PREMIUM FINANCE TEAM
Kumar Bhaskar
Senior Vice President,
Western Canada
604.362.0258
Email Kumar
Biography
Email Kumar
Biography
KUMAR BHASKAR
Kumar is responsible for the overall sales strategy of SNAP Premium Finance and managing key relationships with the MGA/broker network in Western Canada.
He has over 20 years of sales experience in a variety of industries including high-tech, telecommunication and transportation. Kumar joined SNAP in 2015 to expand the Premium Finance business across Canada.
Prior to joining SNAP, Kumar worked in the premium finance industry for 10 years, including a 5-year spell at First Insurance Funding of Canada leading the Western sales of the company.
Sumeet Sharma
Senior Vice President, Eastern Canada
647.927.4142
Email Sumeet
Biography
Email Sumeet
Biography
SUMEET SHARMA
Sumeet is responsible for eastern Canada sales and distribution. His primary focus is establishing strong, long-lasting relationships with brokers, MGAs, and carriers.
Sumeet and with his team partner with insurance providers across the region to create custom payment solutions to grow their business.
Prior to joining SNAP, Sumeet worked in many leadership roles including sales, operations, credit risk and analytics in the financial services space. In his role at First Insurance Funding, he has been at the forefront of growing the Eastern sales of the company. He has over a decade of experience in the insurance industry, which allows him to help SNAP’s partners grow continuously.
Ghislain Lévesque
Director of Sales,
Québec and Atlantic
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Matt Melius
CEO
MATT MELIUS
As SNAP Financial Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Matt is responsible for executive team leadership, strategic direction and implementation of the company’s strategic plan.Matt has over 20 years of executive leadership experience, specializing in financial services products, operating models, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices. Matt has demonstrated an ability to lead high performing teams, grow top line revenue and improve operational efficiency.
Before joining SNAP, Matt acted as CEO at Kilowatt Financial, a financial services company providing consumer payment solutions for business partners focused on providing consumers with residential based clean energy generation solutions and energy efficiency home improvements. He was responsible for all operational aspects of delivering Kilowatt’s consumer finance products, and helped grow the business to become a recognized industry leader, deploying $500M+ in assets. Prior, Matt was the COO of Metris Companies Inc., and served as President and CEO of Direct Merchants Bank, a wholly owned bank subsidiary of Metris focused on their general purpose credit card business. While there, Matt was directly responsible for more than 4,500 employees and over $12 billion in consumer receivables. Matt holds an MBA from the University of Nebraska.
John Stout
President, Head of Sales, Board Member
JOHN STOUT
John has extensive experience as a senior executive, particularly in design, development, management and implementation of automated credit-underwriting systems.
Over his career, John managed credit teams and systems underwriting, processing $3B+ in small ticket assets. Since co-founding the SNAP Financial Group in 2006, he has overseen the development of key front-end systems and processes, including the design and management of our automated credit models that have enabled the companies to execute on their origination strategies and provide custom solutions to a broad array of equipment manufacturers and dealers.
Prior, John was the founder and president of Creditwave Corporation – a company that provided outsourced loan, leasing and captive financing programs for major blue chip companies, including charted banks, trusts, global manufacturers and energy vendors. He was responsible for the automated credit underwriting of over $300,000,000 annually in various small ticket assets, including power sports and recreational vehicles. Prior to this role, John was co-founder and president of Bayshore Leasing Corporation, a Canadian national equipment leasing company, and subsidiary of Bayshore Trust. In 1995, Bayshore was the first Canadian finance company to move their entire origination and underwriting processing online, complete with automated credit adjudication models. At the time of their sale, Bayshore was underwriting in excess of $150M per year in small ticket leases and loans.
John Maragliano, CPA, CA, CFA
Chief Financial Officer
JOHN MARAGLIANO
John is responsible for developing and managing SNAP’s finance and capital strategies while overseeing financing, accounting and reporting functions. He also manages the company’s financial relationships with regulators and investors.
John has over 18 years of experience in the financial services industry, with a focus on banking, insurance and wealth management. His extensive background in business improvement and finance includes financial/management reporting, treasury management, capital management and M&A transactions.
Prior to joining SNAP, John was the Executive Vice President and Group Chief Financial Officer at Butterfield Bank – a publically owned offshore bank with 1,200 employees, $10 billion in assets and $80 billion in off balance sheet assets under administration in six jurisdictions. John played a central role on the executive management team as it navigated the global financial crisis. He’s a Chartered Accountant and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Kyle Wenn
Chief Operating Officer
KYLE WENN
Kyle Wenn is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of SNAP’s origination, operational and technical infrastructure.
Wenn leads a national organization of employees that includes client experience managers, technology staff and operations personnel. Wenn is also responsible for strategic partner development as well as customer service, marketing and human resources.
In 2006, Wenn spearheaded SNAPs entry into the Canadian home improvement marketplace, establishing successful relationships with both national manufacturer and retail partners. Prior to SNAP, he worked for 5 years at GHR Systems as Vice President of Sales. Before this, he was Director of Product Management for 5 years at BCE Emergis.
Bruce Cleland
Chief Marketing Officer
BRUCE CLELAND
Bruce is responsible for cultivating the SNAP Brand, developing new and existing market opportunities and managing the company’s customer experience program across all channels.
As a seasoned entrepreneur and sales & marketing professional, Bruce has developed, grown, positioned and enhanced countless brands from inception to execution. His expertise includes defining, finding, engaging and retaining high-value customers. Bruce has broad experience in retail, consumer packaged goods and business-to-business environments.
