Teresa Mui, as our founder/owner. She worked in law firm, corporation, state government and federal government over the past 20 years with contract management and procurement experience. Additionally, founded her own model agency and non-profit raising awareness of human trafficking. A past Board of Director of the Goodman Theater in Chicago. She is an active FBI citizens alumni.
She spends time in yoga, theater, and giving back to the community through different charities 5k runs and participation in non-profit community.
Mark Wherling, as our CFO is fanatical about helping entrepreneurs unlock the value in dynamic businesses and help them to navigate through high growth and key transition points in their business life cycle. Progressive experience in finance and operations management within start-ups, turnarounds, private equity backed ventures, Fortune 100 companies, and franchise-based enterprises.
CFO of a private equity backed ecommerce/multi-channel luxury home goods retailer. Shifted the company strategy to prioritize the ecommerce channel, eliminated lower margin channels and optimizedthe cost structure. Transitioned HR and benefit administration to a 3rd party professional employer organization (PEO) and launched the Company 401k plan. Led the move from an internally managed distribution center to an outsourced 3rd party logistics (3PL) company.
Senior Consulting Manager of California’s largest regional CPA firm, BPM. Served as the interim CFO/controller for various clients in different stages of significant transition until the company returned to a steady state of operations or a permanent hire was found. Included in this was the refinancing of lines of credits, asset-based loans, capital and operating leases.
Mark’s early career was spent auditing companies with both BPM and Deloitte in a variety of industries including consumer products, medical devices, wineries, technology, real estate, non-profit organizations, and included an overseas assignment in Sydney, Australia.
Mark has an M.B.A. from University of Notre Dame, and a B.S.C. in Accounting from Santa Clara University. Overseas travels included an MBA internship in Cape Town, South Africa and a study abroad program in Vienna, Austria.
He is also a CPA in the State of California and has received the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) and Certified Insolvency Restructuring Advisor (CIRA) certifications.
Mark entrepreneurial interests include early investments in an innovative social media platform, an eCommerce retailer, and virtual CFO advisory practice.
Hessam Zadeh, as our lead in infrastructure and building projects, oversees the full project lifecycle from inception through to execution. With more than 15 years of leadership experience on iconic and award-winning projects in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the United States,
he possesses a global project portfolio with a total construction value of $9Billion, including internationally recognized infrastructure projects as well as complex building typologies. His career comprises leading positions at some of the most internationally revered firms, including Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM) for tall building projects and Mott MacDonald Ltd for large scale capital and infrastructure projects.
He has been an active member of the engineering, construction, and real estate community contributing to several national and international technical guidelines on topics such as:
Affordable Housing, Urban Land Institute (ULI San Francisco Chapter)
Modern Methods of Construction, Urban Land Institute (ULI San Francisco Chapter)
Underground Infrastructure, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Tall and Supertall Buildings, Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) and ASCE
Some of his notable projects are:
Crossrail (London/UK): London underground tunneling project connecting East to West London with 200Million annual ridership.
The Dubai Metro (Dubai/UAE): A rapid transit rail network in Dubai (UAE) with an approximately 200Million annual ridership.
Lee Valley VeloPark (London/UK): a 6000 seat, BMX racing track (velodrome) for the 2012 London Olympics Cycling games.
Sinar Mas Center (Shanghai /China): A large mixed-use development comprising 65 story office tower and the first W hotel in Shanghai. The hotel provides 374 high-end rooms on 43 floors. The structure is approximately 600 ft tall, with a total GFA of about 240,000 sq.ft.