Sand Hill East Advisors have been in the chair. We are a team of professionals that have held C-level positions in some of the largest institutions and global brands. And many of us are entrepreneurs as well. We’ve built our own companies, and we’ve helped market-making founders build theirs.
Been there, done that.
Services We Are Providing
Business Plan Advice
Helping founders/executives to create formal business plans, delivery roadmaps, business and operating models
Strategic Introductions
Making meaningful introductions to key influencers, providing assistance developing and structuring resulting relationships.
Consulting
Covering a wide range of product assessment, market positioning, security review and business optimization deliverables.
Partners
Andy Brown
CEO and Co-Founder
Andy Brown
Andy Brown currently serves as CEO of Sand Hill East, LLC, which provides strategic management, advice and marketing services to emerging companies. Mr. Brown is a member of the board of directors of Zscaler, Inc., a publicly traded company providing cloud security services, Pure Storage, Inc., a publicly traded software-defined data storage solutions company, Digital Asset, a private company providing solutions in the Digital Ledger workflow fintech ecosystem & Tifin AG, an AI company focused on growing Assets under Management for Wealth Management providers. He is also CTO in Residence & mentor at Fintech Innovation Lab and he advises a number of privately held software companies.
He is CEO and co-owner of Biz Tectonics LLC, a privately held consulting company. From September 2010 to October 2013, Mr. Brown served as Group Chief Technology Officer of UBS, an investment bank. Prior to that, Mr. Brown served in a variety of executive management and leadership roles at a variety of leading banking companies including Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse. Mr. Brown holds a BSc Honors Degree in Chemical Physics from University College London.
Nanette Di Tosto
Managing Partner
and Chief Operating Officer
Nanette Di Tosto
Nanette is Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Sand Hill East. She oversees the business and operational aspects of Sand Hill East and its affiliates and advises portfolio companies. In addition Nanette is COO of Ninth Wave, Inc., former CAO of T-REX Group and Beacon Platform Inc., and former COO of Modelshop Inc. and Galactic Fog, IP. She has built and managed operational functions that allow portfolio companies to scale.
Prior to Sand Hill East, Nanette was Vice President of CertCo where she managed strategic relationships, led strategy and delivery teams, defined and promoted e-commerce and cryptographic policies, and represented CertCo views to governments. Multinational corporations elected Nanette to Chair of BIAC’s Cryptography Committee, where she represented business views on the development of the OECD International Guidelines on Cryptography. Before CertCo, Nanette was Vice President at Bankers Trust Company’s e-commerce division where she managed strategic relationships and its international policy program. Nanette was formerly Director at the U.S. Council for International Business, representing the views of multinationals to inter-governmental organizations and in the international policy arena. Nanette holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Gettysburg College and Master of Arts in Economics from Penn State.
Roseann Palmieri
President
Roseann Palmieri
Roseann Palmieri is a highly respected advisor, senior executive, entrepreneur and data-management expert in the Financial Services and Securities Industry. Roseann has over 25 years experience in successfully leveraging information to drive business growth, shape strategy, manage data, deliver information, improve performance, maximize information value and amplify intelligence. Working with the world’s most prominent banks, as well as the two largest financial information providers, Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters, Roseann successfully implemented many of these strategic initiatives that drive business value and increase revenue.
Roseann is formerly the Managing Director of Bloomberg Enterprise Information Management (EIM) which included the acquisition of PolarLake. Roseann joined Bloomberg from Thomson Reuters where she led their $200M Enterprise Content business. Before entering the financial market data vendor space, Roseann co-founded Element22, a boutique data management advisory company that specialized in strategic data business advisory engagements with financial institutions and service providers. Prior to this, Roseann held senior management positions at Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley creating their overall information strategy and leading their Enterprise Data Management efforts.
