking race-based affirmative action into consideration.
Faculty, Industry Experts, and Program Contributors
Samuel Armes
Samuel Armes is a business and political strategist, with an extensive background in government, media, and Web3. Armes did research for the United States Special Operations Command on Bitcoin and counter threat finance. He did similar research for the United States Department of State on cryptocurrency policy and blockchain technology. He is currently the president of the Florida Blockchain Business Association and has helped pass seven bills in the Florida legislature, the most notable being the first Anti Central Bank Digital Currency Bill. He currently runs Three Gates, a political strategy consulting firm, and speaks at major blockchain and freedom technology conferences around the country.
Christopher Danvers
Christopher Danvers is senior director, head of Client Solutions – Community Issuers & Fintech at Visa. He's considered a payments expert with over 20 years of experience at community issuers and platform providers serving fintech and embedded finance.
Danvers is a certified Project Management Professional, a 2009 graduate of the Southeast CUNA Management School, holds a Bachelor of Science in management, marketing and sales from Kaplan University, and an Associate of Science in multimedia and web design from the New England Institute of Art.
His efforts to innovate within the payments industry have included the Federal Reserve's Secure Payments Task Force as a steering committee member representing medium-sized financial institutions, and credit union industry innovation through Filene Research Institute’s i3 and 30 Under 30 programs.
Priya Dozier
Priya D. Dozier is an assistant professor of instruction in the USF School of Information Systems and Management, which is part of the USF Muma College of Business. She works on the USF St. Petersburg campus. Before joining USF in 2019, she served as vice president of digital solutions and innovation at PSCU, a credit union service organization in St. Petersburg, Florida. Dozier has almost 20 years of experience in various roles in product management, product development, and business analysis in the financial services industry. She has taught courses in ethics, management, product development, and organization strategies at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her research interests include management, innovation, and product development, with a recent study related to blockchain adoption in the financial services industry. Through her research, Dozier explores the intersection of technology and decision-making through the lens of individual users, leaders, and organizations. Dozier earned a bachelor’s degree in management information systems from Florida State University and both MBA and DBA degrees from the University of South Florida.
Ian Drysdale
As CEO, Ian Drysdale has driven One Inc to become the leading digital payments network in the insurance industry, growing revenue at a 43% compound annual growth rate. Since 2021, One Inc has increased its annual payment volume to $60 billion, while working to ensure superior innovation, value, and experience for its clients and their policyholders.
Drysdale brings over 25 years of senior leadership experience from some of the largest payments companies, including First Data, WorldPay, and Elavon. Drysdale led Zelis Healthcare’s high-growth payments division. Zelis recapitalized and merged in 2019 at a value of $5.7B.
Before joining One Inc, Drysdale was an executive in residence for Great Hill Partners, identifying and pursuing investment opportunities in the financial technology sector and advising Great Hill Partners' fintech portfolio companies. Drysdale holds a bachelor's degree from Bishop's University, Canada, and an MBA in international business from Florida Atlantic University.
Kaushik Dutta
Kaushik Dutta has more than two decades of professional and research experience in the field of enterprise IT infrastructure, data analytics and big data systems. He is a professor in and chair of the School of Information Systems and Management. Dutta's primary expertise combines operations research and data mining techniques with computer science systems knowledge to efficiently handle big data and manage large IT infrastructure. He has been the mentor of two startups out of USF in the NSF-iCorps program. Prior to joining USF, Dutta was a tenured associate professor at National University of Singapore and Florida International University. Before starting out on his academic path, he pursued a career in engineering, most recently as the chief technology officer and vice president of engineering of Mobilewalla, a NUS-incubated and Madrona-funded company that developed big-data-based mobile advertisement platforms. Dutta earned a PhD in management information systems from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a master's degree in computer science from the Indian Statistical Institute. He received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Jadavpur University.
