James H. Gellert, Chairman and CEO. Recognized authority on independent research and analytics tools companies as an entrepreneur and investment banker. For the past 20 years, Mr. Gellert has run a variety of companies in technology industries, founded a boutique investment banking firm focused on FinTech companies and worked for global financial institutions. Read more...
James H. Gellert, President and Chief Executive Officer. In February 2007, Mr. Gellert led the team that acquired Rapid Ratings™ from Collection House Ltd and became the Company's Chairman, CEO and President. The acquisition team included Dr. Patrick J. Caragata, Founder and Executive Vice Chairman of Rapid Ratings and Mr. Gellert’s long-time business partner, Douglas M. Cameron, now Rapid Ratings’ Chief Operating Officer. For the past 20 years Mr. Gellert has both run private companies across an array of industries and worked as an investment banker arranging public and private debt and private equity financings. Mr. Gellert, who is series 24, 7 and 63 licensed, was the Managing Partner of Howland Partners, LLC and Howland Securities LLC (member FINRA/SIPC), firms that provided consulting, business development, capital raising and M&A advisory to companies in the Financial Information and Technology markets. Prior to the Howland businesses and Rapid Ratings, Mr Gellert had positions as CEO of a number of technology companies including wireless software and research companies, SkyScout and Unstrung, as Head of Yankee Origination at Deutsche Banc Alex Brown and as a member of Yankee and private placement teams at UBS Securities and Barclays de Zoete Wedd. Mr. Gellert is a frequent guest on business news networks such as Bloomberg TV, CNBC, Fox Business Network and Business News Network in Canada. He also speaks regularly on regulatory reform matters concerning the Credit Rating industry including recently as a guest speaker at the Securities & Exchange Commission’s “Roundtable to Examine Oversight of Credit Rating Agencies,” testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs at a hearing titled “Examining Proposals to Enhance the Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies,” to the United States House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises at a hearing titled “Transforming Credit Rating Agencies,” and to the International Organization of Securities Commissioners (“IOSCO”) Standing Committee Six, at the invitation of the SEC. Mr. Gellert was an Asian Studies major at Connecticut College (minoring in Japanese) and attended Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. Mr. Gellert is a member of various corporate boards and corporate advisory boards and is also active in the non-profit and educational worlds, including as a National Board member of Young Audiences/Arts for Learning Inc, the nation’s leading source of arts-in-education services.
Dr. Patrick Caragata, Founder, Exec Vice Chairman. Recognized authority on credit rating models, taxation, company risk assessment and corporate governance. Former Chief Tax Policy Advisor and Special Adviser Taxation Economics with the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department, Chief Economist, New Zealand Ministry of Energy, and Senior Economist International at Toronto-Dominion Bank. Read more...
Dr. Patrick Caragata, Founder and Executive Vice-Chairman. The firm's CEO until 2006, Dr. Caragata joined with James Gellert and Douglas Cameron in February 2007 to acquire Rapid Ratings™. He is the architect and inventor of the Company's models and methodologies. Prior to founding Rapid Ratings™, Dr. Caragata was Managing Director, McCallum Petterson Financial Diagnostics in New Zealand from 1997 to 2001. Prior positions include: Chief Tax Policy Advisor and Special Adviser Taxation Economics with the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department (1991-1997); Chief Economist, New Zealand Ministry of Energy (1988-1991); Senior Advisor, Investment Canada (Canada-US Free Trade Agreement, 1986-1988); Senior Economist International at Toronto-Dominion Bank - head of the group producing country risk reports and exchange rate forecasts for 65 countries (1983-1986), and Manager International Policy with both the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Canadian Council International Chamber of Commerce (1981-83). He has a PhD from the University of Toronto (1981). Dr. Caragata is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and has authored five books including Business Early Warning Systems: Corporate Governance for the New Millennium, (1999, Butterworths).
Douglas Cameron, COO. Recognized authority on independent research and analytics tools companies as advisor/banker (Howland Partners and Howland Securities). Past COO of various private companies. Founder of Cygnet Investments. Read more...
Douglas Cameron, Chief Operating Officer. In February 2007, Mr. Cameron joined James Gellert and Dr. Caragata to acquire Rapid Ratings™ and became the Company's COO. He has been involved in capital raising and managing private companies since 1995. During this time Mr. Cameron has worked both as an entrepreneur and capital raising/corporate finance consultant. He has worked closely with James Gellert for the past eight years, and was a founding partner of Howland Partners and was actively engaged in consulting, business development, capital raising and M&A advisory to companies in the Financial Information Services markets. Prior to Howland, he was COO of Voy Group, and Founder and COO of sister companies, SkyScout and Unstrung. Mr. Cameron began his career in investing and consulting when he founded Cygnet Investment in 1995, an Australian based, boutique capital advisory and structured finance fund focused on providing capital and structured finance solutions for small and middle-tier mining companies. He is also a limited partner at Innovation Capital a leading Australian based venture capital firm. Mr. Cameron has his Series 7 and 63 qualifications with FINRA (formerly the NASD).
