Leadership

Nate Singer
Chief Executive Officer
Nate founded Next Gen Research Corp in 2024, which rebranded to Heron Intelligence in 2026. Nate became Chairman of Blue Heron in 2025.

He brings two decades of experience in investment research and business leadership. Before Heron Intelligence, Nate spent over eight years at Mission Holdings, where he built the firm’s investment research team overseeing liquid capital investments across public and private markets. He previously was the Chief Investment Officer at the hedge fund Angel Island Partners. Earlier in his career, he was an analyst at Farallon Capital affiliate Noonday Asset Management, and an Associate Consultant at Bain & Company.

Nate received an MBA from Harvard Business School and is a graduate of UC Berkeley, where he was valedictorian of the mathematics department.
David J. Rynecki
President
David founded Blue Heron Research Partners in 2005 after spending 15 years as an award-winning financial journalist specializing in examining the quality and effectiveness of management teams. His articles on the deficiencies in traditional sell-side research led to the development of the thesis behind Blue Heron: Those qualitative issues gathered in a systematic manner can be deployed in a predictive model that reduces investment risks and maximizes returns.

For six years he was a senior writer at Fortune magazine and before that he worked for USA Today, The Washington Post, and was a regular contributor to Time Magazine. David was also an associate producer at CNN Financial News and served as a correspondent on the PBS TV program Wall $treet Week.

He has a BA in history from The American University and an MS in journalism from Columbia University.
Anuj Jaithliya
Chief Financial Officer
Anuj joined Blue Heron in 2025 as Chief Financial Officer. He brings more than a decade of experience in investment research, financial management, and capital allocation strategy. Before joining Blue Heron, Anuj spent over eight years at Mission Holdings, where he led the firm’s investment research team overseeing liquid capital investments across public and private markets. Earlier in his career, he was a global equity analyst at CRISIL Global Research & Analytics (a subsidiary of S&P) and began his professional journey as a sell-side analyst. Anuj is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from MDS University.
Chetan Majithia
Chief Revenue Officer
Chetan joined Blue Heron in 2025 as Chief Revenue Officer. He brings over 25 years of experience in financial services in operations, and sales and marketing. During the first half of his career, Chetan worked in India, Malaysia, and Argentina in buy-side and sell-side equity research. At CRISIL, he set up their first international financial research operation in Buenos Aires. He was also instrumental in setting up CRISIL Equities, India's first independent equity research platform, where he worked closely with Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and National Stock Exchange (NSE). During the past 13 years, Chetan headed CRISIL's business development team for North America and built and co-headed North America sales for Acuity Knowledge Partners (formerly Moody's Analytics Knowledge Services).

Chetan has an MBA from NMIMS and is a Chartered Accountant, a Company Secretary (with a degree in Corporate Law), and CFA Level 2.
Scott Nussbaum
Chief Compliance Officer
Scott joined Blue Heron in 2019 as Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to Blue Heron, Scott spent eight plus years as Director of Operations at Cross Shore Capital Management, a fund of funds where he ran internal operations, compliance, and due diligence. Previously, Scott worked as an analyst with Kinderhook Partners and Broadlawn Capital.
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Scott serves as a Director and Endowment Manager for the Emerald Bay Association, a California-based non-profit organization and on the Boards of Directors for private companies. He also has public company Board experience. Scott holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and has a BA in political science from Tufts University.
Julio Castro
Co-CTO
Julio joined Heron Intelligence in 2025. He is a technology executive and serial entrepreneur with a passion for leveraging cutting-edge solutions to drive business transformation. As co-CTO , he leads technical strategy to build next-generation analytics platforms. His expertise centers on Python-based data engineering, AI implementation, and cloud architecture. He specializes in designing systems that extract meaningful insights from privileged data sources, with a proven track record of building high-performing remote engineering teams.

