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Chris Lavery is a senior executive with a proven track record of success in technology-driven firms. With almost 20 years of experience, Chris has expertly navigated times of rapid change and growth, revitalizing organizations, supporting product innovation, and attracting venture capital investment. Some notable achievements include driving the finance rollout of a significant cryptocurrency exchange at Blockchain, raising $40M in equity funding from Google Ventures and Lakestar, restructuring the business model at GoPago to achieve profitability, and signing a mandate with Southern California Edison projected to generate over $25M in annual revenues.
As a strategic CFO and executive, Chris has made a significant impact in various areas, including change management, business development, partnerships and alliances, mergers and acquisitions, structuring and negotiations, and regulatory affairs. They have a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The Wharton School, specializing in finance, and a Juris Doctor (JD) from Georgetown University Law Center, focusing on corporate law.
Currently serving as the Chief Financial Officer at Ava Labs, Chris continues to leverage their extensive expertise in strategic planning, finance, and operations to drive success for high-growth companies.
More about this expert
- Full name
- Chris Lavery
- Location
- United States
- Title
- Chief Financial Officer
- Company
- Ava Labs (since 2020)
- LinkedIn profile
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/lavery/
- LinkedIn Connections
- 13670
- Summary
- SENIOR EXECUTIVE TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN FIRMS | Strategic Planning ~ Business Transformations ~ Finance & Operations With nearly 20 years of experience in leadership roles within technology-driven environments, I have a demonstrated track record of successfully navigating through times of rapid change and growth, revitalizing organizations, supporting product innovation, structuring vital partnerships and alliances, and attracting venture capital investment. As Executive Vice President of Financial Strategy at Blockchain, I drove the finance rollout of our 1st crypto-currency exchange (one of the companys most significant product launches) with significant near-term revenue potential. As Vice President of Finance & Operations at Blockchain, I played a crucial role in raising $40M in equity funding from Google Ventures and from Lakestar. As Vice President of Finance & Inside Counsel at GoPago, I restructured our business model (enabling the firm to attain profitability for the 1st time since its inception) and led negotiations and deal structuring during the acquisition of the company by Amazon and DoubleBeam for $20M. And as Vice President & Inside Counsel at STEM, I signed a mandate with Southern California Edison projected to generate $25M+ in annual revenues and won the support of Speaker Pelosi, Senator Boxer, and Senator Feinstein for a $30M grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). AREAS OF EXPERTISE Change Management Business Development Venture Capital Partnerships & Alliances Mergers & Acquisitions Structuring & Negotiations Due Diligence Regulatory Affairs Intellectual Property Financial Technology
- Skills
- Business Strategy Strategic Financial Planning
Education
- The Wharton School
-
MBA
Attended in 2009
Field of study: Finance - Georgetown University Law Center
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JD
Attended in 2004
Field of study: Corporate Law
Positions
- Ava Labs
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Chief Financial Officer
Sep 2020 - Present
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Burkland
Greater New York City Area
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On Demand Chief Financial Officer for High-Growth Companies
2019 - 2020
Provide fractional COO and strategic CFO services to startups and early-stage companies to help entrepreneurs accelerate their dreams. Burkland's on-demand CFO services enable senior management to meet or exceed their goals by utilizing our expert strategic planning, financial modeling, operations development, and fundraising assistance.
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Blockchain.com
Greater New York City Area
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Executive Vice President of Financial Strategy
Mar 2019 - 2019
Blockchain.com is a leading crypto asset platform with 42M+ users, $70B+ in transaction volume, and 180 FTE.
As Executive Vice President of Financial Strategy, I play a mission-critical role in developing corporate strategy by leveraging financial analytics as a vital component of business decisions. In this role, I work closely with our data science team to roll out new financial dashboards for senior management.
Some of the main ways in which I have made a difference include:
► Drove one of Blockchain’s largest product launches ever by establishing operational infrastructure, operational processes, banking relationships, and new risk management procedures to manage liquidity for rollout of company’s 1st cryptocurrency exchange. Projected to generate significant revenues within next 18 months.
► Launched company’s 1st venture capital fund, leading structuring and regulatory compliance.
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Blockchain
Greater New York City Area
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Vice President Of Finance And Operations
2015 - 2019
In this position, I effectively functioned as COO / CFO / General Counsel overseeing operations, finance, accounting, governance, legal, human resources, and facilities. I negotiated and structured contracts and term sheets with partners, investors, and acquisition targets while supporting growth from 3M to 42M+ users. I also managed a $30M+ annual operating budget.
My key contributions to the organization were:
► Modernized operational infrastructure, utilizing forensic accounting to construct historical financial statements, implementing quarterly reporting, and establishing payroll function (employees previously paid in bitcoin).
► Orchestrated mission-critical partnerships with Coinify, SFox, Unocoin, and ShapeShift, leveraging Blockchain’s 42M-user.
► Built operational, legal, and technical foundation to launch 2 hedge funds in U.S. and OTC trading desk in U.K. for retail, high net worth, and enterprise brokerage platforms, enabling users to participate in cryptocurrency markets.
► Spearheaded and presented financial projections and other investor materials, oversaw due diligence process, and structured term sheets to close $40M Series B round led by Google Ventures and Lakestar with a 3X post-money valuation from the Series A.
► Supported $125M airdrop devising legal, accounting, and taxation strategy to avert potential $30M tax liability.
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GOPAGO (acquired by Amazon & Doublebeam)
San Francisco Bay Area
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Vice President of Finance and Inside Counsel
2012 - 2013
GoPago was a cloud-based mobile payment platform with an integrated point of sale system and 108 employees.
In this position, I effectively functioned as COO / CFO / General Counsel, overhauling operational strategy, building financial forecasts, and overseeing regulatory compliance (BSA, OFAC, AML), legal affairs, data analytics & insights, human resources, stock administration, litigation, and intellectual property. I managed a 5-person team and supported the company’s rapid growth from 18 to 108 employees.
My most notable accomplishments included:
► Drove strategic pivot from initially serving as merchant of record and charging customers flat fee of 2.75% of transaction (regardless of interchange fees charged by credit card processors) to monthly subscription service with credit card fees passed directly to customer. Eliminated pricing risk and enabled GoPago to turn profit for 1st time.
► Secured and executed $10M+ in debt financing with Series A investor (JPMorgan Chase).
► Led negotiations and deal structuring during acquisition by Amazon and DoubleBeam.