Paul F. Ciasullo Jr.
Norwalk,CT
Summary
Experienced in leadership and consultation roles, I specialize in financial services for business and product development, branding marketing, and sales. With a focus on driving the growth of small and medium-sized businesses, I have a proven track record of transforming them into industry leaders. As a skilled team manager, I have provided guidance to C-suite executives in various industries. Furthermore, I have successfully raised funds and facilitated strategic partner and private equity exits.
Overview
44
44
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Business Management Consultant
IBJ/Aubrey Lanston
01.1999
- Supervised re-structuring of the credit business in IBJ’s NY subsidiary
MD and Head of the U.S. Corporate Bond Business
Prudential Securities
01.1998
- Managed the corporate bond trading desk and traded industrials and a proprietary position
- Responsibilities included all personnel decisions, strategic responsibilities for credit sales and research, successful build-out of the customer franchise and business profile, and risk management
Vice Chairman, Board Member, Advisor to Founder
Sports Ed TV
01.2017 - 01.2025
- Original angel investor from 2017 advising Founder on strategy for business evolution and fund raising through multiple rounds
Growgeneration
01.2020 - 01.2024
- Company Overview: GRWG Nasdaq
- Original angel investor from 2017 appointed to the Board 2020
- Participated in management offsites as an advisor
- GRWG Nasdaq
Leafline Labs, LLC
01.2014 - 01.2024
- Original angel investor from 2014 appointed to the Board 2018 upon dismissal of the previous Board and the company’s management team
- Bi-weekly meetings running the company primarily with two other Board members from 2018 until leading the hiring of a new CEO in 2021
- Created the company’s first leadership retreat 2019
- Participated in the negotiation for the sale of the company in 2022
Merida Capital
01.2020 - 01.2021
- Participated on the risk management committee reviewing potential investments for the premier private equity/venture capital firm in the cannabis space
Sole Founder
Wallstreet Research Solutions, LLC (WSRS)
01.2007 - 01.2016
- The business of WSRS became singularly the sole sales, marketing and customer account manager as representative of CR to the point where the two became indistinguishable and merged prior to a purchase of a majority of the equity ownership of the two by Leeds Equity Partner, LLC in August 2014
- Covenant Review was founded in 2006, partly on the advice given to it from my role at Soleil Securities, as a new kind of fixed income research firm 'The Authority on Bond and Loan Covenants' with the entire research team comprised of leverage finance lawyers analyzing and theorizing the possibilities extant from the underlying legal documents for bonds and loans
- Managing Member of CR, Adam Cohen, and I took the business from the two of us to 40 employees and from concept to nearly 300 subscribers with a 95% renewal rate and a very profitable revenue run rate approaching $30mm
- Directed a purchase strategy and pitch book with the President of Jordan Edmiston for an auction to sell either a majority stake in the company or the entire business which resulted in 14 first round and 7 second round bids from private equity firms as well as industry consolidators
- Successfully transitioned to a multi-product sales team with the purchase of two companies in 2014-2016 including taking over sales and marketing for Capital Structure, a sub investment grade and distressed company news business in London and also including assisting in the formulation and implementation strategy for the Capital Structure US launch
- Successfully implemented formulation of Covenant Review Europe within Capital Structure’s offices and with their sales force in London and Europe
- Designed and implemented a novel customized version of SalesForce for all of the Company’s businesses
- Participated on the Board and continue to do so for strategy for; product development including the formation of a fourth company (LevFin Insights), global sales and marketing, business development, global business management issues, the eventual sale of the company to Fitch Ratings
MD
Soleil Securities
01.2005 - 01.2006
- Developed a strategy for bringing alternative research (industry knowledge which wasn’t stock research) into a stock research environment
- Advised firms with industry knowledge on how to make that actionable financial security analysis and sought firms to buy or partner with for Soleil (at the time owned by Bain and Bessemer)
Founder, Board Member
CreditSights, Inc
01.2000 - 01.2004
- Conceived of and founded CreditSights, Inc., believed to be the first institutional investment research firm delivering on-line only reports
- CreditSights was also the first independent research firm specializing in fixed income research
- Responsibilities over that time included capital raising for three rounds, conceiving of and supervising the build of the original website, product development for written and quantitative research, expense and revenue budgeting, designing and implementing the marketing and sales plan for both written and quantitative research, hiring in New York and London, speaking at more than a dozen industry conferences about quantitative credit risk monitoring, opening the London office, and management of strategic relationships of investors and subscribers
