Our Team
Experienced & Passionate
With decades of experience in finance and technology, we are passionate about helping you succeed by delivering better financing solutions.
Experts in Improving Your Financing Experience
Cerebro is revolutionizing commercial lending with the combination of our team’s expertise and a proven data-driven marketplace – matching top banks and lenders with companies who need loans ranging from $2 million to $100 million.
Accessing capital for your business should not depend on who you know, but on the strength of your business. Cerebro provides a solution that levels the playing field.
Our Leadership Team
Matthew Bjonerud
Founder & CEO
Matt has broad experience across many areas of corporate finance especially across debt and equity transactions. Most recently, with Laureate Education—a multi-billion dollar company with operations across 25 countries— Matt worked as part of the corporate finance team that ushered the company through $3.5 billion of transactions including Laureate’s IPO—the world’s first Public Benefit Corporation IPO. Prior to Laureate, Matt was a Vice President within the PNC Corporate Banking Group. He was responsible for growth and management of large-scale corporate and public finance portfolios.
Kevin Dieter
Chief Technology Officer
Kevin has over 25 years of experience designing and developing complex applications. Prior to joining Cerebro Capital, Kevin served as CTO at an expert network company serving the financial services industry. There he architected, designed, and built the core software platform products and services that were used by all employees, clients, and partners. Kevin graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Computer Systems Engineering and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, serving as a space & ground systems acquisition officer.
Chris Dalo
Executive Vice President
Chris has over 30 years of experience building, growing and leading commercial lending businesses at banks, non-banks, and Fintechs both in the US and Internationally. He began his career at GE in their premier Engineering and Leadership Development Programs followed by working at GE Capital leading businesses in Corporate Finance and Debt Restructuring. He later joined Standard Chartered Bank to become the Global Chief Commercial Officer – Commercial Banking covering 30 countries across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Prior to joining Cerebro, Chris led Sales, Business Development, and Digital Partnerships at a Fintech SMB Lender. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Michele Hsu
Vice President, Marketing
Michele has over 20 years of experience as a hands-on marketing leader for highly competitive businesses most recently leading the transition from entrepreneurial start-up to scalable growth for a real estate private lender in the B2B market. With a deep background in database and business analysis she has developed growth strategies for multiple companies in the financial sector. As Chief Marketing Office for a specialty financial services company, Michele executed marketing positioning, branding, and campaigns across all channels including web, social media, and direct mail. She holds an MBA in Marketing from Bentley University.
Ridwan Zaman
Vice President, Finance
With over 13 years of experience in Corporate Finance, Ridwan has a broad range of expertise in financial planning & analysis, investor relations, capital financing, treasury, and data analytics. Prior to joining Cerebro, Ridwan was a business leader in Mastercard’s Corporate FP&A group driving multiple global initiatives, including long term strategic planning, company-wide budget setting, and expense management automation. In addition to being part of a large multi-billion dollar corporation, he also brings a background in both private equity and start-ups. He holds an MBA from the University of Maryland.
Our Team
Amanda Butler
Business Development Executive
Terence Dougherty
Managing Director - Capital Markets
Eddie Espinoza
Director of Sales
Scott Garibay
Application Developer
Matt Geiser
Software Development Manager
Brennan Kimball
Business Development Executive
Chris Nixon
Director - Capital Markets
Uzezi Ogodo
Application Developer
Ralph Patton
Senior Business Development Executive
John Robinson
Managing Director
Robert Schaeffer III
Associate Director - Capital Markets
Cynthia Shapiro
Director - Capital Markets
David Simor
Business Development Executive
Olivia Snuffer
Marketing Specialist
Mckenna Tosten
Business Development Executive
Stu Whelehan
Director of Compliance and Lender Relations
Richard Yoskey
Senior Director - Capital Markets
Our Board Members
Doug Becker
Board Member
Mr. Becker is a lifelong entrepreneur, investor, and operator. In 1983 he co-founded Sterling Partners; since then the firm has become a leading investor across many industries, having made over 80 investments over the years. Sterling Partners, based out of Chicago, IL currently has over $2.5 billion of assets under management.
Steve Reale
Board Member
For over 20 years, Mr. Reale has worked with private companies and small capitalization public companies in both investing and operating roles. He is the co-founder of Madison Bay Capital Partners, a growth equity platform where he was an investing partner and oversaw all COO/CFO functions. He also spent 14 years at Levensohn Venture Partners (LVP) where he worked on a wide range of companies and held several board seats. Steve is now the CFO and a Venture Partner at Ulu Ventures.
Jim McGuire
Board Member
Mr. McGuire’s background includes 16 years of leading a software-focused private equity firm. He has held executive positions, including CEO level, in the technology and software industry and early in his career was in commercial lending with a major U.S. bank. He has served on numerous public and private company boards, including Laureate Education, Inc. and Digital Insight Corporation. Digital Insight is now an NCR Corporation company.
Join Our Team!
Related Content
The world of middle-market lending has changed. Before COVID-19, traditional lenders showed flexibility as they worked to expand their books of business.
Increase the Chances of Closing a Loan
Significant disruptions to the lending landscape in the past four months have left corporate borrowers scrambling to stay on top of changing requirements
CFOs need to be constantly aware of how their company’s financial performance and market shifts affect its debt capacity, which is the best measure of your business’ ability to borrow.
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Join the thousands of mid-sized companies who have used Cerebro.
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Baltimore, MD 21201 - Cerebro Capital
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