Operating Partners
John Bruno
Operating Partner
John Bruno
John G. Bruno is a senior strategy, technology and business leader. John joined Aon in September 2014 as Executive Vice President of Enterprise Innovation & Chief Information Officer. John has served in several other leadership positions with increasing responsibility including Chief Operations Officer & Head of Aon Business Services. In 2019 John was named Chief Operating Officer as well as Chief Executive Officer of Aon’s Data & Analytic Services business unit that includes the firm’s Affinity/Small Business, Human Capital Management, and Digital Client Solutions revenue segments globally.
Prior to joining Aon, John was President, Industry & Field Operations and EVP of Corporate Development for NCR Corporation, where he was responsible for NCR’s global salesforce and business lines inclusive of Financial Services, Retail & Hospitality, Travel, Telecom & Technology, and NCR Small Business. Additional responsibilities included Corporate Development, Marketing and Enterprise Risk Management.
Throughout his 30 plus year career John has held senior strategy, technology, and business unit leadership positions with Fortune 500 companies including United Parcel Service, Cisco Systems, Merrill Lynch, and Goldman Sachs. John currently serves on the Board of Directors for Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) and is chair of the Compensation Committee as well as member of the Technology Committee.
Andrew Dubois
Operating Partner
Andrew Dubois
Andrew Dubois is an entrepreneurial technology executive experienced in successfully delivering transformation initiatives through the combined application of technology innovation and operational efficiencies. Andrew has co-founded and sold three technology startups and held numerous technology leadership positions within Financial Services. Most recently, Andrew was an executive at Tulco Holdings, where Andrew served as Chief Operating Officer for Tulco Labs, BlueNote AI, and Altway Insurance, directly managing the artificial intelligence, machine learning, engineering, and data science divisions delivering transformative change to the insurance, medical apparel, physical security, and recycling industries.
Prior to Tulco, Andrew held numerous executive positions at UBS AG during his 15-year tenure with the firm. Andrew has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University and serves on the CMU School of Computer Science Alumni Advisory Board.
Neil Chinai
Operating Partner
Neil Chinai
Neil Chinai is recognized in financial services and fintech community as a thought leader and disruptor.
Neil is currently advising several early stage fintech firms andFinancial Service Software providers on product strategy, business plans, IT infrastructure and fund raising. Additionally,through his extensive network, he facilitates product sales and client engagements.
Neil has over 25 years' IT experience working with Tier 1 Banks driving business growth, IT and Operational transformation,Delivery on Regulatory mandates and evolving Organizational models. He brings a depth of product knowledge across Capital Markets, Investment Bank, Security Services, Lending and Structured products. Neil led the adaption of technology enablers for front office applications, analytics, data science, digitalization, blockchain, and cloud integrations.
Neil is formerly the Managing Director and CIO of Global Fixed Income and Americas Capital Markets and Banking at HSBC. Neil previous experience spans Barclays Capital, Merrill Lynch and UBS. Neil’s vast experience covers overseeing Technology function across growth initiatives, costs optimization, risk control, offshoring into India and China and delivering on IT strategy.
Neil in his early days worked in the Front Office IT functions where he learned the front office in Capital Markets and dealing with complex pricing, risk management, electronic trading,devops, operations, and derivatives workflow functions. Thought out his career Neil has had a passion for innovation,industry standardization through his work on FPML, FIX and Common Domain Model and promoting adaption through strategic partnership with market infrastructure providers and fintech.
Dean Di Tosto
Vice President of
Business Development & Finance
Dean Di Tosto
Dean is a Vice President of business development and finance with deep experience working with management teams and sponsors in financial budgeting, modeling, and forecasting. Dean also has experience in business optimization projects and scenario analyses to assist stakeholders in their evaluation of strategic alternatives and short-term and long-term projections across a variety of industries including, but not limited to, the consumer discretionary, manufacturing, and software as a service (“SaaS”) industries. In addition, Dean has organized and facilitated workshops with key company stakeholders to review and assess companies’ current and future operating targets, key performance indicators (such as retention ratios, same-store-sales, and customer concentration), liquidity and potential business risks. Dean has experience tracking companies’ financial performance and liquidity and preparing company financials and performance metrics for board presentations.
