Nexartis Founders
Stephen Maloney
Co-Founder
Stephen has more than twenty-five years of wide ranging experience as a senior operating executive in technology. Most recently, Steve served as Executive VP of Business Development and Strategy for Acuant, the leading provider of intelligent data capture and authentication solutions. Prior to that he was Co-founder, Director and President of SolutionPoint International, a diversified security and risk management company. He was Chairman of Design2Launch, a pioneer in digital workflow software that was sold to Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK). He was Executive Vice President of MSA, a leader in explosive detection services that was one of the first companies to receive Safety Act certification by DHS. Earlier he co-founded and was CEO of i3 Mobile, a leader in wireless information. He led the company to a successful IPO (NASDAQ:IIM). He graduated from Fordham, has an M.B.A..
Tony Rose
Co-Founder & CTO
Tony has more than twenty years of experience leading technology innovation across startups and enterprise. Most recently, he served as Head of Product for Atala PRISM (now IDentus), where he led the successful implementation of digital identity systems for Ethiopia's Ministry of Education. He architected and deployed Apple Pay for the largest US payment processor and advised Citibank executives on blockchain strategy following Facebook's Libra announcement. He co-founded the California Blockchain Advocacy Coalition, where his expert testimony and thought leadership helped shape multiple blockchain-focused bills into law. He co-founded StudentReader.io, pioneering the first decentralized scholarship program, and contributed MedCreds to Linux Foundation Public Health. He brings deep expertise in blockchain technology, AI, and decentralized systems to his role as CTO of Nexartis. Tony holds a degree in Computer Science from UC Berkeley.
Laura Brugioni
Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer
With over two decades of experience in operational management within California's Community College system, Laura has embarked on an exciting new chapter as a pioneer in AI-generated content. As Chief Commercial Officer of Nexartis and co-founder of The AI Music Video Show, she's leveraging her diverse background to revolutionize the digital media landscape while creating equal opportunities for creators of all backgrounds. Driving the Open Commercial Media Ecosystem (OCME), she's at the forefront of the AI-generated content revolution, informed by her unique perspective from years of managing complex educational systems.
This experience shapes her approach to building transparent, community-driven platforms that empower digital artists through blockchain and AI technologies. At Nexartis, her focus on developing cutting-edge solutions for content creation, curation, and monetization reflects both her commitment to innovation and her dedication to fostering collaborative communities where creators can truly thrive.
Management
Elliot Zatsky
Business Operations
Experienced technology leader with strong analytical skills and years of experience building globally distributed technical teams. Strategic mindset, customer facing and focused, and a track record of driving change & creating value quickly. Specializing in Customer Experience and Enablement, Product Management, Service Delivery, Technical Operations and Solutions, IT Management, Implementations, Partner Management, and E-commerce. A demonstrated history of finding solutions to complex problems and implementing them. Vast experience in the cybersecurity software and IT industry.
Alan Katzman
Business & Legal Executive
Business and legal executive with a background in technology and software, compliance, human resources and investigations. Alan is also the founder of Social Assurity and has lectured extensively on the topic of social media optimization for students and parents and has published numerous pioneering articles on the topic.
Danielle Zekri
UX/UI Lead
Danielle is a UX/UI Designer and user advocate who draws on her background in psychology, marketing, and design to bridge the gap between high-fidelity design and technical execution. At Nexartis, Danielle leverages AI-augmented workflows to accelerate feature delivery and manage the technical journey—from initial UI and usability to production deployment. Her approach ensures that digital experiences are as technically sound as they are visually compelling, streamlining the transition from design systems to functional, live interfaces.
Kamasi "Chad Neo" Mahone
Software Engineer
Before he was writing code, Chad Neo was making noise in Atlanta's music scene — producing and engineering tracks out of Trunkent Studio ATL with production credits alongside Lil Yachty, YFN Lucci, k$upreme, and more. That creative DNA and the instinct he developed there — for structure, for craft, for making things people feel — is exactly what he brought into software. At Nexartis, he manages the software engine that powers their partner ecosystem like the OCME— the platform powering content creation, distribution, and monetization for hundreds of registered creators — building and maintaining production Cloudflare Workers across multiple repositories, from D1 database optimizations and R2 storage architecture to SvelteKit frontends and real-time observability tooling. In his role he is also instrumental in the development of the CubiCube® product line, helping ship infrastructure across dozens of repos. Outside of Nexartis, he continues to innovate — his pinned project +12 Monkeys is an MCP and SDK builder, Breach is a Claude-powered intelligence platform, and DirectorChair AI has been in production for over a year. With 3,800+ verified commits across 60+ repositories, Chad brings a builder's mentality and a deep comfort working across Python, TypeScript, and edge infrastructure.
Strategic Advisors
Nick Brown
Strategic Advisor
Based in the UK, Nick Brown brings a fresh and global perspective to the team as it engages with the broader creative ecosystem and evolving digital landscape. A seasoned executive and advisor, Nick is currently a Principal at WTA Partners LLP and serves as a Non-Executive Director for several innovative companies. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at GBG Plc, including Executive Director and Group Managing Director, where he helped scale the company's global footprint. His commercial experience spans startups, scale-ups, and multinationals, giving him a unique lens on growth, governance, and impact. At Nexartis, Nick advises on go-to-market strategy and ecosystem development, guided by a belief in building communities that champion their members and enable the fair exchange of creative value.
Steven J. Campana
Marketing Advisor
With several decades of marketing experience, Steve provides marketing consulting for CPG, HBA, RX, Financial Services institutions and Tech Companies. Steve has extensive experience in new Product Develop, Product Launches/Introduction, Product Communications and Strategic Development/Implication. He is currently Executive Vice President at RTi Research. Additionally, Steve has been a guest lecturer/presenter at Industry Conferences and MBA programs at Northeastern University, NYU, University of Mississippi, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Fordham University. He is advising Nexartis on several matters including product introduction and community development.
