The Pantek team and its Advisory Board combine senior operating and board-level leadership experience with deep capital markets expertise. Our professionals include former CEOs, Board Directors, founders, and division heads who have scaled businesses, led cross-border expansion, and executed financings and strategic exits. This operating perspective is complemented by backgrounds in global investment banking, venture capital, private equity, management consulting, and hedge fund management.
With experience across technology, healthcare, industrial innovation, media, and digital energy, our multilingual team brings substantial cross-cultural expertise across the U.S., Europe, and APAC, enabling seamless execution of complex, multi-jurisdictional transactions.
Jack founded Pantek in 2007 and has 20 years experience in corporate finance in the deep tech and hard tech sectors and leads the firm’s technology practice. Prior to founding Pantek, Jack was Vice President of Marketing with Symwave, a fabless analog/mixed-signal semiconductor company providing integrated circuit solutions to the consumer and digital media markets with operations in China, Taiwan, and the US.
Jack joined Symwave in 2004 as the first US employee and was instrumental in the early development and implementation of the company’s venture financing and cross-border sales and marketing strategies. The company raised over $40M in venture capital, grew to over 70 employees and shipped multiple high-performance analog IC product lines to the leading Greater Chinese and US consumer electronics and computer manufacturers before its sale to SMSC Inc. (NASDAQ: SMSC) in 2010.
Previous to Symwave, Mr. Bell was an Associate with Mission Ventures, a $500M early- and mid-stage venture capital fund where he managed direct equity investments and provided marketing and business development support to Mission’s semiconductor, hardware systems and related software and services portfolio companies.
Prior to Mission Ventures, Jack was an Equity Analyst with UBS PaineWebber in New York with UBS’ Telecommunications Equipment Group, providing equity coverage and M&A advisory to public and private companies in the telecommunications systems, sub-systems and related semiconductor markets.
Jack began his career as an Analyst with the Global Partner Ventures, a $100M Moscow, Russia-based private equity fund investing in recently privatized telecommunications, manufacturing, energy and media companies in the former Soviet bloc countries where Jack advised companies leading up to, during and after the Russian financial collapse of 1998. Jack graduated with honors from Colgate University and is conversant in Russian, Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese.
Jack holds his SIE, Series 79, 82, 24 and 63 licenses.
Brian Wong advises Pantek clients in areas of semiconductors, AI, batteries, materials, and hardware. He has 40 years’ experience in the technology sector with experience as a CEO/CXO of five private and public companies; Independent Board Director of nine technology companies including Chairman of Quantum Brilliance, Kotura (acquired by Mellanox), and SWIR Vision Sensors (acquired by ON Semi, Non-Profit Organizations, and Engineering School Advisory Boards.
As an entrepreneur he has raised over $200M in equity funding (with $84M from international investors) and formed strategic partnerships and investments with over a dozen international companies.
Previously, Mr. Wong was Chief Product Officer at Impinj (Nasdaq: PI). CEO of TriLumina (acquired by Lumentum) D2Audio (acquired by Intersil), CEO of Enevate, and CEO of Primarion (acquired by Infineon).
Rex advises Pantek’s clients on federal & state government fundraising and partnering opportunities. Rex has 30 years of cross functional team leadership and consulting experience, including twenty years of project development.
Rex has formed consortia with leading U.S. energy, technology, manufacturing, and engineering, procurement, and construction firms to develop projects, including GE, Honeywell, Qualcomm, Nortel, and KBR. He has further experience in forming and leading public private partnerships and policy initiatives at the federal, state, and local government level. He led planning and development for over $20 billion of large scale energy projects.
Rex has a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, a Masters in National Security Studies from Georgetown University, a Bachelors in Government from Cornell University, and is a former Army officer and Congressional Aide to the Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Public Works and Transportation.
Rex currently holds his SIE, Series 82, and Series 63 licenses.
Galen joined Pantek in 2013 and provides deal support to Pantek’s US and European clients and is based in Pantek’s San Diego offices. Galen has been involved with China since 2007 when he moved to Shanghai without speaking a word of Chinese nor knowing anyone in the country.
Galen ended up living in China for over 3 years and becoming proficient in Chinese. Galen worked in the private sector in China helping U.S. and European companies invest in the country. Galen also held positions with the U.S. Department of Commerce working on U.S.- China trade development and investment policy. Galen holds a master’s degree in International Management from the University of California San Diego School of International Relations and Pacific Studies and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh.
Galen holds his SIE, Series 82 and Series 63 licenses.
Carlos Tribino
Managing Director, Marketing
Carlos advises Pantek’s clients on marketing strategy and investor and M&A materials development. Carlos has over 25 years of marketing experience advising a wide array of clients spanning Fortune 500, earlier stage technology and private equity. Carlos helped create and catapult numerous household brands including Armani Exchange, Colombian Coffee, Jameson, Viacom and the Paramount Network.
In the mid 1990s, he launched his first startup, getting an early start in digital marketing and first-generation social media, and served as CMO of GiftCards.com where he helped build the fintech company into a category leader leading a successful exit in 2016.
