8of9 Consulting, a regulatory change management firm specializing in banks and other large financial institutions, today announced five key hires and a promotion. Joining the firm are Allen Gage, Cal Guillaume, Nick Crudele, Darsh Patel and Elsa Ballard. Tamar Mar, one of 8of9's first employees, has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer.

The firm's expanded workforce is in response to marketplace demand from financial institutions facing adherence to compliance with FATCA, Dodd-Frank and other regulatory mandates.

"Helping financial institutions navigate highly complex regulatory change requires us to hire individuals with an unusual combination of skills, knowledge and personality not easily found in the consulting world," said 8of9's CEO and founder, Mary Kopczynski, J.D./Ph.D. "Each of our new team members brings to us an intellectually rigorous background, experience in the legal, business, banking and technology arenas, and an innate ability to develop practical solutions to highly intricate problems. In essence, to meet the 8of9 standard, employees need to use both sides of their brains, often simultaneously."

About the New Hires

  • Allen Gage joins 8of9 as a Managing Director with more than 20 years of legal expertise in structured finance, derivatives, bankruptcy and securitization. His financial proficiency was gained at firms such as UBS, Bank of America and Credit Suisse, and his legal skills were honed at the likes of Jones Day and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Allen served as chief bankruptcy counsel for Credit Suisse, including on the Lehman bankruptcies, and is an experienced structurer, transaction manager and execution expert, having spent several years in the front office at Credit Suisse and UBS as a senior member of two trading desks. He has a B.A. degree in economics, accounting and information systems, which he received Magna Cum Laude with High Honors from Queens College, and a J.D. degree from St. John's University School of Law, served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Financial Management at New York University and is a published author on derivatives and bankruptcy.
  • Cal Guillaume is an attorney with a strong financial background. He has served in key capacities at UBS, Citigroup, The Bank of New York Mellon and Axiom Legal. His regulatory work includes ISDA negotiation and documentation, and OTC Derivative Collateral Management. Cal received his B.A. degree from Drew University and his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law.
  • Before joining 8of9, Nicholas Crudele was an associate at Morgan Stanley, where he executed trades for high net-worth individuals. His regulatory experience extends to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Nick received a B.A. in Communications and an M.B.A. in Finance, both from Rutgers University, and is a J.D. candidate at Brooklyn Law School.
  • Darsh Patel comes to 8of9 with dual backgrounds in finance and law. Immediately prior to joining the firm, he served as Chief Compliance Officer at Altium Group, before which he served as a law clerk at Breslin & Breslin. Darsh holds a B.S. in Business Administration/Finance from Boston University and received his J.D. from Tulane University Law School.
  • Elsa Ballard joins 8of9 from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) where she served as Associate in the Membership Engagement department. She holds a B.S.B.A. degree in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.
  • Tamar Mar has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, where she has primary oversight for project management, operations, human resources, sales and marketing. Prior to joining the company, she worked for Architects of Achievement, as a teacher in the Washington Country School District and as a field representative for Philips where she managed a territory comprising more than 3000 dental offices. Tamar received her B.A. degree in History, Political Science and Business from Seattle Pacific University, and a M.A. in Instruction from St. Mary's University.

About 8of9 Consulting

8of9 Consulting was established as an alternative to the world's leading management consulting firms by re-engineering the model to address more effectively the highly complex regulatory requirements of 21st Century financial institutions. Visit the firm's website at www.8of9consulting.com.

Water & Wall Group
Andrew Healy, 212-625-2363
ahealy@waterandwallgroup.com