Kiran Garimella
Kiran Garimella is an assistant professor of instruction in the USF School of Information Systems and Management, which is part of the USF Muma College of Business. His research interests include blockchain and machine learning, specifically on the integration of machine learning into distributed ledger technology (blockchain), functional security of blockchain applications, dynamic consensus mechanisms, dynamic allocation of multiparty blockchain channels in supply chains, and distributed ecosystem formation. Garimella has published several papers in IEEE, INFORMS, and WITS, his latest one being "Enhancing Trust in Business Ecosystems with Blockchain Technology" in the IEEE Engineering Management Review, 2020. His latest book is AI+Blockchain: A Brief Guide for Game Changers, with a foreword by Vint Cerf, co-founder of the Internet. Garimella has extensive C-level experience, having served as Global CIO for General Electric and vice president for business process management at Software AG. He consults at KoreConX, where he leads the strategy for building the world's largest enterprise ecosystem for the global private capital markets on an AI-based permissioned blockchain platform. The platform is deployed in 23 countries with a processing capacity of 10 billion transactions per year. Garimella is the principal founder, developer, and chief curator of iKnowCentral.com, a co-founder of CognitiveWorld.com, and an adviser to the MidMarketPlace. He earned a PhD from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida. His doctoral thesis was "A Knowledge-Intensive Machine-Learning Approach to the Principal-Agent Problem."
Soumya Ghoshal
Soumya Ghoshal has 23 years of experience in banking technology. Prior to joining Boston Consulting Group, he was a managing director at DBS Bank in Group Technology & Operations, and had earlier stints in Standard Chartered Bank and Citi where he served as a management associate.
In his roles as head of regional technology functions and country CTO, he has led implementations of complex business solutions and modern technology across diverse banking domains such as digital lending, customer servicing, risk management, core banking modernization, finance, data and analytics, institutional and retail brokerage and transaction banking.
Over the course of his career, Ghoshal established and evolved multiple technology organizations. In DBS, he anchored initiatives that were a prime enabler for the cultural and skill transformation journey of the organization.
Peter Gordon
Peter Gordon is head of emerging money movement and partnerships at U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. He joined the bank in October 2019 and leads strategy and development efforts for emerging money movement products and services. This includes leading real-time payments (RTP), FedNow and most recently the launch of For Benefit Of account with Virtual Account Management solution that allows a fintech to move money on behalf of their clients without taking ownership of the funds.
A real-time payments veteran with over 30 years of experience in financial services, Gordon was previously chief revenue officer at PayFi, where he oversaw the firm’s work in providing businesses and banks with real-time money movement solutions through simple APIs. He has also held leadership roles at Mastercard, Santander, RBS Citizens, eCom Advisors and FIS. Gordon was the founder and general manager of FIS PayNet, the first U.S.-based global real-time payment network, and was also a founder and served as a board member of First Commons Bank from 2009 until it was sold to Brookline Bank in Boston in March 2018.
His work has had a global reach, spanning markets in Brazil, the European Union, India, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, he was one of 18 steering committee members of the Federal Reserve Faster Payments Task Force, which developed the initial criteria and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau guiding principles on RTP and FedNow.
Gordon earned his MBA from the Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, and his bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University.
Timothy Greer
Tim Greer is an assistant professor of instruction in the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance, which is part of the USF Muma College of Business. He came to USF in 2022 from the College for Financial Planning, where he was an adjunct professor. Greer has over 25 years of industry experience, including founding and leading a multiline insurance and financial services agency. He also currently serves in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He earned a DBA from the University of South Florida, an MBA from Quinnipiac University, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Grove City College. He holds numerous industry certifications some of which include the Chartered Financial Consultant®, Chartered Life Underwriter®, and Certified Employee Benefit Specialist®.
Scott Harkey
Scott Harkey is the global head of marketing and EVP of financial services and payments at Endava. In this dual role, Harkey guides Endava's financial services and payments global go-to-market in addition to leading a global marketing team that brings the Endava value proposition to clients across 15 countries and 12 different industry verticals. He joined Endava through the acquisition of Levvel where he served as one of the early leaders and chief strategy officer prior to its acquisition by Endava in 2021.
Prior to joining Levvel, Harkey was a technology executive at Bank of America managing the bank’s digital wallet technology. In this role, he was responsible for accelerating the bank’s progress to becoming a leader in digital payments through the launch of multiple strategic payment products. This experience, combined with an additional 10 years of technology merger integration and IT operations outsourcing at Wells Fargo, gives Harkey a true insider’s point of view. It also demonstrates a proven track record of delivering to banks, technology providers, and merchants operating in the digital payments space.