Ben Ayyakad, Vice President Quality Assurance and General Manager, India. Mr. Ayyakad is head of Quality Assurance. Prior to joining Rapid Ratings™ in 2001, Mr. Ayyakad was a global equity & investment analyst and business advisor to a Prince of the Ruling Royal Family of Saudi Arabia where he worked for five years. Prior to this he was a financial risk analyst with Bahrain Insurance Company. Read more...
Ben Ayyakad, Vice President Quality Assurance and General Manager, India. Mr. Ayyakad is General Manager, Production, Quality Assurance and Research. Prior to joining Rapid Ratings™, Mr. Ayyakad was a global equity & investment analyst and business advisor to a Prince of the Ruling Royal Family of Saudi Arabia where he worked for five years. Prior to this he was a financial risk analyst with Bahrain Insurance Company. Mr. Ayyakad was also a Credit Controller with BICC plc for eight years in Bahrain. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ayyakad was a business correspondent with The Times of India, Bombay Edition, Northern Gulf Correspondent with Oil & Gas and Gulf Construction in Bahrain and Editor-in -Chief for Business & Industry in the Middle East.
Ed Chambliss, Senior Vice President, Financial Institution Sales. Mr. Chambliss is a Wall Street veteran of more than 30 years and has held a variety of sales, sales management, origination and corporate finance assignments at leading investment banks, along with more recent involvement in alternative investments at smaller firms. Read more...
Ed Chambliss, Senior Vice President, Financial Institution Sales. Mr. Chambliss began his 17-year career at Salomon Brothers in municipal sales in Philadelphia, before transferring to New York. As manager of the Preferred Stock Department, he led the firm to its #1 ranking in product origination and distribution. He served briefly as co-manager of the Debt Syndicate Desk, before assuming high yield sales management roles in New York and later Boston. He was made a managing director in 1987. He joined the new Swiss Bank-O’Connor Partners joint venture as a managing director in 1991, where he was initially in charge of assembling and managing a derivatives sales team covering U.S. institutions. He also sponsored the company’s educational and developmental efforts with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and with the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST). Over the course of several subsequent mergers (UBS is the surviving company) he worked in Yankee debt origination and in private placements, before initiating Swiss Bank’s corporate finance coverage of the U.S. life insurance industry, where he focused on IPO assignments and on the securitized GIC/FA market that SBC/UBS came to lead. After leaving UBS in 2001 he worked with former Salomon colleagues on venture capital projects in financial guaranty and in listed options trading. He also worked in manager selection and investor development at Alternative Asset Managers, L.P., which makes strategic investments in new hedge funds. He comes to Rapid Ratings after a stint in leveraged loan sales and trading at LaBranche & Co., Inc. He received an A.B. in History from Princeton University.
Julian Edgar, Senior Vice President, Sales Development. Prior to joining Rapid Ratings, Mr. Edgar worked for Lombard Risk Management as “Senior Vice President – Risk Management Solutions” for the Americas for their credit risk products. This role involved overseeing business & product development and client services for the region. Previously, he worked for Deutsche Bank in London as a Risk Controller and Business Manager within Credit Trading. Mr. Edgar holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations, is a member of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and has worked extensively with, and is a member of the International Energy Credit Association (IECA). He has also owned and sold an event management business in London and is a qualified accountant.
Jeffrey Gibb, Senior Vice President of Strategic Relations & Head of Legal Operations. Mr. Gibb joined Rapid Ratings in January of 2012 with over 25 years of experience in the financial services world as a lawyer and as a strategic business consultant. Mr. Gibb spent 12 years practicing real estate and corporate law in New York and Philadelphia, most notably as a senior transactional lawyer for GE Capital and as lead lawyer for transactions at GE Capital Mortgage, the entity that serviced GE’s residential mortgage pools and issued mortgage-based securities. From 2001, Mr. Gibb ran his own consulting and private investment firm that focused on financial services companies and channeling investors to companies looking to grow.
Sandra Gray, Senior Vice President, Head of Sales Operations & Development. Sandy Gray is a seasoned business to business sales and marketing leader known for her expertise in growing revenue and scaling operations with measurable results. Ms. Gray brings over 20 years of experience to Rapid Ratings with a proven track record in startup operations and large Fortune 500 companies, focusing on B2B sales and marketing in the information technology and services industry. In her current role, Ms. Gray is developing business and operations with the purpose of attracting new clients to RRI’s growing base, including some of the world’s most respected brands. Read more...