Prior to joining SNAP, Bruce helped launch several organizations including his own successful marketing consulting firm, Bullseye Communications Group, Inc.
Robert Young
Chief Risk Officer
ROBERT YOUNG
As the Chief Risk Officer, Rob leads the organization in consumer and commercial credit, collections, compliance, fraud, and enterprise risk.
With over 2 decades of line management and executive leadership experience in the financial services industry, Rob has led teams across the US in marketing, risk management, finance, operations and data management.
Prior to joining SNAP, Rob served as Chief Credit Officer for Spruce Finance Inc., a specialty finance business in the US focused on energy efficiency lending for homeowners interested in financing home improvements, including solar products. Rob also held the positions of Chief Credit Officer of Kilowatt Financial, Sr. Vice President of Credit Risk for Metris Companies Inc., and Direct Merchants Bank.
Bob Hughes
Cheif Information Officer
BOB HUGHES
Bob is responsible for managing Information Technology, which includes SNAP’s business applications and data, technology providers, computing environment, technology security and change management.
He has more than 25 years of diverse leadership experience within the financial services, consulting, and manufacturing industries. His expertise includes IT strategy and planning, systems development, purchased application integration, project management, data management / warehousing, M&A, governance, risk management, and operations.
Prior to joining SNAP, Bob held executive management positions with Sunlight Financial, a financial services company that provides consumer loans to finance residential solar systems; Kilowatt Financial, a financial services company that focused on energy efficiency and solar system loan products; and Metris Companies, a consumer credit card business.
Feeroza Suchak
Vice President, Human Resources
FEEROZA SUCHAK
As Vice President, Human Resources, Feeroza is responsible for leading the human resources function for SNAP Financial Group. Feeroza has over fifteen years of comprehensive human resources experience in the Canadian and US markets, collaborating with senior leadership to provide strategic guidance in human resource issues and developing employee relationships to align HR with business objectives.
Feeroza’ s proven expertise lies in Legislation Compliance, Leadership Development, Change Management, Recruitment, Workplace investigations, Benefits Administration and Performance Management.
Prior to joining SNAP, Feeroza was the Director of Human Resources at Volt Canada Inc., where she managed Human Resources and Recruitment Strategies for a multinational company focusing on Technology Outsourcing. Prior to Volt, Feeroza was the Regional Human Resources Manager for Right Management Consultants, a company focusing on Career Transition and Organizational Consulting.
Cindy Williams
Head of Compliance
CINDY WILLIAMS
As Head of Compliance, Cindy is responsible for overseeing and managing programs and policies to ensure the organization is complying with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.
Cindy has over 25 years of experience in the financial regulatory compliance industry. Her expertise includes consumer lending, risk management, regulatory compliance and internal audit.
Prior to SNAP, Cindy has worked at financial institutions ranging from community institutions to large global banks. Cindy has also worked as a consultant providing regulatory expertise to financial institutions across the country and is also nationally known as a speaker on various regulatory compliance topics. She holds the Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) certification which is the recognized standard of excellence for regulatory compliance professionals working in the financial services area.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Cas Schneller
Board Chair
CAS SCHNELLER
In 2006, Cas Schneller joined the private equity firm, FFL Partners and now serves as a Managing Director.
Previously, he worked at GTCR Golder Rauner, a Chicago-based private equity firm. His responsibilities included identification, evaluation and execution of private equity investments. Cas also worked at William Blair & Company as an analyst in the mergers & acquisitions group and at Luxor Capital Groupas an Investment Analyst. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A. in Finance and Business Economics and earned an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. Cas serves as the Chairman of the Board of RedBrick Financial Group. He’s also a member of the Boards of Directors at Iracore Holdings, Green Bancorp and American Advisors Group. He previously served on the Board of Directors at JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC, Midwest Dental and WellStreet Urgent Care, and was a Board Observer of AmericanWest Bank.
David Nickel
Board Director
DAVID NICKEL
David has been actively involved in the North American finance industry for over 26 years.
He has overseen $1B+ in small ticket lease and loan transactions across a wide array of asset and credit classes. Prior to founding the Waterpoint Group in 2001 (now SNAP/RedBrick Financial Group), he founded Leaseline. Leaseline created and managed branded (Simple Lease) and private label point-of-sale financial solutions for national retailers like Best Buy (Future Shop), Office Depot and London Drugs. David is a sophisticated investor and serial entrepreneur with a track record of building company value by brining innovative payment system and service solutions to customers and partners in a variety of niche industries.
Derek Weiss
Board Director
DEREK WEISS
Derek Weiss joined the private equity firm FFL Partners in 2011 and now serves as a Vice President.
Previously, he worked as an analyst at William Blair & Company in the Financial Technology Group. During this time, he focused on the execution of merger & acquisition, and equity issuance transactions. Derek graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics. In addition to RedBrick, Derek is a member of the Board of Directors for Icynene and American Advisors Group.
John Stout
Board Director
JOHN STOUT
In addition to his role as a Board Director, John Stout also serves as President and Head of Sales. See additional details above.
Kevin Moss
Board Advisor
KEVIN MOSS
Kevin Moss is an industry practitioner, board member and advisor.
He was most recently Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer responsible for managing credit, compliance, and operating risk for the Wells Fargo Consumer Lending Group, before retiring in April. Kevin brings 30+ years of banking experience to his current role. Prior to his role as chief risk officer, he was the business manager for the National Home Equity Group. Kevin was also Chief Credit Officer for the Home and Consumer Finance Group and led the Consumer Risk Management team, helping Wells Fargo manage the credit and fraud risk in the organization’s Card Services and Deposit/Debit businesses.