Harkey holds a number of payment-related patents, was voted one of the top “40 Under 40” by both the ETA and the Charlotte Business Journal, is a frequent speaker on digital banking and payments, and plays an active role in fostering a fintech culture in the Charlotte community. He holds a management information systems degree from University of North Carolina at Charlotte and an MBA from NC State University and lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife, daughter, and twin boys.
Michelle Harrolle
Michelle Harrolle, director of the Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management program in the USF Muma College of Business, teaches courses related to marketing, sales and fundraising in sports and entertainment in the USF School of Marketing and Innovation. Harrolle has published a book on esports and has been published in a number of journals including the Journal of Sport Management. Her years of experience in the sports industry include being aquatics director at Providence College; swimming coach at Providence College, Florida State University and The Ohio State University. Harrolle was one of three head female collegiate coaches of both men’s and women’s D1 athletics. She was the director of a Tampa Memorial Golf Tournament from 2003-2007. At North Carolina State University, she received highest teaching honor bestowed on a professor, the 2012-13 North Carolina State University and College of Natural Resources Teacher of the Year awards. Harrolle has served as a member of several professional organizations, including the Sport Marketing Association, North American Society for Sport Management and the National Recreation and Park Association. Harrolle earned a PhD, master's and bachelor's degrees from the University of Florida.
Oscar Jofre
Oscar Jofre currently leads two of the most innovative companies empowering the private capital markets. Oscar Jofre is currently one of the Top 10 global thought leaders in equity crowdfunding, a Top 5 fintech influencer, Top 10 blockchain and a Top 50 InsureTech. He has published an eBook that has been downloaded in over 20 countries, and been distributed by partners worldwide.
Jofre is a featured speaker on blockchain, digital assets, digital securities, securities token, fintech, regulated, equity crowdfunding, compliance, shareholder management, investor relations, and transparency in the US, Australia, UK, UAE, Peru, Germany, France, Netherlands, Canada, Singapore, Indonesia and China. He speaks to audiences covering alternative finance, digital securities offerings, equity crowdfunding, NFT, DSO, STO, TAO, ICO/ITO, RegTech, insurance, banking, legal, and crowdfunding. Jofre also advises the world’s leading research, accounting, law firms and insurance companies on the impact blockchain, DSO, STO, TAO, ICO, NFT, fintech, RegTech, LegalTech, InsurTech and OrgTech is having in their business.
He is a member of the Crowdfunding Intermediary Regulatory Advocates in the US, and a contributing author to The Fintech Book, the world’s first crowdsourced book on Fintech globally. He writes for Sharewise, Locavesting, Equities.com, Business.com, Crowdfund Insider, Crowdfund Beat, Bankless Times, and Agoracom.
He has been recognized as one of the 10 most influential Hispanic leaders in Canada. In May 2010, he was recognized by the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper for his accomplishments.
Jofre was awarded the Vision 2012 Business Man of the Year by the Toronto Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in September 2012.
Kemal Kvakic
Kemal Kvakic, vice president and IT head of innovation at Raymond James Financial is a seasoned technology leader with over 20 years of experience in developing and executing innovative IT solutions that drive business growth. With a passion for identifying and implementing cutting-edge technologies, Kvakic is responsible for guiding the company's technology strategy, leading the development of new and innovative IT solutions, and help drive digital transformation initiatives. With a focus on customer-centric innovation and collaboration, Kvakic is committed to delivering exceptional results and driving growth for the company.
As a leader in the IT domain, besides innovation, Kvakic is responsible for the IT leadership and education program, robotic process automation, and Office of COO initiatives.
Holding a bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering from the University of South Florida, Kvakic has a deep understanding of the latest technological advancements and how they can be leveraged to solve real-world business challenges. In his previous role as senior director and HealthPlan services, Kvakic led the implementation of cutting-edge web applications for major healthcare providers, which has received widespread recognition for its impact on the company.
When Kvakic is not working, he loves to travel to new destinations, spend quality time with his family, and occasional golfing with an average score of 100-plus per round.