Prior to joining Sand Hill East, Dean served as Vice President at Accordion Partners within their turnaround and restructuring practice. Dean was formally a Private Equity and Credit Assistant Vice President for IHS Markit, a global information services and financial and business intelligence firm, where he performed company financial analysis and analysis, developed valuation assessments and reviewed transaction and buyout structures for private equity and credit investors. Dean started his career at Ernst and Young as a Financial Services Assurance Professional where he planned and managed audit projects and conducted and reviewed business and investment valuations for key audit clients.
Dean is a Magna Cum Laude graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the Villanova University School of Business in Villanova, PA. Dean also earned a Master of Accounting and Professional Consultancy from Villanova.
Dean is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.
Senior Advisors
Executives with a broad array of expertise and experience who work on our team to advise clients
Jill Denham
Senior Advisory Partner
Jill Denham
Gillian (Jill) Denham is a partner of Authentum Partners that invests in technology and related businesses and provides advisory services. Ms Denham currently serves on the board of directors of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, Kinaxis Inc. and National Bank. Ms Denham spent her career at Wood Gundy and CIBC. She has held senior positions in investment banking, was President of Merchant Banking/Private Equity and had regional responsibility for CIBC in Europe. She was also head of the Retail Bank for CIBC. She holds an Honours Business Administration (HBA) degree from the Ivey Business School, Western University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Andy Honess
Senior Advisory Partner
Andy Honess
Andy is a seed investor and advisor to the software industry. In his 30 year career, he has held UK and international senior sales and Managing Director positions in the enterprise software space, including IBM and Siebel Systems and helped take QLIK from start-up to a NASDAQ IPO for $749m in 2010. He specializes in guiding tech start-ups to high-speed growth and is a mentor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence for over ten incubation and accelerator programs across the UK. He reviews and mentors over 200 companies a year.
Andy has built the Business Alignment Management™ methodology designed specifically for start-up and scale-up businesses, with value selling principles at its core. Andy holds an honours degree in Business Information Systems.
Drew Rayman
Senior Advisory Partner
Drew Rayman
Drew is a passionate marketer with more than 20 years of digital experience and a track record for building results-driven marketing practices. His agencies were designed to serve one purpose: understand the customer, be closer to existing customers, and find the next new customer. He founded Tenthwave Digital, which was acquired by Wire Stone (part of Accenture Interactive). He has spent much of his career helping businesses (from startups to large multinational companies) drive growth - by adapting to disruption, exploiting technology, and harnessing changes in consumer behavior.
Drew helps the world’s leading brands articulate their purpose, fostering deeper connections to their customers and incorporate digital experiences and social into the core of their operations. He’s worked with the world's greatest companies, including Google, Facebook, eBay, Boeing, BlackRock, HP, Microsoft, Zoetis, Duncan Hines, Snyders Lance, Campbells Soup, Prudential, and many others. Drew’s an award-winning designer, entrepreneur and sought-after industry expert - appearing in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, Ad Week, The New York Times and Forbes
Julie Lyle
Senior Advisory Partner
Julie Lyle
Julie Lyle has built and led market-leading brands, teams and businesses in highly competitive environments worldwide. From startups to Fortune 1, she has served as an executive, corporate officer, trusted advisor, and Board Director helping companies shape their vision, exceed their targets and dominate markets globally. Julie’s 25 year corporate career includes Chief Marketing, Chief Revenue Officer, and Chief Merchant roles for Walmart, Raytheon, Prudential plc, and Barnes & Noble among others. She has led government affairs for Fortune’s Most Admired and Top Ranked retail and financial services companies across 4 continents, including both communist and democratic regimes. Julie has played an integral role in numerous multi $B M&A deals and has advised and guided companies through IPOs, ICOs and listings on SGX and HKG exchanges.
