Über CAE

Ryan began his career as a private equity investor at Celerity Partners, a $200 million private equity firm. During his time at Celerity, Ryan focused on technology related de-leveraging, growth equity, and leveraged recapitalization investments. Ryan led and participated in a broad range of new and portfolio company activities. Following Celerity, Ryan worked for Endeavour Capital, a $3 billion private equity firm focused on leveraged buyouts in the Northwestern United States. Finally, Ryan worked in the Palo Alto office of Summit Partners, a $35 billion global private equity group, where he focused on consumer internet, media, enterprise software, and semiconductor-related investments.

In 2008, Ryan Jacob became a Chairman and CEO of CAE. Ryan led the development of CAE into a global software and data driven trading platform for the semiconductor market that operates in 10 countries, has over 6,000 clients, over 300 employees, and is the market and technology leader in its space. Ryan became the largest CAE unitholder in a management buyout in 2014.

Ryan serves as Chairman of Jacob Family Holdings, LLC, a private investment company that focuses on investing in private equity and venture capital funds as a Limited Partner, acquiring and managing select private companies, and completing real estate investments in Texas, Utah, and California.

In addition to his leadership role at CAE, Ryan serves on the Board of Texas Semiconductor Technologies, a leading provider of aftermarket parts, systems, and solutions to the semiconductor industry. Ryan serves on the Board of the Prime Bank of Texas, an Austin-based community bank that serves select Texas markets. Ryan is the Chairman of TransformaTx Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapeutics for Angelman syndrome. Ryan serves on the Board of Sourceability, a global distributor of semiconductor and electronic components. Ryan has served on numerous boards in the past, including as the foundation representative for FAST (see below) on the board of GeneTx Biotherapeutics before and through the completion of its sale to Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc. (NASDAQ: RARE).

Ryan’s philanthropic efforts focus on adults and children with rare genetic diseases and intellectual and development disabilities. Ryan Jacob is the Executive Director, on the Board of Directors, of the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics (FAST), a research-focused foundation, dedicated to curing Angelman syndrome by funding foundational research in academic centers globally and transferring promising technology into therapy-specific companies. Ryan currently serves as a Director, on the Board of Directors, of the Rise School of Austin, a specialty pre-K school serving neurotypical and non-neurotypical children in an integrated and inclusive setting. Ryan has served on the Board, and as the Vice President of the Board, for the Arc of the Capital Area in the past, helping to establish a distributed network of care delivery centers in Central Texas.

Ryan holds a BA from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Ryan lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and three children. Ryan’s middle son, Grayson, was diagnosed with Angelman syndrome.

Andrei leads the firm’s Software Engineering Department, which is responsible for the continual development and enhancement of our trading platform. He joined CAE in 2015 as the Director of Engineering and was promoted to the Vice President of Engineering in January 2018. Prior to CAE, Andrei worked at Avanade, a software development joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft. He oversaw development teams servicing energy, automotive, and consumer product clients and led technology development including web-based exchanges, decision support, and behavioural platforms.

He was a Senior Software Architect at KGB, where he worked on geo-location products and product-service technology. Andrei’s career path extends to software companies around the world, including Dell and Epsilon. Andrei has been responsible for the full software stack, from server-side database design and programming all the way through front-end consumer and business portals and user interfaces. He earned his B.S. in Computer Science and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the St. Petersburg Mining Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Paul is a seasoned trading and financial markets executive with extensive experience spanning investment banking, foreign exchange, and international business leadership. He has built a distinguished career at the intersection of capital markets, strategic growth, and global commercial operations.

Currently serving as Managing Director of Trading, Paul leads CAE’s Amsterdam operations and oversees the company’s trading activities across international markets. He has played a key role in the expansion of CAE’s European presence, previously leading the establishment and growth of the company’s trading organization in Hungary before relocating to the Netherlands to support its continued international development.

Prior to joining CAE in 2016, Paul held senior financial markets and investment banking positions with BBVA in New York and Houston. His experience spans investment banking advisory, leveraged finance, cross-border transactions, foreign exchange markets, and institutional client coverage across sectors including energy, infrastructure, healthcare, technology, and financial services. Combining deep financial expertise with entrepreneurial leadership, Paul has a proven track record of building high-performing teams, developing international business operations, and driving sustainable growth across dynamic global markets.

Alex Choo is a seasoned capital markets professional with more than 13 years of experience spanning trading, investment markets, and cross-border financial operations. His career has focused on developing and managing trading activities across the U.S. and Asia, with a particular understanding of the Korean market and the operational requirements of international trading.

Since joining CAE in 2017, Alex has played a key role in the company’s trading operations, overseeing teams supporting the U.S. and Korean markets and coordinating day-to-day activities across regions and time zones. His experience within CAE has given him a broad perspective on cross-border market operations, team leadership, and the development of the company’s international trading platform.

Before joining CAE, Alex worked as a Trader at Toro Capital Management LLC, where he developed his foundation in trading and investment markets. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Michigan State University and is a FINRA Series 7 registered representative.

With more than a decade of experience across global markets, Alex brings a disciplined and analytical approach to trading, combined with strong cross-border leadership and a deep understanding of U.S.-Asia market operations.

JP Santos serves as Head of Operations and Senior Vice President at CAE, where he leads operations and analytics. He brings extensive experience across financial services, M&A, trading operations, risk management, and commercial finance.

Prior to his current role, JP held several positions at CAE, including Vice President and Director of Operations and Analytics, Senior Associate in Trading Operations and Risk Management, and Capital Asset Trader. Previously, he was an Associate Director at Benchmark International, advising middle-market and lower-middle-market businesses on M&A transactions and strategic growth.

JP began his career in commercial lending and credit analysis with First National Bank of Bastrop and IBC Bank. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics with Financial Applications from Southern Methodist University.

Laura Danko is a global people and talent executive with international experience spanning human resources, talent acquisition, organizational development, and workforce strategy. Having built her career across Europe and the United States, she brings a strong understanding of international teams, organizational growth, and the people strategies required to support expanding businesses.

Currently serving as VP and Global Head of People & Talent at CAE, Laura leads the company’s global people strategy, talent acquisition, organizational development, and workforce planning across Europe, North America, and Asia. Since joining CAE, she has held progressively senior leadership roles across recruitment and HR, playing a key role in building and scaling the company’s people infrastructure as its international operations have grown.

Prior to joining CAE, Laura began her career in recruitment, where she developed extensive experience in talent acquisition and building high-performing teams. Born in Hungary and having spent much of her life abroad, including in London and New York, she is currently based in Amsterdam. Her international background gives her a broad cross-cultural perspective that informs her approach to global people leadership.

Combining strategic HR expertise with a strong track record in talent and organizational growth, Laura focuses on building scalable people strategies, developing high-performing organizations, and supporting CAE’s continued international expansion.

David Ruiz serves as CAE’s Managing Director, responsible for firmwide trading strategy and execution. He leads CAE’s global trading teams in all aspects of the trading process, from evaluating opportunities to negotiating terms. He draws on a wealth of experience, overseeing in excess of 8,000 completed transactions throughout his career at CAE.

He joined CAE in 2010, and previously served in senior roles as Director of Data Acquisition and Analytics, and Vice President of Sales and Trading.

He attended Pomona College, graduating with a dual B.A. in Politics and Economics. He lives in Austin, TX with his wife and dog.