Seçkin Özkul
Seçkin Özkul is an assistant professor of instruction in supply chain management in the USF School of Marketing and Innovation, which is part of the USF Muma College of Business. He spearheads the Supply Chain Innovation Lab, which brings industry and academic supply chain management experts together to work on research projects tackling some of the industry’s biggest challenges. Özkul is also an affiliated faculty member with the USF Center for Urban Transportation Research. Özkul has extensive experience in funded research project management as principal investigator and conducted research in the areas of operations management, supply chain and logistics modeling/optimization, logistics activity center location/site selection optimization as well as freight mobility and planning. He is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Florida. Özkul earned a PhD in engineering with a focus on freight transportation/logistics operations, from the University of Florida, a master’s degree in marketing with a concentration in supply chain management and a master's degree in engineering from USF, and a bachelor's degree in engineering from Auburn University.
Jung Chul Park
Jung Chul Park is an associate professor of finance and the Bank of America Professor of Finance in the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance, which is one of six schools in the USF Muma College of Business. He teaches theory of finance to doctoral and master’s students. Prior to joining the faculty at USF, he taught at Auburn University and Louisiana Tech University. Park's research interests are in corporate finance, investments, international finance, and the interaction of finance and politics. His work has been published in numerous articles in prestigious academic journals such as the Journal of Financial Economics, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Corporate Finance. He is the recipient of numerous research awards from USF, Auburn University and Louisiana Tech University. He earned a PhD in finance from USF in 2007 and an MBA with a concentration in finance from Binghamton University in 2003.
Kassandra Patatanes
Kassandra Patatanes is the assistant program director of the Fintech Center in the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance on the USF Tampa campus. She joins us with over six years of experience in higher education, marketing, and customer service combined. Patatanes has a strong record of developing marketing and communication strategies for programs across multiple media platforms as well as managing logistics and operations of event planning, booking, and promotions. Prior to her appointment at the Muma College of Business, Patatanes was a senior program manager at the University of Rhode Island Foundation and Alumni Engagement where she spearheaded many successful campus programs for groups including the College of Business, Student Alumni Association, and the Young Alumni Council. She is credited with achieving record event attendance and introducing new programming throughout her programs at the University of Rhode Island bringing together the student body, alumni, and local community. Before her position at University of Rhode Island, Patatanes was the marketing communications coordinator at Touchstone Crystal by Swarovski. Patatanes earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Rhode Island.
Shivendu Shivendu
Shivendu Shivendu is an associate professor of information systems in the USF School of Information Systems and Management. He has created and taught undergraduate, graduate, MBA, and doctoral courses in areas related to economics of information systems, design of information systems, business analytics, econometrics, blockchain technology and crypto economy including fintech. He led the prestigious White House initiated federal TechHire grant of $600,000 as principal investigator for the annual "State of the Region" conference held in the Tampa Bay region, an event that draws hundreds of business and civic leaders to learn more about how the region compares to other metropolitan areas in key areas such an unemployment, income inequality, economic growth, and educational attainment. Before transitioning to academics, Shivendu served in the Indian Administrative Service in senior leadership roles in the government in India. Shivendu also serves as pro bono academic advisor to the National Institute of Smart Government, New Delhi. His research focuses on the emerging business and policy issues at the intersection of technology, economics and public policy. He earned a PhD and a master's degree in economics from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.
Timothy Smith
Tim Smith is an assistant professor of instruction in the School of Information Systems and Management on USF's St. Petersburg campus. He came to USF in 2022 from Iowa State University, where he was an assistant teaching professor in the Ivy College of Business. Smith's research interests lie in organizational routines, technology adoption processes, business analytics, and enterprise systems development. His work has been published in the Journal of Information Systems Education, the Teaching Mathematics and Computer Science journal, and currently serves as the technical editor for the Journal of Information Systems Education. He has presented research at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Americas Conference on Information Systems, and International Conference on Information systems. He has also won several awards, including the best paper award at the 2019 DIGIT conference. Smith has over 20 years of industry experience, including founding and leading a software development company, co-developing an operating system, and leading in various engineering and executive roles within the telecommunications industry. He earned a PhD from Carleton University, a master's degree from Athabasca University, and a bachelor's degree in economics (1st class honors) from the University of New Brunswick.
Matthew Son
Matthew (Gunsu) Son is an assistant professor at the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in financial technology (fintech), focusing on applying big data analytics and machine learning in finance. He was awarded for his exceptional teaching skills, particularly in financial technology.