Julie is an entrepreneur and a 3X Founder with one successful exit to date. For the last 7 years she has been an investor and advisor raising products, demand and capital for early stage AI, financial services, data science, CPG and tech companies. companies through IPOs, ICOs and listings on SGX and HKG exchanges.
While Julie is Brazilian by birth, and has lived and worked across APAC, EMEA, LATAM and the Americas regions, she currently resides in Dallas, Texas. companies through IPOs, ICOs and listings on SGX and HKG exchanges.
She has received numerous awards for her professional accomplishments and community contributions, which include having raised over $300M for women’s education, children’s health and disaster relief causes. Julie has spoken at the World Economic Forum on issues important to women in the workforce, and she continues to mentor young female executives who are making a difference in global business and society.
Extended Advisory Network
Brennan Carley
Advisory Partner
Brennan Carley
Brennan has over 30 years’ experience in Financial Information and Technology as senior executive, board member and advisor. He has deep expertise in both technology and business leadership, and has held senior technology, product, commercial, and sales/marketing roles.
Brennan has worked at Fintech companies ranging from early-stage startups to multi-billion dollar public global businesses, including Refinitiv/LSEG (MD of the Enterprise Data Business and Strategic Customer Consulting), Spread Networks (SVP Product & Marketing), Monitor110 (CEO), NYFIX / NYSE Technologies (COO), Instinet (SVP Technology) and IBM. He founded Radianz (now BT Radianz) where he ran Product, Technology and Operations.
He has been a director on the boards of Sterling Trading (electronic trading), Marketcetera (algorithmic trading) and Yipes (telecommunications). Brennan has advised Warburg Pincus as Entrepreneur in Residence, taught Strategy for Technology Companies at NYU, and mentors start-ups at Cornell Tech.
He has been listed in The Trade magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in Buy-Side Trading” and featured in the books “Architects of Electronic Trading” and Michael Lewis’ “Flash Boys.”
Brennan earned a BS in Economics and Computer Science from N.Y.U. and has done graduate studies at Columbia University, Harvard and M.I.T.
His hobbies include cycling, skiing, scuba diving, rock and ice climbing, hiking/backpacking, traveling, and researching blues history for a book project.
Dr. Jonah Pezeshki
Dr. Jonah Pezeshki
Dr. Jonah Pezeshki is a cyber security expert specialized in assessing, planning, architecting, and implementing security programs. As CEO of Cyber Security Consulting Services (CSCS), Jonah leads the efforts of supporting organizations in the establishment, operation, and certification of their security programs.
Prior to CSCS, Jonah was a Cyber Security Specialist for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where he was responsible for accessing the efficacy of cyber security programs as US nuclear power plants and worked at Booz Allen Hamilton leading the review and revision of industry and government standards for high-reliability Internet Protocol (IP)-based security communications.
Jonah has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
Josh Shams
Advisory Partner
Josh Shams
With over 20 years of experience as a sales and revenue leader, Josh has a proven track record in developing top-tier sales teams, driving revenue growth, and ensuring operational excellence. His expertise spans sales engagements with the U.S. Federal Government, global Fortune 500 enterprises, and clients from startups to established companies.
Josh has flourished in early-stage technology startups and public organizations, including ServiceNow and Moogsoft. At Moogsoft, he played a crucial role in creating the AIOps product category. He excels at negotiating high-value SaaS enterprise agreements, generating value for clients and fostering business growth.
Proficient in GTM strategies, revenue model alignment, and sales organization development, Josh collaborates with product teams on PMF and revenue models like PLG, indirect channels, and core customer base expansion. He partners with customer success teams to ensure exceptional experiences, leveraging his expertise in value-based selling, strategic planning, and technical execution.
Adept at complex deal navigation, agreement negotiation, and P&L management, he excels in pipeline management, mentorship, cross-functional collaboration, and organizational transformation. Josh's holistic skill set allows him to cultivate high-performing teams and operational excellence, fostering deeper customer connections and integrating digital experiences into businesses' core operations.