- Having closed most of the first two year’s sales, eventually built sales into 5 teams, each with team leaders and totaling more than 20 individuals in London and New York
- Business accomplishments include more than 15 broker/dealers as customers at the $300,000 minimum level, all directly closed and managed personally, and over 450 institutional subscribers averaging $30,000 each with a 90% renewal rate and averaging annual growth per customer exceeding 30%
- Company was cash-flow positive from first months of billing in 2001 every month and grew from 6 to more than 90 employees
- The company was eventually sold to Fitch Ratings Services and merged with Covenant Review
Corporate Bond Trading Desk Manager
Smith Barney
01.1995 - 01.1997
- Ran the corporate bond desk and traded industrials, developed risk management systems, created branding and marketing for the department which resulted in rising from bottom of the top 20 firms to middle of the top 10 in just under 3 years
Manager Non-dollar Sales and Trading, Corporate Bond Trader
Lehman Brothers
01.1992 - 01.1995
- Ran non-dollar sales in NY, co-ran the non-dollar government trading desk in London and member of the Government Bond Operating Committee
- Traded corporate bonds, profitably created the first stripped corporate bond zero coupon transaction in over 10 years
Founder and CEO
Globe Strat
01.1990 - 01.1991
- Conceived of and started Globe Strat to be a non-dollar money manager in the U.S
- Responsibilities included capital raising, communicating with investors, design and implementation of the sales and marketing plan
MD and Head of the Global Eurobond Business
CSFB Securities - London
01.1987 - 01.1989
- Ran the Eurobond trading desk in London with position limits exceeding $3 billion and over 20 traders in 10 currencies including 2 government bond markets and trading interest rate swaps
- Responsibility for trading desks in London, Tokyo, Zurich, and New York as well as supervisory responsibility for research, trading, and settlements management systems and risk management development team
- Member of the London Fixed Income Operating Committee
NBNA, Prudential Securities, County Bank - London
01.1981 - 01.1986
- Lending officer development program at NBNA then trading Eurobonds and running teams at Prudential Securities and County Bank
Education
A.B. - Economics/International Relations
Brown University
Skills
- Operations management
- Business analysis
- Organizational development
- Data analytics
- Customer service management
- Training and mentoring
- Strategic planning
Certification
- Series 7, active
- Series 23, expired
Board Memberships
- Vice Chairman, Board Member, Advisor to Founder, Sports Ed TV, 01/01/17, 12/31/25, Original angel investor from 2017 advising Founder on strategy for business evolution and fund raising through multiple rounds.
- Board Member, Growgeneration (GRWG Nasdaq), 01/01/20, 12/31/24, Original angel investor from 2017 appointed to the Board 2020. Participated in management offsites as an advisor.
- Board Member, Leafline Labs, LLC, 01/01/20, 12/31/24, Original angel investor from 2014 appointed to the Board 2018 upon dismissal of the previous Board and the company’s management team. Bi-weekly meetings running the company primarily with two other Board members from 2018 until leading the hiring of a new CEO in 2021. Created the company’s first leadership retreat 2019. Participated in the negotiation for the sale of the company in 2022.
- Committee Member, Merida Capital, 01/01/20, 12/31/21, Participated on the risk management committee reviewing potential investments for the premier private equity/venture capital firm in the cannabis space.
Hobbies and Interests
- Avid reader
- Proficient in most major Microsoft Office products including Excel, Powerpoint, and Word
- Active in many sports including golf, skiing and tennis
Current Status
Seeking leadership and consultation opportunities in diverse businesses.
Timeline
Growgeneration
01.2020 - 01.2024
Merida Capital
01.2020 - 01.2021
Vice Chairman, Board Member, Advisor to Founder
Sports Ed TV
01.2017 - 01.2025
Leafline Labs, LLC
01.2014 - 01.2024
Sole Founder
Wallstreet Research Solutions, LLC (WSRS)
01.2007 - 01.2016
MD
Soleil Securities
01.2005 - 01.2006
Founder, Board Member
CreditSights, Inc
01.2000 - 01.2004
Business Management Consultant
IBJ/Aubrey Lanston
01.1999
MD and Head of the U.S. Corporate Bond Business
Prudential Securities
01.1998
Corporate Bond Trading Desk Manager
Smith Barney
01.1995 - 01.1997
Manager Non-dollar Sales and Trading, Corporate Bond Trader
Lehman Brothers
01.1992 - 01.1995
Founder and CEO
Globe Strat
01.1990 - 01.1991
MD and Head of the Global Eurobond Business
CSFB Securities - London
01.1987 - 01.1989
NBNA, Prudential Securities, County Bank - London
01.1981 - 01.1986
A.B. - Economics/International Relations
Brown University
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