2025 Investor Alliance Competition

Michael Wand
Michael Wand
Michael Wand is the Head of European Private Equity at Carlyle, where he has been a key figure since joining in 2001. Specializing in technology investments, he has led or participated in more than a dozen landmark deals, including P&I AG, FRS Global, UC4/Automic, Foundry, eggplant, SER Group, and DEPT. He currently serves on the boards of several leading European tech and digital innovation companies. Starting January 2026, he will take on the role of Head of Carlyle’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa investment platform, shaping the firm’s regional strategy. Prior to Carlyle, Wand spent nearly a decade in investment banking, most recently as Managing Director at Deutsche Bank London, leading the European software and internet research team. He also held analyst positions at BNP Paribas in London and BHF Bank in Frankfurt. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mannheim and an MBA jointly from Mannheim and the University of Texas at Austin.
12445 vote
Andrew Brown
Andrew Brown

Andrew Brown is a globally focused Chief Investment Officer who currently leads the Equities & Funds division at British International Investment (BII, formerly CDC Group), based in London. Since 2021, he has overseen the direct equity and fund investment committees, driving strategies that emphasize financial inclusion, climate finance, and technology innovation across Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. From 2019 to 2021, he served as Executive Director and Deputy CIO at CDC Group, where he played a key role in private equity investments with African ECP, Société Générale, and Amundi across North Africa and the Middle East. Earlier in his career, Andrew held CIO positions at Emerging Capital Partners, Société Générale Asset Management Alternative Investments, and Amundi, building deep expertise in emerging markets, capital deployment, and private equity expansion. He is recognized for his long-term capital strategies, sustainable investment vision, and cross-regional investment leadership.

11241 vote
Michael Bucella
Michael Bucella

Michael Bucella, originally from Canada, is a seasoned financial professional with over 15 years of experience across global markets. He spent nearly a decade at Goldman Sachs within the Asset Management division, where he focused on portfolio management and institutional client strategies, building deep expertise in capital markets and wealth management. After leaving Wall Street, he joined BlockTower Capital as a Senior Partner, where he now leads initiatives in digital asset allocation and institutional crypto investment strategies. Widely recognized as one of the pioneers bridging traditional finance and the crypto ecosystem, Bucella is a frequent speaker at international finance and blockchain conferences, making him a key figure in the ongoing institutional adoption of digital assets.

10978 vote
Amar Kuchinad
Amar Kuchinad

.Amar Kuchinad, a former Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, brings extensive expertise in capital markets and trading. He is currently the CEO of Copper, a leading digital asset custody and clearing firm, where he focuses on building secure and compliant infrastructure for institutional investors. As one of Copper’s founding members, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the firm’s product strategy, regulatory framework, and global market expansion. While not yet a household name in the crypto industry, his strong traditional finance background combined with a forward-looking vision for digital assets positions him as a key figure driving innovation in institutional crypto custody and infrastructure.

10141 vote
Alexis Fauth
Alexis Fauth
Alexis Fauth, is a seasoned analyst and crypto trader with a strong background in mathematics and quantitative finance. He earned a Master’s in Statistics from Pierre and Marie Curie University and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the Sorbonne, where his research focused on time series modeling and high-frequency trading. His professional career spans leading roles at Deutsche Bank, Citibank, Tradefeedr, and S&P Global, where he specialized in market data modeling, FX quantitative research, and electronic trading innovation. Since 2019, he has applied his quantitative expertise to digital assets, exploring DeFi, derivatives, and on-chain liquidity strategies. Between 2023 and 2024, he achieved an impressive 191% annualized return in BTC/ETH derivatives with strict risk controls. In 2025, he relocated to New York City to compete independently in quantitative crypto trading competitions while sharing live strategies on X (formerly Twitter). Blending academic rigor with practical market experience, Fauth is recognized as a leading figure bridging traditional finance and the emerging Web3 ecosystem.
9876 vote
Andrew Pesco
Andrew Pesco

Andrew Pesco has a solid background in quantitative investing, having spent eight years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he rose from analyst to Vice President in the Quantitative Investment Strategies (QiS) team. At Goldman, he specialized in systematic trading, derivatives structuring, and custom strategy development, gaining extensive experience in modeling and product innovation. In 2021, Andrew left traditional finance to join the fintech startup Domain Money as Chief Investment Officer (CIO), where he leads efforts to integrate crypto assets with equity strategies for retail investors. He believes the pandemic accelerated blockchain innovation and views crypto as a cornerstone of future financial infrastructure. Andrew emphasizes model-driven, risk-controlled approaches and advocates for transparency and investor education, aiming to empower retail participants to engage more confidently in modern financial markets.

6101 vote
Priyanka Lilaramani
Priyanka Lilaramani
Priyanka Lilaramani, originally from India and now based in the UK, is a seasoned financial executive with over 15 years of experience in investment banking and payments. She previously served as a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where she led initiatives in cross-border payments and fintech innovation. After leaving Wall Street, she transitioned into entrepreneurship and currently serves as the CEO of HOLD, a fast-growing payments platform focused on bridging traditional finance with crypto ecosystems. Recognized as a member of the UK FinTech Powerlist, she has become a leading figure among female executives, representing a successful transition from traditional banking to the digital asset economy.
5845 vote
Michael Park
Michael Park

Michael Park brings a strong Wall Street background in derivatives trading, having served for years as a derivatives trader at J.P. Morgan. There, he specialized in complex structured products, market risk management, pricing, and trade execution. After building extensive expertise in risk control and quantitative model development, he transitioned into the cryptocurrency space, joining a leading digital asset derivatives exchange as Head of Risk Management. In this role, he spearheaded the design and optimization of risk frameworks and clearing mechanisms for crypto derivatives, enabling institutional clients to engage in digital assets with greater security. With his unique blend of traditional finance expertise and cutting-edge blockchain experience, Michael is widely regarded as a key figure bridging conventional markets with the rapidly evolving world of crypto derivatives.

5546 vote

Rule Description

1. Event time: September 2024
2. Voting frequency: Each user votes once per day and cannot vote repeatedly.
3. Voting mode: normal mode