Hilary Park
Advisory Partner
Hilary Park
Hilary is an innovative and experienced leader and advisor with over twenty years of experience in financial services and fintech.
Most recently, Hilary was the CEO and Co-Founder of LMRKTS, an IFC-backed capital optimization company which reduced over 20 trillion USD of foreign exchange notional equivalent from the balance sheets of the world’s largest banks. As such, she has experience with all phases of startup development from conception, to fundraising, to growth, and ultimately to exit and post M&A transition. Prior to LMRKTS, she worked as a proprietary trader and credit analyst at both investment banks and hedge funds. With a background in math, programming, foreign language and fine arts, she offers a unique approach to problem solving and as well as an ability to distill complex technical problems into their fundamentals to facilitate communication with specialists and generalists alike.
JP Rosato
Advisory Partner
JP Rosato
As the former Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CS Technology, Mr. Rosato provided the vision and executive leadership that enabled CST to change the paradigm for technology advisory services delivery that redefined the space and attracted global 2000 customers resulting in the acquisition of CST by Accenture in June 2021
Mr. Rosato has over 30 years of extensive design, engineering and operations experience within large, complex technology environments. In cooperation with his network of C level partners, Mr. Rosato has developed and defined a host of innovative services, monetization strategies for technology assets and investments, and groundbreaking partnerships between enterprises and providers.
Mr. Rosato serves on several corporate advisory boards and industry panels and is a frequent speaker at technology related industry events.
Tim Estes
Advisory Partner
Tim Estes
Tim Estes is a pioneering executive in the Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing domain. He founded and led Digital Reasoning from 2000, an AI leader in the space of unstructured data analytics for 20+ years.. Estes envisioned a means by which computers could learn to accurately interpret language, understand context, and extract critical intelligence. Digital Reasoning secured investments from In-Q-Tel (IQT), Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Credit Suisse, HCA, and others totaling over $120M.
The technology in Digital Reasoning became the market standard for applying AI and Natural Language Processing to communications data across text and voice and was adopted by a majority of the Tier 1 Financial Institutions around the globe.
It’s technology also supported key Defense and Intelligence efforts in the US Government, enabled nationwide cancer screening systems to automate patient detection and prioritization, and created the largest deployed system to support law enforcement in the disruption of child sex trafficking rings in North America. It was merged with Smarsh in November, 2020 to create the market leader in Communications Intelligence for Financial Services. Estes left the acquiring company, Smarsh, at the end of 2021 and is now an active Angel Investor, Advisor, and Mentor to CEOs in multiple industries.
Felix Kühlmann
Advisory Partner
Felix Kühlmann
Felix Kühlmann is a strategic leader with a demonstrated history of building businesses and creating impact in the commercial and life insurance industry. He is adept at integrating complex solution elements into innovative yet pragmatic solutions. He has a proven record of building teams and cultivating relationships and partnerships to execute with urgency enabling profitable growth, better customer experience while reducing expenses in a global context.
Felix has more than 15 years of experience in consulting and the insurance industry across the full value chain. He set up and was the Chief Executive Officer for Everly launching the first permanent life insurance product Direct to Consumer in the US. Before he was the Chief Operating Officer for Zurich’s North American Commercial Insurance leading strategy development and driving digital transformation and innovative service development for mid-market and large corporate customers including international programs, captives, and complex casualty solutions. Felix had joined Zurich as one of the partners of the internal consulting unit in Zurich and moved to the US to successfully build the American hub.
Previously Felix was a Principal and Recruiting Director at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Munich and Berlin. He was a member of the insurance and corporate development practice and led projects for insurance clients in Distribution, Asset Management and Risk Management across Europe. As a recruiting director he drove the talent acquisition from U.S. and European universities with a specific focus on Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, and Harvard.
Prior to BCG, Felix was a European Counsel at Nestlé in Vevey, Switzerland, handling merger filings across the globe and advising clients on antitrust aspects of major commercial agreements.