Carlos currently runs his own marketing consulting firm, The Machine, providing B2B and B2C brand strategy, marketing production and performance marketing services across digital marketing channels to early stage and mid-size companies in the technology, life sciences, and new media sectors.
Among Carlos’ major accomplishments is the creation of casual fashion with the Armani Exchange brand from ground zero. He also managed the Colombian Coffee brand, which became a Harvard Business School case study and was recognized by Fast Company Magazine who listed its fictional spokesperson, Juan Valdez, as one of the top 10 advertising characters in the history of advertising. As VP Marketing at Viacom in Europe, Carlos was part of the team that successfully launched the Paramount Network in 2012, now with a major presence in numerous countries, including the US.
Carlos has a B.A. in Communications from New York University and an MBA from Columbia University. He is bilingual in English and Spanish and proficient in French.
Michael Howell
SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR – BIOTECH
Dr. Michael Howell is a scientific advisor for Pantek clients in the areas of biotechnology, translational science, and personalized medicine. He brings over 20 years of experience in immunology, inflammation, and oncology, having contributed to the advancement of more than ten novel clinical therapies. Dr. Howell is a recognized leader in translational science and biomarker development, with more than ten patents focused on patient stratification and precision medicine.
He is the Founder and CEO of Mountaineer Biosciences, a consultancy that supports drug discovery and development through strategic guidance on clinical data, regulatory documentation, and therapeutic positioning. He also serves as Co-Founder and Executive at Galileo Biosystems, where he leads R&D for small molecule programs targeting the aryl hydrocarbon receptor across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, dermatology, and pulmonology.
Previously, Dr. Howell was Chief Scientific Officer at Zura Bio and DermTech, where he played pivotal roles in clinical strategy and diagnostic innovation. Earlier in his career, he held senior scientific positions at Incyte, MedImmune, and Boehringer Ingelheim, contributing to the development of breakthrough therapies such as ruxolitinib cream, tezepelumab, brodalumab, and SKYRIZI (rizankizumab).
Dr. Howell began his career in academia and government research, including faculty and research roles at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. He holds multiple scientific advisory and board roles in the biotech sector.
Dr. Howell holds a Ph.D. in Immunology and continues to shape the future of biotech innovation through strategic advisory, clinical insight, and a deep understanding of immune-mediated diseases.
Timothy Cotton
Advisor – Critical Materials
Timothy Cotton is the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors of Novaphos Inc. Novaphos is dedicated to making phosphates better with breakthrough technology to sustainably produce the phosphates we need to live. Novaphos is now moving forward with commercializing its technology by building operating plants and deploying its technology across the phosphate sector (www.novaphos.com).
Mr. Cotton is also cofounder and the Vice Chairman of the Agrifos Group, which has focused on business and project development in the fertilizer and agriculture sectors since 1993. Agrifos is a major investor in Novaphos. Other transactions executed by the Agrifos Group include:
The purchase, restructuring and subsequent sale of a major Texas-based phosphate fertilizer operation previously owned by ExxonMobil.
Initiation and successful development of the $800m Gulf Coast Ammonia project.
The Baobab phosphate rock project in Senegal.
Numerous other phosphate mining and chemical projects.
Mr. Cotton is a strategic advisor at Falls River Group.
Mr. Cotton is also a member of the Board of Directors of:
Zalar Holding, the leading integrated poultry producer in Morocco.
Zalar Farms, a 4000 Ha fruit, vegetable and nut farming operation in Morocco.
Virterras, a materials technology company solving the problem of plastic and rubber recycling.
Precision Periodic, a company with innovative separation technology applicable to many critical materials.
Mr. Cotton is a member of the Private and Public Science, Academic, and Consumer Food Policy Group (PAPSAC) at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Murakawa Hiroyasu
Operating Partner – Japan
Murakawa advises Pantek’s clients on their operational activities in the Japanese market. Murakawa is based in Yokohama, Japan, and has over 30 years of experience both working for Japanese hardware companies and assisting foreign hardware companies enter the Japan market. Previously, Murakawa was with Randido, a Japanese consulting firm which helps to connect overseas companies to customers in Japan.
Prior to his work with Randido, Murakawa worked for Entropic, a San Diego-based provider of semiconductor solutions for the connected home. For Entropic, Murakawa led customer development and support in the Japan market and helped to train local distributors. Murakawa has a degree in Communications Technology from Osaka Electric Communication University.
Murukawa is an independent management consultant. He is not a registered representative or associated person of Pantek Securities, LLC. He provides management consulting services directly to clients on a separate and independent basis.
Nasem Riquelme
Senior Analyst
Nasem provides deal support and financial analysis for Pantek’s U.S. and European clients, leveraging his expertise in financial modeling and the evaluation of complex financial instruments. Based in the firm’s San Juan office, he contributes to cross-border transactions and strategic initiatives across multiple industries.
Prior to joining Pantek, Nasem gained several years of experience in the finance, accounting, and insurance sectors, with a focus on financial reporting. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Puerto Rico and is fluent in English and Spanish.