Darrell O'Donnell
Technical & Governance Advisor
Darrell is a long-time advisor to governments, corporations, and NGOs. He has guided and implemented many multi-stakeholder systems from concept to operational state in life-critical and mission-critical domains. Darrell is currently the Executive Director of the Ayra Association (Global Acceptance Network) which is focusing on the triad of business, governance, and technology aimed at building a trust layer for the internet. He is Co-founder, Chair TSWG for the Trust Over IP Foundation. His professional focus is on driving initiatives that foster trust in digital ecosystems. He is a technical and governance advisor for Nexartis.
Yossi Zekri
Strategic Advisor
Yossi is an accomplished technology executive, recognized for his transformative leadership as CEO of Acuant, an identity verification leader. He drove Acuant's significant growth and innovation, culminating in its acquisition by GBG in 2021, forming a digital identity and fraud prevention powerhouse. Following the acquisition, he headed GBG's Global Products group, integrating advanced biometric and identity platforms. His expertise spans strategic leadership, AI/ML product development, and complex M&A. Yossi continues to be a prominent figure in securing digital transactions and fighting fraud. He is advising Nexartis on numerous strategic and tactical issues.
Nicolás Stranieri
Technical & Product Architecture Advisor
With over two decades of experience at the intersection of innovation, engineering, and cybersecurity, Nicolás is a seasoned technology leader known for turning vision into scalable, secure, and user-centric products. As VP of Development & Innovation at VU Security—and formerly CPTO—he has been instrumental in building and evolving onboarding systems, IAM/CIAM platforms, and advanced fraud analysis solutions used by millions across the globe. Starting his tech journey at just six years old, Nicolás has grown into a multidisciplinary expert, combining deep technical acumen with strategic product thinking. He brings a rare blend of hands-on engineering experience and long-term product vision—shaping solutions that balance usability, security, and operational resilience. His leadership spans AI, ethical hacking, product architecture, and secure system design, all grounded in real-world problem solving. Nicolás doesn't just ship features—he crafts trusted digital identity ecosystems built to scale and endure. He is a technical and product architecture advisor for Nexartis. He's not here for the hype—he's here to build what's next.
Mariel Calizo Myers
Media & Content Strategy Advisor
Mariel Calizo Myers is a five-time Emmy-winning executive producer and video team leader with 25 years of producing, video storytelling and news experience working for ABC, CBS, CNET, Ustream and Yahoo. She recently left CNET.com, where she lead the video team in daily tech news and reviews coverage and the development of original content, special projects and series for CNET, YouTube, social and emerging platforms. Recognized with 5 Emmys awards, 2 Associated Press Mark Twain awards, 8 Telly awards and a Webby nomination over her career. She was Homepage Manager for the live-streaming site Ustream. She also served as Senior Producer at ABC7, where she launched 7Live--a live show with social media interactivity. Mariel also has some entrepreneurial credits including co-founding a production company, whose clients included Stanford Medical Center and Gap. She was a finalist in the 2011 We Media PitchIt Challenge and the 2010 Ford Foundation-Unity New U entrepreneur competition for FastCast, a mobile news start-up. Mariel, who earned degrees in Political Science and Communications at UCLA, will assist Nexartis in building a second use case related to hyperlocal news.
H. Christian Hölljes
Innovation & Design Advisor
H. Christian Hölljes, is a serial entrepreneur and award-winning inventor. He graduated from Duke with an interesting mixture of degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Fine Art and Zoology. Currently President of Newgent, Inc. owner and developer of the Smart Cycle which previously won Best Tech Toy and Platinum Oppenheimer Award at CES. He has a storied career including co-Founding Wavvox which captured silent meta data in audio communications; heading up Product at Machina, Inc.; Founding Cadmus Interactive and was the National Media Specialist for Apple where he helped build QuickTime. He was also a full and tenured professor of Innovation + Design in the College of Design in conjunction with the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University. Christian will help Nexartis build compelling customer journeys incorporating the latest in UX UI design.
Glenn Larson
Technical & Product Architecture Advisor
Glenn Larson is a technology executive and CTO with deep experience building AI-driven platforms and scaling global engineering organizations. He specializes in cloud-native SaaS, machine learning, and identity-focused systems in highly regulated environments. At Nexartis, Glenn serves as a Technical Advisor, guiding AI-first platform architecture, engineering strategy, security, and long-term scalability. He works closely with leadership to navigate complex technical decisions and support the transition from early innovation to production-ready systems. He currently serves as CTO of Documents & Biometrics at GB Group (GBG), where he leads global teams delivering AI-powered identity verification and fraud prevention solutions. His background includes modernizing legacy platforms, integrating organizations through M&A, and aligning technology strategy with business growth.
Andy Woodruff
Strategic & Governance Advisor
A PMP-certified, self-taught programmer with a bachelor's in mechanical engineering, Andy has been building for over seventeen years — founding his first nonprofit in high school to help young people grow through robotics and technology. Driven to the bleeding edge by an obsession for efficiency and innovation, he now serves as Executive Director of the Open Commercial Media Ecosystem (OCME), a 501(c)(6) nonprofit restoring economic agency to digital creators. His path through Cardano's Plutus Pioneer Program, Atala Prism, and the Trust Over IP Foundation at the Linux Foundation shaped his focus on decentralized identity and governance. Andy brings a builder's perspective to scaling transparent, community-governed platforms.