James McKenna
New York,NY
Summary
Finance and technology professional with deep experience across alternative investments, digital platform strategy, and AI and blockchain applications. Proven success in optimizing operations, leading product innovation, and bridging front-office and back-end systems. Passionate about digital assets, venture investing, and building technology that scales.
Overview
5
5
years of professional experience
Work History
Product Owner - Alternative Investments Solutions
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
07.2022 - Current
- Lead production support and platform optimization for the $100B+ Alternatives platform, resolving critical system issues and improving advisor UX.
- Spearheaded the rollout of the Nasdaq Private Markets integration for UHNW secondaries access, boosting direct private equity tender engagement.
- Led development of Investavision, an AI-powered custom portfolio recommendation engine, winning Merrill's Innovation Summit.
- Collaborate with thematic investing and CIO research teams to identify high-potential hedge fund and private market opportunities.
- Reduced monthly issue resolution time by 70%, unblocking $50M+ in monthly sales.
Advisor - Technology & Web3 Business Development
Dexrolo
01.2025 - Current
- Advise on the development and go-to-market strategy for Dexrolo, a curated Web3 fundraising and sales platform connecting startups, funds, and investors via a proprietary database of 28,000+ verified capital partners.
- Contribute to product direction, data journey structuring, and AI-powered business development workflows that help Web3 companies close funding and client partnerships faster.
- Provide strategic guidance on GTM positioning for Dexrolo's startup and enterprise users, while supporting investor matching logic and onboarding optimization.
Advisory Role - AI Strategy & Product
CloudHero.ai
01.2023 - Current
- Oversee strategic direction and implementation of custom generative AI chatbots and LLM-based business automation tools.
- Work with technical teams to integrate OpenAI, Zapier, and cloud infrastructure for clients across finance, real estate, and Web3.
- Provide growth consulting to SaaS founders and lead partnership strategy.
Advisor - Investment Strategy
Axe Capital Holdings
01.2023 - Current
- Advise on discretionary macro crypto SMA strategy focused on cycle-based portfolio allocation, blockchain infrastructure, and on-chain alpha.
- Contributed to launch of the firm's 2-page investor tear sheet and pitch materials.
- Support portfolio construction and thesis validation across digital assets and altcoin rotations.
- Contributor to quantitative research firm pulp driving macro trade decisions of SMA strategies.
Founder
Adrenaline Trading
01.2020 - 01.2023
- Built trading education app and content platform focused on crypto, options, and macro cycles.
- Mentored by ex-Merrill trader, built volatility-based trading models and launched strategic content offerings.
- Led app development and cloud infrastructure with an AWS engineer.
Business Analyst
Munidex Inc.
01.2020 - 01.2022
- Developed strategic growth plan for entry into Miami's public sector software market.
- Built KPI dashboards, managed CRM data, and helped close local government SaaS contracts.
- Supported a successful competitor acquisition strategy.
Education
B.S. - Finance
The College of New Jersey
Ewing, NJSkills
- Generative AI and LLM integrations
- SQL and Data Analysis
- Agile Product Management
- Digital Asset Research
- Macro Cycle Investing
- UX/UI Workflow Optimization
- Early stage startup product development
- GTM strategy deployments
- Institutional Platform Support
Timeline
Advisor - Technology & Web3 Business Development
Dexrolo
01.2025 - Current
Advisory Role - AI Strategy & Product
CloudHero.ai
01.2023 - Current
Advisor - Investment Strategy
Axe Capital Holdings
01.2023 - Current
Product Owner - Alternative Investments Solutions
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
07.2022 - Current
Founder
Adrenaline Trading
01.2020 - 01.2023
Business Analyst
Munidex Inc.
01.2020 - 01.2022
B.S. - Finance
The College of New Jersey
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