Data science and technology play an integral part in his research in that he utilizes supercomputing with big data, machine learning, and network analysis in the financial field. His field of research includes market microstructure, derivative securities, fixed income, and institutional investments. His research aims to contribute to the growing body of work at the intersection of finance and technology, with a keen interest in understanding the transformative potential of machine learning algorithms on financial markets and decision-making. Son has actively participated in various conferences and seminars, sharing his research findings and fostering collaboration among researchers in the field.
Before joining the faculty at USF, he received a PhD in finance from the University of Florida in 2023. He holds a master's degree from the University of Alberta (2018) and a bachelor's degree from Korea University (2011). Additionally, he served as 1st lieutenant in the Republic of Korea Air Force (2015).
Thomas Stanton
Tom Stanton is an entrepreneurial-minded patent and intellectual property attorney with extensive experience representing entrepreneurs and technology companies. After spending 10 years in the IT field, and at the ripe age of 35 Stanton decided to make a career change and become an attorney. He attended Stetson University College of Law and acquired an LLM in International Economic Law from the University of Toulouse, France. He is now a licensed patent attorney in both New York and Florida with focus on cutting-edge computer technologies and related intellectual property protection. Prior to joining Bochner, Stanton was the founder and president of Stanton IP Law, which specialized in intellectual property and high-tech startups.
As former president of BrixTec, Stanton is the classic example of a leader with an entrepreneurial spirit that took a risk for the American dream – starting a technology company with his friend and business partner Rolland Lucas before graduating from college and passing up lucrative corporate offers. In 2010 Stanton took advantage of a merger with IT Authorities where he ran the sales department until April 2013.
After graduating with a computer engineering degree from the University of South Florida in May 2003, he decided to plant his roots in the Tampa Bay area, a long distance from his former home in Montana. He spent 7 years running BrixTec and growing it in the Tampa Bay business community.
Constantly learning and training, Stanton studied with Sandler Sales Institute in Clearwater and was a charter member of a group in The Renaissance Executive Forums. He was also the treasurer of the International Association of Microsoft Certified Partners Tampa Chapter. He was honored to be a member of the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 30 under 30 Class of 2007 and a finalist for Tampa Bay CEO Magazine CEO of the Year in 2007. He was selected as one of Tampa Bay’s 100 most influential business leaders in 2009.
Nicole Stowell
Nicole Stowell is a professor of instruction of business law in the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy in St. Petersburg and provides students, through her courses, with essential knowledge about legal issues in business. She has taught at USF since 2005 and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2001. She is a member of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and The Florida Bar Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section. Both her online undergraduate and graduate courses have been certified by Quality Matters, and her research has been published in the Journal of the Academy of Business Education, the Journal of Forensic & Investigative Accounting and the Drake Law Review, among others. She also the sits on the Advisory Board for the Center of Innovative Teaching and Learning. Stowell earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stetson University College of Law and an MBA from Stetson University.
Michael D. Wiemer
Michael D. Wiemer is a C-level executive with more than 25 years of experience leading in global higher education and association operating environments. Currently, Wiemer is the inaugural director of the USF FinTech Center where he formally established the center with the Florida State University System, helped launch a global fintech startup business accelerator, and is developing multidisciplinary fintech certificate programs for global release.
Previously Wiemer was senior vice president and chief officer of the Americas for AACSB International. He is credited with globalizing AACSB’s training and education programs, achieving record regional membership, and launching a successful strategic partnership business unit connecting hundreds of organizations across the higher education, corporate, nonprofit, and public sectors worldwide. Prior to joining AACSB he was director of international programs at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business where he led the International MBA and International Business Exchange Program. Before Chicago, he held several leadership positions at Dominican University of CA resulting in the establishment of a new Center for International Programs, the launch of an international executive education program, and a diverse portfolio of international student and faculty exchange partnerships.
Wiemer holds an MBA in international business and a bachelor's degree in international relations. He studied advanced Mandarin Chinese while living and working in Asia.
Xinyan Yan
Xinyan Yan is an assistant professor of finance at the University of South Florida. Before she joined USF, she was an associate professor of finance at the University of Dayton. She holds a PhD in finance from the University of Alabama. Her research interest focuses on empirical corporate finance. Some of her works are at the interaction of fintech and corporate finance. She is one of the first to introduce natural language processing and machine learning to corporate finance research. Her recent publication innovatively uses machine learning to measure corporate culture, which was viewed as a mission impossible before.