During her career, Ms. Gray has held senior management positions with major IT industry firms, including prior work with Rapid Ratings. Her experience includes Gartner (Inteco Corp), AT&T, IDG and Time Warner. Ms. Gray has led revenue growth organizations, and has personally closed some of the largest business agreements in companies and industries. Ms. Gray's experience in sales and marketing operations includes strategy, business planning and customer relationship management (CRM). As a director at AT&T, Ms. Gray participated in AT&T’s leadership and executive development program. She studied engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology and business at the Free Enterprise Institute, and is a member and speaker at several industry associations.
Rose Kelly-Falls, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Risk Management. As a supply chain professional and industry practitioner, Ms. Kelly-Falls has extensive management experience within small divisional start-ups and global corporations including Ford Motor Company and Rolls-Royce North America. Her areas of expertise include supply chain risk management, supply chain strategic planning, contract management and global sourcing. Read more...
Widely diverse companies have benefited from Rose’s expertise and experience in Risk Management, which include implementation and training on financial risk management and mitigation, as well as developing and implementing supply chain risk management strategies. She has worked with companies in a wide variety of industries that include manufacturing, utility, consumer products, oil and gas, high tech and aerospace and defense. She has delivered professional presentations to ISM, Supply Chain Management Review, The Conference Board and My Purchasing Center, and her thought leadership has been quoted in multiple industry publications. She was named a 2012 and 2013 “Pro to Know” by Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine, also honored in 2013 as one of the top 5 female "Pros" in the industry and a top female Supply Chain Executive. Kelly-Falls holds a Master of Science degree in Management from Purdue University Krannert Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Butler University. She is currently the Chair of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Supply Chain Risk Group and has received the CPSM accreditation. In addition, she serves on the Board of Alumni for the Krannert School of Management-Purdue University and teaches at the University of Indianapolis Graduate School of Business.
Lilah Raptopoulos, Media & Communications Coordinator. Ms. Raptopoulos is responsible for Rapid Ratings' media and communications efforts, including marketing, messaging, web and social media strategy and copywriting, as well as press and event coordination. She has experience interacting with PR and marketing professionals and print, online and television journalists. She has worked as a reporter for GateHouse Media and an editorial intern for Inc. Magazine and been the Editor-in-Chief of two student-run newspapers, revitalizing the production process and professional quality of both. She graduated from Connecticut College with a BA in New Media Studies and English.
Jarrod Shandley, Director of Operations. Mr. Shandley has been with Rapid Ratings for more than eight years, originating in its former head office in Brisbane, Australia. Over this time Mr. Shandley has worked in most divisions of the company, including Research and Development, Production, Quality Assurance and Sales and Marketing. He is currently responsible for all Client Services, particularly training and integration, as well as Product Development initiatives. Mr. Shandley graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Commerce (double major in finance and accounting).
Nitin K. Walia, Director of Strategic Client Services. Mr. Walia joined Rapid Ratings in 2012 and is responsible for managing and delivering all aspects of our Client Services strategy. Prior to Rapid Ratings, he spent several years developing and managing quantitative investment strategies in equities and futures markets. Most recently, he was a Vice President at LightBox Capital Management. Previously, he co-founded trading firm BCW Group LLC and spent time in the Systematic Strategies proprietary trading group at Lehman Brothers. He graduated from Princeton University with a BSE in Operations Research & Financial Engineering, and is completing an Executive MBA at Columbia Business School.
Timothy S. Wilks, Segment Development Executive – Insurance. Mr. Wilks joined Rapid Ratings in 2012 to lead its initiative in insurance, an industry he has been involved in for over 20 years. Within the insurance industry, his product focus has been in management liability centered on the Directors & Officers Liability insurance product line. In this role, he has helped major European and U.S. client companies (such as Intel, Apple, and Gap Inc.) design sophisticated management liability programs as part of their overall risk management strategy. He has also helped develop the area of transactional (merger/acquisition) related insurance products. Read more...
Mr. Wilks has specialized as an insurance broker working for major global and U.S. regional firms in London, San Francisco and New York. He has held senior positions with firms that include Sedgwick, Marsh and Aon, most recently as Managing Director of Frank Crystal & Company's Professional Liability business group. Over the last three years Tim has been involved in entrepreneurial activities, and continues to advise Imperial Capital Group, a private equity firm, on their insurance broker acquisition strategy.
Mr. Wilks has a degree in Electronic & Electrical Engineering and has held a commission in Britain's Royal Air Force.