David Bauer
Advisory Partner
David Bauer
His primary responsibilities include building out C-Suite-as-a-Service capability and, privacy and security consulting. David’s most recent position was with Asurion Insurance Services, a provider of mobile device protection and insurance services. David held a variety of executive positions with Asurion for 9 years including Global Chief Technology Officer, Chief Information Officer for Asia, and Chief Operating Officer for Asurion Australia.
Before Asurion, David was First Vice President and Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer for Merrill Lynch, for which he was named a Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leader in 2004. Other positions include Global Head of Engineering for Deutsche Bank, based in London, Head of Security and Internet Services for Morgan Stanley, and Director of Computer Security Technology for Bell Communications Research. David began his career as a programmer in the areas of computer graphics, language design, and network management at AT&T Bell Laboratories.
David holds Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Computer Science from Rutgers University.
Matthew Boskin
Advisory Partner
Matthew Boskin
Matthew Boskin is a Managing Partner at Sand Hill East LLC. Prior to joining Sand Hill, Matt was Co Head of institutional Sales/Institutional Salesperson at Susquehanna International Group and a successful Institutional Equity Salesperson at both Bulge Bracket Investment Banks and Investment Banking Boutiques for over 25 years.
In addition, Matt founded the New York Technology Sales Force at Merrill Lynch (the first ever specialty sales team at Merrill) and was transferred to London to expand the product globally.
He represented Tech Sales and Merrill Lynch in a number of technology investment banking pitches and has successfully raised capital for Initial Public Offerings, Secondary Stock offerings, and Private Company fund raises. Matt has personally invested in a number of private transactions and is both a current as well as a former Board Member for a few of those companies. Matt holds a BS/BA from Boston University and an MBA from Fordham University. Matt continues to maintain all of his Securities Licenses
Ed Corneiro
Advisory Partner
Ed Corneiro
Ed has 30+ years of Technology Finance experience having served as Global CFO of Technology for firms such as Accenture, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, UBS and Morgan Stanley. He has deep expertise in Technology Finance where he has partnered with Global CIO’s to implement strategic initiatives, provide insightful analytical finance guidance on trends, lowered expenses and developed world class finance teams.
Most recently Ed was President of Accent, a Division of Intrado owned by Private Equity firm Apollo Global Management, where he developed and implemented firmwide strategy, operations, due diligence, sale and post sale integration.
John Killeen
Advisory Partner
John Killeen
John Killeen is a seasoned financial services technology executive with over 30 years of experience leading enterprise-level technology organizations in the United States, Europe and Asia. He is a highly effective integrator of systems and people with deep experience leading through mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and organizational change initiatives. He operates with the highest level of ethics and integrity. John is a strong and charismatic leader with a proven track record of delivering pragmatic, value-added solutions to complex business challenges.
John is President and Founder of Latitude Strategies providing management consulting services pertaining to technology and organizational effectiveness.
John was the CIO for the Corporate Technology organization at JPMorgan Chase. Immediately prior to that, he was CIO for TD Ameritrade where he was responsible for the execution of strategic technology plans and managing executive relationships across all business lines.
John began his career at Merrill Lynch where he spent 22 years with increasing responsibilities culminating by serving as the CTO for the Global Wealth Management Division.
John received his Bachelors of Business Administration degree in Operations Management and Mathematics from Pace University.
Kelly Kamm
Advisory Partner
Kelly Kamm
Kelly is a technologist and executive with decades of experience in the design, implementation and support of applications and platforms in the IT and medical software industries. Most recently, he was the Chief Technology Officer of Sitehands where he was the principal architect and designer of the Sitehands Platform, which managed IT field service activities at scale for global financial institutions, insurance companies and other large enterprises.
Kelly is an experienced advisor who has assisted clients in scaling their businesses through use of technology in the domains of ecommerce, cloud migration strategy and application architecture. He has also been heavily involved in regulatory compliance activities (HIPAA, Part 11, SOC 1/2, ISO 27001).