Beyond technical innovation, he excels at translating complex technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders, bridging the gap between business objectives and technological implementation. He is driven by the challenge of solving complex problems through technology and is committed to the relentless pursuit of excellence in everything he builds.
Oscar Castillo Barrón
Co-CTO
Oscar Castillo Barrón serves as the Chief Technology Officer, where he architects next-generation, AI-powered research platforms for institutional investors. He is responsible for leading product development, building scalable data infrastructure, and defining the company’s AI-first product strategy. A seasoned technology leader and serial entrepreneur, Oscar has a proven track record of building and scaling high-growth platforms across Latin America. He previously co-founded DadaRoom.com, the region’s largest roommate-sharing platform, leading it to a successful acquisition by a US firm in 2018. Before joining Aura, he held CTO roles at PropTech and HRTech startups, and founded a digital agency developing solutions for global brands. Oscar excels at bridging the gap between long-term strategic vision and rapid, disciplined technical execution.
Joe Bartolotta
Managing Director, Business Development
Joe joined Blue Heron in 2018 as Managing Director of Business Development. Prior to Blue Heron, he spent more than 10 years at First Advantage BackTrack, first as VP of Sales and Marketing, and then as the General Manager, helping institutional investors perform investigative due diligence on their hedge fund and private equity investments. Joe has a BA in mass communications from Oneonta State College.
Andrew Thell
Managing Director, Public Records
Andrew joined Blue Heron in 2017. He spent the previous 11 years at First Advantage BackTrack Reports conducting due diligence research for hedge fund and private equity investors and managing a team of researchers. Andrew specializes in public records, databases, due diligence, fraud prevention and detection, and litigation research. He graduated from George Washington University in 2005 with a BA in philosophy, minors in political science and art history, and was a Presidential Scholar and four-year member of the university’s honors program. Andrew is licensed as a private investigator by the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.
Rav Sembhy
Managing Director, Primary Research
Rav joined Blue Heron in 2019 after more than a decade in financial journalism, holding senior editorial roles at the Press Association, City AM, and the Sunday Express. He oversees client engagement and project delivery standards, ensuring consistent execution, quality, and alignment with expectations. As Managing Director, he jointly oversees output across primary research. He previously served as Head of Customer Success, where he helped shape scalable delivery processes and client success initiatives. He holds a BA and MA in English literature, a PgDip in Journalism, a Cambridge CELTA and a City & Guilds–assured certificate in plastering.
Marcela Corro
Managing Director, Primary Research
Marcela joined Blue Heron in 2017 and serves as Managing Director, jointly overseeing the firm’s primary research outputs. Previously, Marcela served as Director of Operations, where she redesigned internal workflows to support Blue Heron’s global reach. Throughout her tenure, she has been a key architect of the firm’s growth, leading multiple digital transformations, office expansions, and process improvements to ensure scalable, high-quality delivery. Marcela holds a BBA in marketing from CUNY Baruch and is completing an Executive MBA from Bayes Business School (formerly Cass).
Subhrojyoti Mandal
Country Head, India
Subhro joined Blue Heron Research in 2025 as Country Head, India. He has over 20 years of experience in business transformation. Prior to joining Blue Heron, he was with Acuity Knowledge Partners, with a demonstrated track record of driving strategic priorities, unlocking operational efficiencies, and scaling global delivery while fostering an inclusive talent culture.
Francesca Mirabile
Senior Director, Quality Assurance
Francesca joined Blue Heron in 2017 as a Research Associate. She currently serves as Senior Director of Quality Assurance, championing the firm’s rigorous research quality standards and driving excellence, consistency, and integrity across the primary research team. Prior to Blue Heron, she was a fellow at The Trace, an independent news publication covering gun violence. Francesca has a BA in communications and a BA in psychological science from John Cabot University, as well as an MS in journalism from Columbia University.
Melissa Shearer
Senior Director, Research Associates
Melissa joined Blue Heron in 2021 as a Research Associate and now manages and develops the sourcing process. She oversees the identification and selection of quality experts for interview, focusing on proximity to research targets and ability to answer specific client objectives. She holds a BA in politics and an MA in security, terrorism, and insurgency from the University of Leeds.
Luke Dormehl
Senior Director, Research Insights
Luke joined Blue Heron in 2021 and serves as Senior Director of Research Insights, leading the global research team. Prior to Blue Heron, Luke worked as a technology journalist, with bylines in The Guardian, Fast Company, Wired, Digital Trends, and other publications. He has also spoken regularly about technology — particularly artificial intelligence — on the BBC and at events hosted by MIT and WebSummit.

Luke is the author of three books, including Thinking Machines and The Formula. He holds a BA in scripted media from Dartington College.
Jason Weaver
Senior Director, Public Equities
Jason joined Blue Heron in 2021 and serves as Senior Director of Public Equities. He guides proprietary research engagements involving publicly traded companies and leads varied custom projects for clients, helping research teams frame key questions, structure investigations, and extract useful insights.
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Jason brings more than two decades of experience in qualitative, interview-based research. Prior to joining Blue Heron, he managed and executed research projects on public companies for the in-house investigative research division of Allianz Global Investors. He holds a BA in English and an MA in education from Stanford University.
Charnice Cush
Director, Human Resources
Charnice joined Blue Heron in 2021 as an HR & Recruitment Coordinator. Previously, she worked in recruitment and benefits in the academic and healthcare sector. She has a BA in psychology from Brooklyn College and graduated with distinction with an MS in human resources management from Long Island University.
Scott Pomfret
Senior Advisor
Scott joined Blue Heron in 2022. He is the founder of Regulatory Counsel LLC, a law firm advising private funds and the vendors that serve them concerning regulatory, legal, and business issues. Before that, Scott was Regulatory Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Highfields Capital Management, where he was responsible for monitoring and ensuring the firm’s compliance with the rules and regulations of the SEC, CFTC, NFA, Department of Labor, and other domestic and foreign regulators. Scott joined Highfields from PwC’s Financial Services Regulatory Practice, and previously served as a branch chief in the Division of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission. While at the SEC, Scott led enforcement and examination teams investigating a wide range of traditional and alternative asset managers and issues, including mutual fund market timing, insider trading, and misrepresentations concerning assets under management, performance, and risk management.

Scott has collaborated on investigations with regulators at the CFTC, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Labor, FBI, Department of Justice, and numerous state securities regulators. He was a member of the SEC’s Hedge Fund Working Group and won an Enforcement Division Director’s Award in 2007 and 2008. Prior to joining the SEC, Scott was a litigation associate for five years at Ropes & Gray LLP, where his practice focused on responding to regulators in government enforcement matters. Scott is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and clerked for the Honorable Norman Stahl, Circuit Judge, on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He has a BS in psychology and English from St. Lawrence University.
Margaret Shergalis
Senior Advisor
Margaret joined Blue Heron in 2020 as a Senior Advisor with a focus on marketing and communications. She has a background in sell-side equities, having started her career in equity syndicate and ECM, and then running a corporate access team in Asia (2007-2015) and in the US (2015-2018) at Macquarie.
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Margaret graduated from Connecticut College with a BA in American history and a minor in English literature, and beta gamma sigma from NYU Stern School of Business with an MBA in finance and marketing, and a certificate in entertainment, media and technology.

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