Our Team

James Walker spent over twenty years in a career of leadership and excellence with J.P. Morgan. He most recently served as Managing Director and Global Head of Investments for the J.P. Morgan Private Bank, overseeing all investment solutions for $400B in client assets. He brings a long track record of investing and operating across all major asset classes. Walker is presently a Partner at Cue Ball Capital and has been an active private investor in early-stage companies. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from the Un. of Virginia.

Ran served as Economic & Technology Advisor to the Israeli President, Shimon Peres. His finance career began at Lehman Brothers and was followed by an Investment Manager position at Portland Capital Hedge Fund. He received his BA in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from UCL in the UK and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. Ran completed executive programs at the London Business School and the Harvard Business School. He has been involved in numerous investments in a broad range of fields. Ran serves as co-chairman of the innovation expo at the Israeli Innovation Center.

Lawrence H. Summers is widely considered to be one of the most prominent economists of his generation. During the past several decades, Mr. Summers served in a series of senior global and US policy positions, including Secretary of the Treasury of the United States for the Clinton Administration, Director of the National Economic Council for the Obama Administration, Vice President of development economics and chief economist of the World Bank and President of Harvard University.

Claudia Merkle has built a distinctive reputation as an effective and innovative executive in the mortgage industry. Most recently, Merkle served as the CEO of the publicly traded National MI, a leading mortgage insurer. She joined National MI early and built that organization across multiple operational and strategic functions. She has held leadership positions at PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. Meridian Mortgage and Wachovia. Merkle holds a B.S. in management from the Wharton School of Business.

Saul Sanders has a distinguished leadership and entrepreneurial career in the mortgage industry. Mr. Sanders was the CFO of Citicorp’s North American Investment Bank, where he participated in building Citicorp’s then new MBS whole loan business.  Mr. Sanders later led Goldman Sach’s non-agency MBS business and founded Goldman’s Asset-Backed Securities Group. Most recently, he was a founding partner, Board member, and Co-CEO of Shellpoint Partners and New Penn Financial. Saul Sanders graduated from the Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania with both a BS in Economics and an MBA.

Jeff Kronthal brings extensive experience and a prominent career in fixed income and investment banking: He was one of the “inventors” of the mortgage-backed securities markets with Salomon Brothers in the 80’s; Senior VP and Member of the Operating Committee at Merrill Lynch (leading investments in credit and real estate); Founder and Co-Managing Partner at KLS Diversified. Jeff has B.A. + MBA in Accounting and Finance from the Wharton School.

Mr. Grosser brings decades of experience as a prominent executive in the US mortgage industry. He is the Managing Principal of Mortgage Industry Consultants, which advises mortgage banks and mortgage tech companies. Mr. Grosser was the President and Board Member of Luxury Mortgage, one of the leading mortgage purchasing conduits in the country. Previously, Mr. Grosser was the President of Homestar Direct and the CEO of Cityscape Mortgage, two leading mortgage banks. Mr. Grosser is also an active angel investor in mortgage-related start-ups. Mr. Grosser attended Queens College, majoring in Economics.

Since joining JPMorgan Chase & Co. over twenty years ago, Brian has held various senior roles across the Asset & Wealth Management business, including serving as the division’s CFO for three years and serving as CEO of J.P. Morgan Wealth Management Solutions. More recently, Mr. Carlin was the CEO of J.P. Morgan Private Capital, leading a global team providing equity and debt solutions to private companies. Brian has a Bachelor’s degree in International Business from American University and an MBA in Finance from Georgetown University.